Prague summit. [104], Subsequent agreements to withdraw troops from Latvia were signed on April 30, 1994, and from Estonia on July 26, 1994. Residents of Latvia create barricades in Riga to protect key locations from forces loyal to Moscow. In contrast, the drop in Lithuania was only 4 percent. [57]:43 On 15 June 1940, the Lithuanian government was extorted to agree to the Soviet ultimatum and permit the entry of an unspecified number of Soviet troops. [119] He cites the case of the Baltic states as an example of where this phenomenon has occurred, with the deportations of 1949 combined with large waves of immigration in 1945-50 and 1961–70. Soviet authorities had nothing to fear from the Nazis, because the Nazis had secretly assured the Soviet Union a free hand in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. [67] About 20,000 Lithuanians, 25,000 Estonians, and 5000 Latvians died in the ranks of the Red Army and labor battalions.[68][70]. Latvian National Front (Latvijas tautas fronte – LTF) founding congress. [125] To Soviet historians, the 1940 annexation was not only a voluntary entry but was also the natural thing to do. Its goal was to fight the approaching Red Army, provide security and conduct anti-partisan operations within the territory, claimed by Lithuanians. On July 1, 1944 the Latvian Legion had 87,550 men. The Russian Federation officially recognizes Latvian independence. Zalimas, Dainius "Commentary to the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Compensation of Damage Resulting from the Occupation of the USSR" - Baltic Yearbook of International Law. It promoted the interests of Russia and the USSR in the Baltic area, and it reflected the belief of most Russians that they had moral and historical rights to control and to Russianize the whole of the former empire. [67] During the German invasion, the Soviets conducted a forced general mobilisation that took place in violation of the international law. [32], Soviet-Russian historian Vilnis Sīpols argues that Stalin's ultimatums of 1940 were defensive measures taken because of German threat and had no connection with the 'socialist revolutions' in the Baltic states. In September and October 1939, the Soviet government compelled the Baltic states to conclude mutual assistance pacts which gave it the right to establish Soviet military bases. [113], (arrest, torture, political trials [66], The Soviet administration had forcefully incorporated the Baltic national armies at the wake of the occupation in 1940. Lithuania gained the regions of Vilnius and Klaipėda while the Russian SFSR annexed territory from the eastern parts of Estonia (5% of prewar territory) and Latvia (2%). The Soviets demanded the conclusion of a treaty of mutual assistance to establish military bases in Estonia. Declarations of Estonia's, Latvia's and Lithuania's wishes to join the USSR were adopted and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR petitioned accordingly. [73] Latvian Legion, created in 1943, consisted of two conscripted divisions of the Waffen-SS. Therefore, they argued, they were merely reasserting an independence that still existed under international law. Pro-Russian parties responded with their own petition, with the goal of making Russian an official second language for Latvia. Latvia becomes a member of the European Union along with 10 other nations. [97] On 30 March 1990, the Estonian Supreme Soviet declared the Soviet Union an occupying power and announced the start of a transitional period to independence. [110] The last Russian soldier left the region that month, marking a symbolic end to the Russian military presence on Baltic soil. Of the countries that had helped Latvia gain independence none could help. The German mobile killing units slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Jews; Einsatzgruppe A, assigned to the Baltic area, was the most effective of four units. Киселева, Э.М. Large numbers of Jews were living in the major cities, notably in Vilnius, Kaunas and Riga. For a legal evaluation of the annexation of the three Baltic states into the Soviet Union, see K. Marek. The 29th Corps collapsed with the German invasion into Soviet Union: on June 25–26 a rebellion broke in its 184th Rifle Division. These officials were replaced by First Secretary Arvīds Pelše and his successors Augusts Voss and Boriss Pugo, who remained in positions of power in the party during the following three decades. As the German armies approached Riga and Tallinn, attempts to reestablish national governments were made. The uncompromising effort of the regime to transform the country into a typical Soviet bailiwick compounded the devastation of the war. The reforms occasioned the reawakening of nationalism in the Baltic republics. Russia's stance is based upon the desire to avoid financial liability, the view being that acknowledging the Soviet occupation would set the stage for future compensation claims from the Baltic states. The Pacts of Mutual Assistance were then signed[127] which allowed the USSR to station a limited number of Red Army units in the Baltic countries. [62] The Baltic area was the only eastern region intended to become a full province of the Third Reich.

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