Baltic states and the war in Ukraine. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia.

The Baltic states - Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia - are part of NATO’s Eastern flank. Once part of the Soviet Union, they understand Russian imperialism and Russian aggression. They have been vocal opponents of the Russian war in Ukraine and instrumental in helping Ukraine, a former USSR state. This is seen in humanitarian aid, but also in weapons supplies, as they have been at the forefront of the campaign to arm Ukraine. In Estonia, prime minister Kaja Kallas has gained international recognition for her leadership role in the region.

The Baltic states - Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia - have punched above their weight in support of Ukraine. They share a common history of Russian and Soviet oppression. Bartosz Chmielewski provides expertise on what these countries share and how they differ.

[PijusONLINE]

The Baltics didn't "become part of the USSR", we were illegally occupied and annexed.

[Mastah]

> be Russia
> occupy independent territory for over half of a century
> steal, loot, rape, burn whatever is not bolted on to the floor
> make worshiping of the occupier mandatory
> squash any signs of independence movement with KGB terror and torture
> call russophobia once the victims speak up

[felikssmusic]

Greetings from Latvia. You must understand that we do not have Russophobia in the Baltic States. A phobia is a fear of something :) We are not afraid of Russians.



[TotalRookie_LV]

Baltic reaction to Russia's invasion in Ukraine in short: *"We told you so!"*
For decades older Western countries told them: "You are overreacting. Russia isn't that bad, now they want to cooperate and will never do something, that will severe economic ties." Well, guess what?!

[lieneliepina]

Russophobia? The definition of prejudice: "preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience." Regarding Russia the opinion in the Baltics is actually based on reason and experience!

[ryanroyrn]

Estonia 🇪🇪, Latvia 🇱🇻, Lithuania 🇱🇹 ... located in North Europe!

[antasosam]

There is no issues with russians in Lithuania if only person is loyal to state and democracy.
There is saying that Lithuanian is a man who loves freedom and obeys law. Note that there is no mention of language.

[expertable]

7:18 "Lithuania is more agricultural country.." By stats of 2021 gdp agriculture part in Lithuania is 3.31% and Estonia's 2.02% having in mind landscapes differences that doesn't seem such a big difference or does it?

[giedres]

This is more about Estonia not the Baltics. More of comparing then uniting as well as some lack of knowledge of Lithuania’s or Latvian’s situations, sorry, not really liked it a lot.

[TacitusSapientia]

If russophobia is not wanting to get bombed, raped robbed or shot? Sign me up. Also, we did not "became a part". We where occupied. And we lost about 10% of population in war and Stalins purges. So its hot potato topic. And there where Stalins prison camps and torture of civilians... so yeah. But we are not scared. It dosent help. Prepared, more useful.

[immoralwombat]

Where is this guy getting he's information?
1. We gave 1.2% of our GDP to Ukraine, that's more than anyone else, not that pragmatic.
2. We have been and still are very vocal in support for Ukraine on world stage.
3. Latvia is in northern Europe.
4. It does not rain that much here, compared to UK we live in a desert.

Who the F is this guy?

[artursbondars]

No, Latvians definitely consider themselves as part of Northern Europe. Our culture and identity are even closer to that of other Northern European countries. Large part of our historic relations are also strongly linked with Northern European countries.

[antanassmetona]

The Baltic States are located in Northern Europe and we are definitely Northern European people. Historically, we have strong connections to the region and are a crucial part to the region as well. The people living in the Baltics share genetic similarities with Finland, with Lithuania and Finland having the closest DNA relations in Europe. There are numerous cultural similarities between the Baltics and Scandinavia and Finland. It would be impossible to list all the similarities in this comment section, but it's important to recognize the shared heritage. It's not a political matter or an attempt to distance ourselves from Russia. The designation of the Baltics as Northern European dates back thousands of years, as recognized by the French, ancient Greeks, and Romans. When the Baltics and Finland regained their independence from the Russian Empire in 1917-1918, discussions arose regarding the possibility of incorporating them into a Northern European Union, which later evolved into the Nordics.

[Neveryecstacy]

I am from Latvia. I never leave negative comments..but who is this guy? He’s not from the Baltics and some of his information is just wrong. Disappointing.

[deepseaserenity]

Sorry, but your "expert" does not know that Lithuania had statehood for centuries?

[EP-ywcp]

This expert does quite poor job from what he knows about Baltic countries.. all Baltic countries consider themselves part of NORTHERN EUROPE, NOT EASTERN EUROPE. In additonal, all three Baltic states were sending weapons to Ukraine before russian invasion as well as providing military training to Ukraine's soldiers. Moreover, Lithuanian public has made not over fund raise for UAV's, radars and more..

[mafioziks]

For differences I would also add that historically Lithuania was for long time with Poland in Lithuanian - Poland commonwealth for a long time in history.

Relating to russofobia - I would say that we are careful relating to Russia because of experience. And not only Soviet Union experience but also because of experience after Soviet Union how Russia have tried to influence us. And Russia looks to it as to russofobia.

Relating to counting Baltic countries as northern European countries - I would say it is more because eastern European countries are related so much to slavic countries. But Baltic countries are much more different from them that we are fighting to not be related to eastern European countries.

[birchheights]

You invite someone to speak about the Baltic states..:who isn’t from the Baltics . That’s not very smart .
And common history of the Baltic states starts not from 1918 but from the end of 18 century, when after the final partition of Polish- Lithuanian, Commonwealth all of them felled under the rule of Russian empire. Latvian and Estonian lands fell under Russia a bit earlier. Also, Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians are closely related genetically, despite the fact that linguistically Estonians are very different from the other two .
Baltic states are also considered to be part of northern Europe, not Eastern Europe . Their economic integration with Scandinavian countries is quite significant right now.
When it comes to Russophobia, it’s a politically manipulated term much like other so-called “phobias” like Islam, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia and so on.

[TotalRookie_LV]

4:18 - "wave of immigration", it's called colonisation, and colonisation of occupied territories is forbidden by Geneva convention. Which also means Russians, who arrived in Baltic states during Soviet era can not be considered and can not receive protection of rights of ethnic minorities. However, there are Russians and other ethnicity, who have lived there for centuries, so situation is complicated and not all Russians are the same neither by their world views, nor by legal status. You can find a lot of younger Baltic Russians on social networks absolutely against Russian invasion and against Russia's attempts to meddle with Baltic politics. On the other hand, there are "vatniks" - victims of Kremlin's propaganda, , who are supporting Putin.

[peepmoorast]

Really another basic story - Baltic states are still wild east to core Europeans (how long??). Some corrections too. Estonian schools are not in Finnish. We had long period of Finnish TV (since early 80-s) and languages are very similar (you can easily pick it from tv) that is the reason. Plus very tight economic relations. Ukrainian refugees - we are the closest (1, 5 hours from EST border) to St Petersburg nr 2 city in Russia that is the reason of refugee numbers. People travel around Belorussia (borders are closed to Poland and Lithuania) to St Petersburg from occupied territory plus people with UKR passports from Russia. Refugee situation is stable in Estonia. We had strong job market in 2022 and lot of them are working now. Language is not a problem, because Russian is widely spoken in Estonia and majority of refugees are actually Russian speakers from south of Ukraine. They found jobs easily - problem is with lodgings and with schools. Lot of families are hoping to return soon and children are home schooled via online from UKR. Baltic states ARE SAFE! :) - safer than most London boroughs. Estonian tourism is pre pandemic levels so hurry up!!!