The early 1930s saw the international community became unstable. First, the stock markets collapsed in 1929, causing an economic slump. Second, economic woes and fear of Communism saw the rise of totalitarian regimes in Japan, Germany and Italy. Economic crises destabilized the internal politics of the Baltic states, causing the rise of authoritarian regimes. Antanas Smetona and Augustinas Voldemaras had already taken power in a "coup d'état" in 1926; both Estonia and Latvia followed the example in 1934. The Elder of State Konstantin Päts took power in Estonia, and shortly afterward Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis took power in Latvia. Furthermore, because of the Great Depression, the Baltic states' two leading trading partners, Britain and Germany, limited their imports from the Baltic region.