The two other headquarters are in Poland. [41][42] After World War I, the new sovereign states that emerged on the east coast of the Baltic Sea Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland became known as the Baltic states. Want to read more on this topic or region? NATO exercises used to be different: harder, bigger, and costlier. Latvia, for example, was a leading producer of Soviet radio receivers. Jessica Chen Weiss, formerly a senior advisor for policy planning at the State Department under the Biden administration, makes the case that the United States is becoming consumed by competition with China, a strategy that could lead to dangerous conflict. This reality gives the alliance flexibility with regard to NRFAs terms, she told VOA by email. The countries joined the Western military alliance in 2004 but are connected to the rest of European NATO countries by only a narrow corridor, which lies between the heavily armed Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia-allied Belarus. Shortly after World War II began, Soviet leader Josef Stalin coerced the leaders of all three Baltic States into allowing Soviet troops into their countries. Nowhere is the credibility of the United States and its allies at greater risk than in the Baltic Sea region. [37] However, the modern names of the region and the sea that originate from this root, were not used in either of the two languages prior to the 19th century. These differing threat assessments and political approaches are obstacles to everything else. Is Weiss correct? Twitter:@edwardlucas. In our Center for European Policy Analysis report, we identified more than a dozen serious problems. This article covers the history of the region from antiquity to the post-Soviet period. In Cold War West Germany, for example, British and U.S. tanks would thunder across farmland, crushing hedges and ruining crops. In the wake of this campaign, Gorbachev's government had privately concluded that the departure of the Baltic republics had become "inevitable". Its size and location would add crucial heft, but the other countries around the Baltic Sea are privately mistrustful of decision-makers in Berlin. Russias growing military presence in Belarus highlights the vulnerability of the Suwalki corridor, the thin neck of land connecting the Baltic states and Poland. [33][34], The term Baltic stems from the name of the Baltic Sea a hydronym dating back to at least 3rd century B.C. Between 1940 and 1953, the Soviet government deported more than 200,000 people from the Baltics to remote locations in the Soviet Union. Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. The spy rows have come at a time of acute tensions between Russia and the West, including over Ukraine and over the fate of opposition Russian leader Alexei Navalny, who on Friday announced he was ending a three-week hunger strike in jail. VILNIUS, April 23 (Reuters) - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Friday joined a fast-growing list of NATO and EU members demanding the removal of Russian diplomats for alleged spying, in actions. Lithuania, Latvia and the third Baltic nation, Estonia, with fellow NATO members and other Western countries have provided aid to Ukraine and harshly sanctioned Russia since it invaded the. Currently, the governments of the Baltic states cooperate in multiple ways, including cooperation among presidents, parliament speakers, heads of government, and foreign ministers. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 30 independent member countries. That reflects a much deeper issue: Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, NATO has been an organization designed for peace, not war. Extensive trade relations were established in the region, which would last until the decline of the Roman Empire. These funds are spent wisely, including on modern weaponry that could at least slow, and thus help deter, a Russian attack. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania each adopted the euro as its common currency in 2011, 2014, and 2015, respectively. NATOs small air policing deploymenttypically just four warplanes based in Estonia or Lithuaniais there to deal with peacetime problems, such as airspace intrusions, not to fight off the Russian Air Force. The Soviet Union recognized the independence of three Baltic states on 6 September 1991. The Baltic States would remain Soviet republics of the USSR for more than 40 years. IR scholars think Moscow is likely to use military force, but they suggest Washington should exercise restraint. Industry in the Baltic states is prominent, especially the production of food and beverages, textiles, wood products, and electronics and the traditional stalwarts of machine building and metal fabricating. Current exercises in the region are too small, too well scripted, and too devoid of complexity. It had, however, been embroiled in a bloody civil war back in 1918, something that had not happened in the Baltic states. Delivered Wednesday & Sunday. When WWI ended, the Baltic peoples fought off attempts by the newly-created Soviet Union to take back control of their territory, and in 1920, the Soviets signed treaties with Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, recognizing their independence. It is therefore time to plug the gaping holes in air and missile defense as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. The term Baltic countries (or lands, or states) was, until the early 20th century, used in the context of countries neighbouring the Baltic Sea: Sweden and Denmark, sometimes also Germany and the Russian Empire. Baltic leaders have long pushed for a permanent basing of U.S. troops, seeing it as the ultimate deterrent against a Russian invasion. An unclassified version would boost public awareness. All three countries are member states of the European Union, and the Eurozone. The NATO presence was further strengthened this year after Russia attacked Ukraine. In Baltics, Poland, grassroots groups strive to help Ukraine Since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia three states on NATO's eastern flank scarred by decades of Soviet-era occupation have been among the top donors to Kyiv Show More Summary Read a brief summary of this topic Baltic states The assumption is that in a crisis, this spaghetti will spontaneously straighten under the pressure of events and thanks to U.S. leadership. [38] This change was a result of the Baltic German elite adopting terms derived from Baltisch to refer to themselves.[39][40]. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. Download the FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. There is also significant proficiency in Finnish in Estonia owing to its linguistic relationship with Estonian and also widespread exposure to Finnish broadcasts during the Soviet era. Read also: Hungary's Orban pushes for US-Russia talks on Ukraine, praises Merkel She said the fact . Rinkvis wants a permanent NATO presence on the alliances eastern flank. up as tough on Beijing, even seeking to contain the rise of the worlds second-biggest economy. Each country guards its national decision-making jealously. According to Plesch, much depends on how the situation in Ukraine progresses. A French soldier takes part in NATO military drills as part of the alliance's Enhanced Forward Presence deployment in Poland and the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, at the . Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. And I havent even mentioned the five-nation Nordic Defence Cooperation framework, the French-led European Intervention Initiative, and, of course, the European Unions own nascent defense efforts: battle groups that mainly exist on paper. Aside from the Baltic Sea to the west, the Baltic States are bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the east by Russia, to the southeast by Belarus, and to the southwest by territory belonging to Belarus and Poland. The Balts came to settle large portions of modern-day Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and northern Poland. (thesis, University of Connecticut, 2013). By the end of the 18th century, all Baltic territory became part of the Russian Empire. [18] Other exceptions included Sweden, which was the first Western country, and one of the very few to ever do so, to recognize the incorporation of the Baltic states into the Soviet Union as lawful.[19]. In autumn 2022, Estonia like other Baltic countries, restricted travel over its land borders from Russia. The Latvian and Lithuanian peoples speak languages belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European linguistic family and are commonly known as Balts. In terms of religion, just over half of Estonians are unaffiliated Christians. 6.2 United States. The best way to increase the internal and external credibility of defense is to practice using difficult scenarios in real time. [23] It was stated that from 2008, Baltic states experiences a positive change in their energy security score. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania with a combined population of only about six million people have long been seen as some of NATOs most vulnerable nations. Since 2003, there is coordination between the two organizations.[21]. A curated selection of our very best long reads. These units obviously cannot withstand a Russian assault; they are there to make sure the Kremlin knows an attack on the Baltic states would also be an attack on other NATO members. Its capital, Vilnius, is at the forefront of Western support for Kiev. Planners are given many months to ensure that everything goes smoothly. In some cases, Russians took on the nationalities of their adopted Baltic countries and were thus counted among the ethnic majorities. NATO established a plan to defend the Baltic states after the Russian annexation of the Crimea in . Estonia adopted the euro currency in January 2011, Latvia in January 2014, and Lithuania in January 2015. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Weekly update on whats driving U.S. national security policy. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The Baltics are the only former Soviet states that have joined the EU and NATO, and provided an example to the likes of Ukraine over a possible route to European integration. Most Latvians are Christian, mainly belonging to the Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and East Orthodox churches. Fact: NATO has taken defensive and proportionate steps in response to a changed security environment.In response to Russia's use of military force against its neighbours, Allies requested a greater NATO presence in the Baltic region. In 1385, through marriage to a Polish queen, the Lithuanian crown merged with that of Poland. Baltic leaders called for a bolstered NATO troop presence on the alliance's eastern flank. The Biden administration has passed landmark legislations such as theInflation Reduction Act(IRA) and theCHIPS and Science Act, which provide subsidies in clean energy and semiconductoShow morers worth well over $400 billion. Decision-making needs streamlining. (when Erastothenes mentioned Baltia in an Ancient Greek text) and possibly earlier. Latgalian and Samogitian are considered either separate languages or dialects of Latvian and Lithuanian, respectively. Latvia is sandwiched between Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. Worked as a journalist on 7 continents and reported from 40+ countries, with postings in London, Wellington, Brussels, Warsaw, Moscow and Berlin. Delivered Monday-Saturday. On 8 November 1991, the Baltic Assembly, which includes 15 to 20 MPs from each parliament, was established to facilitate inter-parliamentary cooperation. The challenge is how to address Baltic security concerns while avoiding steps that would lead to a more unstable situation with Russia in the future. Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. The Finno-Ugric tribes would eventually become the Estonians. The same legal interpretation is shared by the United States, the United Kingdom, and most other Western democracies,[citation needed] who held the forcible incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Soviet Union to be illegal.
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