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Baltic Way
The Baltic Way (Lithuanian: Baltijos kelias; Latvian: Baltijas ceļš; Estonian: Balti kett) or Baltic Chain (also "Chain of Freedom") was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning 675 kilometres (419 mi) across the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with a combined population of around eight million citizens, who had been subject to the Soviet Union's repression for more than 45 years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The central government in Moscow considered the three Baltic countries constituent republics of the Soviet Union.
The demonstration originated from "Black Ribbon Day" protests held in Western cities in the 1980s. It marked the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, in which Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania were (as "spheres of influence") divided between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The Soviet-Nazi pact led to the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and the Soviet invasion and occupation of the Baltic countries in June 1940.
Estonian Rahvarinne, Latvian Tautas fronte, and Lithuanian Sąjūdis were the Baltic pro-independence movements that planned, organized, and led the 1989 events with the primary goal of drawing global attention by demonstrating an overwhelming popular desire for independence and showcasing solidarity among the three nations. Contemporary historians generally agree that the Baltic Way represented an effective publicity campaign and an emotionally captivating, as well as visually stunning scene.
The event presented an opportunity for the Baltic activists to publicise the Soviet rule and position the question of Baltic independence not only as a political matter, but also as a moral issue. The Soviet authorities responded to the event with intense rhetoric, but failed to take any constructive actions that could bridge the widening gap between the Baltic republics and the rest of the Soviet Union. Seven months after the protest, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare independence.
After the Revolutions of 1989, 23 August has become an official remembrance day both in the Baltic countries, in the European Union, and in other countries, known as the Black Ribbon Day or as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism.
The Soviet Union denied the existence of the secret protocols to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which had ceded control over the Baltic states to the USSR, despite the protocols' texts having been used as evidence during the Nuremberg Trials and having been published worldwide by many Western scholars. Additionally, the Soviet propaganda also maintained that there was no occupation and that all three Baltic states had voluntarily joined the Soviet Union – the People's Parliaments had expressed the people's will when they petitioned the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union to be admitted into the Union. The Baltic states claimed that they were forcefully and illegally incorporated into the Soviet Union. The existence and public revelation of the secret protocols had a significant effect on popular opinion, as people had concrete proof that the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania was illegal.
Such an interpretation of the Pact had major implications for the Baltics' public policy. If Baltic diplomats could establish a link between the Pact and the occupation, they could claim that the Soviet rule in the republics had no legal basis and therefore all Soviet laws had been null and void since 1940. Such a position would automatically terminate the debate over reforming Baltic sovereignty or establishing autonomy within the Soviet Union – the states would have never belonged de jure to the union in the first place. This would open the possibility of restoring legal continuity of the independent states that had existed during the interwar period. Claiming that no Soviet laws had legal power in the Baltics would also cancel the need to follow the Constitution of the Soviet Union and other formal secession procedures.
In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, tensions were rising between the Baltic and Moscow. Lithuanian politician Romualdas Ozolas initiated a collection of 2 million signatures to demand the withdrawal of the Red Army from Lithuania. The Communist Party of Lithuania was deliberating the possibility of splitting off from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. On 8 August 1989, Estonians attempted to amend election laws to limit the voting rights of new immigrants (mostly Russian workers). This resulted in several mass strikes and protests by Russian workers. Moscow gained an opportunity to present the events as an "inter-ethnic conflict" – it could then position itself as "peacemaker," restoring order in a troubled republic.
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Baltic Way
The Baltic Way (Lithuanian: Baltijos kelias; Latvian: Baltijas ceļš; Estonian: Balti kett) or Baltic Chain (also "Chain of Freedom") was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning 675 kilometres (419 mi) across the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with a combined population of around eight million citizens, who had been subject to the Soviet Union's repression for more than 45 years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The central government in Moscow considered the three Baltic countries constituent republics of the Soviet Union.
The demonstration originated from "Black Ribbon Day" protests held in Western cities in the 1980s. It marked the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, in which Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania were (as "spheres of influence") divided between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The Soviet-Nazi pact led to the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and the Soviet invasion and occupation of the Baltic countries in June 1940.
Estonian Rahvarinne, Latvian Tautas fronte, and Lithuanian Sąjūdis were the Baltic pro-independence movements that planned, organized, and led the 1989 events with the primary goal of drawing global attention by demonstrating an overwhelming popular desire for independence and showcasing solidarity among the three nations. Contemporary historians generally agree that the Baltic Way represented an effective publicity campaign and an emotionally captivating, as well as visually stunning scene.
The event presented an opportunity for the Baltic activists to publicise the Soviet rule and position the question of Baltic independence not only as a political matter, but also as a moral issue. The Soviet authorities responded to the event with intense rhetoric, but failed to take any constructive actions that could bridge the widening gap between the Baltic republics and the rest of the Soviet Union. Seven months after the protest, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare independence.
After the Revolutions of 1989, 23 August has become an official remembrance day both in the Baltic countries, in the European Union, and in other countries, known as the Black Ribbon Day or as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism.
The Soviet Union denied the existence of the secret protocols to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which had ceded control over the Baltic states to the USSR, despite the protocols' texts having been used as evidence during the Nuremberg Trials and having been published worldwide by many Western scholars. Additionally, the Soviet propaganda also maintained that there was no occupation and that all three Baltic states had voluntarily joined the Soviet Union – the People's Parliaments had expressed the people's will when they petitioned the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union to be admitted into the Union. The Baltic states claimed that they were forcefully and illegally incorporated into the Soviet Union. The existence and public revelation of the secret protocols had a significant effect on popular opinion, as people had concrete proof that the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania was illegal.
Such an interpretation of the Pact had major implications for the Baltics' public policy. If Baltic diplomats could establish a link between the Pact and the occupation, they could claim that the Soviet rule in the republics had no legal basis and therefore all Soviet laws had been null and void since 1940. Such a position would automatically terminate the debate over reforming Baltic sovereignty or establishing autonomy within the Soviet Union – the states would have never belonged de jure to the union in the first place. This would open the possibility of restoring legal continuity of the independent states that had existed during the interwar period. Claiming that no Soviet laws had legal power in the Baltics would also cancel the need to follow the Constitution of the Soviet Union and other formal secession procedures.
In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, tensions were rising between the Baltic and Moscow. Lithuanian politician Romualdas Ozolas initiated a collection of 2 million signatures to demand the withdrawal of the Red Army from Lithuania. The Communist Party of Lithuania was deliberating the possibility of splitting off from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. On 8 August 1989, Estonians attempted to amend election laws to limit the voting rights of new immigrants (mostly Russian workers). This resulted in several mass strikes and protests by Russian workers. Moscow gained an opportunity to present the events as an "inter-ethnic conflict" – it could then position itself as "peacemaker," restoring order in a troubled republic.