III 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 128 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JULY 25, 2005 
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of 
the Russian Federation should issue a clear and unam-
biguous statement of admission and condemnation of 
the illegal occupation and annexation by the Soviet Union 
from 1940 to 1991 of the Baltic countries of Estonia, 
Latvia, and Lithuania. 
Whereas the incorporation in 1940 of the Baltic countries of 
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Soviet Union was 
an act of aggression carried out against the will of sov-
ereign people; 
Whereas the United States was steadfast in its policy of not 
recognizing the illegal Soviet annexation of Estonia, Lat-
via, and Lithuania;
HCON 128 RFS 
Whereas the Russian Federation is the successor state to the 
Soviet Union; 
Whereas the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, including its 
secret protocols, between Nazi Germany and the Soviet 
Union provided the Soviet Union with the opportunity to 
occupy and annex Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; 
Whereas the occupation brought countless suffering to the 
Baltic peoples through terror, killings, and deportations 
to Siberian concentration camps; 
Whereas the peoples of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania brave-
ly resisted Soviet aggression and occupation; 
Whereas the Government of Germany renounced its partici-
pation in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 and pub-
licly apologized for the destruction and terror that Nazi 
Germany unleashed on the world; 
Whereas in 1989, the Congress of Peoples’ Deputies of the 
Soviet Union denounced the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 
1939 and its secret protocols; 
Whereas President Putin recently confirmed that the state-
ment of the Congress of Peoples’ Deputies remains the 
view of the Russian Federation; 
Whereas the illegal occupation and annexation of the Baltic 
countries by the Soviet Union remains unacknowledged 
by the Russian Federation; 
Whereas a declaration of acknowledgment of the illegal occu-
pation and annexation by the Russian Federation would 
lead to improved relations between the people of Estonia, 
Latvia, and Lithuania and the people of Russia, would 
form the basis for improved relations between the govern-
ments of the countries, and strengthen stability in the re-
gion;
HCON 128 RFS 
Whereas the Russian Federation is to be commended for ac-
knowledging grievous and regrettable incidents in the So-
viet era, such as the massacre by the Soviet regime of 
Polish soldiers in the Katyn Forest in 1939; 
Whereas the truth is a powerful weapon for healing, for-
giving, and reconciliation, but its absence breeds distrust, 
fear, and hostility; and 
Whereas countries that cannot clearly admit their historical 
mistakes and make peace with their pasts cannot success-
fully build their futures: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the Gov-
ernment of the Russian Federation should issue a clear 
and unambiguous statement of admission and condemna-
tion of the illegal occupation and annexation by the Soviet 
Union from 1940 to 1991 of the Baltic countries of Esto-
nia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the consequence of which will 
be a significant increase in good will among the affected 
peoples and enhanced regional stability. 
Passed the House of Representatives July 22, 2005. 
Attest: 
JEFF TRANDAHL, 
Clerk.