Baltic States consist of the independent nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The three countries had been independent from 1918 until 1940, when the Soviet Union seized them and made them Soviet republics. In 1991, each of them broke away from the Soviet Union and became an independent nation again.
Before they became independent in 1918, the Baltic States had been ruled by the Danes, Swedes, Poles, Germans, and Russians. But Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania each kept its own language, literature, and traditions. The three countries were part of the Russian czar’s empire before World War I began in 1914. When the Russian Revolution of 1917 deposed the czar, the Baltic States demanded their independence. The Allied invasion of Russia aided the cause of the Baltic States.
In 1922, the Soviet Union was formed under Russia’s leadership. During the 1930’s the Baltic States balanced as best they could between Germany and the Soviet Union. In 1939, the Soviet Union demanded and received military bases in the Baltic States. Soviet forces occupied the three nations in 1940 and made them a part of the Soviet Union. German troops invaded the Baltic States in 1941, during World War II. However, they were driven out by the Soviets in 1944 and 1945. Until 1991, the region was a part of the Soviet Union. But in September 1991, all three of the countries became independent following an upheaval in the Soviet Union. In December of that year, the Soviet Union was dissolved.
In 2004, all three Baltic States joined the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The EU is a group of European countries that promotes cooperation among its members. NATO is a military alliance that includes the United States and many European countries.
