1.
‘1.
iJII
Cmrcise Hist
>r uf
the
Iialtic States
INL)E1’F’.Dl >.( 1
\Rs
iittural terntory was nnrnicai.
n
eLi mcd, and the vestern aflies agreed rhat aithough iiioo (.errna
, some
tri)ops wnuid withdraw from the Baltic hrtorai
foishevSm. Lenin
of
spread
t
the
agains
fghting
uc
contin
lii
behind
;iiiies.
and the Roishevik regime wcre not trusted bv the e’,Len
at1on
who now included the United States; German pians tor coion/
with mtperii
of the Baitic appearcd to have disappeared along
einhry
(;eriin’; and during 1918, emissaries to the west Froiii the
had
nian’
1.itiioa
and
ns,
Latvia
ans,
Estoni
OI1IC “governmenrs” nf the
purpuse. Btit
impresscd wetern pDWC rs with thcir seriousness nF
aii [inality.
nothing in the Baitic htturai had heen resoived with
and nO
totuic,
near
the
ui
>C) uitiniatc resolutiori appeared hkeiy
ihat iii
outcomes predicted. The region entered a three—year penid
he knnwil as
the national histories ui the tiiree laitic states eanie to
pru Iainied
the wars of independenee.” The activists wiio had
carry ølit
u
tons
institu
independence hegan the process of creating
w he heid,
the hjnctiuns of real states: appropriate elections had
eai-L rev
cabinet offciais had 10 he kiund. ministties had ro he
interflinifl3
1
en ties had to he raised, horders had to he secured, and
ss hieh rhc
uver
recognition had to he sought. Abuve ali, the territories
he p
new governmeflts clairncd ui havc jurisdictiuii had ro
Ol
COU
indepeodenr
against those to whoni the idea of three
ties
th
After the armistice of Novcmber 1 • 1918 cnded hostiit
on
Janiwi-e
Paris
in
TS,
WCStefli IroilI and a peace eiiiiference began
oF reiief, biit nur the
9 i, most Europeans eouid breathe a sigh
i
zoiieri dynast h.d eft the
pC0I]ies (ii the lIainc lirtoral. The Hohen
ic had heen pro—
(erITIan th wnc iii \overnber, a German repubi
—
—
prndiiet uI the overheated hope ot tiHv ninurities of puiitj act
ViStS; those who joined ui the deciaratiuns were ettaunt vh
thcv ) ieved were the aspirarions perhaps uniIrticLiIated.
(II rheir “cunsrin1cnts” Understanding the wHl ‘‘f rhc
lateut
,
peupie” correctiy duririg 9 T 8 vas diFfieuit if fbI i pos_ih and
whether the declarers of independenee had read it correctlv wouid
depend un whcther “the penple” wouid mliv anauiid the idea as its
t.
propments sought 10 eiribody it ii iflStItUtiOflS uI gl)Verflrflcn
A
-
i 90
—
i 94(1
1
iii
nCctipving about hiit ot Estunian
rulfensive had
territory, hut Iw ear[v Fehruarv, the Estonian eonnte
Russian
Soviet
into
managed to drive the Bolshcvik forees hack
In
gtown
had
territory. By that time, the Estonian national arniv
ik
Bolshe
the
74,500 men, and deserticms were taking piaee from
Polshevik offensive SUCCCCded
—
—
—.
L
hite’ arniv. (Siwiet Russia was in the throes ot a civii war at the
4
W
nme time, with the “Red” arniv fightiug the “Whites.”) Tiiis assis
tance was rendered iii part hccause the Estunian govrnment wanted
jo SeCU-C its southern horcier (with 1.atvia). Peace taiks began
the Estonian and the Soviet kirees iii Septeiuher, but even
tmn these negotjations the Bolsheviks iaunched smalier-scale
eariv
against Estonian territory. Ao annlstlce was agreed
an
Estuni
n
the
mJanuar 1920. and a peace rreatv was signed betwee
ns
eieciio
time
1bvernment and Soviet Russia on Fehruarv z. Bv thar
1919),
ad b
0 held iii Esronia for a CoflStitULh1i assemhl tAprii
Whtehbegan to enaet significanr icgisiation tor Estonia esen whiie th
J’ tiairs to
the Estonian national forces. Lighting eonmiued on the
Estonian eastemn tront throughout spring and surnmer 1919, and
..during these months the Estonian national armv svas large enough to
ptovide major assistailee to the Iatvian natiunai armv in its harries
going on simultaneonsiy against Latvian Boisheviks, independent
4 Unirii oF the Gerniari armv, and some elements uf the Russian
f
tiw Estoniaii
the Estojuan Iaiids, the principai “eneni” o’as
sass n new
now
htir
Rossia
iet
ro
So
awn
heviks. who had withdr
5
j
weakened
a
and
menI
goveru
an
Fstoni
pp0ttUflt> III a ‘Veak
0
meni.
it
goveni
Rossia
Suviet
Supporr from the
inany. With
ktiSsiafls)
chieflv
ns,
8eishevik troOpS iuverwheiming[v non—hstonia
ao offensive in the secnnd haif uf Novemher 1.1 8, tOUL the
Novemher. and pruclaimcd rhere an
•v of Narva h the end of
Commune. Ihe Estonian governrnent had ui act
wniafl workers
red Colonei Julian
quicklv: hy the end ot Deceniber, it had appoin
the Estonian
4—19S3) as commander-in-ehief ot
88
:.
Jidonem (1
it had riised ao arinv of about
natinnal arrny. and liv Janoary 1919
came trum (reat i5ritain in
nee
Assista
ans.
4,800 nien, mostiv hsroni
delivered arms and aniino
which
ships,
nF
tsveive
the form oF a tleet
a eoastai inVaSiohi h the
ted
preven
and
nitiofis to the Estonian armv
ed a Joan 01 2o miilion
provid
parr,
-I otshcvik forecs. Finland, for its
some volunteers. lue
sent
and
finnish rrtarks to Iiuv veapons
jn
Statela n d jo tri,ublpd times,
.
har the cvuiit
7
indcpendcncc wars’ w’erc cntinumg. \X
nhcant mjUOtitV of Estonians Jd
14
demonstrated wa that a si
Isroni;l, hu rhat this sentirnejir dd
Sovier
a
porr the idea o1
population. The constitucnt
general
the
reach very far into
l rate atTlOflg
partiCipatiol
percent
eleetion had an So
governmeflt pn
natuinal
the
920
Estotiians, and duriig
it horders
defend
to
the
and
abilitv te legisiate L’[teetively
population.
Estonian
increasing support of the general
1
Novemhcr
The situation iii the Lat’jan iands after
thcn
occupation,
aiso
German
eornplicated first hy the CootinUmg
iii
the
t
1
soldicrs
of
bv the [oIshevizarion uf a arge nunibcr
surrouotiing the
Rifle regin3ents, and finally hY the uneertainties
striing v
a
were
Tarvittu Bolsheviks
future of Latga[e. The
littoi al. and
th-an the Fstunian llolsheviks had been jo the northern
d iii settint iIp
with heip frorn among the Iatvian RiFies, thevsncceede
!.arvian Sos et Si»jaitst
a short—lived iDecember 39 1 8—Mav 919
Iivlttnd iliit vas
Republic, headed by I’t’teris Stuka. o that part of
nationai” goern
net occupied hy German forces. The embr onic
ted te the weSterIi Iits ian
ment of Larvia, headed hy K3rlis Ulnianis,
in a sense
pnrt eitv of Liepja (Ger. Libau) in Kurland, thus
te the nas, a
Adding
Gerrnrins.
the
ot
itseh under the proteetion
the
suddenly appeared
counter—govcrnment te that of Ulmanis
Andriev, \ dra.
person o( the popular ilovelist and clcrgyman
that 1 as
concluded
had
who with a srnnll cntene oF toliowers
Gernian
the
with
survisal dependcd on elose cooperation
Latgalc. win ie 10
espeeialiy ssith the Baltie German population. iri
ovcrw i.e
voted
hnd
a eongreSs oF political activists
spring 1 91
liit stk
the
state,
ingly to oin the vcstern’ Larvians jo a new
tIlC
elsewhere
enuse nonetheless md signiticant suppnrt (as
Fi1C1S
cxample.
Latvian lands). Sorne jntluential voices (for
The comtn
Kemps( called for a separate, ttutooomoUs Largale.
to
continued
of the German contingcnts. Rhdiger von der Golrz,
5
tIiet”
the
an msidious tope garne, seeniing at times te supporr
the 1tI1tc
thcn
anti
governmenr,
Nicdra
government. then the
thC
eontingents
German cause. 1F this were nor enough, several
advcnrurer
Russiao ‘\Vhite” arnw jotned the fray, Ied hy ao
a Russitul
he
to
himsetf
Pavel BermonpAvalov who iniagined
hounii ltL
Russia’s
of
restoratioli
the
and appeared te have asu goal
302-
1 !iSLt) ut the RaIti Stites
O
—
Stjtel;oocl
in
trouhled timeS,
t90 —I 940
30$
alov were
0 the ilnpcrtai penod. Von der Goltz and Bcrmunt-Av
f
anti-Bolshevik and therefore porentiaily helpful ni the
government; eri the irher Itand, neitht’r ei’ rhcse
narionaI”
Lt1tvi1fl
l1tical—i1tilttarY Ieaders had any commitment 10 the idea oF ao
jndependellt Latvia, and iii fact, during the seeond lialf of 1919
ecan1c as mueh enemies of the Latvian national cause as the
olshevik army contiitued te he.
11
Given this set ot actors, the entire vear ot 1 919 WttS fu]! oF intrigue,
;
aIlianceS of eonvenieflce and baeksrahhing, tempurarv victories anti
tetnporary ilefeats. During the summer, however, the persistence of
the Ulmanis gosernment hegan te pay off. The brief and relatively
bioody renure oF the Snika Bokhevk gos’ernmcnt persuaded nianv
Lat’ians thar the Bolsheviks werc more concerned svith adding
Latvian terrirory te Soviet Russia titan with the Larvian cauSe; the
Niedra Counter—guvcrnmenr proved to be stillborn, having IlO sup
port wharever in the general population; large contingents of the
Latvian Rities and rheir oFficers opted te suppout the “national’
side oF the struggie; Latgalian scparatism turned liut te he of niar—
* ginal influence; and bv Oetobcr 19 r9, the Ulinanis govcrnmenr had
managed te ereate a Fighting Foree of about ii ,oo soldiers who 1tt
fact had very strong support in the general 1 atsian population. Ry
this time also the western powers. having hecome eonviiieed of the
: rjotisness of Latvian ‘natioital” ettdeavors. iurervened virh idviec
and suppori on the Latvian side. Ry the linal tnonths 0F 1919, the
German army units had heen ordercd hv the western powers to
withdraw fri,m the lirtoral; the hermontisis had heen defeated deet—
sively; and the only remaining rhreat to the new state was from the
1 hlow te the bermoni—
Rolshevik forees in Latgale. Te deliver a lima
isis, the Larvian national army reeeived subscantiai on-thc—ground
assistanee frnrn the Estonian armv; to drive the remaid’ing Bolsheviks
ent of Largale_ Ulnianis ncgot;ated miuitary assistanee from Poland
and a force of ao,ooo Poles under the leaderslnp ot Edvard Sniigly
Ridz joined the cffort. Ry this time, the Boishevik governinent in
Petrograd clecided not to prolong the effort in the Raltic littoral.
, facing a larger force jo the field and linding lenin’s suppuri
05
Th
fading, the Latviau Rolshevilcs pulled out ot tatgaie. In the arniv
flits that wjthdrew to the intertor ofSeviet Russia were thousands ef
I.atvian Rifiernen who rcniaincd eva te the Bolsltevik etilise. The
r
(Ijfl(!SC
flist)n’ flf [‘e 13,Itic Staie.
-
.
T
-
POIAND
‘.,‘—
,
-5,--<•”
Warsav
’
0
.’
0S,.IU(l1l
‘-0
‘.l
•‘
1(10
Grodno
-,
,‘
.0
(°
-
)O4)
1(11,14
-
•/
-
.‘
•<
—
,1’
.
) fr(Sk
:
•;)
iesi
“
•-.-‘•
\j
.
•—
•
-—
Kal’as,
-.
‘‘
—
.F,..
--
S,elry
‘•
‘01
—,.-
‘1
‘
,Riqa
vj-A
A T
-
Map ‘lue littural after the “Great \Var” (\Vurld \Var 1’.
Nationi sni ainolig Estonian’.. Lan’iaiis. and lirhUallI(110
01 the tnrmatlcltl lIt tiiree 11(’.V CUUfltrieS
lRcr 0)1
PO3nO
Stett,n
-
—
L
N
-,“ -,
-
ESTONIA
fT,Ilinn
LITH UANIA
Telstoi
—
PRUS,51A
-
Meowl’k
4
1’!
‘\•-;•
.):v.•
,.•
Ulmanis >verninent and Soviet Russia agreed to ao
jo Fehruary o, and a peace treaty vas signeli 0 AULISt Th
Uinianis gul ernnienr enuki no’.’., focus on continulng th’. work
aiready hegun, (>1 creating the jostItutiOlIS of a viahlu state.
Bv till heniIltIilI ()t 19 19, the cnihtyonic Lithuanian I.0\
had aiready streiigtlietied lis poSltloli having heunme a
enti[y as ot mid- i 9 $ when recoglliZed hy the Gerinan
par
Forees. Tis ieaders were Amailas Slnetunl, ALIgUSti1la’. VoIJaiiaras.
, ittit
1
and rvlvkoiasSlezevleiils. ‘i’he i.overnh1lent. hn’.vever, nt,id
headwa\ in rai’dlig a “nationai” arno’. so thit Witlii \VS ‘JeCd
‘.vith a Red Arrny iflvl,10fl Starrlflg in fInnary 1919, the Bulshevik
forces easiiv captured Viinius and lorced the govcrllrnent o [lec to
304
-
the
svehi
the
J5 RUSSIJH
liOrth,
T90
‘.nIdier,
the
the 1,Lrhllanian
Sovit RepiIhile ot
eastcrn part (II
the
p1’ocLlimed 1
which lflCiUtiLd
state ot rheir
1 940
indigennu4 “workers’
—
—
—
but enahied Bnhshevlk propagaiidists to ciaim thar thev
tUlictloIIed orliy jo
—
Kl)iSiieVlk k>rees,
t)’OI!bI(’d Iilfl(’s,
Lirhuanian—Beloriissian efltity,
which
a
iii
aS
Ffl
t the
—
—
—
reacttonar hnurgeoisie.”
vcre supporting ao
state” agaiist dIe go’.crn
The German govcrnrnenr
ffered SOlliC asSiStanee to tIlC new HancllIai 1 .ithUaIiidli guverllrnent
0
tbarhelped tO StalemIte the hghting until IatC spring ol 1919. At this
juncture, another piaver enrcred the scene the Repuhhe o[ Poland
the ereation o whieh Gerrnanvalld l\usma had asseiiicd ro jn
Novernher 1916 anti the RusSIan pruvisional goverllnienr in March
9f7. ted bv: Suprenw National (;lnlInittce founded hy C;etierii
Joseph Piisudski Polands pro. isinnai president who hacl heen hum
jn Lithuanian terrirory the Poles had alreadv ereatcd a national
arnly and had hegun to secure whar rhev beheved to iw rheir righttui
boundaries to the south, east. and west. Iii the eait, PnIand s aspira—
tions inciuded the old terrttories nf the Pollsh-Llri Ilolan CornlllnIl
weidth, whieh hrought Pniish expectarlolls Into direcr eonflict with
ihose oF the Lithnanians. Hv Aprii i 9T9 Pohsh tronps had nvaded
Lithtiania illiti had gajned euntrol over ahout u third ot lts terrltorles,
rncluding the citv of \‘linTus. In n SCnSC, the [.ith nanian government
was now faeed ‘.s’lth a two—trorit war
against borh the Boishevlks
and the Poijsh forces. ‘[‘he l.jrhuaniui »ernment was ui led [i\ the
faet that neirher of these twn antagonists had mnch SUppolrt in the
WiderLithLlanian population. ‘[‘he Buishevik mo’.-ement in Liihuania,
acotmt that was nor as heavily industriaiized
as the northern pari
of the littoral, had not heen verv popular eurlier, and [,ithnanian
Pohtical thlnkmg had tor sorne deeades rcjectcd the rl,0t juri
revlv
ng the Pohish-1,jtlinanjan
Communweahrh, which threarened the
as weil of Polish hegemunv. l’he oniv “revivahst’ thinklng
? POrtrayed the resurrcctlon ot the grand dtichy fullv tilider i.ithuaniarl
0flt0, Inconciusjve tighring
On 1.ithuatiian terrltury eOIltifltICd tIlitil
UtIJflifl 1919,
wlrh the fronts. depending Oli the 1000111, being
hy the reIarieIv meager Lithuanian h’oi’ces-againsr the Bol
Or against the Poies, and the Peles agalnst the Boisheviks.
t’miin Cofltjngeflts were
invoived iii the ‘.varfare oniy interrnittentiv
1 that ali when rnixed
w1t
ii
German and White RiIssian armv the
terriW”Y’
Lkbei
—
Ljtht1a11nS
Kaunas. As
,S’tafcIuod
(,zse History
u[ tilL’
Rz
1
1
;t
Statc’s
—
lattcr with [ermont—A’.alo at its head invaded Iithu.iiin terr
to From the north (from Latia}. Thro1IhnLit the vear th
nian natioilal ariny demonstrated that n cuuld at least repul,i ‘flem
ineursions, if not always gain linal victor>’ iii the field whieh 0
tjt
aged voItHIwer.s te join ir (a kmg with those eonscriptcd), 13> August
the strugglc againsr the Bnlsheviks was over; they withdrew
Russia. The Poles, however, ehose te retoeus their niilirars
awav toim 1 ithuania and tovard lJkrainc (bririging ahout nil
,
1
conflict between Sovier Russia and Po)and), thus. for the tin hejn
allowing the T.ithuanian gnvernrnent te reesrabhsh its authia ttillv
iii Iathuanian tcrritorv. Thts, however, svas not the cnd ot the stor,
hecause in October T 920, when ao armistice hetween Poliud and
Soviet Russia had been announced and ncgottanons hid stitti’d, a
Polisli force utider the leadcrship of Luejan Zeligowski entured the
Lirhuanian capital, Vdnius, on its wav tnward Katnias. 1 ll(fl liv
surprise at this violation ot the agrecment that had endcd coiifljet
between the Polcs and 1itliuanians, the Lkhuanian g sernh1ont and
armv rallicd but was alle only te stahulizc rhc front south otKaunas,
Pelish hrees now occupied ahout a hfth of Lithuania, and tor the
next three years, negetiations involving the Leagtic ot Natons een—
nnued ovet the Ineation ot the lith uanian—Polish hordcr. An agree—
ment in February 1913 placcd it hetween Kaunas and Viinius; rhus at
the end cl the independenee wars, Piiland conrinued to contr0 aInut
a hfth of lithuania’s terrirory, as well as its incient capital. Viinius.
The independence wars eventuallv resulred jo the v;cr v ef the
national armies and the expulsion frorn the region of alI armed [erces
inmiieal te the idea of Estonian, Iarvian, and Lithuanian tafth0d
But puhlic artitudes were Just as importalir as inilitary stiec and’
t W
as pitched hatties eontiriued throughuut 1919 and into
Id
0
h
tikn
had
statehood
eviclent that puhlic support for the idea t)
LV15
rtFi)ttS
1
nationa
among the general popul-ations. Support For the
1’
three
alI
demonstrated jo nunierous clirect and indircct wavs in
ide
increased enlistment in the iution.il armed furees; switcl1ir1 j
uh
incrcased
hy soldicrs from the Bolshevilc te the jiational army;
0
conrrihutions for the national military elTurt; celelwation 11 fltI0
ott ‘
engagiiig
success in poeins, paintings, and newspaper articles;
(ii
enemy hy the national forees without proper wI’aponry
the rccurring designation of clppl)Iients of the national arnhI
306
.r’
SIAT[.ittiILl1I’ei,
aiD
i
90 5—1 940
P\Rt iASlhNFARISSI
—
trnub!ed times,
307
-
-
‘
wars were heing foughit at the same time as the new
eovernrnents of Estunia, Lauvia, and Iithiianja soughr no estabuish
••;. their autliorir>’ ovet the terrirories the>’ had detined as belimging te
Country, which vas a formidahle task [iv anv ineasure. The
$ithaniaii govcrnmenr, as mentioned cariier, did nut suceeed in this;
91o Polish seiiure of Viinius and
the iands te the suurI of the citv
ept them imder Polish control for
the next rwo deeades, remaining a
tie of
Contention not oniv i ii Lirhuanian—Pohish relations hut in the
hI hetwecn Lithuaiua and the rither
at1ofl
5
two Ba tie states as vehl.
Or
—
iFI
foretgn” eoClii’ and the use iii puhlications ot the idea thar “our”
id wd our n tifln ssrc hum, 10u1,ht toi ldrntIhLltion ssuh
Latvia. and Lithuania as national states as difhising
oughout the genera] poptiIitions, ar least alnong thosc who
oke onc of the three langiiages. Thcse shifts ui artitude did not go
bv western povers for vhoni the fiirore of the Baltic
inerged with the worr ovet the furthcr spread ot
was
IjtWtll
1shevisn1 westward, lhe formal reeognitioii hy the wt’stern powers
0
ofthe ri-iree indepeiidcni Raine st.ites arris ng disjoinredlv hets%een
cime atrer the dctermin,iticin th;ir the new
8 and the 19105
X9t
governments
in fact viahle in the hum, run, and eapahle
were
national
of gOvCrrIing three eountries as parr ui a cordon sanrtaic’ igainsr
Soviet Russia. l3ut the viciurics nf the threc natinnal armies did nut
necessarily mean the paeifieanon ofall these who had teught against
rhem. The German army contingents thar withclresv froni the littoral
naoto returii te Gerrnanv contained many who shortiy thereafter
-;
ntered the fledgling National Sueialist German Wiirkvrs (Nazi)
patty; the Boishevik forces contained manv littoral solchiers and
DffiCerS, especiahlv trnrn the [.atvian aruas. and, aftcr withdrawing
:from the Baltic area rhe participited ui the consohidation of the
Sovier Russian srate and torined liveiv iistonian, Larvian, and Lith—
uanian suheulttires in the USSR without surrendcring thcir dcdica
tiofttl the Bolshevik caise. The citiiy heliigcrents of the independence
h: -wars who would not he heard frnm again iii the region were the
Whfte Russian contillgents. who after their defeat in the Russian
:.
Civil War totally lost their i’ase of further action.
Statebnnd
(oncisc 1 Izstor’.
u[
the Bi1tic
tatcS
.
—
—
The Estonian and 1 :t ao goverilmenis had greater
]
their hoiindar questions were scttled hy the carly 92.0%. In
international
1
VCUflI1j
for
oecd
the
was
there
to boundaries,
Einisaries from the three goverIu1entS had orkcd assiduoul flom
tee gnith i h the waor
19 iX onWards to tom de tactn into dc jure
when Fstoma and
coiupleted
ako
wa
European powers. That task
the Ie;l ne
enterecl
1912.)
(in
1.atVia in 92.1) and Lithoania
tiiree
ali
meantime,
the
Nation as fuli-tledged memhers. Iii
state—buildi
hieh at
ng,
ments were deepiv preoccnpied with
as
iZainifli
weli
as
t
unetnre inolved repair and reeoflStrUCti()i1
1
wonnd’,
iueLonolme
h
ailce of the governnients authonty.The
occupatinn.
and
hv
Gemniati
lw
the
soil,
iittorai
on
wartaft
vears
cit
%jx
\ eie deep,
govCmflrnC
iit
Russiait
the
of
part
the
on
measures
defensive
hundrJ. ot
1he retugees who had left the Iitrorai nnmbercd iii the
wooid
tumn
theni
ol
how
clear
otan>
ali
at
not
vas
it
thtnisands, and
nstises ot the
population
first
The
ali.
nE
retUrn
wouid
or even if thev
ag,greta1e fiei es
5 10 the earlv 192.05 showed that in
new countflc
troui ahout
faihen
had
terrirories
Estonian
the poptilation of the
thai
92.0
1
rnilliciii
10
r.o
ahout
.o8 million before the vai to
thit tit
and
miliino;
i
to
miihOfl
.5
the 1 .atviafl territorieS, roin 1.5
11IN)U1
w
millioti
the 1 .ithuaniail Iands from ahout 4.5
e:t in
mchiding the Viinios territory seized hy Polandi. The largest
m0m
Iaiitiig
popuiatioii
its
the lirrotal Riga had Iost about haif
tuli
hnstilitie;
when
914 to 150,000
i ,o00 just hetore
ahoiir
dmae,atie
ts
qu;te
iit)t
chided; uther urhan areas showcd similar thougli
the .,ltirt
paemnS. Populatioii losses tif this maguitude plaved havue in
did the
as
eftort,
mun with the human enpital nceded for the rehmlding
iirSt
the
during
into Russia
eariy evaellatiohl of industrial inftastrucrure
the
that
sa
exaggeration to
ycars i4 the Great War. It is only a slight
911
1
beseeTi
Ijttorai had undergone a kind of deindustriah/ation
h
disriiptei
hecii
had
harvests
S
sonie
192.0. In adchtioii,
di ui the
gnlss
rapid
liv
the
grain,
and
horses
of
niilitary requisitih)ning
redutt)11 Iii the
nomher (It ah,indooed fatrns. and the eonseqnent
11
ie
availahihty of seed. No incidents of mass starvat 1011 were
undemnm1rit1th1t
certainly
and
but continhiohls hunger, rationmg,
had hecoow rotitine. less so jo rurai rhan in urhoi areas.
Lat’
5
rhere were aiso maerh.l-etfectS: the establishinent of iiess
cd the
had
that
iievorks
destroyed lin the siiort tuo at least) the
,
r
I.
.
fil
trril(Iil(’d
tIHIt’S, 1 )fl— 1
)4fl
09
littoral Ceoflo[TlieS to
—
—
—
—
the larger Rtissian niarket. It was not tt ali
svhether
a
Soviet RussIa, jo whieh the market was soi’
predictal
ordinatcd to poiit;e.iI goals. wouid readii> coopcmate iii rehiiiiding
conomie ties quieklv. Although sniahl—seaie enterprhses urjeiited to
loeJi markets had a chance ot rchounchng, large nuinhers of prewar
of this kind were gone, perhaps foreser. The trans—
portilti00 svstems of the littomal aiso suftered, especialiv the roiling
stock of the maiiroad and csrjmates place the destruetion of nimi
housirtg at about 10 percent. Photugmnphs ot an)und-the—eioek soup
kitehens iii onhan at ens, dug—onrs and sod hus in torni areas, tsam
time trenches servlng .15 tempnrarv hotising. and menirnirtg refugees
miiling about hecaine as rniieh part of the pietnriai Iegaey 01 the
19 t4—1 92.0 penoii 15 group phorographs nf orma liv drcssed mcii
sitting aronnd tnliies and ntaking nationai poiiev.
Activities to cmeate the niaehmery for govemn;ng hegan durtog the
vear of the independence declamatiorts i 1 8 on the premise tilat
the new govemnments woubd survive. 1 he pruvis;onai goCmnnients ot
theper;od_ having heen dmawn from the manks hlf politjcallv proini teot
peophe, For the tinle hcing wcrc iuhietIhlning ii, the laine of Estonian,
Latvian, and Iithuanian populations hiit had not been ehosen lis
thcni they iaeked the legitimacv that eotild eome only Irom 3 c(,i1
stitution. As the period of the uidependenee wars shosted, suhstantiai
disagrcemenr existed jo the titree popuiations no basic questions of
who Sh0LIId govern and hos govemn;ng shouid procced. Most of the
popuhations of the thrce enihryonie states literaliv Found themseives
included svithin the annotmeed houndaries of three eountries withnor
thcit CoflSent having beeu asked diteetiv. (Ifeourse. man> indicators
upport for the pmnvisittnal governnients, suppurr of the new national
armies, declarations ot varjotis kinds sLtggested that public backing
forth new states cxisted. hitit mueh of it was hnrent and had to he Fix.ed
in the formal documents and institutions of govemnnient thatthen had
En he seen as functioning enrities. Inevimahly, otan> ot the
institutions
ot governaitee, espeeialk’ those 01 looni govemnmenrs, created jo the
later iniperiai period remained iii place and entered the new countries
Saneeessars part ofa transition; hut at the highest levels, a cotnplete
2
transforn_atior_ SVt15 needed. Although this tnsk
hnndieci diftcr—
entIs by the threc provisionni govemnments, ali were forced to act even
thougli the wars of independenee had lot conehided.
Stntel.nn ui
1 Concise 1 I,slnre
0/
the Baitte States
concluded.
bv riiat time. Other
where parties werc only st.lrntg
the population (including L.atgie:’
had ;9 rnenihers hy the time irs worL
t0 torrn. Initiaily, the cnuncii
(Constitntin9al
ended with the clection nE a Sati’crsnws Sapulce
rnernhcrs. (,n’ar
Convention) iii April 1910. rhe counci had 1 8
groupingS oF the Lars jan i’
care had hcen taken to represetlt ali
statc—building mea’t’ CS.
ularjun. The CoLtnCil adoptcd nurnerous
the Latvian peP(
conhdnt now that its claim 0. he speaking for
t
Gonvention ii Ari
had weight. The eIections to the Constitutioflai
sorne venty-hvt parrie
1910 invoivcd candidates’ (iStS trorn
received reprdsefltatiotl [he
groupings, hut nnlv sixteefl tiE ritein
May 1 a0, hoving eicctecl 1.110
OflvCflti0fl ilegan its work in
years it funetioneil e.>t
Cakstc as its presjdent. Ovet the next two
contlnuiflg the state
only as ii kind of pre-parIia1flCflt
draIiiig
111tt aiso as the
activities hegun hy the Nationai Councii,
1
much dcbatc°hody of a 1,atViaIl C0nStittJtiii. which, after
10 .1Ute
adopted
1naiiy
smoothing ot patty disagrcemcflts. was
thC
agatfl’
place
Councii took
1912. The ctivjties of the National
flVC0
0
(‘
C0flStituti0n
background of the independenue war; the
htl
the hest.iliries had
ali
nearly
after
meet
to
don, however, hegan
caiied for cnsriturt
In Estoiua, the provisional goverlllileflt
i 9; thev were carricd
9
Aprii
assembly (astital’ kn’ii) ciecons in
of ahout 8a pernt
rare
nut successfully, with a high participatiofl
parrics. The priti
poltticai
and the partieipatiflhl ot 0 niultipilettY ()[
wiik (15Cr
aSseflIb(y
\Iav, and the 0CW
sional governnient resigned in
Prirne
Minszer
headcd hy
the task of governirrg thruugh a cabmct
55)5
coflStiflitiun
temporary
Otto Strandman oF the Labor arty. A
v
temporat
n
and the
adopted iii june; both the eiettd assemhly
coiisiderthL,
ith
governiflent
Fstonian
new
stitutiofl nvcsted the
had weight; and the
iegitirnacy stt that the nicasurCS it adopted
dolistitUtiOn. svheh
petmanCnt
(10
0
worI
itiued tO
asseinb(y 01
20.
2.0.
f)eccmher
svas tinaliy adopted on
active afier the
in 1.atvia, the provisional gcn ernifldnt rernaincd
1918, tiui 110W
18,
ovcmher
procianiation nf independenee on
(omiti(
(National
Padonie
Taitias
it drew its Iegitirnacy froni the
eun
hodv
This
made.
was
tiiat was Cated when the declaratioii
Eormed
partics
political
iargest
sisted of representativeS nE the eight
rcpresclltatlvcs wcrc o-opted frorn SCgI11CIII of
310
t
—
—
940
—
3T1
The devclopmert u govcrnment in the 1ithtianian iands went
thrcugh a similar proeess. The origirial 7arvba (state council) was
phiced after the ileelararmo of indepcndencc in Februarv 1918, by
nC with a presidium (a ehairman and tw vlce—chairlnen) and a
cabiTlet of rninisters. This eluster nk power—holclers fLInctioned on
the hasis ot a temporary Constitution, which was atnendcd 111 1919
to inerease the functioning uffices. These docurnents called For dcc
don of a eonstituent assembiy, vhich rnok pIace iii April 1920; the
ssernbiy eiected Alexander Stiiiglllskis as uhair, which aist made
3
hirn ex vfllciO head ot state 111 contrast to the analogous nstiturions
jo Estonia and Latvia, the Lithuanian Assemblv was vnung rwenty—
nine memhers were under the age of rhirty and only eight were over
fitty. In its hrst mcetIIl(4S. the assernh{y made changes n the second
tefliporary constitution attecting the office of president. h also set
about the task of crcating a Fuii-fledged constitution For the country;
irfter considerabie dehate and revision. this doeunwnt was passed iii
August i 92.2. It .stood as the hasic Iaw of the land onni 1928. wiien it
vas changcd hy President Antanas Srnctuna. who had beeorne
Lithuania’s authoritarian leader fl 1926.
l)uring the rhree— to fourvcar—long deiiberations rhat produced
the new dontitutions in ali three counrries, it became abundandv
clear that these documents and the machinerv of goveruance would
have to satisfv ao extrcrnely widc spectrum of opinlons 0.) have
Support in the new pohticai elites as weIl as jo the popularion
ar large. The drafters, especialiv on the icft side of the poiitical
Spectrurn, were determined not to have a system resernbhng the old
tsarist autocracv. Coosequently, in the new svsrerns, the hcad oF state
1presidcnt” in Larvia and Lirhuanja, “state eider” Iriigit’anern 1_who
was aiso prirne ministct. jo Estonia) was a relariveiy weak ofhce sniCe
the oecupants had been choscn by a vote of the parliament
(kiigikogu in Estonia, Saejina jo Latvja, Sejmas jo l.ithuania). In
Estonia the executive and legislarive Funetioos were, in a Sense.
tnerged. jo ali tiiree cuuntries, the parhaments
the legislative
bodies were unicamcrai and their niernhers werc electcd bv popular
)!Ote of ali citiZens, male and fernale, aged rwenty or tWCntV—OflC years
and oider. The deinocratic rhrust of these rhree sstcrns was main
tameri iri the reguiations governing the formation of politiccii parties,
regulatiniis which catered ro the existing politicai divisions jo the
Statelond jo tronhled tu,ies. i 9o—I
•-1
k
r
inr
—
ir
tn
—
lEo
Ce
e\isten
hist
ot
wele
deba ted questiofl.
alread beser lw diiheulties at the
iii Lirhuania. the sstem ivas
ns of tu6. ereatnig a rationae tor
time uI the parliaiueritarv elcetio
presidentiai-aritlioriririin
Presjdcnr Anr.ini, Smetona Ei) estahiish
fl ..b—
1 931, the Ruiikugzi had e[CVC
rtile jo Estonta, rnin t 92.
1 espan ol a hout ele; n
inets (‘gI wern mcii ts”) each wi di the a verage
‘1
S0L’Inra eleeriun) ElI .1
1 arvia [roni 1921 (the
nnmths;
nrirarian rnie) rhere
(svhcn Isarlis Hrnani, estahlished aoth
inientar cIection. and
parli
iird
altotterher four regularli sLhedt
real paritanielit
thirteco cahinets. Even so, during the
irg contiiititd :ipi
ism jo the rhree countries, the task of sratehui(d
the perniaziciit 0V
with much of the needed svork being done h
of the ninisi rue S
ernments” the ever—growing protessional .sraffs
and went.
elccred ofhciais and appointed ministers canie
threc
t qzo in the
fter
a
Broadh speaking, the new poliriciil elites
ng
lo
peopie who had helped to
conntries Lonusted nf those same
,.0i1
isional governnienls. tl’e
them Into heing: niembers ui the pro
tmenr ol lie\s
stiruefit assenihlies, and naninial couneik. Rcurni
1
g
011
.j
in
se, but niiast of the
icai hadership oecurred nf enur
wei.t
CabinCtS
nee uou IIJ
coiild he dlSsoived Ilpon rCCelViflr a tio—cotihde
n[ a new
inn
fnrrnar
c
the
n
eleetio
new
the parllaiiient. \‘vhether a
ihese
icgistntve
s.
stallee
Larcnm
the
eabinet kdlowed depeiided UtlOfl
on eonsensus and ccimpromisc ;iilu
Systenis phieed a preinium
ihilities tO peustiade
polirleal parties as veIl as on the presidents’
hei were estrtink
•1
unirv.
part leaders to achieve sueh temporarv
on patty priles
,ed
s
vuinerahle in the [acc ot hard—line Stanee
created Vk in,
iiewiv
the
inons. Whetiier
or personal or partv ainh
ard a luikh
onw
os
worka hit 01 il,)t hecamt [mm the earli’ 1
co1lirTolls
—
stare eider) asktd
which hceaine the e’w(
a govcrnment” a eahiiier ot minisrers
anwnr. Erom thc
tive and reniained aiiswerahlc tu the parli
atlcn in the pirI1anwnt
rhese systeins indecd guirantecd reprcseilt
at viesvpoints. tiur the aku
niosr o[ the iniporrant wevaent politie
ts wouid he hs51
niade it j!iiiost IfleVilihle tilat workahie cal’lne
lue). The goer11nitni\ ne
0[ parries (norinallv rhrte [1)
wtls proporttonal 11,
and their represen[arlon iii the pilhiLalfleflts
ion. 1 he presidei,t
eltet
aI
tencr
nomher o[votes rhey received in :1
ng rnnst votes En
receivi
the leader nf the partv
candidircs to the eleeti r
C’ecwe,e H,s!orv ot the Bill,
of
populations. Parties presenred siares
31 2.
.
0ics.
iiy,
iofla
fadiers” )tew
speciai
sstem
rise
eper
jn
.
—
parries
o
4r92
st;ltils
at
prac
nejit
i
actua
‘vere
parjiai
O[
rce,
wonien ainong rhcm). who had heen iii the thirty to
age group duriog the i i
period, rernjjned
the rop,
circIa_ bet.veen siniple parilamenrary meinhership and minister
ial posrs. Presjdei,ts )or
Estoola, the srate clders mci cahiner
Were Fstonians, Latvians, and tirhtiini,ns alrhotigh 0CC4:
when
was needed, eihnets inciuded meni
bc of the so-caijej minorj- Iario,laljtjes who
represenied in
the parlja[flents wiih their own
The new eonstjtotj,is for
bade discrijiiiiiatjoii on the hasis ofiiatiniality bur iii
SUpp hv
ividtspread senrlnlent iii the general populatioji, the>
j that the three state heionged” En the
demo
.
1
nlajoritv inclig
05
Cflfl
Peopies. The> nosv occtipied the eroeial ieadership puisitions EI)
the 11
exjj<, uiF the prewar eites Balije Germaos, Russians, and
Th po!itjeai
enstired sneh outcnmes hecause the
•
impouing
lue a’i,,a building, Riga. tter its eonipletion till 6 ),
itrueture was the headgtiai-ters uf the 1 viandic
nohijit From 1918 ro 1940 it houseti [he 1 arvon pIrlj.nnent
tSa’oni), truio 1940 the Siiprenie Soiiei ot the Laivian SR, and
in 1 991 It res erred tu jts earl jur
.IS Lar ia’s
2.9
rhis
jO
A
(;v!Jcise
1 lJSIPrV
ci/
the
l3aIt,c States
—
—
—
—
01
The rhird category vas cnmposed of sphnter patties:
Jt°
parii
the
came and went in a hewildering varletv throughour
nan0fl
>
mary perind. but others largely those representing nunurn
tend.nCY 0)
ahities tcnded to be inore stahle despite the strong
parm repre:
divide. (in the J.atvian parhament, for example, three
dchmri°° cht
senred the relatively smahl jewish population.) Ly
uriCnt°’
’
t
sphinter parties as a blec had no tinifying pohiticab
werc torC’
the> tcnded to he pressure grmips inore than parries and
of thcir particid1°’°’
negotiaring with the inajor parties on hehalf
10 1926.
partics
that dornnatcd the parlianwnts were huth ideolcg, and
aational n eomposition. In aH three cotmtries, there svere hrojd and
very 1uid categories of parties. Some having been turmed kefnr
indcpcndence whiie nthers arose ar the time uf parIiarnenrar.
tion,. l’arti’ leadership consisted for the most pare oF thuu wirh
higher educaten and pro[essonaI tralning, with the legal ProhiO
dominating. For success at the ballot box, howcver, appeal had mo I)
made to the differing intercsts ol the electerarc. Sinue the vast Inajor•
, the agrarian piri-)e
ty o the populanon of each country farmed
of
Estonia and 1 atvia,
ents
were always promincnt m the parhiam
Farmers PtLV j
the
right:
ni
comprising the core of the pohitie
al 0
os
poliric
h
phih
p
listonia and the Agrarian (Jnion iii Laivia. Their
ne
the
uf
hackbo
the
was grounded in the norion that farming was
micn
were
rural
poplila
ar
the
of
virtues
the
that
and
y,
econom
starc’s
plaved
n
a
mueh
religio
ia,
.ithuan
1
In
y.
idenrtr
al
nation
of
the core
more significant part in parry idenrity than jo the other two
and the Christian Dernocratic Bloc (which represented Farmc’rs as
”
wehi) was the most signihcanr groupirig on the “right.
Deni.crats,
Sncial
the
weme
untries
threeco
ali
IeFt
in
1hecore of the
(rarlwring
t.
longes
the
parnes
zed
organi
as
who had heen active
t ngans.
Marxis
ed
mndifi
s
varinu
with
the!t elecwral suppnrters
- “the
workcr
iah
industr
the
ost.
Forcrn
the>’ represented, firsm and
of
penple
d
antage
disadv
w
ti>
appeal
proletariar”), hum aiso sought
so
Iess
bat
a
Esioni
in
strong
verv
ali sorts. The pohncal Ieft remained
1)einucrats
jo Latvia, hecausc in the 1.atvjan parhiamenrs the Social
is.
the>’ Jid
(that
tion”
opposi
for the most parr chose to remain “jo
ome mc)
littk’
had
tacy
not enrer cabinets). In T,ithuania, soctal democ
undcd
svsrm
entary
pros’e itseif, hecause a wehl-fnnetioning parhiam
14
‘
St7tCIQL/
iii tri
mhled tIfli.
1 9O— 1940
3 1
t
coflStite1es
—
i hine, howevcr, thm’y were ULII1)erjcaijv large
preenr
the
to
rtghr and the Ieft frotn fotmin honglasring
nough
fact,
in
rinne
of the hloes, howi’ver defined, rook on the
cabinets;
o1
a
cnr
perlnan
fixmurc m the pohitieal arena. Shortjjved
charat
g
cahets, the comin and going of parries and paTty furmatioos, and
the deal—inaking that was neeessary ml fl0ve legislation forward
edy created the imprcssjon, whcn juxtaposed with ao tdealizcd
versiofl of ao ef&ient denioeratje sysrern, thut “the parhiameot
wasn’t working:’ The impressjon was rnagnihed hy the faet that jo
ali thrce countrics ao active and erirical press enstired that ali cves
wcre forever on the centmaJ overnrnenr Afr ali, ir had becij the
ivc pohiticab elire rhat personahly hebped to ereate the countries,
and itwas thL’y wiio were riow cxpccteci by thepopui:imjons at barge
jre thar prngress cuntinucd.
In the new states. Estonjans, Lanians, and I,ithnaniaiis ncs erin
ohIed the polirjcal svsrem sentimeut was widesptead amorlg mhein
that sueh an onteome was righr and proper. These rliree peopies
comprised the majomiries iri their countrjes iii Estoiiia about 7 pet
cent, jo Latvia about 72 pereent, in !.ithuania (exeluding the Viin ins
dtct) ahout Ho pererot. The conflfrjes hore thejr nallies; the mdc
pendcncc wars had heen fc>tht svith the purpose ofgaining pohirical
ConnI; and the new eonstjmfltjons pre.scrjhed Eswniaii, Lamvjan, and
Liuanjn as state banguages. Bur the 15
constitUtjoj also reibectcd the
fact diat ese new stares had lninorjtjes dened bv n,itjonahjty
whose rreatn,eiit was of exeeptioijah concerii w the League o1
Nations, whicji the new states had jnined. Suebi cOncern was part
tthe new ordcr of things in Eurupe afrer the war and could not he
Pohirjeal opinion within the titular nationaljrit’s, hlowcver,
Was not uflanjmc>us
ahotir what spccial proteetion of minorities
might flca At jssjje WJS the qnestion ot whar righis hcyond those
Ofcitizenshjp the minoritv natjiinahjtjes shouid have, and the ques
Was made niore compbex hy the facr that
sonie of these minor
Ues ho the
sgma of having h’cen the prewar pohitical, social,
:-0noinic, and culturiJ hegemin-r.
, the Proportions 1)1 rh nujnorjry
50
A1
natjonahjrjes differed iii
L
e
tbr Courltrjes lo Esmoiija in the carl>’ 920s.
proportloTlatehy
e
was the Russiaris (.z%), whihe in i.a’ja it Was
e third
iargcst (. %) and jo Lithuania, the fourrh (2.
-:
C’ n ie 1 Iisturv
nf
the Haltic States
—
—
—
parliaments.
ji1m)tt
0
o[ j
The new eenStitUtionS crcatcd proteetiOfi
governmcflts suhsidized mmnorit
laflgLiage rights. and the new
The new posr\\ l -organlzatronS.
nientary sehoois and eulatral
the Balte hittoral m’t’’
were multieuifllrai jo the same sense ihar
ii!t
1
hefore the war, ihis j
had leen long hefore the war. Bur, also as
than integratm(hhI
culturaiism took the Form ot coexistcnCe rather
language, re%mdemln1
state
the
of
iarnr — interin1rriage, the iearning
take place at ali,
patterns, religioos conversion — if ir were to
measures. Thi
have to occur “naturally” without government
—
made up the seeond idrmst
Gernians (Bait(C ( ernt.1ns) in [srunei
r (.9%), and th rlurJ _
at’
1
in
the trst iartet
minoritv (i
national min nn j
Iargest
the
l.ithuania (4.1 %). jcws cnrnpnsed
hut the mnth
(4.9%).
:Itvia
1
in
1 irhuania (. % ), the third largest
nunlerlcaily
sianmt1camir
wcre
Swedcs
in Eswma (0.4%). In Fstoiia,
Fev
and ‘.ere
were
rhey
hut in I ,atvia and Lirhuania
were
mthtiania
smmnifi
1
in
Poles
counted aiTlong “uthers. Similarly,
1,atvma.
1 hese
and
Estotua
Ifl
cant (3.0 percent(. bLit nnth less SO
hist
the
ra1
rcflected
distributionS in the carl i9l0S (aithfuily
the
httorai:
ot
halves
and sciuthcrn
epcrienCe of the ncmrrhern
preWar minority in the hSt0m lan
dominant
the
Germans had been
the northern emid u
and Lat jaa Iands; 1 .ithuania had been
cnnie to settle III ali ears
ewish pale o( settlement RUSSianS had
[he aggregatc nunihem
ot the Iinnral for a mi \Iure of reasnnSredueed hy the artme
been
had
the postwar miitority nationahties
die
the numher
had
as
period,
experiellce in the 1914—1 9O
es
a
houndu
new
the
and
titular nationaltties. When peace
lmpoflil it mnmnurmties
however, the proportionS of the niost
relativek hmeh.
rcmarned
Germans, Rossians. Poles, and jeW
(ermans and
them
ot
eSpCCiaIIy iii l.atvia. 1oreover, several
tu he
ntiimlmcm-l
c
Poles
lesser extcnt
jews espeCiallV, and to a
mmf
thrc
ali
in
ectent
same
econornicaily signihcant, hot nnt to the
the new CC)Ufltfft’S
tood standing o[ the ruee
Because the connnued interliationa)
extent On how the “minorit
CoUittriCS dependcd to a great
new
puhlic dehate recognized rliat the
ity” q1leStOfl vas handled,
denine
the
protectlofls to ihem: ihus
ofltitUt1011S h.itl tu extend
mcd
pirries 0
formation ot politieni
the
pohincal systems alIoved
ited
the
and their reprcsentation n
on the natiollahity prillciple
,
ifl
—
—
—
—
trniiblcd times, : 91) t— 1 940
—
—
attitude did not sit weIi wmth the more natmunalistieaitt incl,ned SeCtors
f the tirular pnptiianons who cnvisaged the eentral purpose ot the
0
cw go ernments as being the cuiniral immcl uconomic promotion 0)
the “basic nations.” ln their vtew, the ‘state” and the ‘hasme naton”
were separare eririties, with the state having a moral ohligation w
ensor that Lstonians. 1atians, and 1 .irhiiarmians wouid never arain
he dominated 10 anv sense hy other n.inonaliry groups.
Given the seope oF such e\pceranons in the ieiieral popularion, ii
was inevmtahle that a nornher of the reform nleasures introdimecd hv
the new governlnentS wouid cenrcr on the redistriburion of edsring
wealth. The continoing .Ittraetivemiess of the pohitieal parries oF the
lefr— espeeilIIly the Soetal Demnerats la} preciselv in their pronuses
before, during, and after the independence wars that some such
redistrihution would take place: and the postwar governmcnts
nnderstnod thar waiting for econoinic revival ui gelmerare new wcalrh
wotild he Fnnlhardv. Sorne measures sueh a mi progressive tax
system thar wonld sopport social welfare programs could he pro
rnulgated equailv throughoLlt the popoimiimon, hut others were bound
to affeet the population unevenly. 1 he ciearesr cxampie of the latter
was reforrn nieasures targeiing the eoneentrition of landownership:
this question in ali three countries had been taketi up already dunng
1918 and 1 919 and it was one pohcy area in whieb the redistrih
utionis’t ideology of the left cnincidecl wirh the “natiunal proteetion”
ideology of the eenter and right. In ali thrce eoum]tries, roughiv 40—50
perccnr of ali land tvas stiil owned bv large iandowners. who iii
Estonia and 1,a tvja suere mosrly, hut not e’el usivelv, Baitic Gcrinans,
and jo Ljthuanja, again nnr exclusivehy, (ernians, Pohes, and Rus—
sians. With politeal power passing trom these groups whieh were
being transformned into niinority nattonalities — it appcared rhat rhey
wcre beiiig targeted, and, undouhtecliv, the further wekening of the
econornic pnwer oF the tradirionai ilegenicimuc litilioritIes playetl mi
part iii the govcrnnlents’ monvarions. Iust as important, however,
Was the oecd qoickiy ro cxpand the landecl propertv uf sniailholders
and tO pfl)Vde the Iandiess with their own farrns: hnth of these
°LItComes womild give these large groupings of ru tai people nurnber
Irig in the hondreds of thousands
mi stake jo die new stares.
The hase foi-miila of these large—seahe agrarian reiiirn,s vas sim—
pIet expropflarion hv the state of ali personaiiy owned land ahove a
•StJIL’hom ui
Coneisc’ Hiswy ;f tIic Ha!tic
S!atL’s
-
cerrain acreage, the pLLement uf this iand Into a nat uita 1 Iand ond
«uid ts redisrrihution to smallholders and the landless. Fhe pruu.
redisrrjbunon was prolongcd, lasring Into the i 930S, hut most f th
expropriated lands were redistrihuted n the first haiF ofthe tc0r>s En
Estcntia, what ended up in the land fund cornprisud somethitg
haiFof ali privatelv owned iand in the country —ahottr hail arahi,
half forests anl swuups; the redistriburion process had increaj ti
numher o arnis hy some o percent bv the end uf the i 92.
old owners were given modesr coinpensation in lOng—tcrrn h
moreover. thev cuuid aku appiv for restitution ofup to o hetare
milliun heetares ofexpreprated
the expropriated land. In Iar’ia,
laricl were transferred ro the land fund, and hv the end of the
sorne i,ooo larms had heen newlv created or stippiemented. The
new owners purcht’ed their lauri irotu the state through lonircrrn
loans guaranteed hv the guvernmellt. The [ormer uWUers receh cd no
compensation; however, the governmellt unilertuok ro pav of
ever debrs were owed on the exptopriated land, and the loriner
owners \vere able te keep up te 1 l0 heetares. In Lithuania, whh
used roughly the sanie rnodel of cxpropriarini—redisrribunnn, ‘alue
;8,6oo new farms had been created and sorne 6, 190 ltad heen
enlarged by the cnd of the T93os. Lirhuania was the nost generuus
of the three countrlcs tn compensating lormer owncrs. lu parI
hecause the cxpruprlation uiolved a la rge amoilnt nE uhurch proper
ties. Ry the mtd- 1 9 0S. the government had paid our Some 1 million
Iitjs in uumpensation lo former owners. As in Estonii. thr tu’W
owners h.id to pav the governrnent for their land vith pai [aL’IitS
depending on and quality, and the governnienr extended gellurolIs
terms as weli as loans to the new uwners.
En ali thrcc countries, veteraos nE the indepertdence wars and orher
individuals who had rendered werthv assistanee to the ereatioli
the new states lieaded the list uI ihose persons who received laail. in
rt.ifl
coniparlSufl with other pustwar countries in Europe. the agri
te
rcforrns jo the rhree B.iltie st1tes were guite radical. In reaetin the
[.atvlan rclerrn, Falric German esrare OWIiCrS rock rheir cas
exprepriatio1t without compensation” te the 1.eague nE
but their compiauit ss as rejccted. While the reforms succecded lIt the
uitabie distribution of land aniettg
1
short run in ercaring a more ec
owners, the rhonsands nE srnalihoidcrs creatcd hy the riie0ft
31
r—r940
3
1 y
The
poStWar
TIIRIE
—
—
.‘IIHtIkJ[Ai[’.
—
—
PRFSI[’a-\’ts
L
—
genCe ofa
—
dectdes jo eentral and eastern Furope saw the emer
hust uI aiithorjrarjan political leaders for different reasons
jo each countr. Some eseaped the trend
Czechosliisakia, for
exampie, and Finland hut even thcre the preservatjon cl liheral—
deirjocratie InstjtIItjOIls was tted to the infinenee and charjsniatje
Ieadership of strnng indjviduais such as Prcsidenr Tomti i\lasarsjc
ja the former and Marshal Kari Gustav Mannerheim in the iatter. En
others Irak’ and Germaity the asecndancy of Benitu Mussolini
(rzz) and Adolf Hitler (1 9 3) svas ro have desastating eonsequen
ces. Estonia, larvia, and Iathuania inighthaveavoidcd this rrend had
iheir independence colne in iess rrouhlcd tiines, bLIt thv did join the
ciuh tif what are sometiines rerrned the “little dictatots” in 1926
(Lithuania) and 1934 (Latvja and Estonia). The thrce aurhoritarjan
presidenrs who rock power in those years
Antanas Smetona
(1874—1944) jo Lithuania, Karlis Ulmanis (1
77—t942) in Latvia,
8
and Konstantjn Pats 873—l 956) in Estonja had ali been deepiv
invoived in the struggie for independence in the 1914—T92o period
and in the forniatjon of their countries’ eoristitlltions; none of theni
exbibited any iusr for ahsolute power theo and ali were willing
to practice their leadership within the limjts nE the new
pohrical
Systcms. Yet the polItiCal historv of the thrce COLIntries also shows
that in a cnnsiderable port-ion of die new politicai elites and the
Politically active citizenrv impatience with the Sometinies cumber
Some worklngs ol- liherai-democrat,c political institutions \Vas grnw—
Ing. This impatienee should nor bavu arisen. Aftcr ali, ntosr ot
the
p0litical ie;idrrship oE the three eoiintries in the post- 1920 period
Wete rnature mcii in iniddle age, and undersrood Erom theit own
prewar experienee the polirical cultute of the three peoples. Thev
knc that Fstonmans, Latvlans, and I.ithuaniatis had entered the
period dividcd on many fundainenr-al questions, tliat
Patty poljtics jo the parhamentarv
arena offcred manv ternptations
fo further fragmellratioll, and that success depeiadcd on
constant
1105
negotjj
deal-niaking. anti cnmproniise. Jnstead, jo the minds of
fO
j:.
F90
woitld hecomc a prohiem for the new States Li ter wheu a worldwide
onorn ic down tllrn began te a fect ali of En wpe.
.Stitehoud ui trei,1,k’d times,
A
(;n11cisc
f1,stnry v/ tI’ BaIt:c
5
.Stjj’
—
—
thought.
The first Baltic country to take the step tnward aurhoritariin ruie
[
vas Lithuania m l)ecemher 1926, when a cnalitiun nE iucmi’tfS
ol
arniy
l)en,ocrars,
and
Christian
the Nationalist Party, the
h)reeiuliv took oer the poiiticai svstern. Flie ‘direcri ratc )eailing
these tnsurgents’asked Anranas Snietnna, the leader nE the N.it1011
alists the Lie!tu’j;i TautininL’ir .SafiuIga nr tczutininkai). ui
president, and lie was “eiecred’ to thar othee liv a rump juriiii ent.
the
Smetona, then liftvrwo ‘ears old. had a iaw dcgree )1 902 fi ui
l.ithti,u1
University cf St. Petersburg and had been active iii
—
man [hcachicv eniulit ni ii lependenee and the internarinri
nitiflfl iii the ihree states prndtieed an dealizcd inuge
hu thejt
plitical rld wntiid wnrk frciin thai puit unard.
anee nE the “Russian voke,” the Baitc c;ern1lli vtike” and
.k
1
aiso the “Poiish yoke, and the emerience ot a stam Eramwhich the ritular nationalities dominatcd Was [0 have pi ndiied an
unprohleniatic future. Reeoiistruerhni and st.itehuilding
hard
work, ro he sure, hut the dream nE the
awakeners had Einally lieen reali7cd. This wa’, a
ennceprnin of national independenee: prhieins wiiiiid Le rL.nlt.d
one now that independenee had arrived. StLI h’—
quicklv one
ical ihinking svas roo readv to aceept the rnnion thar a seemmgly
unsatisaetorv pulirical svsteni eould he redesigned ni wili and rcicat
cdiv. untii a version cmerged tliat wouid produce the desi ted :sults.
nE
There were stmii utupiali ulenients iii rhese arntudes.
,iich quai—utopian1sm cd to the helief— not shared hy ali, ot oir%e
rhat therc had to tie a single strung riational ieacler stat hng above
parrv and Faetional strife wiio wa’. capahie o cuttmg through endless
pohtical arguments. LTICUIICIIISIVC eleCtIt)HS, and the ener .itmg
polemies th;it treedniii ui speeeh and of the press seenied ui p’oduce.
Jiistaposed Wlth this ideal, high partielpation rates ii eleetioi:s. nun
viuient transfers ot pnwcr whcn eabinuts ehanged hands, and a hnst
ali eharacterotie ot
ot demonstrable iegislative .iecninpiishiuciits
the parliamentary pernid nf the thrce haitw states appeired gra
and uncxciring. Closc to the htrnral, the succestui eoti in
;igainst the government oF Pniancl liv ( eieral Jnse PilsudsLi and hi
subsequenr hehind the thrnne” domination ol puhties unrii ;
tinder the ruhric nf s:nacjr rigenerative purge) pri.n ided nd tor
:;lo
301, h. c The three 1nrerwir iitrhorjtarhu 1 prcideiit. nE rhc
Balti enuniries: la) Antanas Snirroiia (Lirhtiani-a) (hi Krhs
5 iLarvia, e-ated ceu[eI-): and (c( Knnsranti,i Pirs
tjInjini
—
311
irical cn-cles for a iong time m the Grear Assemblv in 1 uo, ii’. a
0
1
ournaliSt and foiinding editor nE several iinporrant newspape;-s. as
jiead (lf the Lirhuanian refiuee effnri dnring the war, as a fieree
pporielit nE riissiheatiun, as chair ii± the provisional p.irhament
0
that issued the dcciaration tiE independenee iii Fehrnar 19 18, and
fjrst president during 191 9—1920. lie also Iecturd on the Greek
cIussicS at- the ldniversitv nE Kaunas and translated a nurnhcr nE
platti’s works into Lithuanian. A prini ipled anti-Mar\isr cninpletelv
.StatL’huorI in trouliled times, . u— £940
saa, 1’, e conr).
-
O
L
.
.
—-
.
‘
r.
.
Vi
‘
.
—i
40
—
—
fl1tl0fla1 Cause, Smetona in h1 IOn periud o hh
appeared
commitied to the i,hera1denit>craric prineipies
had
Lithuanian
state had been fouiided and had exhibited
which the
drive
tor power often assoeatcd with author
flVnC of the ruthiess
iintii 1940, he presided over the steady
kria rulers- Btit froni t
j__se of presideiitial power 0 Lithuanla and a severe dirninution
f the signihcaflce ot an eleeted parhainenr.
0
governnlg style toim 926 Ofl ean he charaeterized as
carefui authoritarianism. The more cxtreme (and vounger) wing ot
the twtininkai, Ted hv Agustinas Voidemaras ii $H3—1942) pLlshed
hirn to assume ali the powers nnpiied in the titie ot izu1os \tu/as
(JOf the naillm). Srnerona represented the rnoclerate wing o the
naonalis ‘novemeim however, and leit eo npelied to retain reduced
some wouid say trapp gs
ot
versiofls of the political structures
parhamcntary democracy. Pohticai partv autiviry was not tnrhdden
outrighr (except for the Cornniunist Parry) but svns discouragcd, wirh
the resuit rhat the tautintnkai were the oniy effective puiitieai partv
during the resi of the 192os and during the i9os.Arump parlia
mem continucd to meet but vas c-nn)pietelv under the president’s
controt. New eonstitunons were drafted and pro]rluigated in 928
atidagain in 193$. hut these ijilv consolid-ated the powers ofa strung
presidcncv. Srnerona like Marshal l’iisudski in Pnland envisaged
hirnself as standing ahove the fray of patty polities and deelared the
presidenr to he a unifying nannna( hgtire whoe oniv eoncerii was
defending the interesrs of the Lithuanian iiauon. Trnporranrly. the
flation was defined cthnicaiiy hv Smetona, appirenriv, and h’ the
tautininke,, dehnite(y. The measures pronlLiIgared bv his foutreen
year governmcnt were not particularlv etren1e, and niost ot theni
Were of the kind a strong dcrnocraticaily eieeted parliaIn,e[lt WOIiid
hava approved: eco ioiiiie deveiopment, edueational reform, agricul
tural suhsidies, prunntion of trade, and hard—hne attitude tnvard
Pojand ovet the 1•ithuanian territory that had [cen occupied Iii 1920.
There vas aho a determined effort by the Srnetona govcrnnient tI)
redue the role of nnn—Lithuanians (prominently Poles and Jews) in
the economy; this foliowed the logic ot national proteutionislu, tilat
1Sthe stare hoving as its prirnary duty the “protection” of the titular
onaTity. Des
,ite the eontinuillg hut somewhat ernpt iiistittitioflS
1
Parliarneit dernncracy, there was no question thai inipflrtant
StotL’hood in trnublt’d times. 190
—
-
Iljan
-
—
—
politicai cuiture.
the Irr
In Laivia parlianientary delilorJcy lasted until i 934, with
parlianiuliTu
regular
four
by
fciiirteeii vears o[ the new state marked
cabinets. Ehere W:TS aI’o i
eketjnns and frequent ehanges nf enalttion
parttes the Agrari.i
iargest
progressive electeral weakeTllng nf the
chose
to rernain in op;i
Union and the Social Demoerats; the latter
sjtinfl hecause in its view the Iatvian “proletariar” was insufHricntiy
aIread 11
devehiped te reguire representatiofl. Pulitteal cempetition.
10
Cnnvents>0
fuli view during the elcctions for the Con.stitutional
r.
d
magnl)ft
1919. rcmained intense, and highly parosan newspapers
ti,Ui
the
ja
Noncrlicless, the “peopies busincss” cennniicd te he done:
nf iiilfl
Saetmas (prIiamems) From 1912. tO 1 931 the proportion
at X
duced measures that becamc Iaw remained fairly stcady
(iL) r). So did serri
(192.2), 84% (r9.t), 87% (L928), and 78%
$o%. rcsC
participatil)n in the four eiections: 8i%, 7%. 79%. and
assIi
tively. At the sarne time. the vety liheral party kirniation Iaw
rhost s11&)
tilat jo each eleetinii a stihrantial portion about z% of
1
the ne’
actuallv voted weuld relllaifl outsiders jo SOnle fonn untU
lists prese1it
eleetien. In the four eIeLIinns, the nuniber of eandidare
the niii:ihe
but
respectively;
jo;,
te the vnters vas 88, 1 i, 12.0, and
rcpresenrati°°
receivd
ui parties or party fnrmations 1 hat aetualiv
01
—
—
policv decjsions originated at the tnp. \VIiiIe in office Smctona
hegan to show greatcr jnt 1cr inee tor disagreei ent and potent
rivais: Voldemaras was drivcn troni politieal lite ifl 192.9 the extreilir
1 ot
nanonaliSt organiLanon Gch-uiis i.,lkas (Iron Wolf), the foundii-i
in
the
s.lme vear
dewn
elosed
was
whieh Smerona had supported.
offices;
gernnrii
salaried
with
Smetona rcwarded his supportcrs
oftcialdtini. espccially during the i 93O, expanded vety rapidk.
also demonstratcd nhcjtude toward Jose family memhers: his wiIi,
wiE&s sister, and hcr hushand vure a kiod of intormal advis
group a familv clique, in iess genernits wurds and his broiiiur—
inla\v, Juozas TheIis ( 8X.—i 939), a man with considerahle organ
izational ralents, served as prine minister trom 192.7 tO 19 8. he
dominancc of the tauii,zinku and Smctona had suppori jo the g
but. io a
etal populanon how inuch is impossihle to determine
his’authortanai
that
douhr
no
is
there
franleWork,
larger tune
leadership, corning hard on the heeis of tsariSt autocraey, conhInuLd
marglnalize thc hahirs of demoeratic seif-governinent in 1 ithut
4 (oncisc 1Iislurv n[ the Bi1tk Siats
1
.1
h
Q
-
jo
trouhk’d Ili;ws,
1
9t—F 9.40
32.3
Ulinanis
had
heen a eenter—righr pelit—
werc arrcstcd,
heid in an interlilnelit
CcU11
Uimanis
tor a brief
the
proehaimed
:issumcd the ptcs—
he held more power tiihil
Ofl
had
no parliament of any
wcre not pcrmittecl, and Ulmanis
1934
idcncy as wl2hL I:ron_ that peint until 1940,
any singie irvian politician ever had,
Uniike Lithiuania, Latvia from
kind, otganized political partieS
a
In 1936, wheii tiit ttrrn of the
Sitting presiderit. Alberts Kvicsis, expired, Ulmanis
by himself.
that the country weuid henceferth he govcrned by
cahinet of mmisters chaired
old
period, and rhcn reIcscd. Ulmanis, who was theo fiftv-sevcn years
takeover
of-cenrcr patties, as weII as other potential opponenis ot
parliarneut and
(hoine guard), htnught about ti
hloodless Coup, suspuoding the
ali pohitical parties Cincluding his ewn), and aho
suspcnding the 1922 censtitution while promising 1) revise it later.
The rnot prominent Ieadcrs of the Social Democratic and orher left
years,
he feundanatural hume o the Agrarian Union. the seeond
largest Larvian policical patty, which he represented jo ali of the four
parlianients. On Mav 15, 1934, Ulmanis and a group of like—iritnded
Agrarians. supporred hy elements of the mihitarv and the Aizsargi
iraI acrivist imee the post-19o5 pcriod, wlien he Iiad iIed the harass
ment of rsirist officials by emigrating to the United States For a pcriod
of six years ( r907—19 13). 1—lis interest theo and later Iav in agricui—
ruth ecoiiomic, espccially dairy science. Even during his exiie. he
continucd te publish in [aivian penodieals on the suhfrcrs of agri
cultural iIllproverneIlts, the eoopcrativc rnovenient. and economie
modetnizattoit .Se rving as head of gevcrnment during the war
Like Smctona TrI Lithuania,
early 19305.
t0
ieasr one .\IP was 2.0, 2’, 2.7, and 2.7, respectivelv. and manv fewer
parueS (Hve or si’J aetualiv formed the working cahinets Ihere were
seeds oF political alienatioii 11 this Situtition; it hCIIi credihilitv te the
chargc froin the mid-1910s on tilat the part system and parlianieni
“wcrcn’t wotkmg,” espccially hccause of the growrh ui splinter parties
iii the parliament: the 111111111cr of MPs who wcre the SIIIC representa—
tives of tlieir piirties or who were part of a two—person representatiun
1. lue politieai leader to whom the
rsc te 7 (of roo MPs) hv 1
sjtuatiofl was lleCnnlLI)g increasinglv unacceptablc vas Kirlis lilmanis.
who, by anv defiintion, was one of the “founding fatfiers’ nt the new
Latvian tare and had htcome the leadet of the Agrarian Union hy the
Sic;te/ood
1
CmCZSe
His!uru ot the RaItk
Sttes
never
jcws).
ttt1tjt
delicred on his earlv proittise to revise the i 2.2 C
o
Defendets
personal.
vas
rule
His
eleetorare.
and preseflt it to dc
plots
uoup
by
antoto
neccssitated
vas
it
the coup proposed that
reporred as
disgruntled exrrenust groups this assertion tvas. in Faet,
New York
The
as
such
newspapers
the reason for the coup in foreign
uni exii
dtd
plots
such
pretc<t;
Times. The elaim, however, w-as a
wirh
Irnpatient
heeome
had
\Vhat is more likel is thar Ulmanis
the
and
seeuii•
perlormanue
slow paee (in his vicw) ot parliarnentary
Supprto,
of
coterie
liis
ini elians ot the p lirical svstem: he and
(ray. Unmarried and
could do the nh hetter standing ahove the
the colt ot
something of an aseetIc, he nonetheless canie to enjoy
cl the
(leader
persouiality that surrnunded hirn: the tirle (f \‘adonis
limi
bv the
bestnwed upon
nalion), the honorary doctnrate
for his visi to
UniursiR nE Latvia, the eheering crowds organiied
war years and
the
dorung
Ulmanis
Smetoria.
the cnuntrvside. Like
te parliamen
cemrnitted
bcing
nE
sign
subsequcn clv had given et ery
and his per
he
measures
the
lirhuania,
tary dernncracv, and, as in
WOUld have
940
0)
1
1
[roLl
934
sonaHy hoscn cabinet prmiulgated
state,
welfare
the
nE
expansion
been passed b a sitting parliarneot:
and
agrieuiture
of
suhsidizanon
promotioli eI ecoiioiflic growth,
As
state.
the
by
programS
oli
industrial enrerprise. and creatinn oE
part
in
undertaken
was
jo Lithtiania, the ereation of state rnnnopolles
fol)owers wirh salaried
te e’spauid ofhe ialdorn and reward Uhnanus’
inished the cconomie posver
1
positinns. Also. deterrnioed efforts din
Ulmanis was
and
ni non-Larvians tprincipaily l3altue C,errnans
wirh
relatioos
persunal
a national protectionist; tliough he had goud
the
For
“Latvia
the minority nationalitieS, verSlons of the siogan
1lure
supporters.
Latvians” werc ineteasingly popular among his
that the prineipal
view
the
Smetona
with
sharcd
no douibt ihat he
Latinan jn(ti
function nE the state was En protcct the intercsrs nE the
vas rela
(natiun). Except for the underground cornrnttnlstS, there
polineal polue
tively little opposition te Ulmanis’ (me-man tule; the
of the non
kept an eve on potential troublemakcrs. and the leaders
DernocrntS) tok a
dishanded politicai parties (itueluidiog the Socual
wait—and-sec attitude.
eXtreuIljsts
The elaim tliat a coup was necesSary te orestalI
Seiiute
the
justify
te
Loming te power had been used aiready
jts
2
p
Konstantitl
poiitical power in Estonia by the sixtv-ycar-old
1
r
III trC)tIi
Icd
ti,nes.
, 90 5! 940
—
—
—
—
—
—
in March 1934. Ljkc hoth Sinetotia auuri Ulrnanis. Piits had also been
g leading polltic;aii in Estonia during the world war and the i 92.0s.
Ele hcld a law degree (ronu the Universitv of Tartu and had heen
actiVe in Estonian ournal;srn trorn 1907 onward. As a mernhcr nf
the Phlhinzeeste Kou,u (Farrncrs Party), he iii faci liad scrved as
rdent on fivc separate oecasioits
Riigiva’iem (state ehder, te. 1
hefore 1934. As it happencd, the argunient that the Estunian guy
ernrncnt was rhrearencd h the exrreme right was plausible, becaiusc
an ortanh/atinn cahled Festi Va/md!,s15!alaste Lii! (Centra.I 1c;igiuc
cf Vercrans of the F,stonian lndcpendeuee \Vars), lcd hy a law ur
named Artur Sirk (i 9oc,—T93-7). had bueeme a powcrhul foree in
Estonian polines by the earlv 19 3os. If organizcil asa bena lide
political party, it tvould have had considerable eleetoral support. As
the name suggesrs, the League began as a veterans organization,
but later opcned rneinbcrship te ali who supportcd its ideas. The
nurward trappings of its inembcrs berets and arnibandi, Nazu—
type salures rescnibled thosc uI the fascisr movernciurs of western
Europe. Its ideolog, though ouncwIiar uiifocused, containcd large
doses of extrcme nationalusm, anti-iVlarxism, ann-Scmirtsni, and
the leadership cult. Whether the league coold have “taken over’
the government is dehatahle, hur Fstonia had alrcady experienced
One serions coup attempt hy the Conimunisr Party in 1924.
Päts’ coup v%as not as hlatantly ;inti—eonstitutional and anti
parliamentarv as rhat ot Ulnuanis in l.atvia three rnonths later. In
7935, the Estoniati pariiainenr had accepted a new constitutioii
(revising the one adoptcd ii 1920). which enhanced suhstantia He
the powers of the head of stare (the state ehder) and redueed the
parhiamcnt by lialf )from a liundred tn iifty ineinbers). The League
of Vctcrans ar this poinr entered Estonian politics as a full-tlcdgcd
politieal party and won impressive vietories iii the urban eluenons
OfJanuarv 1934 iii Talliitis and lartu, Keepuiig up the pressure, the
Lcaguc pushcd forward theo own candidatc
General Andres
Latka (i 879—7943)
and Larka
state,
of
nE
head
for the position
Seenied headed for vtetorv. Pts
who was aeting prcsident
moved to prevcnt this hy dcciaring martial law. appointing
General Johan Laidoner (1884—1 93 ) as eornniander—in—ehief nE
th arrned forees, arrcsting some (our hundred membcrs oF the
I—Cague, and closi ng alI nE jts Iocal and na tuona 1 ofiices. 1 eague
St,’itehnod
i’I
‘1
ir
ii
li
b
—
0/
the I-a1t,c State,
jo tetta Ilon.
Fstonian lflSltutioii.
members werc expelied frnrn ali orher
s, and Ltonia ent rj a
ing the ci ii service and the armed toree
[or the slIencnt Ii ali
Iled
period termed the era o siience” (suea
orship. Ali eh-j_,
eens
ion
opposition to Pits and the introduct
t as werc rnee[ings ot the p r!inllent. in \Iarh
cd”
unos
“p
i
vcre 1
parties were abohshed instead ot theui. a new
;, ali political
heriand Leagiie) as rea}
orLanizati0n caiied the lsai,iaalit (1—at
nal nnitv and ensuril,e the
or the purpose ot promutng natio
h,
i
Uinianis rcizjme, Pje, 1
the
ro
rasr
cont
stahilitv o the state. iv
to
idea
the
cted
attra
ined
rema
s
and iiost of his supporter
A new c nsttttitioii s is
sntutionalism and parhamentarism.
held For a i so-h,imher
wcre
ions
innlgated II 1 9t7, anu eleet
of Fehruars
ion
elect
pariiainent. In the parliamentary
ali pohta.aI parti oF
hy
itics
Pits regime, howcver. lorhade acriv
ement, the Naiiuiiai
mov
uwn
the pre— i 934 vears; n spite ol this. his
;1 veak vie—
\VOfl
,
sion
Front, which was created tor the occa
cotnphant
ivelv
rclat
a
new consntutnm and
tOI). Manipulating the
esiii’ in
as
ion
(ISVII eleet
parliarnenr, Päts broughr about his
rha leo
pa
.1
now
surtace was
Aprii c 8. lhough Fstonia on the
auiiior—
ao
II
act
inued to
tarv dernocracv with clections, Pdts eont
vhere
r
bou
inderstandtng
itarian fashion. There conld he no misi
leit
Pats
8,
m. Ry s[av i n;
the reni pnwer Iav in the pcilitical syste
ieal
pollr
(11
his
y tu amnesty nearlv ali
seeure enough in his prcsidenc
rans prirnarily. as svell a ihe enin
o[
Vete
opponcnts the League
d pnhticailv with the e iuse
mimists. Even though Pars svas assoeiarc
ltdl
he began to promuigite
ot the Estoniati Larmers, 10 1 9 4
lO
i’tUl
omie deveiupmeni:
pulicies mcant to uinuiergird overail econ
opolies, e0ntiflU.iH( ot
till of industrial growth through state mon
. expansion of the espori
the ugrarian refniiiis started in the 9z9s
rIeelC
the educational system and
rrade, and cpansion ot
rnnental
state. Since Pats and his patty had heen instr
his luruh nw
i
siinilar pohcies Iii the vears hefore 94.
lil rhan
pacity the Estoni ri pohtital dnna
111101111 was mcant inore to
rttY
s1ito
%fleiOCCOflntnJC renim.
to imtiate anv maior tUrn5 in the
werc 00t 1
nationahties (prineipally the Raine Germansl
reat
cra nt stienee
eoncern for Pits, eeti thouih during the
l1I
tinit and t1u
srress was placed on rh idea 1 n[ national
A Cn-zsc 1 1istu
:
trOL1Ill’d
—
fI”k’. 1 905— (940
—
319
—
a;AINSr
III
11(10,
Itis itii tiiat the postwar turmoji in which
Latvia and
,
5
5j set,ed the Opportunjtv of estahlishng independent
ujn
11
Lith
C0Qflj aiso gase rise tn ati internltioziaI context tliat
iflcreasillgiy
becam decidecjiy inhospitahle to small siales, espectai]v in the
Eltopean east. Thi
5 was not supposed to happen. A host of postwar
treatie and the teague oF Nations were supposed to saturate lilter
5
state 5
rciatiniish with principies 01 iiterna tiuna 1 law, defuse rival
ties, settIe tcrritorial cnnflicts, and prevent aggressive nioves
5 reginles In estabiishjiig relationships with other states in
amhIt
01
the 5
Ystem afrer heing ‘ranied recognltiuil, Estonja Latvii, and
Coiinred on SUC11 proteetjons endtiring. Instead, bv the
1 SI1(llLt’jc,
what the three CoUfltrje needed werc Strong Ieaders who ret;iined
the urigini 1 vision of the independenee wa rs, nanielv, C(}iiCCtjl C action
On behalf i)f the people whose flames the three CoUntnes bore.
—
—
Each nt thei meri Sinetona Ulma (lis, iiid Pit in his nwr( way
thought ot hiniseif as steerim a middle course and doing hatde with
“extrernists” on the right and the ieft. Po the diver rightists iii rheir
ieT1t.$t_ had ni svnipathy 110
l
0
disappu(ntn
1
f
coLlfltriCs, thev WCrC a 1
the kind of CLIIispii-arorjai thuiking that portraved mliniriry national
ities (especialiv Jews) as the root nf ali evil Ulmanis treated the larvian
p&konkrusts 11 hundercrossj nrgarllzarion a groupiiig at Ieast tIlit
vardll having the trappings of Italian fascisin and Gernian NaZISm
as he did ali troublesoiiie potentia 1 rivais, hy initialk iillprisoning rhein
and then inarginaliiiiii rhem pnliticailv. Pits’ go ernmenr in Estonja
ustilied its authoritariariisrn hv crackinr duwu in the League of
Veterans and bv expeihng memhers oF the l .eague frorn ali national
Ali rhree presidenrs viewed eominunjsts liS poten
and iocai
tiaiiy a Hfth coiwnii posshiv iii service to the Soviet Union and treatcd
theni aCcordintis, and ali tlire disdajned ideoloties stich as those
of the Social Demncrats that plaecd the Irue iovaitv of industrial
Iahorets jo the service oF sorne kind of internation’iijsm rather tilan the
cause ot the iilitinii. Their ListiCaiion for snspencling or weakening
Coflstutjonllhsfli and parilamelltllr;sol svas that these “in.struments”
govcrnment had eeased to serve the purposes of the narion; to
enerare stich irlstruments ‘vas simpiv ro bcnv down to Foriiiahsrn;
01
4
‘I.
major
r
C1n ise Ilistorv n[ the Baltie Siates
ar
5Vere
—
0U SnLIJI
siefl.
nugo
a growing
have any effecr on
authontarian prcsidents svas unhLely to
the three statLs
aspiratiofls ti iarge predamry ncighhors;
C.
had hitule choice ui do uther’
l,oi iiig agaiflst the odds, but they
eai’
and LitlnianiaI who
The generation oF EstnfliaIlS, I.aians.
Ii5 lii
theit
ahoiit
did not think
hc
of age dnring the 19105, however,
eat to 1
took a baek 5
independenee
uI
rhese terms. The retention
lder efl
conhdence thiat the 0
citnymenr of it, aiid rhere was mueh
internationd mattCtS’
illore eperiencerl in
erati0fl presuiuahly
aii’
oinentum ot eultural growth
10
WD1id do the joh wehl. The
cuituraL
hccontinhiiIlg inrernal developmenteChhbnmw
parhilIneu1 and
strong
Latvia, and Lithuania. guided hv
of Estonia,
the
want to
own.
conflict.
—
over
appeared to he rn0vin
1 t’htttoitshiP
interflJt10fl
early 19
coufltfleS, small and arge, preoei
two traL: on the oite- p0tWar
pceted the internanonal vem
pied with thcir jiiternal prohIems
statCS; on the other, oider and larr-r
to ensule their nghts tI) CXSt as
and
the nuta)Ifle o the Great
cuuIltrTeS nursed grievallees
C)t p
hCe
the
)1’.r
1
change
to
isifl
pro
became hnsts to leaders
prineiple ot sclfdeterminaini F
FLlrope. The probahility that the
lessencd Lonslderahh
0fltCXt
pe0lCS could survive in this
hetn a nSrares
United
the
\Vith its original sponsor
weaker as a
increasiflgiy
proved
NatioflS
partwipalll. the League oF
gi oWlflL pop
the
niemhers;
its
of
hehavitr
harrier to the predatory
00 as inFlated rheturie;
j
vas ted
ideologies
expanslolltst
ularitv o
hy the wnrldide depresston f)f
and the inward turning precipitated
the desire for any Iong-terin plaoi-& or
1 9 19— t 9 3 diminished
Jo this general eontext, small states’vith
another
In i SCflSC.
-CXiSteflt mihtary torCeS
weaL ur virttlallV 000
mejiit
this
in the Baltic Iioral,
increasiflgly (III their
pulicy that. sornehow, reiterat;00 ot
oreign
of
helie amollg rnakers
uld see them thr) nh.
cvcn-handedne 0
the ideas of neotrahitY and
heeat%e the
cooperatiofl Icd nowhere, largely
Efforts at inter-Bahtic
Ijthuania and Pohand ovet the
daggers-dra\m reiatioilshiP herween
arrnt,spherC and stunn1 and
Viinius district poisoned the reglonal
%)de. l the
bc perceived as endorstng either
Lania did fbi
had
that the three liaitte states
late 19305, It really did not matter
par
uus
continued tn have vigul
authoriiariatl presidenis: had thev
wouhd stiil have h.id w
liainentary svstenlS rheir governments
international
eterioratiflg
same’
tiare their wav rhrough the
30
away;
nf
vas
sven..
1 90
i
—
—
—
imms
rio
tri itt/i/ed ti,;ies,
uow
Iii
941)
—
of
svas
niany
evident iii the prewar decades could contlnLle vlthotit the threats
gerifltiuh/atJoh russiheation. or poloniiation. Cttitnral growth cuuid
he jntenselY naiiooal, cclebrating the phvsical eltures ot the home—
Iand and giorying in the nuances of the ihree languages. whieh were
now aho the languages of the state. it etiuid aiso refiect international
artistic and literarv suvies such at, symhoiism, esprcssiouism. and
cuhism. The teehng riiat the natiorini enirures hiid ro prove their
iii ali geitres (i eultnrai epression, a nes
worth dropped
sense oF freedorn svas created Liv the eeonnmie and social inargin—
ahization of the former schI—prnelauned ineal representatises ol ahlcg—
tdl superior” eultures. Those for vhom ianguage was the most
longer teIr tilat their [till
importanr medium o[ seif—epression
potential
eould
realized
inrchleetual
only he
if thev shilted to a lari—
guage othcr than the one with which thev had gruwii up. Gener:dly,
feel tilat iii doing rheir wnrk rhev were
creative people couid
expandmg cuhturai domains with a national designarur lattian
hirerature, Lstizian music. L,tliuaizia,i
and th:it thcre were
pubhics rhat wouid recetve thetr
as sueh. A new sense of the
national ownership ofcuitural life
palpahh-, parahlehing the sense
of natit>nal otvnership tertitorv.
This natioual euirure—buiiding. likc stare—huiiding,
faceted. Mandatorv puhlic educatiuual s>srerns had to he recrcarcd
because the wartime vears (hoth the wiirld svar and the independeuce
wars) had broughr havoc te svstematie educanon at alh leveis. At the
Cefltcr ot this efforr srood Tartu t formerlv IIirbew, Forinerlv Dorpati
Universitv in Estoniti, the University ol lars iii (Formcr1 the Riga
Poiytechnie Instjtritc(, and the University nf Kaunas (the ancieut
Viinius Universitv was ntiW, of course, on the other side ot the
Lithuanianpohish border). Speciahized training insritutes tor stii
ot music, painting, and architeenire were ciated and stif[ed.
Narjonal opera houses svere estahhished as veiI as natiotial theawrs.
Puhhishing houses wcre founded to meet the eontmuing high dern.ind
fo hiterary wnrks in the three languages. and for newspaper.s, jour
nais, and other kinds o[ peniodtcal puhlications.
The main rehiginus faiths ot the thiree cotultries Lutheranisrn iii
Estania and Latvia, Cathohicisni in Ltthuanta wei-e “narionahi,.ed”
1 the replacement of German- and l’ohsh-speaking clergv hy
througl
clergyrneri who eouid pertorm rehigious seiices iii die three
national
.Statehvoi!
5I
universities
cities;
few
For
crcari
e
arntts
worked ar standardiiaoo ,j
ianguages. Schoiars ii the
what Sh0tild i- ti
betwecn
hne
a
drawiiig
ihe three ianLIaReS,
and whar oihi i
language
each
o
oriii
irar,1iatieaiiv correct
de’. tsd n hring
werc
schernes
cnnsidcred dialecrs. M.irkering
ucb 0utle.
hecause
population.
printed material to the entire
this PiIrp0e,
and
hooksrres wcre rare eccpt in towns
pp
n’fl ol the
ol
EhI
.MnSt
new postal ‘vstcms heiped .i great deal.
coinhT1uniCa
whcre
on
rhree ne states stiil hved iii the coiintrySide
Lefliur.
0
h
1
Former
th
atid rransportatio reinained as slow asti the
heiped ro tie rh Ci0te
developiiig teChfloi0gy Ot radio broadcasting
popula [iLm into a narionsvide inForniat on nerwnrk The ri tti ii
indieawrs in ali ciF ihese endeavnrs atter \Vor[d ‘‘ar 1 showed onlv ao
upward trajeetor ihrough the i 9205 and L905, thus soecrssu1v
iaviig dovn ao isntiItiOnJI and rechnoiogical base For sutainh1e
national enittires. ii vas also rrue, however, that
Maov h,ci
couki make a Iiving solciy withjn their ehosen profcsston.
suhidiianon
of
e’tCnSiVe
and
helds.
payilig ohs in enrirely di(Fercnt
ng
det
espeelaily
governmentS
the cuiturai doniairi hy the nanonai
Ivory tnver ere
ihe pcriud ofaurhoritariari prcsidents aiso helped.
to dep1v iieir
pectd
were
[CW and persanS of ari inteileetual hent
for e\anipe.
eiist,
no
0!
A
undertakings.
raleiits iii a wide vatietV
For a
ncyeiopedtas
could easilv he a oiirnahst. ao editur ot
uI
inany
In
puhlishing house, and even a memher of parliamcnt.
to art
have
nor
drl
helds uI cuIture[,uiiding. the ritree counttics
sta1cS
were
there
[mm iero hucause prewar eiilrural growth (hefore
lts,
no’
hid heeii p1 oiiic. \tany ot the writers (poets, plavwrights,
SO
cafl0hii/’.
hecnming
essavits) ui the ptewar period wete now
cllcwd
was
rural areas: ir
WIS the oraliS transnurted cuInirc of
Ltit() “kiIkiOi. and
translormed
fliUSCUfliS,
sotted, printed, piiCCd ifl
treaced ,is the dehnirive hasis ot the new “national ctiiturcs.
Iii W J
One importaot conseqlletice of ihese ei,deavors iii 1 :tt
UI
weSfl
the l.tirgaliao-speaking Larvians of ss hat had heen the
pari of the
tricts ot Vrehsk province were nuw petniancnriy a
states hj: i:ad
three
.Al1
.atgaie
1 atvian state ts ii separare region: 1
comprised the pnP
the pmohlein ot popiilation integratiohi: Fstonia
aivia
uiations uI ihree distinct former Russian proViflCCS. 1
lite
jtS lie”
started
had
l,arit
rhree. and L.ithoania of Four. Bur onl
petccflt 10 1920 Ii 1
with so iatge ii pupulation (about 31
( mcisc 1 hstorv o/ the !3altic SIates
—-
jO
:
iii
IF0ifIICd tiilies.
Tf)O
1940
—
integrarton
(as
entre
aving had a hisiot niarkediv differenr from titat t the resr ot the
Larvtan territories, as s’eii as with ii eutrent politicai cnnSciousness in
in the eloqiit’nt writlngs and
jch Se[t[InleliIs for Fuli
1
4
if
a
nF
rnernher
the
Latvian
parlianien t from 1 a tgaie.
peechcs
5
‘Ftasuns
—
4
f6
i
Ii
9261) vied with epectations ui speeiai
Francis
starus las m the equally eiociuenr writlngs ii anorher Largalian
nieinber ot the 1 atvian parliament. Francis Kemps [i 6—i i
The enrhniasnt hehind the expansioll oF natinrial ultures svas aho
evidcnt in economic rebwlding, espcciallv in the immediate postwar
vcars. The economies uf Estonia, [.arvla, anti Lirhuania liad suffercd
during the war: ecooomie produetiim had dropped 10 ahoot 0 .40
of the prewar level. The iuss if hum:in capttal (pupulalion
deciine) vas alsu severe. aver:Iging abour ao percent hr the ihree
countries. The indusrriai and rransportarinnai infrasrrticture (Iaetorv
rnachincry. road, raiiruads) was seriouslv impaired, and the coun—
tryside had heen ueariv srripped hy occupation armies uI ts principai
[lie horse. Privation and despair,
source ot non—human powet
the
werc
ovemrtddcn
howevcr,
iii
shorr ruri by the prevailing feciing
thar the Iruits ot prnlnnged effort wouid no longtr etu] up in the
pockets ut BaItie German and Poiish iandowncrs or he elaimed by a
Russiaii govemninenr far awav. Even if the rewards wonld tim cnrich
individuals irninediatciv, thev wouid circolare wirhiri a “national
CCOno11iv and he put w use jo other scctors: the psyehoiogical
boost of working in and for one’s owri country was a [ormidable
elerneur weii into the deeade of the 19205. The uptumn oF :ili CCOflOflilC
indicaturs began in the niiddie years of rhar deeade and iasted into
the eariy 19305, when the effects of [lie worldwtde depression hegan
tii he feir. By that time, Iiowcver, the prolilem ot eennotnie surt’iisil
had retreared jiito the background to lie replaced hy the ptohltii if
.I. repair of ongoirlg national cconornies. ‘Ihe idea oF
1
econ
Preneurship had r.iken hoiti, the agrarian rcforms ivere nearlv euro—
pktcd, and the producrion of foodsruffs remanied at satisfactorv
lQveIs as did, when measured in the aggregate, the standard of hving.
Alter the i-nid— t 930s, the exporr marker expandcd espeJaily for
agricujrjr goods,
and balance of rrade siarisrie, though Ilucruat—
were favorahle. Revenne flows to the cenrral goverllmenrs
tefliaijiietl sreadv, .iIloving for the expanSion Ot vari&nis soci:1i welfare
Prograins Bijt there was socineCnnomiC stratihearion jo ali threr’
SIcltL’IJuud
(t )1?cISC
1 listi )rv
n[
he
l3aliie Stztes
untrjes
the rtehest and the
with the jnconie gap hetween
exernpiihed by residentiai partern anti
egniefltS ct the popiilation
an urban-ruraI dtmension. \h
lifestvie; this divinon aisct had
a rnaIdistrihtItil ofwrealth renat.
the eyes of the pnliticai IeFt vas
srrcngth. thotlgh wirh the ernergcnce ( th
a ourCe ot its pniitical
was not ahle to tom snciai dbp lr
autlioritariafl presidencics the Iett
strclTgth.
illeS into eieetoral
piae durin
and CCofltllflIC tleveopn1eI1t tuok
Ilowertng
Ctilttlrai
imowin
beliel
a
statl0U
nF
franteworL
hoth decades withm the
n
the
govertlments
eentrii
that the
among elite and nuo-eli res alike
and
the
shakers.
and
movers
pmotecwrs, the
three states should he the
the
centrai
was
it
policy.
soetal and CCOI1Ot1iIC
n-ntlatOrS tit major
direet, intervene. suhsidi7c, and
gnverllments obligatiofl to guide,
vcars.
gteW otti ot the ss artime
ontttil. fhis eoiiectvt attitude
of
endorsenient
reccived the strong
persisted into the i q.os, and
thtnnh
phiiosoph.
The [ree-market
the authoritariafl presidcnts.
ceononhic thinking of polieymakers.
preSeflt. w.iS loi centrai to the
throughout the i 9L0— 1940 periid.
The ultimate resuit was that
prei
and under the authuritariafl
under the parii.imentar svstems
in ali
staffs. deveioped more espertise
dents. mjnistries enlargcd their
ate
pro
the
corrcspnndiiigly reduced the the oF
sectfltS oF life. and
II
eiitireiy. OfhciaIdom grew
sector without cxl inguishiiig it
espci’liY under
tiSt as Frequently,
sonietimes beeniise ot merit hut
i the
hecause oF pnliticai patronage.
the authoritariafl presidents.
miiiistCr
iienriy mealit finding the right
1
Frer
19 ;os. economic succeSS
fisor o
suhsidies, and earning the
iai connections, )ining iip stale
iturai
4
suhsidization ot the lgrk
titese at the erv top. CtintinhioUS
ioofllP
ptivatc enterprises into state
seCtOr. the conversion ot shjky
privatC
flows From state hanks to
0[
ithes, pohticaliy mntiated capital
ro favor the undertaLi1i
jndtviduais, and .t determinalion
o:iit)r
1
(ovet thctse (1( riatinn
stoniaflS, lantjns. and [.ithuaniaos
0 tCS
L9
more characteriStic 01 ali three
inercaslngly
hecame
ties)
Though tilit quite statC
after the middle o1 the i 9OS.
undcria11S
realm uf iarge-seaie
neither svas it a sYstelli ihat in the
‘ .15 le
nieritneracy Conipetitibn
and
cotflpetitiofl
For
and
use
had rnuch
entcrP°
private seetor nf sniall-scaie
the
in
Frcelv
II) operate
11
as W
prodiiced very micd ceonoliiieS
I-etaii stores. Ali this
goveriliflehlts
was laced in centrat
mindset iii liich trust
A
frniibleci
—
tjnic’s. i U s— i 940
the right deCIStOuS tI) alineate resuu rues in an ptimai manner and
look aEter the welfare of ali.
Whntever internal pniicies were beitig irnpiemented iii listonia.
r.arvia, and l.itFuania from the mid— i 9os onward, however. sucb
measures had no ehanee ot aftecting the F.uropean state-system tri
which expansionist mwes h Mussoiini’s Itaiy and 1 Iitler’s Ucrmanv
were eflcnunteriflg tew ohstacies. En addition tn hilateral agreernents
aiready eiitered into wirh hirge states, the smaii states of the littora)
ought nthers rradc pacts, non-aggression agrcernent, and tornia)
5
and informa) aiiianee.s of various kinds te the heiief that the pro—
ijferation of sueh ties atxompanied h the requisite dipitnnatic
niceties and signed treaties, would assrtre evervone ihat Estonia,
Latvia, and Lithuania intended to live peicefuiiy and he tricnds to
ali. These, iii fact, tvere the niain tenets ot the toreign pohcv nF the
tbree littoral states in the seenitd haif ot the i os: eXCept for
Litbuania’s wantmg to regain the Vilinus territory Frnrn Poiand,
they intended te keep the borders the’ had and coneerii thernselves
onh’ with internal dcveiupinenr.
Neutrahtv seemed to lie wcirking tor Swirzeriand (a sniaii state)
and the Scandiiiavian counrries (iarge territoriailv btit small demo
that the Bairic states in the norrheast
graphicaiiv), and the hupe
ero corncr of the eontinent couid aisu steer eiear of the antagotlisms
hovi appearing on the continenrai inainiand. The public inood in the
three countries appeared to he asstiagcd by a pohcy of neutrahty, but
rlewspapers in 1 ithuania exprcssed the inost worry about the future.
Hitler’s determiootion te incorporate ali Germans into a great
Germany directiv affccted Kiaipeda (Vlemel) over which t.ithuanij
had acquired sovercigntv 0 192.4 with the agreenlent of the western
aihes. The pnpulation ofthe Klaip.da terntory svas about 40 percent
Gertflj- and 1 litier was hound te make it a ta-acr just as he was
already
)hy 1937) taking aim at the German poptilatitin ot the
{.
Sudeteniand in Czechoslovakia. The eastern l3altic iittorai, in othcr
WOrds was notas immune as a policy nf neurrahty wisiied to iiiake it.
On thejr
the Estonian and I.atviaii governments generaiiv
oided the subects of Klaip&da and the Viinius territor when
l& ieaders met; these sub;ccis were ctinsidertd tn he 1 ithiian,a’s
Pr0hie
—
.Stt’Inod ii!