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Main differences and similarities between Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia
By Edgars Engizers
•The first people arrived to the territory of the modern Baltic states in the 10th millennium BC after the last glacial period had ended. The earliest traces of human settlement are connected with Kunda culture. Around the beginning of the 4th millennium BC Comb Ceramic Culture arrived to the territories. The beginning of the Late Neolithic Period about 2200 BC is characterized by the appearance of the Corded Ware culture, pottery with corded decoration and well-polished boat-shape stone axes. During the Bronze Age the development of the borders between the Finnic peoples and the Balts was under way. Native inhabitants of Baltic teritories are ethnically mixed from all theese cultures, regarding that northren estonians have more vestiges from Kunda culture and southren lithuanians have more vestiges from Corded ware culture and almoust none from Kunda culture.•Linguistically estonians are part of Finno- Ugrian language tree, but lithuanians, latvians and nowadays extinct branch of oldprussians are parts of Baltic branch of Indoeuropean language tree.
The proto-Baltic forefathers of the Latvian people have lived on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea since the third millennium BC [1].At the beginning of this era the territory known today as Latvia became famous as a trading crossroads. The famous "route from the Vikings to the Greeks" mentioned in ancient chronicles stretched from Scandinavia through Latvian territory via the River Daugava to the ancient Rus and Byzantine Empire.The ancient Balts of this time actively participated in the trading network. Across the European continent, Latvia's coast was known as a place for obtaining amber. Up to and into the Middle Ages amber was more valuable than gold in many places. Latvian amber was known in places as far away as Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. In the 10th century AD, the ancient Balts started to form specific tribal realms. Gradually, four individual Baltic tribal cultures developed: Couronians, Latgallians, Selonians, Semigallians[2] The largest of them was the Latgallian tribe, which was the most advanced in its socio-political development. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Couronians maintained a lifestyle of intensive invasions that included looting and pillaging.On the west coast of the Baltic Sea, they became known as the "Baltic Vikings". But the Selonians and Semgallians, during this time, were known as peace-loving and prosperous farmers.
At the end of the 12th century, Latvia was more often visited by traders from western Europe who set out on trading journeys along Latvia's longest river, the Daugava, to Russia. At the very end of the 12th century, German traders arrived and with them came preachers of the Christian faith who attempted to convert the pagan Baltic and Finno-Ugrian tribes to the Christian faith. The Balts did not willingly convert to the new and different beliefs and practices, and particularly opposed the ritual of baptism. News of this reached the Pope in Rome and it was decided that Crusaders would be sent into Latvia to influence the situation.
The Germans founded Riga in 1201, and gradually it became the largest city in the southern part of the Baltic Sea. With the arrival of the German Crusaders, the development of separate tribal realms of the ancient Latvians came to an end.
In the 13th century, the Livonian Confederation developed under the Germanic authorities consisting of Latvia and Estonia. In 1282, Rīga and later Cēsis, Limbaži, Koknese and Valmiera were included in the Northern German Trading Organisation, or the Hanseatic League (Hansa). From this time, Riga became an important point in west-east trading. Rīga, being the centre of the eastern Baltic region, formed close cultural contacts with Western Europe.
In the early 13th century two German religious orders, the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, conquered much of the area that is now Estonia and Latvia, in addition to parts of Lithuania. In response, a number of small Baltic tribal groups united under the rule of Mindaugas (Myndowe) and soundly defeated the Livonians at Šiauliai in the battle of the Sun in 1236. In 1250 Mindaugas signed an agreement with the Teutonic Order and in 1251 was baptized in their presence by the bishop of Chełmno (in Chełmno Land.) On 6 July 1253, Mindaugas was crowned as King of Lithuania and state was proclaimed as Kingdom of Lithuania. However, Mindaugas was later murdered by his nephew Treniota which resulted in great unrest and a return to paganism. In 1241, 1259 and 1275 the kingdom was ravaged by raids from the Golden Horde.In 1316, Gediminas, with the aid of colonists from Germany, began restoration of the land. The brothers Vytenis and Gediminas united various groups into one Lithuania.Gediminas extended Lithuania to the east by challenging the Mongols who, at that time, controlled Russia. Through alliances and conquest the Lithuanians gained control of significant parts of the territory of Rus. This area included most of modern Belarus and the Ukraine and created a massive Lithuanian state that stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.When Gediminas was slain, his son Algirdas (Olgierd) suppressed the monasteries, but Algirdas's son, Jogaila (Jagiello), again made overtures to the Teutonic Order and concluded a secret treaty with them. His uncle Kęstutis took him prisoner and a civil war ensued. Kęstutis was eventually captured, imprisoned and put to death, but Kęstutis's son Vytautas escaped.
Kingdom of Lithuania
PoliticsReligionEconomy of controlled areasCourland duchy- “gold time” of latvians under polish
administrationBaltic countries as a part of Russia- result of Great
North war 1700-1721 and partitions of Poland
The Baltic governorates were the governorates (or guberniyas) of the Russian Empire on the territory of what in 1918 became, and is now, independent Estonia and Latvia.
The Baltic governorates consisted of the historic regions of Courland, Livonia, and Estonia which border on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The dominions of Swedish Estonia (in what is now northern Estonia) and Swedish Livonia (in what is now southern Estonia and northern Latvia) became the governorates of Reval and Riga, when they were conquered by Russia in during the Great Northern War, and then ceded by Sweden in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721. Notably, both Reval Governorate and Riga Governorate were each at the time subdivided into one province only: the province of Estonia and the province of Livonia, respectively. The third Baltic province of Courland was annexed into Russian Empire with the third division of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795). After an administrative reform in 1796, the Reval Governorate was renamed Governorate of Estonia (Эстляндская губерния), and Riga Governorate renamed Governorate of Livonia (Лифляндская губерния).
In some context, the province of Ingermanland on the far-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea or, more rarely, the province of Kovno in the present-day Lithuania is also included among Baltic Provinces. The latter became part of Russian Empire during partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in late 18th century and became a part of independent Lithuania in 1918.
Lithuanian governorates In 1843 another administrative reform took place. Unofficially three governorates were considered
to be Lithuanian: Vilna Governorate (until 1840 known as Lithuania-Vilna Governorate), a part of which was later detached as Kovno Governorate, and Suvalki Governorate (the latter was part of the Congress Poland). Also, some parts of Courland Governorate and Grodno Governorate(until 1840 known as Lithuania-Grodno
Baltic provinces- most dinamic teritory in Russian empire
Burned estates- protest not only again russian rule, but mostly again Baltic German nobility
No place for socialism in agrarian countriesRuthleslly supressed public opinion Punitive expeditions 1907-1909- black sothnas
Between Empires- first to be evacuatedHuge giant on clay feetsFirst riflemans battalions and regimentsBetrayal by Russian general headquarterChristmas battles 1917February revolution in Russia,1917Germany’s defeat and revolutionCrash of Russian Empire- Russian Civil War 1918-
1920Vacuum of power in autumn 1918
Soviet imperialism, war between Soviet Russia and Poland
Denikin’s white russian army in EstoniaBermont’s white russian-german forces in Latvia and
Virgolich’s corps in Lithuania- struggle for restoration german and russian monarchy in Baltics
Lithuania- Poland conflict for Vilnius city- lithuanian problem
Latvia and Estonia as neutral countries in these conflict
Lithuania- Latvia border strife
All three Baltic states- newly built agrarian countriesMain export products: butter, becon, fish, wood.Main target marcets- UK, Germany, France.Main differences in internal marcet: none
Baltic states as competitiors, not a collegues
Illusion for neutrality“base treaties”
On, 1940 vere established a puppet governments in Baltic states during World War II it had been occupied by the Soviet army on June, 1940 in conformity with the terms of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Were made short lived SovietSocialRepublics, which were formally annexed into the Soviet Union on August , 1940
Terror was most significative quality of soviet regime not only in occupied countries, but in Russia aswell. First mass deportations in former Baltic states took place on June 13 and June 14, 1941, estimated at 15 600 men, women, and children, and including 20% of Latvia's last legal government. Approximately 35 000 total (1.8% of Latvia's population) were deported during the first Soviet occupation. Stalin's deportations also included thousands of Latvian Jews. Hitler was not the first catastrophe to afflict that community. (The mass deportation totalled 131 500 across the Baltics.)
Operation Barbarossa June 22, 1941
Lokal military formations- police battalions Foreigner divisions of waffen ss since 1943- year of Stalingrad battle Soviet Baltic offensive- late summer and autumn of 1944.
Soviet occupation since 1944.Soviet military administration in occupied territories1949- second wave of repressionsMilitary struggle 1944- 1956- guerilla war
Stalin era (untill 1953)Khruschow rule (1953-1964)Brezhnev’s standstill and detante (1964-1982)1982-1985. (years of Andropow and Chernenko) Gorbachev- (1985-1991:years of changes and
dissolution of the Union) “perestroika”, “glasnost”, “democratisation”.
First steps made by polish SolidarityHelsinki- 86Popular front of Latvia and Estonia, Sajudis in
LithuaniaSinging revolution- Tallin song festival 1987-1990.Baltic way
Citizens congressElections 1990Moskovs dual reactionDeclaration of independence 1990Dual governmentBloody January 1991 Vilnius- 15 killed, Riga- 7August putsch in Moskov- August Coup—an attempted coup d'état against Gorbachev by hardline
Marxist members of the government, who sought to reverse Gorbachev's reforms and reassert the central government's control over the republics. After the coup collapsed, Yeltsin came out as a hero while Gorbachev's power was effectively ended. The balance of power tipped significantly towards the republics. In August 1991, Latvia and Estonia immediately declared restoration of full independence (following Lithuania's 1990 example), while the other 12 republics continued discussing new, increasingly looser, models of the Union.
Recognition of independent Baltic republics by Russia and establishment of diplomaic reltions
Long way to international recognition
DeocupationDemocratisationDemilitarisationDenacionalisationDerusificationDesovietisation
Mastricht treaty 1993- beggining of modern EULong way to Europe 1997-2004
approximation of legislation and taxesMonetary policy and inflationRussia’s opinion
Euro pesimism Cooperation thrught international instances
Any question?
