Disinsection
From the Estonian SSR to modern Estonia: what has changed. Estonia and the Baltic countries: were they part of the USSR and what are the consequences of this stay? Was Estonia in the USSR

From the Estonian SSR to modern Estonia: what has changed. Estonia and the Baltic countries: were they part of the USSR and what are the consequences of this stay? Was Estonia in the USSR

A quarter of a century has passed since Estonia finally turned from the Estonian SSR into the Republic of Estonia. It's time to sum up some results - what has changed in our lives and in what direction? Without claiming to be the ultimate truth, let's compare.

Labor sphere

There was no unemployment in the Estonian SSR, and any person who was fundamentally unemployed was considered a parasite, to whom measures of state and social influence were applied. That is why many creative people were forced to officially work somewhere as janitors and storekeepers. At the same time, universal labor employment allowed everyone to have at least some income and social benefits, sometimes surpassing the basic income itself in value. Social benefits included free trade union vouchers for sanatorium or resort vacations, pioneer camps for children, free education at all levels, free medicine, and much more.

There is unemployment in modern Estonia. Compared to other European countries, it is relatively small, but it keeps almost any worker in suspense. The current legislation makes it quite easy to dismiss an employee, and the trade union movement in modern Estonia (unlike neighboring Scandinavia) is in its infancy, playing almost no role in making important decisions. government decisions relating to the interests of employees.

Job loss often turns into a personal tragedy for people, as it threatens with the possibility of eviction from the apartment, loss of health insurance and many other troubles.

pension system

The pension system has also changed over a quarter of a century. If before a woman could retire at 55, and men at 60, now the retirement age tends to be 65, regardless of gender. Even though the size of pensions has increased in numbers, it still does not allow pensioners to feel as at ease as they did in Soviet times.

Communal sphere

What has definitely improved over a quarter of a century is the public sector. Many people who lived under the ESSR remember shabby, falling apart residential buildings with dirty entrances, broken mailboxes and never-closing doors. Decent refurbished homes were the exception rather than the rule at the time. Now the opposite is true - most of the houses in Estonia have been repaired and are in a very good condition. Just like the roads. Of course, potholes can sometimes be found even now, but their number cannot be compared with what it was during the times of the Estonian SSR.

Freedom of movement

With independence, and then the country's accession to the EU, the inhabitants of Estonia also gained greater freedom of movement - not only within the territory of the USSR, as it was before. However, for many, this freedom has become unaffordable. At the same time, the eastern border was closed, as a result of which residents of the country appeared who had never been in neighboring Russia in their lives. Some do not want to apply for visas, some are influenced by ideological "brainwashing", some are forbidden to go there on duty. At the same time, ties with Russia are also being cut off among Russian-speaking residents of Estonia.

Press

Numerous newspapers and magazines were published in the Estonian SSR, both in Estonian and in Russian. At the moment, there are no local daily Russian-language newspapers left in the Republic of Estonia, and the remaining weeklies and several magazines are reprints from the Estonian press or offer purely entertainment content.

The emergence of the Internet made it possible to partially close the gap. Although, along with the loss of their own full-fledged press, the Russian-speaking population of Estonia also lost a significant part of its influence on the processes taking place in the country.

Citizenship

25 years ago, all residents of the Estonian SSR had the same passports of citizens of the USSR.

With independence, it was decided to grant the citizenship of the Republic of Estonia only to the descendants of citizens who lived in the country before 1940. The rest (mostly Russian-speaking residents) in order to obtain an Estonian passport had to pass exams in the Estonian language and knowledge of the Constitution and go through the naturalization process. Those who did not wish to do so received aliens' passports (the so-called gray passports) or citizenship Russian Federation. The issue of stateless people in Estonia has not yet been resolved.

Office work and education

Office work at enterprises and government agencies of the Estonian SSR was carried out in two languages - Estonian and Russian. Moreover, without the obligation of indispensable translation of documents into a particular language. Among the leading workers of the ESSR, the proportion of Estonians and non-Estonians approximately corresponded to the national composition of the population of the republic. In today's Estonia, the number of non-Estonians among the leadership of state bodies is within the limits of statistical error.

Secondary education in the ESSR was compulsory and, depending on the native language of the students, was given in full in Estonian or Russian. There was also a Russian-language higher education in the republic, although not in all specialties. Some departments of the University of Tartu, for example, recruited exclusively Estonian-speaking groups, while Russian-speaking applicants were offered to go to study at universities in other union republics.

Now higher education Russian as such no longer exists in Estonia, and Russian-language schools are increasingly being converted to Estonian as the language of instruction.

Products and prices

Since 1991, we have managed to forget about such a concept as "deficit", which was an indispensable companion of a resident of Soviet Estonia. The range of goods over the years has expanded many times, however, to replace many natural products came artificial substitutes.

It is rather difficult to compare prices in the ESSR and the modern Republic of Estonia, as people's priorities and the structure of the economy have changed. In addition, there are many methods for transferring Soviet rubles to current euros. One of the most popular equates 1 Soviet ruble to about 10 euros. If we take this technique as a basis, then we get a rather interesting picture. A quarter of a century ago, a taxi ride in the Estonian SSR cost 20 kopecks per kilometer. The landing cost the same. When converted into euros, this turns out to be 2 euros per landing and 2 euros per kilometer, that is, it is obvious that taxis were more expensive under the Estonian SSR.

At the same time, the average rent for a two-room apartment in a panel house was 10-15 rubles per month (100-150 euros), regardless of the season. That is, the apartment was cheaper. And if we add to this that the apartments themselves (albeit in a long line) were received free of charge, then they did not have a burden in the form of a housing loan, which now hangs like a long-term burden on almost every modern Estonian family.

Under the Estonian SSR, a box of matches cost 1 kopeck (10 euro cents), a ticket for public transport in Tallinn 5 kopecks (50 euro cents). The average monthly salary of an employee ranged from 90 to 150 rubles (900-1500 euros), a worker - from 100 to 350 rubles (1000-3500 euros). Plus, there were additional payments, bonuses and thirteenth salaries. The average pension under the Estonian SSR ranged from 70 to 120 rubles (700-1200 euros). In terms of the latest figures, current pensioners can only envy.

Cars

The Soviet automobile industry, which consisted mainly of several modifications of the Zhiguli (VAZ), Volga (GAZ) and Moskvich (AZLK-IZH) brands, was replaced by comfortable Western cars. At first, these were old used foreign cars, and with the arrival of Scandinavian banks on the Estonian market and the opening of an era of cheap loans, they were the latest achievements of the global auto industry.

freedom of speech

Speaking about the Soviet era, it is customary to recall the persecution of dissent. Indeed, the state security agencies were vigilant to ensure that citizens did not greatly sin against the Soviet order. Although the kitchens reigned absolute freedom self-expression.

In today's Estonia, everyone is free to express their opinion. At the same time, even now, the local special services are vigilantly watching the speeches, publishing lists of "enemies of the people" in their yearbooks. Plus, those who criticize the current authorities are often pressured through the pro-state media, relatives and private businesses associated with them. In other words, not much has changed in this area.

The story goes on

Over the past quarter of a century, the world and the people themselves have changed. Some were good in the past, some are better now. For some, nostalgia for youth is important, for others, current prospects are more expensive. If you ask what time it is better to live - now or 25 years ago, then the answer is unequivocal - now. Only because we are in this time and create our own history.

In December 1933, the governments of France and the USSR jointly put forward a proposal for an agreement on collective security and mutual assistance. Offers were made to join the treaty with Finland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The draft treaty was called the Eastern Pact. It was considered as a collective guarantee in case of aggression from Nazi Germany. But Poland and Romania refused to join the alliance, the United States did not approve the idea of a treaty, and England put forward a number of counter conditions, including the rearmament of Germany. On March 21, 1939, the idea of an "Eastern Pact" was discussed again.

In March 1939, the USSR negotiated with England and France, realizing the real danger of the impending war. As a basis for negotiations, the USSR proposed measures to jointly prevent the Italo-German aggression against European countries and put forward April 17, 1939. the following provisions obliging (USSR, England and France): to provide all kinds of assistance, including military, to Eastern European countries located between the Baltic and Black Seas and bordering on Soviet Union; conclude for a period of 5-10 years an agreement on mutual assistance, including military, in the event of aggression in Europe against any of the contracting states (USSR, England and France).

The reason for the failure of the "Eastern Pact" was in the various interests of the contracting parties, 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 that, along with a number of political benefits that England and France would receive in connection with the accession of the USSR, it "would involve the USSR in the conflict; it is not in our interests for him to remain out of the conflict, keeping his forces intact." The draft treaty proposed by the USSR included the concept of "indirect aggression", which assumed the right of the USSR to send troops to border states if it considered that their policy was directed against the USSR. This was regarded in the Baltic capitals, as well as in London and Paris, as an intention to occupy the limitrophes. For their part, the Baltic states categorically refused Soviet "assistance", declared their strictest neutrality and announced that any guarantees given to them without their request would be considered as an act of aggression. According to Churchill, “An obstacle to concluding 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 simultaneously 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.

In parallel with negotiations with England and France, the USSR also conducted secret negotiations with Germany. On August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact was signed between Germany and the Soviet Union. According to the secret additional protocol, which determined the delimitation of spheres of interest, Estonia also entered the sphere of interests of the USSR.

With the outbreak of World War II, Estonia declared its neutrality. But 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 port of Tallinn, where she was interned by the Estonian authorities, who began dismantling her weapons. However, on September 17, 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 at the invitation of the Soviet government. The official reason for the visit was the negotiation of a trade agreement, including the transit of Soviet cargo through Estonia to Germany. However, after the discussion of the trade agreement, Molotov raised the issue of the Polish submarine, stating that Estonia had repaired and armed the boat, thereby violating neutrality in favor of Poland, and then in an ultimatum form demanded the conclusion of a mutual assistance pact, which would also "ensure the Soviet Union the right to have strongholds or bases for the fleet and aviation on the territory of Estonia." Molotov said that the Soviet Union needed access to the Baltic Sea to strengthen security: “If you do not wish to conclude a mutual assistance pact with us, then we will have to use other ways to guarantee our security, perhaps steeper ones.”

On September 25, the German ambassador to the USSR, Count Schulenburg, was summoned to the Kremlin, where Stalin informed him that "the Soviet Union will immediately take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23."

Meanwhile, on the Soviet border with Estonia and Latvia, a Soviet military group was being created, which included the forces of the 8th Army (Kingisepp direction, Leningrad Military District), 7th Army (Pskov direction, Kalinin Military District) and 3rd Army (Belarusian Front).

In conditions when Latvia and Finland refused to provide Estonia with support, England and France (which were at war with Germany) were not able to provide it, and Germany recommended accepting the Soviet proposal, the Estonian government entered into negotiations in Moscow, as a result of which a Mutual Assistance Pact was concluded on September 28, providing for the deployment of Soviet military bases and a 25,000-strong Soviet contingent in Estonia.

In 1940, additional contingents of Soviet troops were introduced. On the territory of Estonia, military bases of the USSR were created, on which 25,000 soldiers were stationed. On June 10, combat readiness was declared at Soviet bases in Estonia. On June 14, a military and naval blockade of the Baltic states was declared. On June 14, Soviet planes shot down a plane of a Finnish airline that took off from Tallinn over the Gulf of Finland.

On June 16, Molotov handed the Estonian ambassador an ultimatum note in which he demanded the immediate entry into Estonia of an additional contingent of Soviet troops numbering 90,000 people and the removal of the government, otherwise threatening the occupation of Estonia. Päts accepted the ultimatum.

On June 17, 1940, Soviet troops entered Tallinn; at the same time ships stood in the road Baltic Fleet and an amphibious assault was landed. The Soviet military authorities banned public gatherings, gatherings, outdoor photography; weapons were confiscated from the population within 24 hours. On June 18, Bochkarev, an adviser to the Soviet embassy, named the first members of the new pro-Soviet Estonian government. Subsequent events were led by A. A. Zhdanov, authorized by the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks for Estonia, who arrived in Tallinn on June 19. On June 21, he dictated to Päts the composition of the new cabinet, headed by the poet Johannes Vares (Barbarus), who adhered to leftist views and soon joined the Communist Party. Zhdanov also demanded that the appointment of a new government be accompanied by "demonstrations of support", which were organized; according to evidence, the demonstrations were accompanied by Soviet armored cars. In fact, the leadership of the country was carried out by the embassy of the USSR. The NKVD arrived from Leningrad to Tallinn.

Accession of the Baltic states to the USSR: truth and lies

Arrests and deportations of citizens of the Republic of Estonia began, including those actively opposed to the Soviet regime. Following this, Zhdanov ordered elections to the Riigikogu to be held within nine days.

By a decree of Päts of July 5, extraordinary elections to the Riigikogu were scheduled for July 14, 1940. According to official data, 591,030 citizens, or 84.1% of the total number of voters, took part in the elections. 548,631 people, or 92.8% of those who voted, voted for the candidates of the Union of Working People (candidates of other parties were not registered). According to some Russian and Estonian historians, the elections were held in violation of existing laws, including the constitution, and the results were falsified.

On July 11, 1940 (even before the formal incorporation of Estonia into the USSR), an order was issued by People's Commissar of Defense Marshal S. K. Timoshenko No. 0141, according to which by July 31, 1940 the territory of Estonia was to be included in the Leningrad Military District.

On July 21, the first session of the Riigikogu of the new convocation adopted a decision on the establishment of Soviet power in the country and the formation of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. On July 22, a declaration was adopted on the entry of Estonia into the USSR. The Riigikogu addressed the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a corresponding request. On the same day, President Konstantin Päts filed a petition for his release from the presidency, which was granted. The powers of the President, in accordance with the Constitution, passed to the Prime Minister. On July 30, Päts was deported to Bashkiria.

On August 6, 1940, the VII session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a resolution on the admission of the Estonian SSR to the USSR.

A number of 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. Despite the entry of Estonia into the Soviet Union, some states (USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Ireland, the Vatican, etc.) continued to de jure recognize the Republic of Estonia as an independent state, its foreign representations existed in the United States and Great Britain. In the initial period after the establishment of independence, these diplomatic missions played an important role in restoring ties between the recreated Estonian Republic and its allies among the Western countries. Many historians believe that these treaties were adopted in the face of a military threat. According to the official Russian interpretation, the entry of Soviet troops cannot be called an occupation, since the decision to join the Baltic countries to the USSR in 1940 was legally correct and the entry of troops was carried out in accordance with an agreement between the Soviet Union and Estonia. Thus, it is impossible to assert that there was an unconditional fact of occupation. It would be more correct to discuss the question of the incorporation or annexation of the territory of Estonia by the Soviet Union.

According to the “Report of the Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity under the President of Estonia”, published in 2001, during the year before the start of the war between the Soviet Union and Germany (22 June 1941), about 7,000 people were arrested in Estonia, of which at least 1,850 were executed, mainly on charges of anti-Soviet activities. 800 regular Estonian officers were arrested - half of the staff. But according to data received from the NKVD (declassified), the total number of those arrested for 6 years (that is, until 1947) was no more than 6,500 people, 75 percent of whom were arrested during the war that had already begun. And approximately 1500-2000 people of the total were sentenced to death.

This number of executed (1850 people) is mentioned in the German propaganda material published during the German occupation - "Zentralstelle zur Erfassung der Verschleppten". Subsequent Estonian sources indicate that about 300 people were executed in Estonia, about 150 of them during the indicated period - before the start of the war. The composition of the crime, sentenced to capital punishment, was further specified. According to the report of the international commission, it was different: anti-Soviet activities, arrests and executions of communists in independent Estonia, war crimes during the years civil war, desertion hiding in Estonia - who served in the Red Army, participation in the White Guard organizations, intelligence activities against the USSR until 1940. It is worth noting that the majority of the Russians living in Estonia by that time were White Guards or their descendants, so almost all the remaining Russians in Estonia were repressed in 1940-1941.

On June 14, 1941, according to a note from the People's Commissar of the NKGB Merkulov, 5978 people were sent to settlements in remote areas of the Soviet Union and 3178 were arrested. According to modern researchers, 6328 people were sent to settlements (and after subtracting losses along the way - 6284 people); in total, 10,016 people were sent from Estonia to the settlement and to the prisoner of war camps.

According to the official wording, the expulsion was carried out “due to the presence in the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian SSR of a significant number of former members of various counter-revolutionary nationalist parties, former policemen, gendarmes, landowners, manufacturers, high-ranking officials of the former state apparatus of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and other persons engaged in subversive anti-Soviet work and used by foreign intelligence services for espionage purposes.” In Estonian historiography, the expulsion is regarded as the destruction of the elite of the Estonian people. Estonian Ambassador to the Russian Federation Tiit Matsulevich: “On June 14, 1941, more than 10 thousand people were taken out of our country ... These ten thousand were actually the elite of the country’s population, which at that time numbered a little over a million inhabitants”

As stated on the website of the Estonian embassy in Russia, “during the deportation, men were separated from women and children: men were sent to prison camps, and women were exiled to remote areas of the Kirov and Novosibirsk regions. The vast majority of men died in the camps. In particular, by the spring of 1942, out of 3,500 men sent to the Siberian camps, several hundred remained alive.

The Estonian army was reorganized into the 22nd Rifle Corps (two divisions), commanded by Major General Gustav Jonson, the former commander of the armed forces of the Republic of Estonia (repressed after the start of the war).

Why the USSR occupied the Baltic states

Many historians characterize this process as occupation, others as incorporation 72 years ago

According to the secret protocols to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 23, 1939 and the Soviet-German Treaty of Friendship and Border of September 28, 1939, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia fell into the "Soviet sphere of interests." At the end of September - beginning of October, treaties of mutual assistance with the USSR were imposed on these countries, and Soviet military bases were established in them. Stalin was in no hurry to join the Baltic states. He considered this issue in the context of a future Soviet-German war. Germany and its allies were named as the main adversaries.

Boris SOKOLOV, Private Correspondent

They were named already at the end of February 1940 in a directive to the Soviet Navy.

In order to untie his hands by the time the German offensive began in France, Stalin hastily ended the Finnish war with a compromise Moscow peace and transferred the liberated troops to the western border districts, where Soviet troops had almost a tenfold superiority over the 12 weak German divisions that remained in the east. In the hope of defeating Germany, which, as Stalin thought, would get stuck on the Maginot Line, as the Red Army got stuck on the Mannerheim Line, the occupation of the Baltic could be delayed. However, the rapid collapse of France forced the Soviet dictator to postpone the march to the West and turn to the occupation and annexation of the Baltic countries, which now could not be prevented by either England and France, or Germany, busy finishing off France.

Molotov signs the famous pact. This is the beginning of the end of the Baltics

As early as June 3, 1940, Soviet troops stationed on the territory of the Baltic states were withdrawn from the subordination of the Belorussian, Kalinin and Leningrad military districts and directly subordinated to the people's commissar of defense. However, this event can be considered both in the context of preparations for the future military occupation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and in connection with the plans for an attack on Germany that have not yet been fully abandoned - the troops stationed in the Baltic states should not have participated in this attack, at least at the first stage. Soviet divisions against the Baltic states were deployed at the end of September 1939, so that special military preparations for the occupation were no longer required.

On June 8, 1940, the Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vladimir Dekanozov and the Estonian envoy in Moscow, August Rei, signed a secret agreement on the general administrative conditions for the stay of the USSR Armed Forces in Estonia. This agreement confirmed that the parties "will proceed from the principle of mutual respect for sovereignty" and that the movement of Soviet troops on Estonian territory is carried out only upon prior notification by the Soviet command of the heads of the respective military districts of Estonia. There was no talk of any introduction of additional troops in the agreement. However, after June 8, no longer doubting that the surrender of France was a matter of a few days, Stalin decided to postpone the speech against Hitler to the 41st year and occupy himself with the occupation and annexation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as well as take Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina from Romania.

On the evening of June 14, an ultimatum on the introduction of additional contingents of troops and the formation of a pro-Soviet government was presented to Lithuania. The next day, Soviet troops attacked the Latvian border guards, and on June 16, the same ultimatums as to Lithuania were presented to Latvia and Estonia. Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn recognized the resistance as hopeless and accepted the ultimatums.

Accession of Estonia to the USSR

True, in Lithuania, President Antanas Smetona advocated armed resistance to aggression, but was not supported by the majority of the cabinet and fled to Germany. From 6 to 9 Soviet divisions were introduced into each of the countries (previously, each country had a rifle division and a tank brigade). There was no resistance. The creation of pro-Soviet governments on Red Army bayonets was presented by Soviet propaganda as "people's revolutions", which were given out as demonstrations with the seizure of government buildings, organized by local communists with the help of Soviet troops. These "revolutions" were carried out under the supervision of the representatives of the Soviet government: Vladimir Dekanozov in Lithuania, Andrei Vyshinsky in Latvia and Andrei Zhdanov in Estonia.

Tallinn. A group of demonstrators in national costumes during a demonstration dedicated to the entry of Estonia into the USSR. 1940 // Itar-TASS

When they say that it is impossible to talk about the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, they mean that the occupation is a temporary occupation of the territory during hostilities, and in this case there were no hostilities, and very soon Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia became Soviet republics. But at the same time, they deliberately forget about the simplest and most fundamental meaning of the word "occupation" - the seizure of a given territory by another state against the will of the population inhabiting it and (or) the existing state power. A similar definition is given, for example, in explanatory dictionary Russian language of Sergey Ozhegov: “Occupation of foreign territory by military force”. Here, by military force is clearly meant not only the war itself, but also the threat of the use of military force. It is in this capacity that the word "occupation" is used in the verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal. What matters in this case is not the temporary nature of the act of occupation itself, but its unlawfulness.

And in principle, the occupation and annexation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in 1940, carried out by the USSR with the threat of the use of force, but without direct hostilities, does not differ from exactly the same "peaceful" occupation by Nazi Germany of Austria in 1938, the Czech Republic in 1939 and Denmark in 1940. The governments of these countries, as well as the governments of the Baltic countries, decided that resistance was hopeless and therefore they had to submit to force in order to save their peoples from destruction. At the same time, in Austria, the overwhelming majority of the population since 1918 has been a supporter of the Anschluss, which, however, does not make the Anschluss, carried out in 1938 under the threat of force, a legal act.

Similarly, the mere threat of force carried out when the Baltic states joined the USSR makes this accession illegal, not to mention the fact that all subsequent elections here until the end of the 1980s were an outright farce. The first elections to the so-called people's parliaments were held already in mid-July 1940, only 10 days were allotted for the election campaigns, and it was possible to vote only for the pro-communist "bloc" (in Latvia) and "unions" (in Lithuania and Estonia) of the "working people". Zhdanov, for example, dictated the following remarkable instruction to the Estonian CEC: “Standing on the defense of the existing state and public order that prohibits the activities of organizations and groups hostile to the people, the Central Election Commission considers itself not entitled to register candidates who do not represent a platform or who present a platform that runs counter to the interests of the Estonian state and people” (a draft written by Zhdanov’s hand was preserved in the archive).

Soviet troops enter Riga (1940)

In Moscow, the results of these elections, in which the Communists received from 93 to 99% of the votes, were made public before the counting of votes was completed in the localities. But the Communists were forbidden to put forward slogans about joining the USSR, about expropriating private property, although at the end of June Molotov directly told the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania that "Lithuania's joining the Soviet Union is a settled matter", and consoled the poor fellow that after Lithuania the turn of Latvia and Estonia would certainly come. And the first decision of the new parliaments was precisely the appeal for admission to the USSR. On August 3, 5 and 6, 1940, the requests of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were granted.

In the Baltic countries, the entry of Soviet troops and the subsequent annexation was supported only by a part of the indigenous Russian-speaking population, as well as by the majority of Jews who saw Stalin as a defense against Hitler. Demonstrations in support of the occupation were organized with the help of Soviet troops ...

Yes, there were authoritarian regimes in the Baltic countries, but the regimes were soft, unlike the Soviet one, they did not kill their opponents and retained freedom of speech to a certain extent. In Estonia, for example, in 1940 there were only 27 political prisoners, and the local communist parties collectively numbered several hundred members. The main part of the population of the Baltic countries did not support either the Soviet military occupation, or, to an even greater extent, the elimination of national statehood.

Forest brothers - Lithuanian partisans

This is proven by creating partisan detachments"forest brothers", who, with the beginning of the Soviet-German war, launched active operations against the Soviet troops and were able to independently occupy some large cities, such as Kaunas and part of Tartu. And after the war, the movement of armed resistance to the Soviet occupation in the Baltic States continued until the beginning of the 50s ...

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Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia 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.

Implementing the Soviet-German secret agreements, the Soviet Union in the autumn of 1939 began preparations for the annexation of the Baltic countries. After the Red Army occupied the eastern provinces in Poland, the USSR began to border on all the Baltic states. Soviet troops were moved to the borders of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. At the end of September, these countries were offered, in an ultimatum form, to conclude treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with the USSR. On September 24, Molotov told Estonian Foreign Minister Karl Selter, who arrived in Moscow: “The Soviet Union needs an expansion of its security system, for which it needs access to the Baltic Sea ... Do not force the Soviet Union to use force in order to achieve its goals.”

On September 25, Stalin informed the German ambassador, Count Friedrich-Werner von der Schulenburg, that "the Soviet Union will immediately take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23."

Mutual assistance treaties with the Baltic states were concluded under the threat of the use of force.

On September 28, 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 5, a mutual assistance pact was signed with Latvia. A 25,000-strong Soviet military contingent entered the country.

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. When Lithuanian Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys declared that the proposed terms of the treaty were tantamount to the occupation of Lithuania, Stalin countered that “the Soviet Union does not intend to threaten the independence of Lithuania. Vice versa. The introduction of Soviet troops will be a genuine guarantee for Lithuania that the Soviet Union will protect it in the event of an attack, so that the troops will serve the security of Lithuania itself. And he added with a grin: "Our garrisons will help you put down the communist uprising if it happens in Lithuania." 20 thousand Red Army soldiers also entered Lithuania.

After Germany defeated France with lightning speed in May 1940, Stalin decided to expedite the annexation of the Baltic states and Bessarabia. On June 4, strong groupings of Soviet troops under the guise of exercises began to advance to the borders of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. On June 14, Lithuania, and on June 16, Latvia and Estonia were presented with ultimatums of a similar content with the requirement to allow significant Soviet military contingents, 9-12 divisions in each of the countries, to enter their territory and form new, pro-Soviet governments with the participation of the Communists, although the number of Communist parties in each of the republics was 100-200 people. The pretext for the ultimatums was provocations allegedly carried out against the Soviet troops stationed in the Baltic states. But this pretext was sewn with white thread. It was alleged, for example, that the Lithuanian police kidnapped two Soviet tankers, Shmovgonets and Nosov. But already on May 27, they returned to their unit and stated that they were kept in the basement for a day, trying to get information about the Soviet tank brigade. At the same time, Nosov mysteriously turned into Pisarev.

The ultimatums were accepted. On June 15, Soviet troops entered Lithuania, and on June 17 they entered Latvia and Estonia. In Lithuania, President Antanas Smetana demanded to reject the ultimatum and show armed resistance, but, not having received the support of the majority of the cabinet, he fled to Germany.

From 6 to 9 Soviet divisions were introduced into each of the countries (previously, each country had a rifle division and a tank brigade). There was no resistance. The creation of pro-Soviet governments on Red Army bayonets was presented by Soviet propaganda as "people's revolutions", which were given out as demonstrations with the seizure of government buildings, organized by local communists with the help of Soviet troops. These "revolutions" were carried out under the supervision of the representatives of the Soviet government: Vladimir Dekanozov in Lithuania, Andrei Vyshinsky in Latvia and Andrei Zhdanov in Estonia.

The armies of the Baltic states could not really offer armed resistance to Soviet aggression either in the autumn of 1939, or even more so in the summer of 1940. In the three countries, in the event of mobilization, 360,000 people could be put under arms. However, unlike Finland, the Baltics did not have their own military industry, there were not even sufficient stocks of small arms to arm so many people. If Finland could also receive supplies of weapons and military equipment through Sweden and Norway, then the way to the Baltic States through the Baltic Sea was closed by the Soviet fleet, and Germany complied with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and refused to help the Baltic states. In addition, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia did not have border fortifications, and their territory was much more accessible for invasion than the territory of Finland covered with forests and swamps.

The new pro-Soviet governments held elections to local parliaments on the principle of one candidate from an unbreakable bloc of non-partisans per seat. Moreover, this bloc in all three Baltic states was called the same - "Union of the working people", and the elections were held on the same day - July 14th. People in civilian clothes who were present at the polling stations took note of those who crossed out candidates or threw empty ballots into the ballot boxes. The Nobel laureate Polish writer Czeslaw Milosz, who was in Lithuania at that time, recalled: “It was possible to vote in elections for the only official list"working people" - with the same programs in all three republics. I had to vote, as each voter was stamped in his passport. The absence of a stamp certifies that the owner of the passport is an enemy of the people who evaded the elections and thereby revealed his enemy essence. Naturally, the Communists received more than 90% of the votes in all three republics - 92.8% in Estonia, 97% in Latvia, and even 99% in Lithuania! The turnout was also impressive - 84% in Estonia, 95% in Latvia and 95.5% in Lithuania.

Not surprisingly, on July 21-22, three parliaments approved a declaration on Estonia's entry into the USSR. By the way, all these acts contradicted the constitutions of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which stated that the issues of independence and changes in the state system can only be resolved through a popular referendum. But in Moscow they were in a hurry to annex the Baltic States and did not pay attention to formalities. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR satisfied the appeals written in Moscow for admission to the Union of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the period from 3 to 6 August 1940.

At first, many Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians saw the Red Army as a defense against German aggression. The workers were happy to reopen businesses that had been dormant due to the World War and the resulting crisis. However, soon, already in November 1940, the population of the Baltic states was completely ruined. Then local currencies were equated to the ruble at sharply undervalued rates. Also, the nationalization of industry and trade led to inflation and a shortage of goods. The redistribution of land from the more prosperous to the poorest peasants, the forced relocation of farmers to villages, and repressions against the clergy and intelligentsia provoked armed resistance. Detachments of "forest brothers" appeared, so named in memory of the rebels of 1905.

And already in August 1940, the deportations of Jews and other national minorities began, and on June 14, 1941, the turn came to Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians. 10 thousand people were deported from Estonia, 17.5 thousand people from Lithuania and 16.9 thousand 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.

The capture of the Baltic countries by the Soviet Union was fundamentally no different from the German capture of Austria in 1938, Czechoslovakia in 1939 and Luxembourg and Denmark in 1940, also carried out peacefully. The fact of occupation (in the sense of the seizure of territory against the will of the population of these countries), which was a violation of international law and an act of aggression, was recognized as a crime at the Nuremberg trials and imputed to the main Nazi war criminals. As in the case of the Baltic states, the Anschluss of Austria was preceded by an ultimatum to establish a pro-German government in Vienna, headed by the Nazi Seyss-Inquart. And already it invited German troops to Austria, which previously were not in the country at all. The annexation of Austria was carried out in such a way that it was immediately incorporated into the Reich and divided into several Reichsgau (regions). Similarly, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, after a short period of occupation, were included in the USSR as union republics. The Czech Republic, Denmark and Norway were turned into protectorates, which did not prevent them both during the war and after it from talking about these countries as occupied by Germany. This formulation was also reflected in the verdict of the Nuremberg trials of the main Nazi war criminals in 1946.

Unlike Nazi Germany, whose consent was guaranteed by the secret protocol of August 23, 1939, most Western governments regarded the occupation and annexation as illegal and continued de jure to recognize the existence of an independent Republic of Latvia. As early as July 23, 1940, U.S. Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles denounced the "dishonest processes" by which "the political independence and territorial integrity of the three small Baltic Republics... were premeditated and deliberately destroyed by one of their more powerful neighbors." Non-recognition of the occupation and annexation continued until 1991, when Latvia regained its independence and full independence.

In Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, the entry of Soviet troops and the subsequent annexation of the Baltic countries to the USSR is considered one of the many Stalinist crimes.

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.

June 14, 1940 Soviet government presented 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 - agreed to cooperate with the new government (both were soon repressed), like the Lithuanian Prime Minister A. Merkis. 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 the Working People, in Lithuania the turnout was 95.51%, of which 99.19% voted for the Union of the Working People, in Latvia the turnout was 94.8%, for the Bloc of the Working People 97.8% of the votes were cast.

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.

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, taking into account the strategic importance of the region. By the end of the 1930s. Germany and the USSR became in fact the main rivals in the struggle for influence in the Baltics.

Failure "Eastern Pact" was due to the difference in interests of the contracting parties. So, 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 together with a number of political benefits that England and France would receive in connection with the accession of the USSR, this would allow it to be drawn into the conflict: "it is not in our interests that he remains 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 concluding 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 simultaneously 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).

1939. The beginning of the war in Europe

Mutual Assistance Pacts and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary

Independent Baltic states on the map of the Small Soviet Encyclopedia. April 1940

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, 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 will immediately take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23" .

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, many 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.

In conditions when Latvia and Finland refused to provide support to Estonia, England and France (which were at war with Germany) were not able to provide it, and Germany recommended accepting the Soviet proposal, the Estonian government entered into negotiations in Moscow, as a result of which a Mutual Assistance Pact was concluded on September 28, providing for the creation of Soviet military bases in Estonia and the deployment of a Soviet contingent of up to 25 thousand people on them. On the same day, the Soviet-German Treaty "On Friendship and Border" was signed, which fixed the partition of Poland. According to the secret protocol to it, the conditions for the division of spheres of influence were revised: Lithuania went into the sphere of influence of the USSR in exchange for Polish lands east of the Vistula, which went to Germany. Stalin, at the end of negotiations with the Estonian delegation, told Selter: “The Estonian government acted wisely and for the benefit of the Estonian people by concluding an agreement with the Soviet Union. With you it could turn out, as with Poland. Poland was a great power. Where is Poland now?

On October 5, the USSR suggested that Finland also consider the possibility of concluding a mutual assistance pact with the USSR. Negotiations began on October 11, however, Finland rejected the proposals of the USSR both on the pact and on the lease and exchange of territories, which led to the Mainil incident, which became the reason for the denunciation of the non-aggression pact with Finland by the USSR and the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940.

Almost immediately after the signing of mutual assistance treaties, negotiations began on the basing of Soviet troops on the territory of the Baltic states.

The fact that the Russian armies had to stand on this line was absolutely necessary for the security of Russia against the Nazi threat. Be that as it may, this line exists, and the Eastern Front has been created, which Nazi Germany will not dare to attack. When Herr Ribbentrop was summoned to Moscow last week, he had to learn and accept the fact that the implementation of the Nazi plans in relation to the Baltic countries and Ukraine must be finally stopped.

original text(English)

That the Russian armies should stand on this line was clearly necessary for the safety of Russia against the Nazi menace. At any rate, the line is there, and an Eastern front has been created which Nazi Germany does not dare assail. When Herr von Ribbentrop was summoned to Moscow last week it was to learn the fact, and to accept the fact that the Nazi designs upon the Baltic States and upon the Ukraine must come to a dead stop.

The Soviet leadership also stated that the Baltic countries did not comply with the signed agreements and were pursuing an anti-Soviet policy. For example, the political union between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (Baltic Entente) was characterized as having an anti-Soviet orientation and violating mutual assistance treaties with the USSR.

A limited contingent of the Red Army (for example, in Latvia its number was 20,000) was introduced with the permission of the presidents of the Baltic countries, and agreements were concluded. So, on November 5, 1939, the Riga newspaper Gazeta dlya Vsego in the article “Soviet troops went to their bases” published a message:

On the basis of a friendly agreement concluded between Latvia and the USSR on mutual assistance, the first echelons of Soviet troops proceeded on October 29, 1939 through the border station Zilupe. To meet the Soviet troops, a guard of honor with a military band was lined up ....

A little later, in the same newspaper on November 26, 1939, in the article “Freedom and Independence”, dedicated to the celebrations of November 18, the President of Latvia published a speech by President Karlis Ulmanis, in which he stated:

... The recently concluded mutual assistance agreement with the Soviet Union strengthens the security of our and its borders ...

Ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments

The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR

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. From the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian armies, the Lithuanian (29th rifle), Latvian (24th rifle) and Estonian (22nd rifle) territorial corps were formed, which became part of the PribOVO.

The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR was not recognized by the United States, the Vatican and a number of other countries. Recognized it de jure Sweden , Spain , Netherlands , Australia , India , Iran , New Zealand , Finland , de facto- Great Britain and a number of other countries. In exile (in the USA, Great Britain, etc.), some diplomatic missions of the pre-war Baltic states continued their activities; after the Second World War, the Estonian government in exile was created.

Consequences

The accession of the Baltic States with the USSR delayed the appearance of the Baltic states planned by Hitler allied to the Third Reich

After the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR, mainly those already completed in the rest of the country moved here socialist transformations economy and repressions against the intelligentsia, the clergy, former politicians, officers, wealthy peasants. In 1941, “due to the presence in the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian SSR of a significant number of former members of various counter-revolutionary nationalist parties, former policemen, gendarmes, landowners, manufacturers, high-ranking officials of the former state apparatus of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and other persons engaged in subversive anti-Soviet work and used by foreign intelligence services for espionage purposes”, deportations of the population were carried out. . A significant part of the repressed were Russians living in the Baltics, mostly white émigrés.

In the Baltic republics, just before the start of the war, an operation was completed to evict an “unreliable and counter-revolutionary element” - a little more than 10 thousand people were expelled from Estonia, about 17.5 thousand from Lithuania from Latvia - according to various estimates, from 15.4 to 16.5 thousand people. This operation was completed by June 21, 1941.

In the summer of 1941, after the German attack on the USSR, in Lithuania and Latvia, in the first days of the German offensive, there were performances of the "fifth column", which resulted in the proclamation of short-lived states "loyal to Great Germany", in Estonia, where the Soviet troops defended longer, this process was almost immediately replaced by the inclusion of Ostland in the Reich Commissariat, like the other two.

Contemporary politics

Differences in the assessment of the events of 1940 and the subsequent history of the Baltic countries within the USSR are a source of unrelenting tension in relations between Russia and the Baltics. In Latvia and Estonia, many issues regarding the legal status of Russian-speaking residents - migrants of the 1940-1991 era have not yet been resolved. and their descendants (see Non-citizens (Latvia) and Non-citizens (Estonia)), since only citizens of the pre-war Republics of Latvia and Estonia and their descendants were recognized as citizens of these states (citizens of the ESSR who also supported the independence of the Republic of Estonia in a referendum on March 3, 1991 in Estonia), while the rest were struck down in civil rights, which created a situation unique for modern Europe for the existence of discrimination regimes on its territory. .

The European Union bodies and commissions repeatedly addressed Latvia and Estonia with official recommendations, in which they pointed out the inadmissibility of continuing the legal practice of segregating non-citizens.

Of particular public resonance in Russia were the facts of the law enforcement agencies of the Baltic states initiating criminal cases against former employees of the Soviet state security agencies living here, accused of participating in repressions and crimes against the local population during World War II. The unlawfulness of these accusations was confirmed in the international Strasbourg Court.

The opinion of historians and political scientists

Some 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. In this regard, the term is sometimes used in journalism Soviet occupation of the Baltics reflecting this point of view. Modern politicians also talk about incorporations, as about a softer version of the attachment. According to the former head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Janis Jurkans, “It is the word incorporation» . Baltic historians emphasize the facts of violation of democratic norms during extraordinary parliamentary elections held at the same time in all three states under 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 "Block 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 the text posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, information is provided that “ In Moscow, the Soviet news agency TASS gave information about the mentioned election results already twelve hours before the start of the counting of votes in Latvia» . He also cites the opinion of Dietrich André Loeber - 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 on intervention and occupation. . From this it is concluded that the decisions of the Baltic parliaments to join the USSR were predetermined in advance.

Soviet, as well as some modern Russian historians, insist 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 the decisions of the highest legislative bodies of these countries, which received the broadest voter support in the elections for the entire existence of independent Baltic states. Some researchers, without calling the events voluntary, do not agree with their qualification as occupations. The Russian Foreign Ministry considers the accession of the Baltic states to the USSR as consistent with the norms of international law of that time.

Otto Latsis, a well-known scientist and publicist, stated in an interview with Radio Liberty - Free Europe in May 2005:

took place incorporation Latvia, but not the occupation"

Notes

Semiryaga M.I. - Secrets of Stalin's diplomacy. 1939-1941. - Chapter VI: Troubled Summer, M.: Higher School, 1992. - 303 p. - Circulation 50,000 copies.
Guryanov A. E. The scale of the deportation of the population deep into the USSR in May-June 1941, memo.ru
Michael Keating, John McGarry Minority nationalism and the changing international order. - Oxford University Press, 2001. - P. 343. - 366 p. - ISBN 0199242143
Jeff Chinn, Robert John Kaiser Russians as the new minority: ethnicity and nationalism in the Soviet successor states. - Westview Press, 1996. - P. 93. - 308 p. - ISBN 0813322480
Great Historical Encyclopedia: For schoolchildren and students, page 602: "Molotov"
Treaty between Germany and the USSR
http://www.historycommission.ee/temp/pdf/conclusions_en_1940-1941.pdf 1940-1941, Conclusions // Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity]
http://www.am.gov.lv/en/latvia/history/occupation-aspects/
http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/policy/4641/4661/4671/?print=on
- "Resolution regarding the Baltic States adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe" September 29, 1960
- Resolution 1455 (2005) "Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation" June 22, 2005
(English) European Parliament (January 13, 1983). "Resolution on the situation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania". Official Journal of the European Communities C 42/78.
(English) European Parliament resolution on the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe on 8 May 1945
(English) European Parliament resolution of 24 May 2007 on Estonia
Russian Foreign Ministry: The West recognized the Baltic states as part of the USSR
Archive of foreign policy of the USSR. The Case of the Anglo-French-Soviet Negotiations, 1939 (vol. III), l. 32 - 33. quoted in:
Archive of foreign policy of the USSR. The Case of the Anglo-French-Soviet Negotiations, 1939 (vol. III), l. 240. cited in: Military Literature: Studies: Zhilin P. A. How Nazi Germany prepared an attack on the Soviet Union
Winston Churchill. Memoirs
Meltyukhov Mikhail Ivanovich Stalin's missed chance. The Soviet Union and the struggle for Europe: 1939-1941
Telegram No. 442 dated September 25 by Schulenburg at the German Foreign Ministry // Subject to disclosure: USSR - Germany. 1939-1941: Documents and materials. Comp. Y. Felshtinsky. M.: Mosk. worker, 1991.
Mutual Assistance Pact between the USSR and the Republic of Estonia // Plenipotentiary representatives report ... - M., International relationships, 1990 - pp. 62-64
Mutual Assistance Pact between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Republic of Latvia // Plenipotentiaries inform ... - M., International Relations, 1990 - pp. 84-87
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 // Plenipotentiaries inform ... - M., International relations, 1990 - pp. 92-98