Free Republic

Viewed from Paris, London and Washington, the events unfolding in Ukraine may seem like a new Cold War taking shape in Europe. From the Baltic countries, it looks much worse. To Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians — particularly those old enough to have lived under Soviet control — Russia’s belligerence toward Ukraine has some worried that they could be the next target. The escalating tensions which preceded an attack Thursday brought back memories of mass deportations and oppression. “My grandparents were sent away to Siberia. My father was persecuted by the KGB. Now I live in a free democratic country, but...

A senior Russian Foreign Ministry official says that Moscow has a responsibility to protect ethnic Russian citizens of other countries, "regardless of where they live," and that "we will do everything possible to defend the rights and interests" of ethnic Russian minorities in the neighboring Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The comments came from Anatoly Makarov, the director of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Interaction with Compatriots Abroad. He was speaking to the Russian outlet RuBaltic, as translated by Paul Goble. "We are carrying out a line so that Russian compatriots regardless of where they live are guaranteed...

Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin. By Timothy Snyder. Basic Books; 524 pages. IN THE middle of the 20th century Europe’s two totalitarian empires, Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union, killed 14m non-combatants, in peacetime and in war. The who, why, when, where and how of these mass murders is the subject of a gripping and comprehensive new book by Timothy Snyder of Yale University. The term coined in the book’s title encapsulates the thesis. The “bloodlands” are the stretch of territory from the Baltic to the Black Sea where Europe’s most murderous regimes did their most murderous work. The...

Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia yesterday (27 June) became the first EU newcomers to join the "exchange-rate mechanism" (ERM-2), paving the way for them to join the euro as early as 2007. The decision was taken at a highly secretive meeting in Brussels on Sunday, involving officials from the 12 eurozone countries, the European Central Bank, Denmark, and the three countries that had applied for ERM-2 entry, according to the Baltic News Service. ERM-2 is often referred to as the "holding bay" for the euro. Countries wishing to join the euro must participate in ERM-2 for a minimum of two years....