On August 1, 1940, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyacheslav Molotov, speaking at a session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, said that "the working people of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia gladly accepted the news of the entry of these republics into the Soviet Union." Under what circumstances did the accession of the Baltic countries take place, and how did the local residents really perceive this accession.
Soviet historians characterized the events of 1940 as socialist revolutions and insisted on the voluntary nature of the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR, arguing that it was finalized in the summer of 1940 on the basis of decisions of the highest legislative bodies of these countries, which received the widest support of voters in the elections of all time. the existence of independent Baltic states. Some Russian researchers also agree with this point of view, they also do not qualify the events as occupation, although they do not consider the entry to be voluntary.
Most foreign historians and political scientists, as well as some modern Russian researchers, characterize this process as the occupation and annexation of independent states by the Soviet Union, carried out gradually, as a result of a series of military-diplomatic and economic steps and against the backdrop of the Second World War unfolding in Europe. Modern politicians also talk about incorporation as a softer option for joining. According to the former Latvian Foreign Minister Janis Jurkans, "It is the word incorporation that appears in the American-Baltic Charter."
Most foreign historians consider it an occupation
Scientists who deny the occupation point to the absence of hostilities between the USSR and the Baltic countries in 1940. Their opponents object that the definition of occupation does not necessarily imply war, for example, the occupation by Germany of Czechoslovakia in 1939 and Denmark in 1940 is considered.Baltic historians emphasize the facts of violation of democratic norms during the extraordinary parliamentary elections held at the same time in 1940 in all three states in the conditions of a significant Soviet military presence, as well as the fact that in the elections held on July 14 and 15, 1940 , only one list of candidates nominated by the Bloc of the Working People was allowed, and all other alternative lists were rejected.
Baltic sources believe that the election results were rigged and did not reflect the will of the people. For example, in an article posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, historian I. Feldmanis cites information that “In Moscow, the Soviet news agency TASS provided information about the mentioned election results already twelve hours before the counting of votes in Latvia began.” He also cites the opinion of Dietrich A. Loeber (Dietrich André Loeber) - a jurist and one of the former soldiers of the Abwehr sabotage and reconnaissance unit "Brandenburg 800" in 1941-1945 - that the annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was fundamentally illegal, since it is based for intervention and occupation. From this it is concluded that the decisions of the Baltic parliaments to join the USSR were predetermined.
Signing of the Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union
Here is how Vyacheslav Molotov himself spoke about this(quote from the book by F. Chuev "140 conversations with Molotov"):
“The question of the Baltic, Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and Bessarabia we decided with Ribbentrop in 1939. The Germans reluctantly agreed that we would annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Bessarabia. When a year later, in November 1940, I was in Berlin, Hitler asked me: “Well, you unite Ukrainians, Belarusians together, well, okay, Moldavians, this can still be explained, but how will you explain the Baltics to the whole world?”
I told him: "We will explain."
The communists and the peoples of the Baltic states spoke in favor of joining the Soviet Union. Their bourgeois leaders came to Moscow for negotiations, but they refused to sign the accession to the USSR. What were we to do? I must tell you a secret that I followed a very hard course. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia came to us in 1939, I told him: “You will not return back until you sign an accession to us.”
The Minister of War came to us from Estonia, I already forgot his last name, he was popular, we told him the same. We had to go to this extreme. And they did it pretty well, I think.
I said, "You're not going back until you sign the affiliation"
I presented it to you in a very rude way. So it was, but it was all done more delicately.
“But the first person to arrive might have warned the others,” I say.
And they had nowhere to go. You have to protect yourself somehow. When we made demands… It is necessary to take measures in time, otherwise it will be too late. They huddled back and forth, the bourgeois governments, of course, could not enter the socialist state with great pleasure. On the other hand, the international situation was such that they had to decide. They were located between two large states - Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. The situation is complex. So they hesitated, but they made up their minds. And we needed the Baltic States ...
With Poland, we could not do that. The Poles behaved irreconcilably. We negotiated with the British and French before talking with the Germans: if they do not interfere with our troops in Czechoslovakia and Poland, then, of course, things will go better for us. They refused, so we had to take measures, at least partial, we had to move the German troops away.
If we had not come out to meet the Germans in 1939, they would have occupied all of Poland up to the border. Therefore, we agreed with them. They should have agreed. This is their initiative - the Non-Aggression Pact. We couldn't defend Poland because she didn't want to deal with us. Well, since Poland does not want, and the war is on the nose, give us at least that part of Poland, which, we believe, unconditionally belongs to the Soviet Union.
And Leningrad had to be defended. We did not put the question to the Finns in the same way as to the Balts. We only talked about giving us part of the territory near Leningrad. from Vyborg. They behaved very stubbornly. I had a lot of conversations with Ambassador Paasikivi - then he became president. He spoke some Russian, but you can understand. He had a good library at home, he read Lenin. I understood that without an agreement with Russia they would not succeed. I felt that he wanted to meet us halfway, but there were many opponents.
- Finland was spared how! Cleverly acted that they did not attach to themselves. Would have a permanent wound. Not from Finland itself - this wound would give a reason to have something against the Soviet government ...
There people are very stubborn, very stubborn. There, a minority would be very dangerous.
And now, little by little, you can strengthen the relationship. It was not possible to make it democratic, just like Austria.
Khrushchev gave Porkkala Udd to the Finns. We would hardly give.
Of course, it was not worth spoiling relations with the Chinese because of Port Arthur. And the Chinese kept within the limits, did not raise their border territorial issues. But Khrushchev pushed ... "
Delegation at the Tallinn railway station: Tikhonova, Luristin, Keedro, Vares, Sare and Ruus.
Plan
Introduction
1 Background. 1930s
2 1939. The beginning of the war in Europe
3 Pacts of Mutual Assistance and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary
4 The entry of Soviet troops
5 The ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments
6 The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR
7 Consequences
8 Contemporary politics
9 Opinion of historians and political scientists
Bibliography
Accession of the Baltic states to the USSR
Introduction
Accession of the Baltic states to the USSR (1940) - the process of including the independent Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and most of the territory of modern Lithuania - into the USSR, carried out as a result of the signing of the USSR and Nazi Germany in August 1939 by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the treaty of friendship and border, whose secret protocols fixed the delimitation of the spheres of interest of these two powers in Eastern Europe.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania consider the actions of the USSR an occupation followed by an annexation. The Council of Europe in its resolutions characterized the process of the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR as occupation, forced incorporation and annexation. In 1983, the European Parliament condemned it as an occupation, and later (2007) used such concepts as "occupation" and "illegal incorporation" in this regard.
The text of the preamble to the 1991 Treaty on the Fundamentals of Interstate Relations between the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Republic of Lithuania contains the lines: " referring to the past events and actions that prevented the full and free exercise by each High Contracting Party of its state sovereignty, being confident that the elimination by the USSR of the consequences of the 1940 annexation that violate the sovereignty of Lithuania will create additional conditions of trust between the High Contracting Parties and their peoples»
The official position of the Russian Foreign Ministry is that the accession of the Baltic countries to the USSR complied with all the norms of international law as of 1940, and that the entry of these countries into the USSR received official international recognition. This position is based on the de facto recognition of the integrity of the borders of the USSR as of June 1941 at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences by the participating states, as well as on the recognition in 1975 of the inviolability of European borders by the participants of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
1. Background. 1930s
The Baltic states in the period between the two world wars became the object of the struggle of the great European powers (England, France and Germany) for influence in the region. In the first decade after the defeat of Germany in the First World War, there was a strong Anglo-French influence in the Baltic states, which later, from the beginning of the 1930s, began to interfere with the growing influence of neighboring Germany. He, in turn, tried to resist the Soviet leadership. By the end of the 1930s, the Third Reich and the USSR became the main rivals in the struggle for influence in the Baltics.
In December 1933, the governments of France and the USSR put forward a joint proposal to conclude an agreement on collective security and mutual assistance. Finland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were invited to join this treaty. The project named "Eastern Pact", was seen as a collective guarantee in the event of aggression by Nazi Germany. But Poland and Romania refused to join the alliance, the United States did not approve of the idea of a treaty, and England put forward a number of counter conditions, including the rearmament of Germany.
In the spring and summer of 1939, the USSR negotiated with England and France on the joint prevention of Italian-German aggression against European countries, and on April 17, 1939, invited England and France to undertake obligations to provide all kinds of assistance, including military, to Eastern European countries located between the Baltic and the Black Seas and bordering the Soviet Union, as well as to conclude an agreement for a period of 5-10 years on mutual assistance, including military, in the event of aggression in Europe against any of the contracting states (USSR, England and France).
Failure "Eastern Pact" was due to the difference in interests of the contracting parties. Thus, the Anglo-French missions received detailed secret instructions from their general staffs, which determined the goals and nature of the negotiations - the note of the French general staff said, in particular, that along with a number of political benefits that England and France would receive in connection with by the accession of the USSR, this would allow him to be drawn into the conflict: “it is not in our interests for him to remain out of the conflict, keeping his forces intact.” The Soviet Union, which considered at least two Baltic republics - Estonia and Latvia - as a sphere of its national interests, defended this position at the negotiations, but did not meet with understanding from the partners. As for the governments of the Baltic states themselves, they preferred guarantees from Germany, with which they were connected by a system of economic agreements and non-aggression pacts. According to Churchill, “An obstacle to the conclusion of such an agreement (with the USSR) was the horror that these same border states experienced before Soviet help in the form of Soviet armies that could pass through their territories to protect them from the Germans and, along the way, include them in the Soviet-Communist system. After all, they were the most violent opponents of this system. Poland, Romania, Finland and the three Baltic states did not know what they feared more - German aggression or Russian salvation.
Simultaneously with negotiations with Great Britain and France, the Soviet Union in the summer of 1939 stepped up steps towards rapprochement with Germany. The result of this policy was the signing on August 23, 1939 of a non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR. According to the secret additional protocols to the treaty, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and the east of Poland were included in the Soviet sphere of interests, Lithuania and the west of Poland - in the sphere of German interests); By the time the treaty was signed, the Klaipeda (Memel) region of Lithuania had already been occupied by Germany (March 1939).
2. 1939. The beginning of the war in Europe
The situation escalated on September 1, 1939 with the outbreak of World War II. Germany launched an invasion of Poland. On September 17, the USSR sent troops into Poland, declaring the Soviet-Polish non-aggression pact of July 25, 1932, invalid. On the same day, the states that were in diplomatic relations with the USSR (including the Baltic states) were handed a Soviet note stating that "in relations with them, the USSR will pursue a policy of neutrality."
The outbreak of war between neighboring states gave rise to fears in the Baltic states of being drawn into these events and prompted them to declare their neutrality. However, during the hostilities, a number of incidents occurred in which the Baltic countries were also involved - one of them was the entry on September 15 of the Polish submarine "Ozhel" into the Tallinn port, where she was interned at the request of Germany by the Estonian authorities, who began to dismantle her weapons. However, on the night of September 18, the crew of the submarine disarmed the guards and took her out to sea, while six torpedoes remained on board. The Soviet Union claimed that Estonia violated neutrality by providing shelter and assistance to a Polish submarine.
On September 19, Vyacheslav Molotov, on behalf of the Soviet leadership, blamed Estonia for this incident, saying that the Baltic Fleet was tasked with finding the submarine, since it could threaten Soviet shipping. This led to the actual establishment of a naval blockade of the Estonian coast.
On September 24, Estonian Foreign Minister K. Selter arrived in Moscow to sign the trade agreement. After discussing economic problems, Molotov turned to the problems of mutual security and proposed " conclude a military alliance or an agreement on mutual assistance, which at the same time would provide the Soviet Union with the right to have strongholds or bases for the fleet and aviation on the territory of Estonia". Selter attempted to evade discussion by invoking neutrality, but Molotov stated that " The Soviet Union needs to expand its security system, for which it needs access to the Baltic Sea. If you do not wish to conclude a pact of mutual assistance with us, then we will have to look for other ways to guarantee our security, perhaps more abrupt, perhaps more complicated. Please do not force us to use force against Estonia».
3. Pacts of Mutual Assistance and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary
As a result of the actual division of Polish territory between Germany and the USSR, the Soviet borders moved far to the west, and the USSR began to border on the third Baltic state - Lithuania. Initially, Germany intended to turn Lithuania into its protectorate, but on September 25, 1939, during the Soviet-German contacts "on the settlement of the Polish problem", the USSR proposed to start negotiations on Germany's renunciation of claims to Lithuania in exchange for the territories of the Warsaw and Lublin provinces. On this day, the German ambassador to the USSR, Count Schulenburg, sent a telegram to the German Foreign Ministry, in which he said that he had been summoned to the Kremlin, where Stalin pointed to this proposal as a subject for future negotiations and added that if Germany agreed, "the Soviet Union immediately will take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23 and expect the full support of the German government in this matter.
The situation in the Baltic states themselves was alarming and contradictory. Against the background of rumors about the impending Soviet-German division of the Baltic States, which were refuted by diplomats from both sides, part of the ruling circles of the Baltic states were ready to continue rapprochement with Germany, while many others were anti-German and counted on the help of the USSR in maintaining the balance of power in the region and national independence, while the underground left forces were ready to support joining the USSR.
April 15, 1795 Catherine II signed the Manifesto on the annexation of Lithuania and Courland to Russia
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russia and Zhamoi - this was the official name of the state that existed from the 13th century to 1795. Now on its territory are Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.
According to the most common version, the Lithuanian state was founded around 1240 by Prince Mindovg, who united the Lithuanian tribes and began to progressively annex the fragmented Russian principalities. This policy was continued by the descendants of Mindovg, especially the Grand Dukes Gediminas (1316 - 1341), Olgerd (1345 - 1377) and Vitovt (1392 - 1430). Under them, Lithuania annexed the lands of White, Black and Red Rus', and also conquered the mother of Russian cities, Kyiv, from the Tatars.
The official language of the Grand Duchy was Russian (this is how it was called in the documents, Ukrainian and Belarusian nationalists call it, respectively, "Old Ukrainian" and "Old Belarusian"). Since 1385, several unions have been concluded between Lithuania and Poland. The Lithuanian gentry began to adopt the Polish language, the Polish Coat of Arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania culture, to move from Orthodoxy to Catholicism. The local population was subjected to harassment on religious grounds.
Several centuries earlier than in Muscovite Rus', serfdom was introduced in Lithuania (following the example of the possessions of the Livonian Order): Orthodox Russian peasants became the personal property of the Polonized gentry, who converted to Catholicism. Religious uprisings flared in Lithuania, and the remaining Orthodox gentry appealed to Russia. In 1558, the Livonian War began.
During the Livonian War, suffering tangible defeats from the Russian troops, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569 went to the signing of the Union of Lublin: Ukraine completely departed from the Principality of Poland, and the lands of Lithuania and Belarus that remained in the Principality of the Principality were with Poland part of the confederate Commonwealth, submitting to foreign policy of Poland.
The results of the Livonian War of 1558-1583 consolidated the position of the Baltic States for a century and a half before the start of the Northern War of 1700-1721.
The accession of the Baltic States to Russia during the Northern War coincided with the implementation of the Petrine reforms. Then Livonia and Estonia became part of the Russian Empire. Peter I himself tried in a non-military way to establish relations with the local German nobility, the descendants of the German knights. Estonia and Vidzem were the first to be annexed - following the results of the war in 1721. And only 54 years later, following the results of the third section of the Commonwealth, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Duchy of Courland and Semigalle became part of the Russian Empire. This happened after Catherine II signed the manifesto of April 15, 1795.
After joining Russia, the Baltic nobility without any restrictions received the rights and privileges of the Russian nobility. Moreover, the Baltic Germans (mainly the descendants of German knights from the Livonia and Courland provinces) were, if not more influential, then at least no less influential than the Russians, nationality in the Empire: Catherine II's numerous dignitaries of the Empire were of Baltic origin. Catherine II carried out a number of administrative reforms regarding the administration of provinces, the rights of cities, where the independence of governors increased, but the actual power, in the realities of the time, was in the hands of the local, Baltic nobility.
By 1917, the Baltic lands were divided into Estland (center in Reval - now Tallinn), Livonia (center - Riga), Courland (center in Mitava - now Yelgava) and Vilna province (center in Vilna - now Vilnius). The provinces were characterized by a large mixture of population: by the beginning of the 20th century, about four million people lived in the provinces, about half of them were Lutherans, about a quarter were Catholics, and about 16% were Orthodox. The provinces were inhabited by Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Germans, Russians, Poles, in the Vilna province there was a relatively high proportion of the Jewish population. In the Russian Empire, the population of the Baltic provinces has never been subjected to any kind of discrimination. On the contrary, in the Estland and Livland provinces, serfdom was abolished, for example, much earlier than in the rest of Russia, already in 1819. Subject to the knowledge of the Russian language for the local population, there were no restrictions on admission to the civil service. The imperial government actively developed the local industry.
Riga shared with Kiev the right to be the third most important administrative, cultural and industrial center of the Empire after St. Petersburg and Moscow. With great respect, the tsarist government treated local customs and legal orders.
But the Russian-Baltic history, rich in traditions of good neighborliness, turned out to be powerless in the face of modern problems in relations between countries. In 1917 - 1920 the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) gained independence from Russia.
But already in 1940, after the conclusion of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, the inclusion of the Baltic states into the USSR followed.
In 1990, the Baltic states proclaimed the restoration of state sovereignty, and after the collapse of the USSR, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania received both de facto and legal independence.
A glorious story that Rus' received? Fascist marches?
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania gained independence after the 1917 revolution in Russia. But Soviet Russia and later the USSR never gave up trying to regain these territories. And according to the secret protocol to the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, in which these republics were assigned to the Soviet sphere of influence, the USSR got a chance to achieve this, which it did not fail to take advantage of. On September 28, 1939, a Soviet-Estonian mutual assistance pact was signed. A 25,000-strong Soviet military contingent was introduced into the territory of Estonia. Stalin told Selter on his departure from Moscow: “It could work out with you, as with Poland. Poland was a great power. Where is Poland now?
On October 2, 1939, Soviet-Latvian negotiations began. From Latvia, the USSR demanded access to the sea - through Liepaja and Ventspils. As a result, on October 5, an agreement on mutual assistance was signed for a period of 10 years, which provided for the entry of a 25,000-strong contingent of Soviet troops into Latvia. And on October 10, an "Agreement on the transfer of the city of Vilna and the Vilna region to the Republic of Lithuania and on mutual assistance between the Soviet Union and Lithuania" was signed with Lithuania.
On June 14, 1940, the Soviet government delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania, and on June 16 to Latvia and Estonia. In general terms, the meaning of the ultimatums coincided - the governments of these states were accused of gross violation of the terms of the Mutual Assistance Treaties concluded earlier with the USSR, and a demand was put forward to form governments capable of ensuring the implementation of these treaties, as well as to allow additional contingents of troops into the territory of these countries. The conditions were accepted.
Riga. The Soviet Army enters Latvia.
On June 15, additional contingents of Soviet troops were brought into Lithuania, and on June 17 - into Estonia and Latvia.
Lithuanian President A. Smetona insisted on organizing resistance to the Soviet troops, however, having been refused by most of the government, he fled to Germany, and his Latvian and Estonian colleagues - K. Ulmanis and K. Päts - began to cooperate with the new government (both were soon repressed) , as well as the Lithuanian Prime Minister A. Merkys. In all three countries, friendly USSR, but not communist governments were formed, headed, respectively, by J. Paleckis (Lithuania), I. Vares (Estonia) and A. Kirchenstein (Latvia).
The process of Sovietization of the Baltic countries was monitored by authorized governments of the USSR - Andrey Zhdanov (in Estonia), Andrey Vyshinsky (in Latvia) and Vladimir Dekanozov (in Lithuania).
The new governments lifted bans on communist parties and demonstrations and called early parliamentary elections. In the elections held on July 14 in all three states, the pro-communist Blocks (Unions) of the working people won - the only electoral lists admitted to the elections. According to official data, in Estonia the turnout was 84.1%, while 92.8% of the votes were cast for the Union of Working People, in Lithuania the turnout was 95.51%, of which 99.19% voted for the Union of Working People, in Latvia The turnout was 94.8%, with 97.8% of the votes cast for the Bloc of the Working People.
The newly elected parliaments already on July 21-22 proclaimed the creation of the Estonian SSR, the Latvian SSR and the Lithuanian SSR and adopted the Declaration on joining the USSR. On August 3-6, 1940, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, these republics were admitted to the Soviet Union.
The delegation of the Estonian State Duma returns from Moscow with good news about the admission of the republic to the USSR, August 1940.
Vares is received by comrades-in-arms: in uniform - the chief political officer of the Defense Forces, Keedro.
August 1940, the delegation of the newly elected Estonian State Duma in the Kremlin: Luus, Lauristin, Vares.
On the roof of the Moscow Hotel, the prime minister of the government formed after the Soviet ultimatum of June 1940, Vares and Foreign Minister Andersen.
Delegation at the Tallinn railway station: Tikhonova, Luristin, Keedro, Vares, Sare and Ruus.
Telman, couple Lauristin and Ruus.
Estonian workers at a demonstration demanding joining the USSR.
Welcoming Soviet ships in Riga.
The Saeima of Latvia welcomes the demonstrators.
Soldiers at a demonstration dedicated to the Soviet annexation of Latvia
Rally in Tallinn.
Welcoming the delegates of the Estonian Duma in Tallinn after the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union.
On June 14, 1941, the internal affairs bodies of the USSR, with the support of the Red Army and communist activists, deported 15,424 people from Latvia. 10,161 people were resettled and 5,263 were arrested. 46.5% of the deportees were women, 15% were children under 10 years old. The total number of dead victims of deportation was 4884 people (34% of the total), of which 341 people were shot.
Employees of the Estonian NKVD: in the center - Kimm, on the left - Jacobson, on the right - Riis.
One of the transport documents of the NKVD on the deportation of 1941, for 200 people.
Memorial plaque on the building of the Estonian government - to the highest officials of the Estonian state who died during the occupation.
In the early twenties of the XX century, as a result of the collapse of the former Russian Empire, the Baltic states gained sovereignty. Over the next few decades, the territory of the countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia became the site of the political struggle of the dominant European countries: Great Britain, France, Germany and the USSR.
When Latvia became part of the USSR
It is known that on August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact was signed between the heads of state of the USSR and Germany. The secret protocol of this document dealt with the division of areas of influence in Eastern Europe.
According to the treaty, the Soviet Union claimed the territory of the Baltic countries. This became possible due to territorial changes in the State Border, as part of Belarus joined the USSR.
The inclusion of the Baltic States in the USSR at that time is regarded as an important political task. For its positive solution, a whole range of diplomatic and military events was organized.
Officially, any accusations of a Soviet-German conspiracy were refuted by the diplomatic sides of both countries.
Mutual Assistance Pacts and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary
In the Baltic countries, the situation was tense and extremely alarming: rumors spread about the upcoming division of the territories belonging to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, and there was no official information from the governments of the states. But the movement of the military did not go unnoticed by the locals, and brought additional anxiety.
There was a split in the government of the Baltic States: some were ready to sacrifice power for Germany, to accept this country as a friendly one, others expressed the opinion about continuing relations with the USSR on the condition of preserving the sovereignty of their people, and still others hoped to join the Soviet Union.
The sequence of events:
- On September 28, 1939, a mutual assistance pact was signed between Estonia and the USSR. The agreement stipulated the appearance of Soviet military bases on the territory of the Baltic country with the deployment of soldiers on them.
- At the same time, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Germany "On Friendship and Borders". The secret protocol changed the conditions for the division of spheres of influence: Lithuania came under the influence of the USSR, Germany "got" part of the Polish lands.
- 10/02/1939 - the beginning of a dialogue with Latvia. The main requirement is: access to the sea through several convenient seaports.
- On 10/05/1939, an agreement was reached on mutual assistance for a period of one decade, it also provided for the entry of Soviet troops.
- On the same day, Finland received a proposal from the Soviet Union to consider such a treaty. After 6 days, a dialogue began, but it was not possible to reach a compromise, Finland was refused. This was the unspoken reason that led to the Soviet-Finnish war.
- On October 10, 1939, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Lithuania (for a period of 15 years with the mandatory entry of twenty thousand soldiers).
After the conclusion of agreements with the Baltic countries, the Soviet government began to make demands on the activities of the union of the Baltic countries, to insist on the dissolution of the political coalition as having an anti-Soviet orientation.
In accordance with the pact concluded between the countries, Latvia undertook to provide the opportunity to deploy Soviet soldiers on its territory in an amount comparable to the size of its army, which amounted to 25 thousand people.
Ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments
In the early summer of 1940, the Moscow government received verified information about the desire of the Baltic heads of state to "surrender into the hands of Germany", enter into an agreement with her and, after waiting for an opportune moment, defeat the military bases of the USSR.
The next day, under the guise of exercises, all the armies were alerted and moved to the borders of the Baltic countries.
In mid-June 1940, the Soviet government issued ultimatums to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. The main meaning of the documents was similar: the current government was accused of gross violation of bilateral agreements, a demand was put forward to make changes in the personnel of leaders, as well as to introduce additional troops. The conditions were accepted.
The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR
The elected governments of the Baltic countries allowed demonstrations, the activities of communist parties, released most political prisoners, and set the date for early elections.
Elections were held on July 14, 1940. In the electoral lists admitted to the elections, only the pro-communist Unions of the working people appeared. According to historians, the voting procedure took place with serious violations, including falsification.
A week later, the newly elected parliaments adopted a Declaration on joining the USSR. From the third to the sixth of August of the same year, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Council of the republic, they were admitted to the Soviet Union.
Consequences
The moment the Baltic countries joined the Soviet Union was marked by the beginning of economic restructuring: rising prices due to the transition from one currency to another, nationalization, collectivization of the republics. But one of the most terrible tragedies affecting the Baltics is the time of repression.
Persecution swept the intelligentsia, the clergy, wealthy peasants, and former politicians. Before the beginning of the Patriotic War, the unreliable population was expelled from the republic, most of which died.
Conclusion
Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, relations between the USSR and the Baltic republics were ambiguous. Anxiety was added by punitive measures, exacerbating the difficult situation.
