Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-03-12
Baltic States Not Russia's


Senator Glen H. Taylor, discussing various
problems on his meet the Press" radio pro-
gram, declared with regard to the Baltic
States that they formerly were parts of Russia.
had been taken away from Russia, and now
Russia merely took them back just as the
United States would have acted If Japan had
ever seized certain States of the Union.
One cannot but agree with the Senator that
one has the right to take back something
illicitly taken away from one. However, the
historic truth Is that the Baltic States never
were integral parts of Russia, and were seized
by the latter only at the end Of the 18th
Century. Upon the final partitioning OF Poland
by Russia, Austria and Prussia in 1885, Russia
annexed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and
In the following year seized the Duchy OF
Courland, the core Of resent-day Latvta.
incidentally. the partitioning Of Poland was
strongly condemned suo tempore by Lenin).
Although forcibly annexed by Russia, the
Baltic peoples nevertheless preserved their
national integrity, and necessarily struggled
for the restoration of their independence. The
last of their revolutions against Russia occurred
in 1905, when they practically drove Russian
troops and authorities out of the Baltic area.
The general demand was for self-determina-
tion for secession from oppressive. reactionary
stituent assemblies The Baltic States were
reannexed by overwhelming Russian military
forces and a bloody revenge was taken by the
Russian government.
Latvians Fought German Invaders.
However, the Baltic political-autonomous
movement did not stop, but, on the contrary,
became more crystallized. The struggle for
independence was continued by the Baltic rep
resentatives in the Russian Duma.
During the First World War the Latvians
organized their own army Of volunteers to fight
on the side of the Allies against the invading
Germans. They successfully held the German
forces on the Duna line, in doing so losing 3d.
900 men from total contingent of 10000. In
this way the Latvians aided the Allies in the
West at critical period. Their reward was
the granting Of territorial autonomy to Latvia
by the Russian provisional republican govern
ment on July 5, 1917 However, this Russian
republican government was overthrown by the
Bolshevk minority on November 7, 1917. Stimuli
taneousy Lenin, as head of the new Bolshevik
government, offered the German Kaiser and
his several satellites separate peach, which
was signed at Brest-Litovsk on March 8, 1918.
In compensation to Germany for its recogni-
ton of the Bolshevik government Lenin re-
cognized the Baltic States as being within the
German sphere of influence, despite the fact,
that they Mad seeded Latvia, on November
49, 1917, by decision Of the Provisional Latvian
National Council, assembled in Walka, in
northern Latvia) from Russia on the basis of
the principle of self-determnation of nations
proclaimed also by Lenin and Stalin), had
already set up their own governments, and had
nothing in common with the Germans.
After the collapse of Germany, Soviet Russia
denounced the Brest-Litoysk Treaty November
Is, 1919 and formed on Russian territory
Soviet puppet governments for the Baltic
States with the order to reannex them to Soviet
Russia with the help of the Red army. After a
hard struggle, Soviet Russia abandoned the
Baltic Soviet puppet governments and was
ready to sign peace treaties "for ever" with
the legal governments Of the Baltic States.
Soviets Accepted Self Determination.
In these treaties with Finland, Estonia
Latvia, Lithuania Tin 1920 and Poland Gin 1921
the y. 8. s. r. upheld the principle Of self
determination and denounced the international
treaties by which the above mentioned states
had been annexed by tsarist Russia. From that
time on the Baltic States maintained the best
relations with Soviet Russia, to which they
granted free transit over their rail-, high and
airways, and free use of their ports. Treaties
Of aggression and Cancellation, the pact
defining the aggressor in elaboration Of the
Ant1-war Pact, etc, were signed between the
Baltic States and Soviet Russia, and were
strictly observed by the former. No disputes,
either territorial or otherwise. existed between
the U. 8. 9. r. and the Baltic States.
At the beginning Of the last war the Baltic
States proclaimed their strict neutrality. How