Territorial changes of the Baltic states

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Territorial changes of the Baltic states refers to the redrawing of borders of

Russian SFSR. This has been the source of political tensions after they regained their independence with the dissolution of the Soviet Union
. Some of the disputes remain unresolved.

The main issues are the territories which were part of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the

USSR
to become the capital of Lithuania.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the issue of these territories was raised by the Estonian and Latvian governments.[citation needed] Lithuania has never officially raised the question of its borders and has border treaties with all its neighbors. Only marginal political groups use the "issue of borders" in their political rhetoric.

Actual territorial changes after World War II

Territorial changes of the Baltic states in 1939–1945

This is a list of actual territorial changes that happened when Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were incorporated into the Soviet Union and became the Baltic Soviet Socialist Republics. All the boundaries established by these changes exist up to modern days (now they are delimiting the boundaries of independent Baltic states). The modern Russian, Belarusian or Polish official names of locations mentioned in this section are given in the first place, while, where applicable, the official interwar names (Lithuanian, Latvian or Estonian) are given in parentheses.

Estonia

In January 1945, some territories of

Narva river. The Russian-Estonian boundary that used to run in the middle of Lake Peipus did not change, while the boundary south of Lake Peipus was also moved westwards (by about 25 kilometers). Overall, about 2,210 km2 of land changed hands, including Ivangorod (Jaanilinn, then eastern suburb of Narva), the town of Pechory (Petseri), and areas in and around Izborsk (Irboska), Lavry (Laura), and Rotovo (Roodva), and the Kolpina Island (Kulkna) in southern Lake Peipus
.

Latvia

In January 1945, a territory in northeastern

Russian SFSR. Russian-Latvian boundary in the southeastern Latvia did not change. Although Poland moved westwards after the war, and now resides over 320 km from the borders of Latvia, traces of its influence continue to remain in Latgale.[3]

Lithuania

After the annexation of

Smarhonʹ (Smurgainys), Pastavy (Pastovys), Ashmyany (Ašmena), Braslaw (Breslauja), Suwałki
(Suvalkai).

Reasons for the territorial changes

The redistribution of lands after World War II was based on the ethnicity of local populations – some of the territories that had a clear non-Baltic majority were attached to other republics; this, however, also happened to some territories which had a clear

Baltic majority[citation needed] (many of them were enclaves in areas without a Baltic majority). In Latvia and Estonia, parts of territories which had not belonged to the Governorate of Estonia, the Riga Governorate, Vitebsk Governorate or the Courland Governorate within the Russian Empire
were detached, but there is no evidence that this was a reason for the transfer of territory. In Lithuania's case, the detaching did not have any historical foundation.

History of the territories after resumption of independence

Under the Soviet rule the territories that were added to the

Byelorussian SSR were largely Russified, due to insufficient support for Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian languages, characterized by too few schools with curricula in these languages [citation needed]. They saw a significant migration of Russian-speaking people.[citation needed] In some of the territories that became part of Poland, Lithuanian language schools existed and still exist.[4]

The territories were not returned to the Baltic states after they regained independence and remain parts of Russia, Belarus and Poland. In general, the official government policy of Latvia and Estonia is not to push the issue, but the territories' return is supported by some, usually marginal, organizations inside these countries, such as the Abreniešu apvienība (Abrenian Union) in Latvia.

Estonia

Main article:
Territorial issues between Estonia and Russia

The

1920 Treaty of Tartu
(the treaty under which these territories were originally recognised as Estonian).

On 6 September 2005, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Anne Härmaste, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of Estonia in Russia, and handed her a note containing a notice of the intention of the Russian Federation to withdraw its signature and not to become a party to the Treaty Between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Estonia on the Russian-Estonian State Border and to the Treaty Between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Estonia on the Delimitation of the Sea Areas in the

Narva Estuary
and Gulf of Finland.

The Treaty of Tartu is considered to be a historical document of no legal power by Russia, while in Estonia the situation is different, as officially Estonia considers itself the continuation state of the

interwar
Estonia.

Latvia

It was assumed that the Russian-Latvian border treaty would be signed in 2005. In Latvia the opposition, primarily the organization Abreniešu apvienība consisting of people deported from Pytalovo and surroundings, lobbied for nationwide referendum on such treaty as they saw it as violating the constitution of Latvia (principle of territorial unity).[5] The government ruled out a possibility of referendum, however the negotiations for border treaty were suspended by Russia after the Latvian parliament issued a declaration stating that Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union and claiming material compensation from Russia for the period of occupation.

President Vladimir Putin in his speech regarding these territories said that "it goes against the spirit of modern Europe" to raise issues like this one, that "Russia as well has lost many of its external territories during the breakup of the Soviet Union, such as the Crimea".[citation needed] In an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda in May 2005, Putin addressed the issue of Pytalovo, when he stated that Russia would not hold any negotiations with Latvia which involved territorial losses for Russia.[6][7]

Lithuania

Lithuania immediately after independence recognised the borders established in 1940 as the borders of Lithuania and signed border agreements with Belarus and Poland. Relations with neighbouring Russia have been strained since then but maintain diplomatic alliance with Poland and Belarus.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9
    .
  2. ^ "Latvia's territorial losses: Borders of the Republic of Latvia after 1944" (in Latvian). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. ^ "How the Baltic States Got Their Shapes". Deep Baltic. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  4. ^ (in Polish) Społeczność litewska w Polsce (Lithuanian community in Poland) on the official site of Lithuanian embassy in Poland
  5. ^ "article about this". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2006.
  6. ^ "Putin to Baltic states: 'Dead donkey ears'". United Press International. 23 May 2005. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  7. ^ Sedov, Andrey; Kaftan, Larisa; Gamov, Alexander; Baranov, Andrey (23 May 2005). В "Комсомолку" приехал Путин. Kp.ru - (in Russian). Komsomolskaya Pravda. Retrieved 2 September 2011.

External links

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