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78-780: Prior to 1936, the Congress of Soviets was the supreme legislative body. During 1989–1991 a similar, but not identical structure was the supreme legislative body. The Supreme Soviet appointed the Council of Ministers , the Supreme Court , and the Procurator General of the USSR as well as elected the Presidium which served as the USSR's collective head of state under both the 1936 and 1977 Soviet Constitutions . By

156-481: A Provisional Government to function for over a month. The Latvian Central Council was set up as an underground organisation in 1943, but it was destroyed by the Gestapo in 1945. In Estonia in 1941, Jüri Uluots proposed restoration of independence; later, by 1944, he had become a key figure in the secret National Committee . In September 1944, Uluots briefly became acting president of independent Estonia. Unlike

234-794: A body which was accountable to, and held the powers of the Congress when the Congress was not in session. Despite its nominal authority , in practice the Congress served as a rubber-stamp for the Communist Party . With the 1936 Constitution, the All-Union Congress was replaced by the Supreme Soviet . Prior to the creation of the All-Union Congress of Soviets in 1922, the individual republics had grown closer towards each other and various republics had signed multiple treaties and well on their way to combining their strength. By

312-704: A broad international consensus that the Baltic states were illegally occupied and annexed, the Soviet Union never acknowledged that they were forcefully taken over. The post-Soviet government of Russia maintains the claim that the incorporations of Baltic states was in accordance with international law , and school textbooks state that the Baltic states voluntarily joined the Soviet Union after home-grown popular socialist revolutions . As most Western governments maintained that Baltic sovereignty had not been legitimately overridden, they thus continued to recognise

390-2081: A national parliament, while others changed to double-chamber assemblies.    Soviet Republics dissolved before the dissolution of the Soviet Union    Parliaments not formally recognized by some countries such as the Western Bloc Верховный Совет РСФСР Верховный Совет Украинской ССР Верховна Рада Української РСР Верховный Совет Белорусской ССР Вярхоўны Савет Беларускай ССР Верховный Совет Узбекской ССР Ўзбекистон ССР Олий Совети Верховный Совет Казахской ССР Қазақ ССР Жоғарғы Советі Верховный Совет Грузинской ССР საქართველოს სსრ უმაღლესი საბჭო Верховный Совет Азербайджа́нской ССР Азәрбаjҹан ССР Али Совети Верховный Совет Литовской ССР Lietuvos TSR Aukščiausioji Taryba Верховный Совет Молдавской ССР Совиетул Супрем ал РСС Молдовеняскэ (Moldovan Cyrillic) Sovietul Suprem al RSS Moldovenească (Latin alphabet) Верховный Совет Латвийской ССР Latvijas PSR Augstākā Padome Верховный Совет Киргизской ССР Кыргыз ССР Жогорку Совети Верховный Совет Таджикской ССР Совети Олӣ РСС Тоҷикистон Верховный Совет Армянской ССР Հայկական ՍՍՀ Գերագույն Խորհուրդ Верховный Совет Туркменской ССР Түркменистан ССР Ёкары Советы Верховный Совет Эстонской ССР Eesti NSV Ülemnõukogu Верховный Совет Карело-Финской ССР List of known autonomous republics councils: Верховный Совет Башкирской АССР Башҡорт АССР-ы Юғары Советы Верховный Совет Бурятской АССР Буряадай АССР-эй Верховно Совет Верховный Совет Карельской АССР Верховный Совет Татарской АССР Татарстан АССР Югары Советы Верховный Совет Тувинской АССР Тыва АССР-ниң Дээди Соведи Верховный Совет Чувашской АССР Чӑваш АССР Верховнӑй Совечӗ Верховный Совет Каракалпакской АССР Қарақалпақстан АССР Жоқарғы Совети Верховный Совет Абхазской АССР Аҧснытәи АССР Иреиҳаӡоу Асовет Верховный Совет Аджарской АССР აჭარის ასსრ უმაღლესი საბჭო Верховный Совет Нахичеванской АССР Нахчыван МССР Али Совети Congress of Soviets of

468-650: A number of years. The Soviets had previously carried out mass deportations in 1940–41, but the deportations between 1944 and 1952 were even greater. In March 1949 alone, the top Soviet authorities organised a mass deportation of 90,000 Baltic nationals. The total number deported in 1944–55 has been estimated at over half a million: 124,000 in Estonia , 136,000 in Latvia and 245,000 in Lithuania. The estimated death toll among Lithuanian deportees between 1945 and 1958

546-510: A secret protocol by which the states of Northern and Eastern Europe were divided into German and Soviet " spheres of influence ". In the north, Finland , Estonia and Latvia were assigned to the Soviet sphere. Poland was to be partitioned in the event of its "political rearrangement"—the areas east of the Narev , Vistula and San Rivers going to the Soviet Union while Germany would occupy

624-704: A year. In September 1991, after the August Coup , it was reorganised into the Soviet (council) of Republics and the Soviet of The Union, which would jointly amend the Soviet Constitution , admit new states, hear out the President of the Soviet Union on important home and foreign policy issues, approve the union budget, declare war and conclude peace. The Soviet of Republics would consist of 20 deputies from each union republic, plus one deputy to represent each autonomous region of each republic, delegated by

702-536: Is called Lithuanian, because there are 16 Lithuanians among its ranks. The 7000-strong 22nd Estonian Territorial Rifle Corps got heavily beaten in the battles around Porkhov during the German invasion in summer 1941, as 2000 were killed or wounded in action, and 4500 surrendered. The 25,000—30,000 strong 8th Estonian Rifle Corps lost 3/4 of its troops in the Battle of Velikiye Luki in winter 1942/43. It participated in

780-402: The 1924 Constitution of the Soviet Union . The Constitution was submitted to the All-Union Congress of Soviets on 6 July 1923 for ratification upon the body's next meeting. This meeting included a speech from Stalin. Stalin departed from orthodox Marxist rhetoric and drew on his own theological training. He said "Leaving us, comrade Lenin bequeathed to us the duty of holding high and keeping pure

858-405: The 1944–1991 Soviet occupation many people from Russia and other parts of the former USSR were settled in the three Baltic countries, while the local languages, religion and customs were suppressed in an "extremely violent and traumatic" occupation. Colonization of the three Baltic countries included mass executions, deportations and repression of the native population. While there has been

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936-756: The French and the Poles , the Baltic states had no governments in exile located in the West. Consequently, Great Britain and the United States lacked any interest in the Baltic cause while the war against Germany remained undecided. The discovery of the Katyn massacre in 1943 and callous conduct towards the Warsaw uprising in 1944 had cast shadows on relations; nevertheless, all three victors still displayed solidarity at

1014-670: The General Secretary 's speeches. This was in accordance with the Stalinist CPSU's principle of democratic centralism and became the norm for other Communist legislatures . The Supreme Soviet was composed of two chambers, each with equal legislative powers: Under the 1936 Constitution, the Supreme Soviet was elected for a four-year term, and the Soviet of the Union had one deputy for every 300,000 people. This

1092-546: The Skrunda-1 radar station until it was decommissioned on 31 August 1998. The Russian Government then had to dismantle and remove the radar equipment; this work was completed by October 1999 when the site was returned to Latvia. The last Russian soldier left the region that month, marking a symbolic end to the Russian military presence on Baltic soil. During the 1940–1941 and 1944–1991 occupations 605,000 inhabitants of

1170-1002: The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic , the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic . The Congress approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR , the basis of the 1924 Soviet Constitution , and thus formally created the Soviet Union with the four as founding Union Republics. The Second Congress of the Soviets of the USSR was held in January 1924 to ratify

1248-653: The Yalta conference in 1945. By 1 March 1944 the siege of Leningrad was over and Soviet troops were on the border with Estonia . The Soviets launched the Baltic Offensive , a twofold military-political operation to rout German forces, on 14 September. On 16 September the High Command of the German Army issued a plan in which Estonian forces would cover the German withdrawal. The Soviets soon reached

1326-518: The capture of Tallinn in September 1944. About 20,000 Lithuanians, 25,000 Estonians, and 5000 Latvians died in the ranks of the Red Army and labor battalions. The Nazi administration also conscripted Baltic nationals into the German armies. The Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force , composed of volunteers, was formed in 1944. The LTDF reached a size of roughly 10,000 men. Its goal was to fight

1404-592: The occupation of the Baltic states by Nazi Germany took place, just weeks after its invasion of the Soviet Union . The Third Reich incorporated them into its Reichskommissariat Ostland . In 1944, the Soviet Union recaptured most of the Baltic states as a result of the Red Army 's Baltic Offensive , trapping the remaining German forces in the Courland Pocket until their formal surrender in May 1945. During

1482-648: The 1917 October Revolution in Russia. However, many of them were killed during the Great Purge in the 1930s. The new regimes of 1944 were established mostly by native communists who had fought in the Red Army . However, the Soviets also imported ethnic Russians to fill political, administrative and managerial posts. The period of stagnation brought the crisis of the Soviet system. The new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985 and responded with glasnost and perestroika . They were attempts to reform

1560-535: The 29th Corps, arresting over 100 officers and soldiers and subsequently executing around 20 in Autumn 1940. By that time allegedly near 3,200 officers and soldiers of 29th Corps were considered "politically unreliable". Due to high tensions and soldiers' discontent the 26th Cavalry Regiment was disbanded. During the 1941 June deportations over 320 officers and soldiers of 29th Corps were arrested and deported to concentration camps or executed. The 29th Corps collapsed with

1638-531: The All-Union Central Executive Committee should appoint a constitutional commission to draft the new organic law." The Extraordinary Eighth Congress of Soviets of the USSR was held from November 1936 to December 1936 to ratify the 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union , thereby dissolving itself permanently and transferring its powers to the newly established Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union . The All-Union Congress approved

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1716-676: The Baltic states after it invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The initial Soviet invasion and occupation of the Baltic states began in June 1940 under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , made between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in August 1939 before the outbreak of World War II . The three independent Baltic countries were annexed as constituent Republics of the Soviet Union in August 1940. Most Western countries did not recognise this annexation, and considered it illegal. In July 1941,

1794-424: The Baltic states argued that the entire occupation process violated both international law and their own law. Therefore, they argued, they were merely reasserting an independence that still existed under international law. By mid-June, after unsuccessful economic blockade of Lithuania , the Soviets started negotiations with Lithuania and the other two Baltic republics. The Soviets had a bigger challenge elsewhere, as

1872-761: The Baltic states as sovereign political entities represented by the Baltic Legations , which functioned in Washington and elsewhere as governments in exile . The Baltic states regained de facto independence in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union . Russia started to withdraw its troops from the Baltics starting with Lithuania in August 1993. However, it was a violent process and Soviet forces killed several Latvians and Lithuanians. The full withdrawal of troops deployed by Moscow ended in August 1994. Russia officially ended its military presence in

1950-576: The Baltic states were included with Belorussia in the Reichskommissariat Ostland . The area was governed by Hinrich Lohse who was obsessed with bureaucratic regulations. The Baltic area was the only eastern region intended to become a full province of the Third Reich. Nazi racial attitudes to the peoples of the three Baltic countries differed between Nazi authorities. In practice, racial policies were directed not against

2028-889: The Baltic states. In 1992 there were still 120,000 Russian troops there, as well as a large number of military pensioners, particularly in Estonia and Latvia. During the period of negotiations, Russia hoped to retain facilities such as the Liepāja naval base, the Skrunda anti-ballistic missile radar station, the Ventspils space-monitoring station in Latvia and the Paldiski submarine base in Estonia, as well as transit rights to Kaliningrad through Lithuania. Contention arose when Russia threatened to keep its troops where they were. Moscow tied its concessions to specific legislation guaranteeing

2106-590: The Baltics in August 1998 by decommissioning the Skrunda-1 radar station in Latvia. The dismantled installations were repatriated to Russia and the site returned to Latvian control, with the last Russian soldier leaving Baltic soil in October 1999. Early in the morning of 24 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany signed a ten-year non-aggression pact, called the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact . The pact contained

2184-552: The Constitution, and also approved plans for the publication of copies of the Constitution and invited citizens to discuss the new changes to the Constitution. Occupation of the Baltic States The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991 . For a brief period, Nazi Germany occupied

2262-550: The Estonian Supreme Soviet declared the Soviet Union an occupying power and announced the start of a transitional period to independence. On 4 May 1990, the Latvian Supreme Soviet made a similar declaration. The Soviet Union immediately condemned all three declarations as illegal, saying that they had to go through the process of secession outlined in the Soviet Constitution of 1977 . However,

2340-710: The Estonian capital Tallinn, where the NKVD 's first mission was to stop anyone escaping from the state; however, many refugees did manage to escape to the West. The NKVD also targeted the members of the National Committee of the Republic of Estonia . German and Latvian forces remained trapped in the Courland Pocket until the end of the war, capitulating on 10 May 1945. After reoccupying the Baltic states,

2418-435: The German invasion into Soviet Union: on June 25–26 a rebellion broke in its 184th Rifle Division. The other division of the 29th Corps, the 179th Rifle Division lost most of its soldiers during the retreat from Germans mostly to deserting of its soldiers. A total of less than 1,500 soldiers from initial strength of around 12,000 reached the area of Pskov by August 1941. By the second part of 1942, most of Lithuanians remaining in

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2496-427: The German rule was less harsh than Soviet rule had been, and it was less brutal than German occupations elsewhere in eastern Europe. Local puppet regimes performed administrative tasks and schools were permitted to function. However, most people were denied the right to own land or businesses. The Soviet administration had forcibly incorporated the Baltic national armies at the wake of the occupation in 1940. Most of

2574-522: The Germans would reestablish Baltic independence. Such hopes soon evaporated and Baltic cooperation became less forthright or ceased altogether. The Germans aimed to annex the Baltic territories into the Third Reich where "suitable elements" would be assimilated and "unsuitable elements" exterminated. In practice, the implementation of occupation policy was more complex; for administrative convenience

2652-557: The Russian Federal Republic proclaimed sovereignty in June. Simultaneously the Baltic republics also started to negotiate directly with the Russian Federal Republic. After the failed negotiations the Soviets made a dramatic but failed attempt to break the deadlock and sent in military troops killing twenty and injuring hundreds of civilians in what became known as the " Vilnius massacre " in Lithuania and " The Barricades " in Latvia during January 1991. In August 1991,

2730-574: The Soviet Union The All-Union Congress of Soviets ( Russian : Всесоюзный съезд Советов ) was formally the supreme governing body of the Soviet Union from its formation (30 December 1922) until the adoption of its second constitution in 1936. The Congress of Soviets determined the general direction of all public bodies and elected the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union :

2808-456: The Soviet Union that changed the demographics dramatically. Lithuania also received immigration but on a smaller scale. Ethnic Estonians constituted 88 percent before the war, but in 1970 the figure dropped to 60 percent. Ethnic Latvians constituted 75 percent, but the figure dropped 57 percent in 1970 and further down to 50.7 percent in 1989. In contrast, the drop in Lithuania was only 4 percent. Baltic communists had supported and participated

2886-473: The Soviet Union was composed of representatives from the councils of all the Soviet republics on the following basis: from the City Council - 1 member per 25 thousand voters, from provincial (regional, territorial) and republic-level congresses - 1 member per 125 thousand residents. Delegates to the All-Union Congress were elected at the provincial (regional, territorial) autonomous republican congresses of

2964-412: The Soviet Union, the age range was extended by 9 years in the Baltics; all reserve officers were also taken. The aim was to deport all men capable to fight to Russia, where they were sent to convict camps . Almost half of them perished because of the transportation conditions, slave labour, hunger, diseases, and the repressive measures of the NKVD . In addition, destruction battalions were formed under

3042-414: The Soviet constitutions of 1936 and 1977 , the Supreme Soviet was defined as the highest organ of state power in the Soviet Union and was imbued with great lawmaking powers. In practice, however, it was a toy parliament which did nothing other than ratify decisions already made by the USSR's executive organs and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) – always by unanimous consent – and listen to

3120-455: The Soviet ranks as well as male war refugees from Lithuania were organized into 16th Rifle Division during its second formation. 16th Rifle Division, despite officially called "Lithuanian" and mostly commanded by officers of Lithuanian origin, including Adolfas Urbšas , was ethnically very mixed, with up to 1/4 of its personnel made of Jews and thus being the largest Jew formation of Soviet Army. Popular joke of those years said that 16th Division

3198-528: The Soviet system from above to avoid revolution from below. The reforms occasioned the reawakening of nationalism in the Baltic republics. The first major demonstrations against the environment were Riga in November 1986 and the following spring in Tallinn . Small successful protests encouraged key individuals and by the end of 1988 the reform wing had gained the decisive positions in the Baltic republics. At

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3276-543: The Soviets , or (if republic did not have provincial (and then provincial, regional) congresses) - directly at the Congress of Soviets of the union republic. The exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress of Soviets consists of: The only chairman of the Presidium of the Congress was Mikhail Kalinin . The first congress was held on 30 December 1922 in Moscow with delegates from Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ,

3354-408: The Soviets but the government refused, proposing their own candidate to lead the regime. However, the Soviets refused this proposal and sent Vladimir Dekanozov to take charge while the Red Army occupied the state. On 16 June 1940, Latvia and Estonia also received ultimata. The Red Army occupied the two remaining Baltic states shortly thereafter. The Soviets dispatched Andrey Vyshinsky to oversee

3432-486: The Soviets implemented a program of sovietization , which was achieved through large-scale industrialisation rather than by overt attacks on culture, religion or freedom of expression. The Soviets carried out massive deportations to eliminate any resistance to collectivisation or support of partisans . Baltic partisans, such as the Forest Brothers , continued to resist Soviet rule through armed struggle for

3510-468: The Soviets pressured Finland and the Baltic states to conclude mutual assistance treaties. The Soviets questioned the neutrality of Estonia after the escape of an interned Polish submarine on 18 September. On 24 September, the Estonian foreign minister was given an ultimatum : The Soviets demanded a treaty of mutual assistance to establish military bases in Estonia. The Estonians were coerced to accept naval, air and army bases on two Estonian islands and at

3588-542: The Soviets turned to the idea of direct military intervention, but still intended to rule through puppet regimes . Their model was the Finnish Democratic Republic , a puppet regime set up by the Soviets on the first day of the Winter War . The Soviets organised a press campaign against the allegedly pro-Allied sympathies of the Baltic governments. In May 1940, the Germans invaded France , which

3666-435: The Supreme Soviet at its next session, they were considered revoked. In practice, however, the principle of democratic centralism rendered the process of ratifying Presidium decrees a mere formality. In some cases, even this formality was not observed. After 1989 it consisted of 542 deputies (divided into two 271 chambers) decreased from a previous 1,500. The meetings of the body were also more frequent, from six to eight months

3744-400: The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, each of its constituting union republics and each autonomous republic had a supreme soviet. These supreme soviets also had presidiums, but all consisted of only one chamber. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union , some soviets of the succeeded independent republics simply changed their name to their more historic name or to emphasise their importance as

3822-521: The USSR and imprisoned. They died later in the Tver region and Central Asia respectively. In June 1941, the new Soviet governments carried out mass deportations of " enemies of the people ". Estonia alone lost an estimated 60,000 citizens. Consequently, many Balts initially greeted the Germans as liberators when they invaded a week later. The Soviet Union immediately started to erect border fortifications along its newly acquired western border —

3900-722: The Ukrainian and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Transcaucasian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, which was formed by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia. During its tenure, more Soviet republics joined the Congress of Soviets. The Uzbek and Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republics were admitted in 1924, followed by the Tadzhik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a Union Republic in 1929. The Congress of Soviets of

3978-750: The Waffen-SS. On 1 July 1944 the Latvian Legion had 87,550 men. Another 23,000 Latvians were serving as Wehrmacht "auxiliaries". Among other battles, they participated in the Siege of Leningrad , in the Courland Pocket fighting,the defence of the Pomeranian Wall , at the Velikaya River for Hill "93,4" and in the defence of Berlin . The 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian)

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4056-409: The approaching Red Army, provide security and conduct anti-partisan operations within the territory claimed by Lithuanians. After brief engagements against Soviet and Polish partisans, the force self-disbanded. Its leaders were arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps , and many of members were executed by the Nazis. Latvian Legion , created in 1943, consisted of two conscripted divisions of

4134-548: The biggest manifestation of opposition to the Soviet rule. In December 1989, the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union condemned the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and its secret protocol as "legally untenable and invalid." On 11 March 1990 the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet declared Lithuania's independence . Pro-independence candidates had received an overwhelming majority in the Supreme Soviet elections held earlier that year. On 30 March 1990, seeing full restoration of independence not yet feasible due to large Soviet presence,

4212-452: The civil rights of ethnic Russians, which was seen as an implied threat in the West, in the U.N. General Assembly and by Baltic leaders, who viewed it as Russian imperialism. Lithuania was the first to see complete the withdrawal of Russian troops—on 31 August 1993 —owing in part to the Kaliningrad issue. Subsequent agreements to withdraw troops from Latvia were signed on 30 April 1994, and from Estonia on 26 July 1994. Continued linkage on

4290-688: The command of the NKVD. Hence, Baltic nationals fought in both German and Soviet army ranks. There was the 201st Latvian Rifle Division. The 308th Latvian Rifle Division was awarded the Red Banner Order after the expulsion of the Germans from Riga in the autumn of 1944. An estimated 60,000 Lithuanians were drafted into the Red Army. During 1940, on the basis of disbanded Lithuanian Army, Soviet authorities organized 29th Territorial Rifle Corps. Decrease in quality of life and service conditions, forceful indoctrination of Communist ideology, caused discontent of recently Sovietized military units. Soviet authorities responded with repressions against Lithuanian officers of

4368-409: The early 1920s, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Ukrainian , Byelorussian , and Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republics had taken steps to combine their economic and military strength, which led to a closer political relationship. When the All-Union Congress was formed, the republics that comprised the new Union were the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic (R.S.F.S.R),

4446-410: The eastern parts of Estonia (5% of prewar territory) and Latvia (2%). The Soviets made large capital investments for energy resources and the manufacture of industrial and agricultural products. The purpose was to integrate the Baltic economies into the larger Soviet economic sphere. In all three republics, manufacturing industry was developed resulting in some of the best industrial complexes in

4524-401: The ghettos and to transfer the survivors to concentration camps . Some Latvians and Lithuanian conscripts collaborated actively in the killing of Jews, and the Nazis managed to provoke pogroms locally, especially in Lithuania. Only about 75 percent of Estonian and 10 percent of Latvian and Lithuanian Jews survived the war. However, for the majority of Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians,

4602-401: The great calling member of the party. We swear to thee, comrade Lenin, that we shall fulfil this thy commandment with honour." Many oaths and honours were proclaimed to Lenin, who had just died a few days before the Second Congress began its session. The Third Congress of Soviets was held in 1925. The Fourth Congress of Soviets was held in 1927. The Seventh Congress of Soviets of the USSR

4680-404: The hard-line members attempted to take control of the Soviet Union. A day after the coup on 21 August, the Estonians proclaimed full independence, after an independence referendum was held in Estonia on 3 March 1991, alongside a similar referendum in Latvia the same month. It was approved by 78.4% of voters with an 82.9% turnout. Independence was restored by the Estonian Supreme Council on

4758-419: The majority of Balts but rather against the Jews . Large numbers of Jews were living in the major cities, notably in Vilnius , Kaunas and Riga . The German mobile killing units slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Jews; Einsatzgruppe A , assigned to the Baltic area, was the most effective of four units. German policy forced the Jews into ghettos . In 1943 Heinrich Himmler ordered his forces to liquidate

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4836-466: The night of 20 August. The Latvian parliament made similar a declaration on the same day. The coup failed but the collapse of the Soviet Union became unavoidable. After the coup collapsed, the Soviet government recognised the independence of all three Baltic states on 6 September 1991. The Russian Federation assumed the burden and the subsequent withdrawal of the occupation force, consisting of about 150,000 former Soviet, now Russian, troops stationed in

4914-405: The part of Russia resulted in a threat by the U.S. Senate in mid-July to halt all aid to Russia in case the forces were not withdrawn by the end of August. Final withdrawal was completed on 31 August 1994. Some Russian troops remained stationed in Estonia in Paldiski until the Russian military base was dismantled and the nuclear reactors suspended operations on 26 September 1995. Russia operated

4992-448: The port of Paldiski . The corresponding agreement was signed on 28 September 1939. Latvia followed on 5 October 1939 and Lithuania shortly thereafter, on 10 October 1939. The agreements permitted the Soviet Union to establish military bases on the Baltic states' territory for the duration of the European war and to station 25,000 Soviet soldiers in Estonia , 30,000 in Latvia and 20,000 in Lithuania starting October 1939. In May 1940,

5070-425: The republics' legislatures. Russia was an exception with 52 deputies. The Soviet Union consisted of deputies apportioned by the existing quotas. In 1989, its powers were: Acts by the Supreme Soviet entered into force after signature by the President and publication. Between 1938 and February 1990, more than 50 years, only 80 laws were passed by the Supreme Soviet, less than 1% of total legislative acts. Beside

5148-578: The required turnout to 99.6%, votes were forged. A month later when the new assemblies met their sole item of business for each of them was a resolution to join the Soviet Union. In each case, the resolution passed by acclamation . The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union duly accepted the requests in August, thus sanctioning them under Soviet law. Lithuania was incorporated into the Soviet Union on 3 August, Latvia on 5 August, and Estonia on 6 August 1940. The deposed presidents of Estonia and Latvia, Konstantin Päts and Kārlis Ulmanis , were deported to

5226-494: The same time, coalitions of reformists and populist forces assembled under the Popular Fronts . The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic made the Estonian language the state language again in January 1989, and similar legislation was passed in Latvia and Lithuania soon after. The Baltic republics declared their aim for sovereignty: Estonia in November 1988, Lithuania in May 1989 and Latvia in July 1989. The Baltic Way , that took place on 23 August 1989, became

5304-428: The senior officers were arrested and many of them murdered. During the German invasion, the Soviets conducted a forced general mobilisation that took place in violation of the international law . Under the Geneva Conventions , this act of violence is seen as a grave breach and war crime, because the mobilised men were treated as arrestants from the very beginning. In comparison with the general mobilisation proclaimed in

5382-431: The so-called Molotov Line . On 22 June 1941 the Germans invaded the Soviet Union . The Baltic states, recently Sovietized by threats, force, and fraud, generally welcomed the German armed forces. In Lithuania, a revolt broke out and an independent provisional government was established. As the German armies approached Riga and Tallinn , attempts to reestablish national governments were made. Baltic citizens hoped that

5460-430: The sphere of electronics and textile production. The rural economy suffered from the lack of investments and the collectivization. Baltic urban areas had been damaged during wartime and it took ten years to recuperate housing losses. New constructions were often of poor quality and ethnic Russian immigrants were favored in housing. Estonia and Latvia received large-scale immigration of industrial workers from other parts of

5538-412: The takeover of Latvia and Andrey Zhdanov to Estonia. On 18 and 21 June 1940, new " popular front " governments were formed in each Baltic country, made up of Communists and fellow travelers . Under Soviet surveillance, the new governments arranged rigged elections for new "people's assemblies." Voters were presented with a single list, and no opposition movements were allowed to file candidates. To get

5616-763: The three countries in total were either killed or deported (135,000 Estonians, 170,000 Latvians and 320,000 Lithuanians). Their properties and personal belonging were confiscated and given to newly arrived colonists – economic migrants , Soviet military , NKVD personnel, as well as functionaries of the Communist Party . The estimated human costs of the occupations are presented in the table below. (2,409 executed) (9,400 died en route) (arrest, torture, political trials imprisonment or other sanctions) 300 Roma 1,900 Roma ~4,000 Roma 1948–49 3,000 died en route 8,000 died en route 1949: 32,735 11,000 perished 4,000 killed 3,000 killed The Soviet Union and its successors have never paid reparations to

5694-488: The west. Lithuania, adjacent to East Prussia , would be in the German sphere of influence, although a second secret protocol agreed in September 1939 assigned the majority of Lithuanian territory to the Soviet Union. Under the secret protocol, Lithuania would regain its historical capital Vilnius , previously subjugated during the inter-war period by Poland . Following the end of the Soviet invasion of Poland on 6 October,

5772-527: Was 20,000, including 5,000 children. The deportees were allowed to return after Nikita Khrushchev 's secret speech in 1956 denouncing the excesses of Stalinism , however many did not survive their years of exile in Siberia . After the war, the Soviets outlined new borders for the Baltic republics. Lithuania gained the regions of Vilnius and Klaipėda while the Russian SFSR annexed territory from

5850-572: Was changed by the 1977 constitution; the term was extended to five years, and the number of seats in the Soviet of the Union was changed to be the same as the Soviet of Nationalities, regardless of the population size. The Supreme Soviet convened twice a year, usually for less than a week. For the rest of the year, the Presidium performed its ordinary functions. Often, the CPSU bypassed the Supreme Soviet altogether and had major laws enacted as Presidium decrees. Nominally, if such decrees were not ratified by

5928-577: Was formed in January 1944 through conscription. Consisting of 38,000 men, it took part in the Battle of Narva , the Battle of Tannenberg Line , the Battle of Tartu , and Operation Aster . There were several attempts to restore independence during the occupation. On 22 June 1941 the Lithuanians overthrew Soviet rule two days before the Wehrmacht arrived in Kaunas, where the Germans then allowed

6006-720: Was held in February 1935, when Stalin introduced the proposal for constitutional reform. The proposal was initially discussed in the meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party held before the Seventh Congress. The Congress voted "that the new constitution should incorporate some of the best features of parliamentary democracy, that the representation of urban and rural voters should be equalized, that voting should be secret and direct, and that

6084-468: Was overrun and occupied a month later. In late May and early June 1940, the Baltic states were accused of military collaboration against the Soviet Union by holding meetings the previous winter. On 15 June 1940, the Lithuanian government was extorted to agree to the Soviet ultimatum and permit the entry of an unspecified number of Soviet troops. President Antanas Smetona proposed armed resistance to

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