Is Lithuania Next?

Published by

Clarissa

May 7, 2014

While everybody is distracted by the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is showing hostility towards the Baltic states:

Russia has suspended a 2001 agreement on mutual military inspections with Lithuania, the defense ministry said on Monday. . .

“Lithuania kept all conditions of this agreement and has not given a pretext for such Russian action,” a spokesperson for Lithuania’s defense ministry said in an e-mail to Reuters.

Even if Putin wants to stop the invasions now, he will not be able to do that. The Russian people get increasingly less bread from him and, as a result, demand increasingly more circuses. There is no stopping the aggression machine at this point.

Of course, when I ask if Lithuania is next, I don’t mean “next” as in “right now.” There were several years between the invasions of Georgia and Ukraine. Russian authorities will find it extremely easy to convince the population that the Baltics are all fascists. These ideas have been circulating in Russia for a while and can be turned into a massive propaganda campaign within days.

Rate this:

5 responses to “Is Lithuania Next?”

el

May 7, 2014

Is there any reason / excuse for feelings of hostility towards the Baltics in Russia? I think about sea and, for some reason, warm climate, when I hear the word. Not about any fascists.

LikeLike

Reply
1. Clarissa
  
  May 7, 2014
  
  Yes, the idea is that the Baltics are not grateful enough for the liberation from the Nazi Germany and haven’t been as respectful of Soviet monuments to the fallen soldiers as they could be. These monuments have been milked for everything they are worth since the Baltics gained independence.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
2. J. Otto Pohl
  
  May 7, 2014
  
  Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia became independent states in 1918 that the Soviets failed to conquer like they did Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Armenia during 1920-1921. On 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union signed an agreement with Nazi Germany to divide up East Central Europe giving the Baltic states to the USSR. In 1940 they invaded and annexed the three countries. On 14 June 1941, the NKVD engaged in massive deportations to Siberia of Baltic civilians. The Germans invaded the USSR only on 22 June 1941. During the German occupation of the Baltic States most ethnic Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians found Berlin’s rule less harsh than that of Moscow’s. As a result in Latvia and Estonia, but not Lithuania there were Waffen SS Divisions (2 in Latvia and 1 in Estonia) called the Baltic Legions formed to fight against the USSR near the end of the war. The men who fought in these units are considered heroes in Latvia and Estonia and the Red Army which brought with it the NKVD and more massive deportations was considered an illegal occupation force. For the most part the people in the Baltic states did not consider themselves Soviet, but rather under Soviet occupation. There was considerable guerrilla opposition to Soviet rule in the late 1940s and early 1950s especially in Lithuania and a lot of less violent resistance all the way up to the restoration of independence. I am putting some links on the Baltics in the link thread.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  1. Clarissa
    
    May 7, 2014
    
    You can leave the links here. They sound very relevant.
    
    LikeLike
    
    Reply
  2. thelyniezian
    
    February 23, 2015
    
    Which probably partly explains why my Estonian grandfather ended up fighting on the German side against the Soviets, and why he couldn’t go back after the war. (I don’t think he was part of the Waffen SS though, but since I know very little of the specifics I really have no idea, nor to his motivations for joining up or whether Estonians were being conscripted.)
    
    LikeLike
    
    Reply

Clarissa's Blog