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FREE A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE BALTIC STATES PDF Andrejs Plakans | 492 pages | 04 May 2011 | CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS | 9780521541558 | English | Cambridge, United Kingdom (PDF) A Concise History of the Baltic States | Markus Meckl - The term is not used in the context of cultural areasnational identityor languagebecause while the majority of people in Latvia and Lithuania are Baltic peoplethe majority in Estonia are Finnic. The three countries do not form an official union, but engage in intergovernmental and parliamentary cooperation. All three are classified as high-income economies by the World Bank and maintain a very high Human Development Index. The term Baltic stems from the name of the Baltic Sea — a hydronym dating back to the 3rd century B. Erastothenes mentioned Baltia in Ancient Greek and earlier. This meaning is retained in modern Baltic languageswhere baltas in Lithuanian and balts in Latvian mean 'white'. The term Baltic 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. Throughout the 18th century to the 20th century, the Baltic states were part of the Russian Empire until the four countries gained independence in and near the end of World War I. Soviet rule ended when the three countries declared the occupation illegal and culminated with the restoration of independence to their pre-war status in when communism collapsed in Eastern Europe. In the 13th century pagan and Eastern Orthodox Baltic and Finnic peoples in the region became a target of the Northern Crusades. It was divided into four autonomous bishoprics and lands of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. Northern Estonia initially became a Danish dominionbut it was purchased by the Teutonic Order in the midth century. The majority of the crusaders A Concise History of the Baltic States clergy were German, and Baltic Germans remained influential in Estonia and most of Latvia until the first half of the 20th century: they formed the backbone of the A Concise History of the Baltic States gentry, and German served both as a lingua franca and for record-keeping. The Lithuanians were also targeted by the crusaders; however, they were able to resist and established the Kingdom of Lithuania in which later became Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It expanded to the east conquering former principalities of Kiev up to the Black sea. After the Union of Krewo inGrand Duchy of Lithuania created a dynastic union with Kingdom of Polandthey became ever more closely integrated and finally merged into the Polish—Lithuanian Commonwealth in After victory in the Battle of Grunwald inthe Polish—Lithuanian union became a major political and military power in the region. The Lithuanians were also targeted by the crusaders; however, they were able to defend the country from Livonian and Teutonic Orders and established the Kingdom of Lithuania in which later, after the death of King Mindaugas became Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Mindaugas was the first Lithuanian ruler who accepted Christianity. GDL became A Concise History of the Baltic States of the most influential powers in Northern and Eastern Europe in the 14th—16th century. In the Christianization of Lithuania occurred [15] - it signified the official adoption of Christianity by Lithuanians, the last pagan nation in Europe. After the victory of joint Polish - Lithuanian forces in the Battle of Grunwald inthe Polish—Lithuanian union became a major political and military power in the region. Polish—Lithuanian Commonwealth existed up to and was partitioned in three stages by the neighboring Russian Empirethe Kingdom of Prussiaand the Habsburg Monarchy. In Livonia was attacked by the Tsardom of Russia and the Livonian war broke out, lasting until The rulers of different A Concise History of the Baltic States within Livonia sought to ally with foreign powers, which resulted in Polish—Lithuanian, Swedish and Danish involvement. As a result, by the Livonian confederation had ceased to exist and its lands in modern Latvia and Southern Estonia became the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and the Duchy of Livoniawhich were vassals to the Polish—Lithuanian CommonwealthOsel island came under Danish rule and Northern Estonia became the Swedish Duchy of Estonia. In the aftermath of later conflicts of the 17th century, much of the Duchy of Livonia and Osel also came under Swedish control as Swedish Livonia. These newly acquired Swedish territories, as well as Ingria and Kexholm now the western part of the Leningrad Oblast of Russiabecame known as the Baltic Dominions. Parts of the Duchy of Livonia that remained in the Commonwealth became Inflanty Voivodeshipwhich contributed to the modern Latgale region of Eastern Latvia becoming culturally distinct from the rest of Latvia as the German nobility lost its influence and the region remained Catholic just like Poland-Lithuania, while the rest of Latvia and also Estonia became Lutheran. At the beginning of the 18th century the Swedish Empire was attacked by a coalition A Concise History of the Baltic States several European powers in the Great Northern War. Among these powers was Russia, seeking to restore its access to the Baltic Sea. During the course of the war it conquered all of the Swedish provinces on the Eastern Baltic coast. This acquisition was legalized by the Treaty of Nystad in which the Baltic Dominions were ceded to Russia. After the Partitions of Poland which took place in the last quarter of the 18th century, the third Ostsee governorate was created, as the Courland Governorate presently a part of Latvia. This toponym stems from the Curoniansone of the Baltic [18] indigenous tribes. Following the annexation of Courland the two other governates were renamed to the Governorate of Livland and the Governorate of Estland. Russian replaced German as the language of administration e. In the late 19th century, nationalist sentiment grew in Estonia and in Latvia morphing into an aspiration to national statehood after the Russian Revolution. After the First World War the term "Baltic A Concise History of the Baltic States came to refer to countries by the Baltic Sea that had gained independence from Russia in its aftermath. As such it included not only former Baltic governorates, but also Latgale LatviaLithuania and Finland. Estonia had already obtained autonomy from tsarist Russia inbut was subsequently occupied by the German Empire; they fought an independence war against Soviet Russia and Baltic nobility before gaining true independence from to Latvia and Lithuanians followed a similar process, until the Latvian War of Independence and Lithuanian Wars of Independence were extinguished in During the interwar period these countries were sometimes referred to as limitrophe states between the two World Wars, from the French, indicating their collectively forming a rim along Bolshevik Russia's, later the Soviet Union's, western border. They were also part of what Clemenceau A Concise History of the Baltic States a strategic cordon sanitairethe entire territory from Finland in the north to Romania in A Concise History of the Baltic States south, standing between Western Europe and potential Bolshevik territorial ambitions. Some note that the events in Lithuania differed from its two more northerly neighbors, with Smetona having different motivations as well as securing power 8 years before any A Concise History of the Baltic States events in Latvia or Estonia took place. Despite considerable political turmoil in Finland no such events took place there. Finland did however get embroiled in a bloody civil warsomething that did not happen in the Baltics. In accordance with a secret protocol within the Molotov—Ribbentrop Pact of that divided Europe into A Concise History of the Baltic States and Soviet spheres of influence, the Soviet Army entered eastern Poland in Septemberand then coerced Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into mutual assistance treaties which granted them the right to establish military bases in these countries. In Junethe Red Army occupied all of the territory of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuaniaand installed new, pro-Soviet governments in all three countries. Following elections in which only pro-communist candidates were allowed to runthe newly elected parliaments of the three countries formally applied to join the Soviet Union in August and were incorporated into it as the EstonianLatvianand Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republics. Repressions, executions and mass deportations followed after that in the Baltics. Between andthe Soviet government deported more thanpeople from the Baltic to remote locations in the Soviet Union. In addition, at least 75, were sent to Gulags. The Soviet control of the Baltic states was interrupted by Nazi German invasion of this region in Initially, many Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians considered the Germans as liberators. The Baltic countries hoped for the restoration of independence, but instead the Germans established a civil administration, known as the Reichskommissariat Ostland. The German occupation lasted until late in Courlanduntil earlywhen the countries were reoccupied by the Red Army and Soviet rule was re- established, with the passive agreement of the United States and Britain see Yalta Conference and Potsdam Agreement. The forced collectivisation of agriculture began inand was completed after the mass deportation in March see Operation Priboi. Private farms were confiscated, and farmers were made to join the collective farms. In all three countries, Baltic partisansknown colloquially as the Forest BrothersLatvian national partisansand Lithuanian partisanswaged unsuccessful guerrilla warfare against the Soviet occupation for the next eight years in a bid to regain their nations' independence. The armed resistance of the anti-Soviet partisans lasted up to Although the armed resistance was defeated, the population remained anti-Soviet. Each was staffed initially by diplomats from A Concise History of the Baltic States last governments before USSR occupation. In the late s a massive campaign of civil resistance against Soviet rule, known as the Singing revolutionbegan.