Annexation of the Baltics 1940. Why the USSR occupied the Baltics. Differences between the Baltic countries

In the elections of July 14, 1940, pro-communist organizations won the victory in the Baltic States, which subsequently carried out the accession of these countries to the USSR. In Estonia, the turnout was 84.1% and the Union of Working People received 92.8% of the vote, in Lithuania the turnout was 95.51%, and 99.19% of voters supported the Union of Working People, in Latvia the turnout was 94.8%, and The bloc of working people won with 97.8% of the vote.

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These days marks the 70th anniversary of the accession of the Baltic States to the Soviet Union

These days marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Soviet power in the Baltics. On July 21-22, 1940, the parliaments of the three Baltic countries proclaimed the creation of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republics and adopted the Declaration on joining the USSR. Already in early August 1940, they became part of the Soviet Union. The current authorities of the Baltic states interpret the events of those years as an annexation. In turn, Moscow categorically disagrees with this approach and points out that the accession of the Baltic states was in line with international law.

Let us recall the background of this question. The Soviet Union and the Baltic countries signed agreements on mutual assistance, according to which, by the way, the USSR received the right to deploy a military contingent in the Baltics. Meanwhile, Moscow began to declare that the Baltic governments were violating the agreements, and later the Soviet leadership received information about the activation of the German fifth column in Lithuania. There was a second World War, Poland and France had already been defeated by that time, and, of course, the USSR could not allow the transition of the Baltic countries to the zone of German influence. In this, in fact, emergency situation, Moscow demanded that the Baltic governments allow additional Soviet troops. In addition, the USSR put forward political demands, which, in fact, meant a change of power in the Baltics.

Moscow's terms were accepted, and early parliamentary elections were held in the three Baltic countries, in which pro-communist forces won a landslide victory, despite a very high voter turnout. The new government carried out the accession of these countries to the Soviet Union.

If you do not engage in legal chicanery, but speak on the merits, then calling what happened an occupation would mean sinning against the truth. Who doesn't know what's in Soviet times Was the Baltics a privileged region? Thanks to the colossal investments that were made in the Baltic States from the all-Union budget, the standard of living in the new Soviet republics was one of the highest. By the way, this gave rise to unfounded illusions, and at the everyday level, conversations in the spirit began to be heard: “if we live so well under occupation, then, having gained independence, we will achieve a standard of living like in the West.” Practice has shown what these empty dreams were worth. None of the three Baltic states ever turned into a second Sweden or Finland. Quite the opposite, when the “occupier” left, everyone saw that the really very high standard of living in the Baltic republics was largely supported by subsidies from Russia.

All these things are obvious, but political demagogy ignores even easily verified facts. And here our Foreign Ministry needs to keep an eye out. In no case should one agree with the interpretation of historical facts that the current authorities of the Baltic countries adhere to. They will also charge us for the "occupation", because Russia is the successor of the USSR. So the assessment of the events of seventy years ago is not only of historical interest, but also has a direct bearing on our life today.

"""In order to sort out the issue, the site turned to MGIMO associate professor Olga Nikolaevna Chetverikova."""

We do not recognize this as an occupation, and this is the main stumbling block. The arguments of our country are that this cannot be called an occupation, because what happened is in line with the international legal norms that existed in those years. From this point of view, there is nothing to complain about. And they consider, that elections in diets have been falsified. The secret protocols to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact are also being considered. They say that this was agreed with the German authorities, but no one has seen all these documents, no one can confirm the reality of their existence.

First, it is necessary to clear the source base, documentary, archival, and then you can already say something. Serious research is needed, and as Ilyukhin said well, those archives that present the events of those years in a light that is unfavorable to the West are not published.

In any case, the position of our leadership is half-hearted and inconsistent. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was condemned, and, accordingly, the unknown, existing or non-existent secret protocols were condemned.

I think if Soviet Union did not annex the Baltics, then Germany would have annexed the Baltics, or it would have had the same conditions as France or Belgium. All of Europe was then actually under the control of the German authorities.

And also that the entry of these countries into the USSR received official international recognition. This position is based on the de facto recognition of the integrity of the borders of the USSR as of June 1941 at the Yalta (1945) and Potsdam (1945) conferences by the participating states, as well as on the recognition in 1975 of the inviolability of European borders by the participants of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe .

Background. 1930s

The Baltic states in the period between the two world wars became the object of the struggle of the great European powers (Great Britain, France and Germany) for influence in the region. In the first decade after Germany's defeat in World War I, there was a strong Anglo-French influence in the Baltic states, which later, from the beginning of the 1930s, began to interfere with the growing influence of neighboring Germany. He, in turn, sought to counteract the USSR. By the end of the 1930s, the Third Reich and the USSR became the main rivals in the struggle for influence in the Baltics. [ ]

On September 29, 1938, the Munich Agreement was drawn up and signed on September 30, according to which Great Britain, France, Nazi Germany and Italy decided to divide an independent state - Czechoslovakia, separating the Sudetenland from it and transferring them to Germany. “This was a real turning point in the European system of international politics,” notes political scientist Igor Yurgens in the book “Drafts of the Future”. “After Munich, it became clear to European intellectuals that a small nation does not have the tools to resist the decisions of large countries.”

In the spring and summer of 1939, the USSR negotiated with Great Britain and France on the joint prevention of the Italo-German aggression against European countries, and on April 17, 1939, invited Great Britain and France to commit themselves to providing all-round, including military, assistance to the Eastern European countries located between the Baltic and Black Seas and bordering the Soviet Union, as well as to conclude for a period of 5-10 years an agreement on mutual assistance, including military, in the event of aggression in Europe against any of the contracting states (USSR, Great Britain and France). (The proposed treaty was also informally referred to as the "second edition of the Entente".)

The failure of the negotiations was caused by the difference in the interests of the contracting parties. Thus, the Franco-British emissaries received detailed secret instructions from the general staffs of their states, which determined the goals and nature of the negotiations. The note of the French General Staff stated, in particular, that together with a number of political benefits that Great Britain and France would receive in connection with the accession of the USSR, this would allow the USSR to be drawn into the conflict: “it is not in our interests that it remain out of the conflict, while maintaining untouched their strength". The Soviet Union, which considered at least two Baltic republics - Estonia and Latvia - as the sphere of its geopolitical [ ] interests, defended this position at the negotiations, but did not meet with understanding from the partners. As for the governments of the Baltic states themselves, they preferred guarantees from Germany, with which they were connected by a system of economic agreements [ ] . According to Winston Churchill: “An obstacle to the conclusion of such an agreement (with the USSR) was the horror that these same border states experienced before Soviet assistance in the form of Soviet armies, who could pass through their territories to protect them from the Germans and simultaneously include them in the Soviet-communist system. After all, they were the most violent opponents of this system. Poland, Romania, Finland and the three Baltic states did not know what they were more afraid of - German aggression or Russian salvation.

In this situation, simultaneously with negotiations with Great Britain and France, the Soviet Union in the summer of 1939 took steps towards an active rapprochement with Germany. The result of this policy was the signing of the Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the USSR on August 23, 1939. According to the secret additional protocol to the treaty, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and eastern Poland were included in the Soviet sphere of interest, Lithuania and western Poland were included in the sphere of German interests. By the time the treaty was signed, the Klaipeda region of Lithuania had already been occupied by Germany (March 1939).

Beginning of the war in Europe (1939)

The outbreak of war between neighboring states gave rise to fears in the Baltics of being drawn into these events and prompted them to declare their neutrality. However, during the hostilities, a number of incidents occurred, in which the Baltic countries were also involved. One of them was the entry on September 15 of the Polish submarine Ozhel to the port of Tallinn, where she was interned at the request of Germany by the Estonian authorities, who began to dismantle her weapons. However, on the night of September 18, the crew of the submarine disarmed the guards and took her out to sea, while six torpedoes remained on board. The Soviet Union claimed that Estonia violated neutrality by providing shelter and assistance to a Polish submarine.

Mutual Assistance Pacts and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary

As a result of the actual division of Polish territory between Germany and the USSR, the Soviet borders moved far to the west, and the USSR began to border on the third Baltic state - Lithuania. Initially, Germany intended to turn Lithuania into its protectorate, but on September 25, during the Soviet-German contacts "on the settlement of the Polish problem", the USSR proposed to start negotiations on Germany's renunciation of claims to Lithuania in exchange for the territories of the Warsaw and Lublin Voivodeships. On this day, the German ambassador to the USSR, Count von Schulenburg, sent a telegram to the German Foreign Ministry, in which he said that he had been summoned to the Kremlin, where Stalin pointed to this proposal as a subject for future negotiations and added that if Germany agreed, "the Soviet Union will immediately take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23 and expect the full support of the German government in this matter.

The situation in the Baltic states themselves was alarming and contradictory. Against the background of rumors about the impending Soviet-German partition of the Baltic States, which were refuted by diplomats from both sides, part of the ruling circles of the Baltic states were ready to continue rapprochement with Germany, while many others were anti-German and counted on the help of the USSR in maintaining the balance of power in the region and national independence, while the underground left forces were ready to support joining the USSR.

Meanwhile, a Soviet military group was being created on the Soviet border with Estonia and Latvia, which included the forces of the 8th Army (Kingisepp direction, Leningrad Military District), the 7th Army (Pskov direction, Kalinin Military District) and the 3rd Army (Belarusian Front) .

In conditions when Latvia and Finland refused to provide Estonia with support, and Great Britain and France, despite the fact that they were already at war with Germany, also refused to provide it, the Estonian government went to negotiations in Moscow, as a result of which the Pact was concluded on September 28 on Mutual Assistance, which provides for the creation of Soviet military bases on the territory of Estonia and the deployment of a Soviet contingent of up to 25,000 people on them. On the same day, the German-Soviet Treaty "On Friendship and Borders" was signed. According to the secret protocol to it, the conditions for dividing the spheres of influence were revised: Lithuania ceded to the sphere of influence of the USSR in exchange for Polish lands east of the Vistula, which were ceded to Germany. Stalin, at the end of negotiations with the Estonian delegation, told Selter: “ the Estonian government acted wisely and for the benefit of the Estonian people by making an agreement with the Soviet Union. With you it could turn out, as with Poland. Poland was a great power. Where is Poland now?».

On October 2, similar Soviet-Latvian negotiations began. From Latvia, the USSR also demanded access to the sea - through the ports of Liepaja and Ventspils. As a result, on October 5, a mutual assistance agreement was signed for a period of 10 years, which provided for the entry of a 25,000-strong contingent of Soviet troops into Latvia.

Almost immediately after the signing of mutual assistance treaties, negotiations began on the basing of Soviet troops on the territory of the Baltic states.

In Latvia Liepaja, Ventspils, Priekule and Pitrags became the base points. On October 23, the cruiser "Kirov" arrived in Liepaja, accompanied by the destroyers "Sharp-witted" and "Swift". On October 29, the introduction of units of the 2nd Special Rifle Corps and the 18th Air Brigade began.

In Lithuania Soviet troops were deployed during November - December in the areas of New Vileika, Alytus, Prienai, Gaizhunai (they had been in Vilnius and the territory of the Vilna region since the time of the Polish campaign), while they were withdrawn from Vilnius at the insistence of the Lithuanian side. Parts of the 16th Rifle Corps, 10th Fighter and 31st High-Speed Bomber Aviation Regiments were stationed in Lithuania.

On April 1, 1940, geographic maps were published in the Third Reich, in which the territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were designated as being part of the Soviet Union.

The fact that the Russian armies had to stand on this line was absolutely necessary for the security of Russia against the Nazi threat. Be that as it may, this line exists, and is created Eastern front which Nazi Germany dare not attack. When Herr Ribbentrop was summoned to Moscow last week, he had to learn and accept the fact that the implementation of the Nazi plans in relation to the Baltic countries and Ukraine must be finally stopped.

Having concluded agreements with the Baltic countries, the Soviet leadership began to make claims to the sovereign republics about the activities of the so-called Baltic Entente and demand the dissolution of this political union between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as having an anti-Soviet orientation and violating mutual assistance treaties with the USSR.

A limited contingent of the Red Army (for example, in Latvia, in the confidential protocol attached to the mutual assistance agreement, the number of Soviet troops was agreed to be 25 thousand people, which is comparable to the size of the Latvian army) was introduced with the permission of the presidents of the Baltic countries, and agreements were concluded. So, on November 5, 1939, the Riga newspaper Gazeta dlya Vsego in the article “Soviet troops went to their bases” published a message:

On the basis of a friendly agreement concluded between Latvia and the USSR on mutual assistance, the first echelons of Soviet troops proceeded on October 29, 1939 through the border station Zilupe. To meet the Soviet troops, a guard of honor with a military band was lined up ....

A little later, in the same newspaper on November 26, 1939, in the article "Freedom and Independence", dedicated to the celebrations of November 18, a speech by President Karlis Ulmanis was printed, in which he stated:

... The recently concluded mutual assistance agreement with the Soviet Union strengthens the security of our and its borders ...

Ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments

On June 3, Charge d'Affaires of the USSR in Lithuania, V. Semyonov, writes an overview note on the situation in Lithuania, in which the Soviet embassy drew Moscow's attention to the desire of the Lithuanian government to "surrender into the hands of Germany", and to intensify "the activities of the German fifth column and arm the members of the Union of Riflemen ", preparation for mobilization. It speaks of the “genuine intentions of the Lithuanian ruling circles”, which, in the event of a settlement of the conflict, will only strengthen “their line against the treaty, going over to a“ businesslike ”conspiracy with Germany, waiting only for an opportune moment for a direct strike on the Soviet garrisons” .

On June 4, under the guise of exercises, the troops of the Leningrad, Kalinin and Belorussian Special Military Districts were alerted and began advancing to the borders of the Baltic states.

On June 14, the Soviet government delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania, and on June 16 to Latvia and Estonia. In general terms, the meaning of the ultimatums coincided - the governments of these states were accused of gross violation of the terms of the Mutual Assistance Treaties previously concluded with the USSR, and a demand was put forward to form governments capable of ensuring the implementation of these treaties, as well as to allow additional contingents of troops into the territory of these countries. The conditions were accepted.

On June 15, additional contingents of Soviet troops were brought into Lithuania, and on June 17 - into Estonia and Latvia.

The process of Sovietization of the Baltic countries was followed by authorized governments of the USSR - Andrey Zhdanov (in Estonia), Andrey Vyshinsky (in Latvia) and Vladimir Dekanozov (in Lithuania).

Entry of the Baltic states into the USSR

The new governments lifted bans on communist parties and demonstrations, released political prisoners, and called early parliamentary elections. In the elections held on July 14 in all three states, the pro-communist Blocks (Unions) of the working people won - the only electoral lists admitted to the elections. According to official data, in Estonia the turnout was 84.1%, while 92.8% of the votes were cast for the Union of the Working People, in Lithuania the turnout was 95.51%, of which 99.19% voted for the Union of the Working People, in Latvia The turnout was 94.8%, with 97.8% of the votes cast for the Bloc of the Working People.

Historian Mikelis Rutkowski writes that in modern historiography it is generally accepted that "election campaigns in the republics, organized according to the 'Moscow scenario', violated the democratic guarantees of the Constitutions of the sovereign Baltic states that the elections were not free, undemocratic." These assessments correspond to the official state position both in the Baltic countries and "practically in all the leading states of the world" . The elections in Latvia, according to V. Mangulis, were rigged.

From the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian armies, the Lithuanian (29th Rifle), Latvian (24th Rifle) and Estonian (22nd Rifle) territorial corps were formed, which became part of PribOVO.

Aftermath, deportations and war

After the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR, Sovietization took place here: the socialist transformations of the economy and repressions against the intelligentsia, clergy, former politicians, officers, and wealthy peasants began, basically, already completed in the rest of the country. In 1941, “due to the presence in the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian SSR of a significant number of former members of various counter-revolutionary nationalist parties, former policemen, gendarmes, landowners, factory owners, high officials of the former state apparatus of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and other persons leading a subversive anti-Soviet work and used by foreign intelligence services for espionage purposes”, mass deportations of the population were carried out.

In the Baltic republics, just before the start of the war, an operation was completed to evict an “unreliable and counter-revolutionary element” - 9156 people were expelled from Estonia, about 17.5 thousand from Lithuania, and 15,424 people from Latvia. This operation was completed by June 21, 1941. A significant part of the deported population died.

In the summer of 1941, after the German attack on the USSR, in Lithuania and Latvia there were, from the Soviet point of view, the actions of the “fifth column”.

The Baltic states were the only members of the League of Nations (apart from defeated Germany) whose independence was not restored after World War II.

International reaction

The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR was not recognized by the United States, the Vatican and a number of other countries. Recognized it de jure Sweden, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, India, Iran, New Zealand, Finland; de facto- Great Britain and a number of other countries. Some diplomatic missions of the pre-war Baltic states continued their activities in exile, and after the Second World War, the Estonian government in exile was created. The status of these diplomatic missions was ambiguous. For example, for a long time they could not manage the assets of their republics, which the US authorities blocked in American banks as early as July 15, 1940. Only in 1950 did the US authorities allow the Baltic diplomatic missions to use the percentage of these assets. Subsequently, Washington provided diplomatic missions with symbolic concessions. For example, in 1983, the indication on the cartographic materials of the Baltic countries as independent states occupied by the USSR became mandatory for the purchase of these materials for the needs of the US Army. Gradually, almost all Baltic emigrant diplomatic missions abroad ceased to exist - at the end of the 1980s, only three missions in the United States remained active (Lithuanian and Latvian in Washington, Estonian in New York), one in the UK (Lithuanian in London, until 1991 years was headed by a trade adviser who arrived there back in 1938) and one in the Vatican (Lithuanian).

The fate of foreign assets of the Baltic countries

The bulk of the assets of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were stored abroad. For example, in the UK, about 50 ships of these countries were seized by the authorities; also the British authorities froze the gold reserves of the three republics. In total, more than 10 tons of gold from these states were frozen in the UK, of which 6.58 tons previously belonged to Latvia, 4.48 tons to Estonia and 2.96 tons to Lithuania. The State Bank of the USSR bought this gold from the central banks of these countries even before they joined the USSR, but the British authorities refused to transfer it to Moscow. The issue of Baltic gold was partly resolved during A. N. Kosygin's visit to the UK and was determined in the British-Soviet agreement signed on January 5, 1968 - the British government deposited 0.5 million pounds sterling into the account of the USSR State Bank in the Bank of England for the purchase British goods. With this, the question of Baltic assets in the UK was removed. After these countries gained independence from the USSR, London agreed to return the assets. In 1992-1993, the UK entered into agreements with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the return to these countries of their gold deposits stored in the UK in the amount in which they belonged to the central banks of these countries as of 1940.

Contemporary politics

AT recent times the conflict is also aggravated by periodic demands, at the state level, of the Baltic countries to Russia demanding payment of compensation "for the occupation of the country" (for example, the corresponding bill was adopted in Lithuania).

Citizenship issue

The opinion of historians and political scientists

Check information.

Scientists who deny the occupation point to the absence of hostilities between the USSR and the Baltic countries in 1940. Their opponents object that the definition of occupation does not necessarily imply war, for example, the occupation by Germany of Czechoslovakia in 1939 and Denmark in 1940 is considered to be occupation.

Baltic historians emphasize the facts of violation of democratic norms during the extraordinary parliamentary elections held at the same time in 1940 in all three states in the conditions of a significant Soviet military presence, as well as the fact that in the elections held on July 14 and 15, 1940 , only one list of candidates nominated by the Bloc of the Working People was allowed, and all other alternative lists were rejected. Baltic sources believe that the election results were rigged and did not reflect the will of the people. For example, in an article posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, historian I. Feldmanis provides information that “ In Moscow, the Soviet news agency TASS gave information about the mentioned election results already twelve hours before the start of the counting of votes in Latvia» . He also cites the opinion of Dietrich A. Loeber (Dietrich André Loeber) - a lawyer and one of the former soldiers of the Abwehr sabotage and reconnaissance unit "Brandenburg 800" in 1941-1945 - that the annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was fundamentally illegal, since it is based for intervention and occupation. . From this it is concluded that the decisions of the Baltic parliaments to join the USSR were predetermined in advance.

Opinions of contemporaries

Churchill in a letter to Foreign Minister Eden dated January 8, 1942:

We have never recognized the borders of Russia in 1941 except de facto. They were achieved through acts of aggression in shameful collusion with Hitler. The surrender of the peoples of the Baltic countries under power Soviet Russia against their will will be contrary to all the principles for which we are waging this war, and will dishonor our cause.

Original text (English)
We have never recognized the 1941 frontiers of Russia except de facto. They were acquired by acts of aggression in shameful collision with Hitler. The transfer of the peoples of the Baltic States to Soviet Russian against their will would be contrary to all the principles for which we are fighting this war and would dishonour our cause.

Roosevelt. The question of incorporating the Baltic Republics into the Soviet Union may be raised in the United States, and I believe that world public opinion will deem it desirable that at some time in the future the opinion of the peoples of these republics on this matter should be expressed in some way. Therefore, I hope that Marshal Stalin will take this wish into account. I personally have no doubt that the peoples of these countries will vote for joining the Soviet Union as unanimously as they did in 1940.
Stalin. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia did not have autonomy until the revolution in Russia. The tsar was then in alliance with the United States and with England, and no one raised the question of withdrawing these countries from Russia. Why is this question being asked now?
Roosevelt. The fact is that public opinion does not know history.

In fiction

Notes

Secret Additional Protocol to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Historical and documentary department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. ABOUT THE MOLOTOV-RIBBENTROP PACT (Brief information) 24-07-2008
Semiryaga M.I. Chapter VI. Troubled summer// Secrets of Stalin's diplomacy. 1939-1941. . - M.: graduate School, 1992. - 303 p. - 50,000 copies.
Guryanov A. E. The scale of the deportation of the population deep into the USSR in May-June 1941, memo.ru
Michael Keating, John McGarry. Minority nationalism and the changing international order. - Oxford University Press, 2001. - P. 343. - 366 p. - ISBN 0199242143.
Jeff Chinn, Robert John Kaiser. Russians as the new minority: ethnicity and nationalism in the Soviet successor states. - Westview Press, 1996. - P. 93. - 308 p. - ISBN 0813322480.
Great Historical Encyclopedia: For schoolchildren and students, page 602: "Molotov"
The text of the treaties on non-aggression and on friendship and borders between Germany and the USSR // Ponomarev M. V., Smirnova S. Yu. Modern and recent history of Europe and America. v. 3. Moscow, 2000, ss. 173-175
Baltic states | region, Europe:: Soviet occupation | Britannica.com
Kevin C. O'Connor. The History of the Baltic States. second edition. - ABC-CLIO, 2015. - P. 298. - ISBN 9781610699150.
Alfons Cuco Giner. El despertar de las naciones: La ruptura de la Unión Soviética y la cuestión nacional. - Universitat de Valencia, 1998. - P. 306. - ISBN 843703938X.
Antonovica, Arta. Comunicación e imagen de los países bálticos en España a través de la técnica del discurso periodístico. - Librería-Editorial Dykinson, 2012. - P. 258. - ISBN 9788490315453.
Büyük lûgat ve ansiklopedi. - Meydan Yayinevi, 1985.
1940-1941, Conclusions // Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia: The Occupation of Latvia: Aspects of History and International Law
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia: Summary of Conclusions of the International Conference "Soviet Occupation Regime in the Baltic States 1944
president.lt - History
Parrott, Bruce. Reversing Soviet Military Occupation // State building and military power in Russia and the new states of Eurasia. - M.E. Sharpe, 1995. - P. 112-115. - ISBN 1563243601.
- "Resolution regarding the Baltic States adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe" September 29, 1960
- Resolution 1455 (2005) "Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation" June 22, 2005

The Baltic states in the period between the two world wars became the object of the struggle of the great European powers (England, France and Germany) for influence in the region. In the first decade after the defeat of Germany in the First World War, there was a strong Anglo-French influence in the Baltic states, which later, from the beginning of the 1930s, began to interfere with the growing influence of neighboring Germany. He, in turn, tried to resist the Soviet leadership, taking into account the strategic importance of the region. By the end of the 1930s. Germany and the USSR became in fact the main rivals in the struggle for influence in the Baltics.

Failure "Eastern Pact" was due to the difference in interests of the contracting parties. Thus, the Anglo-French missions received detailed secret instructions from their general staffs, which determined the goals and nature of the negotiations - the note of the French general staff said, in particular, that, along with a number of political benefits that England and France would receive in connection with the accession of the USSR, this would allow him to be drawn into the conflict: "it is not in our interests that he remains out of the conflict, keeping his forces intact" . The Soviet Union, which considered at least two Baltic republics - Estonia and Latvia - as a sphere of its national interests, defended this position at the negotiations, but did not meet with understanding from the partners. As for the governments of the Baltic states themselves, they preferred guarantees from Germany, with which they were connected by a system of economic agreements and non-aggression pacts. According to Churchill, “An obstacle to the conclusion of such an agreement (with the USSR) was the horror that these same border states experienced before Soviet help in the form of Soviet armies that could pass through their territories to protect them from the Germans and, along the way, include them in the Soviet-Communist system. After all, they were the most violent opponents of this system. Poland, Romania, Finland and the three Baltic states did not know what they feared more - German aggression or Russian salvation. .

Simultaneously with negotiations with Great Britain and France, the Soviet Union in the summer of 1939 stepped up steps towards rapprochement with Germany. The result of this policy was the signing on August 23, 1939 of a non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR. According to the secret additional protocols to the treaty, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and the east of Poland were included in the Soviet sphere of interests, Lithuania and the west of Poland - in the sphere of German interests); By the time the treaty was signed, the Klaipeda (Memel) region of Lithuania had already been occupied by Germany (March 1939).

1939. The beginning of the war in Europe

Mutual Assistance Pacts and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary

Independent Baltic states on the map of Malaya Soviet Encyclopedia. April 1940

As a result of the actual division of Polish territory between Germany and the USSR, the Soviet borders moved far to the west, and the USSR began to border on the third Baltic state - Lithuania. Initially, Germany intended to turn Lithuania into its protectorate, but on September 25, during the Soviet-German contacts on the settlement of the Polish problem, the USSR proposed to start negotiations on Germany's renunciation of claims to Lithuania in exchange for the territories of the Warsaw and Lublin provinces. On this day, the German ambassador to the USSR, Count Schulenburg, sent a telegram to the German Foreign Ministry, in which he said that he had been summoned to the Kremlin, where Stalin pointed to this proposal as a subject for future negotiations and added that if Germany agreed, "the Soviet Union immediately will take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23.

The situation in the Baltic states themselves was alarming and contradictory. Against the background of rumors about the upcoming Soviet-German division of the Baltic states, which were refuted by diplomats from both sides, part of the ruling circles of the Baltic states were ready to continue rapprochement with Germany, many were anti-German and counted on the help of the USSR in maintaining the balance of power in the region and national independence, while the underground left-wing forces were ready to support joining the USSR.

Meanwhile, on the Soviet border with Estonia and Latvia, a Soviet military group was being created, which included the forces of the 8th Army (Kingisepp direction, Leningrad Military District), 7th Army (Pskov direction, Kalinin Military District) and 3rd Army (Belarusian Front).

In conditions when Latvia and Finland refused to support Estonia, England and France (which were at war with Germany) were not able to provide it, and Germany recommended accepting the Soviet proposal, the Estonian government entered into negotiations in Moscow, as a result of which on September 28 The Mutual Assistance Pact was concluded, providing for the creation of Soviet military bases on the territory of Estonia and the deployment of a Soviet contingent of up to 25 thousand people on them. On the same day, the Soviet-German Treaty "On Friendship and Border" was signed, which fixed the partition of Poland. According to the secret protocol to it, the conditions for dividing the spheres of influence were revised: Lithuania ceded to the sphere of influence of the USSR in exchange for Polish lands east of the Vistula, which were ceded to Germany. Stalin, at the end of negotiations with the Estonian delegation, told Selter: “The Estonian government acted wisely and for the benefit of the Estonian people by concluding an agreement with the Soviet Union. With you it could turn out, as with Poland. Poland was a great power. Where is Poland now?

On October 5, the USSR suggested that Finland also consider the possibility of concluding a mutual assistance pact with the USSR. Negotiations began on October 11, however, Finland rejected the proposals of the USSR both on the pact and on the lease and exchange of territories, which led to the Mainil incident, which became the reason for the denunciation of the non-aggression pact with Finland by the USSR and the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940.

Almost immediately after the signing of mutual assistance treaties, negotiations began on the basing of Soviet troops on the territory of the Baltic states.

The fact that the Russian armies had to stand on this line was absolutely necessary for the security of Russia against the Nazi threat. Be that as it may, this line exists, and the Eastern Front has been created, which Nazi Germany will not dare to attack. When Mr. Ribbentrop was summoned to Moscow last week, he had to learn and accept the fact that the implementation of the Nazi plans in relation to the Baltic countries and Ukraine must be finally stopped.

original text(English)

That the Russian armies should stand on this line was clearly necessary for the safety of Russia against the Nazi menace. At any rate, the line is there, and an Eastern front has been created which Nazi Germany does not dare assail. When Herr von Ribbentrop was summoned to Moscow last week it was to learn the fact, and to accept the fact that the Nazi designs upon the Baltic States and upon the Ukraine must come to a dead stop.

The Soviet leadership also stated that the Baltic countries did not comply with the signed agreements and were pursuing an anti-Soviet policy. For example, the political union between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (Baltic Entente) was characterized as having an anti-Soviet orientation and violating mutual assistance treaties with the USSR.

A limited contingent of the Red Army (for example, in Latvia its number was 20,000) was introduced with the permission of the presidents of the Baltic countries, and agreements were concluded. So, on November 5, 1939, the Riga newspaper Gazeta dlya Vsego in the article “Soviet troops went to their bases” published a message:

On the basis of a friendly agreement concluded between Latvia and the USSR on mutual assistance, the first echelons of Soviet troops proceeded on October 29, 1939 through the border station Zilupe. To meet the Soviet troops, a guard of honor with a military band was lined up ....

A little later, in the same newspaper on November 26, 1939, in the article “Freedom and Independence”, dedicated to the celebrations of November 18, the President of Latvia published a speech by President Karlis Ulmanis, in which he stated:

... The recently concluded mutual assistance agreement with the Soviet Union strengthens the security of our and its borders ...

Ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments

The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR

The new governments lifted bans on communist parties and demonstrations and called early parliamentary elections. In the elections held on July 14 in all three states, the pro-communist Blocks (Unions) of the working people won - the only electoral lists admitted to the elections. According to official data, in Estonia the turnout was 84.1%, while 92.8% of the votes were cast for the Union of the Working People, in Lithuania the turnout was 95.51%, of which 99.19% voted for the Union of the Working People, in Latvia The turnout was 94.8%, with 97.8% of the votes cast for the Bloc of the Working People. The elections in Latvia, according to V. Mangulis, were rigged.

The newly elected parliaments already on July 21-22 proclaimed the creation of the Estonian SSR, the Latvian SSR and the Lithuanian SSR and adopted the Declaration on joining the USSR. On August 3-6, 1940, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, these republics were admitted to the Soviet Union. From the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian armies, the Lithuanian (29th rifle), Latvian (24th rifle) and Estonian (22nd rifle) territorial corps were formed, which became part of the PribOVO.

Effects

The accession of the Baltic States with the USSR delayed the appearance of the Baltic states planned by Hitler allied to the Third Reich

After the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR, the socialist transformations of the economy already completed in the rest of the country and repressions against the intelligentsia, the clergy, former politicians, officers, and wealthy peasants moved here. In 1941, “due to the presence in the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian SSR of a significant number of former members of various counter-revolutionary nationalist parties, former policemen, gendarmes, landowners, manufacturers, high officials of the former state apparatus of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and other persons leading subversive anti-Soviet work and used by foreign intelligence services for espionage purposes”, deportations of the population were carried out. . A significant part of the repressed were Russians living in the Baltics, mostly white émigrés.

In the Baltic republics, just before the start of the war, an operation was completed to evict an “unreliable and counter-revolutionary element” - a little more than 10 thousand people were expelled from Estonia, about 17.5 thousand from Latvia from Lithuania - according to various estimates, from 15.4 to 16.5 thousands of people. This operation was completed by June 21, 1941.

In the summer of 1941, after the German attack on the USSR, in Lithuania and Latvia, in the first days of the German offensive, there were actions of the "fifth column", which resulted in the proclamation of short-lived "loyal to Great Germany" states, in Estonia, where Soviet troops defended longer this process almost immediately was replaced by inclusion in the Reich Commissariat Ostland, like the other two.

Contemporary politics

Differences in the assessment of the events of 1940 and the subsequent history of the Baltic countries within the USSR are a source of unrelenting tension in relations between Russia and the Baltics. In Latvia and Estonia, many issues regarding the legal status of Russian-speaking residents - immigrants of the era of 1940-1991 have not yet been resolved. and their descendants (see Non-citizens (Latvia) and Non-citizens (Estonia)), since only citizens of the pre-war Republics of Latvia and Estonia and their descendants were recognized as citizens of these states (in Estonia, citizens of the Estonian SSR also supported the independence of the Republic of Estonia in a referendum on March 3, 1991) , the rest were struck in civil rights, which created a situation unique for modern Europe for the existence of discrimination regimes on its territory. .

The European Union bodies and commissions repeatedly addressed Latvia and Estonia with official recommendations, in which they pointed out the inadmissibility of continuing the legal practice of segregating non-citizens.

Of particular public resonance in Russia were the facts of initiation of criminal cases by the law enforcement agencies of the Baltic states against former employees of the Soviet state security agencies living here, accused of participating in repressions and crimes against the local population during World War II. The unlawfulness of these accusations was confirmed in the international Strasbourg Court.

The opinion of historians and political scientists

Some foreign historians and political scientists, as well as some modern Russian researchers, characterize this process as the occupation and annexation of independent states by the Soviet Union, carried out gradually, as a result of a series of military-diplomatic and economic steps and against the backdrop of the Second World War unfolding in Europe. In this regard, the term is sometimes used in journalism Soviet occupation of the Baltics reflecting this point of view. Contemporary Politicians they also talk about incorporations, as about a softer version of the attachment. According to the former head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Janis Jurkans, “It is the word incorporation» . Baltic historians emphasize the facts of violation of democratic norms during the extraordinary parliamentary elections held at the same time in all three states in the conditions of a significant Soviet military presence, as well as the fact that in the elections held on July 14 and 15, 1940, only one list of candidates put forward by the Bloc of the Working People, and all other alternative lists were rejected. Baltic sources believe that the election results were rigged and did not reflect the will of the people. For example, in the text posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, information is provided that “ In Moscow, the Soviet news agency TASS gave information about the mentioned election results already twelve hours before the start of the counting of votes in Latvia» . He also cites the opinion of Dietrich André Loeber - one of the former servicemen of the Abwehr sabotage and reconnaissance unit "Brandenburg 800" in 1941-1945 - that the annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was fundamentally illegal: since it is based on intervention and occupation. . From this it is concluded that the decisions of the Baltic parliaments to join the USSR were predetermined in advance.

Soviet, as well as some modern Russian historians, insist on the voluntary nature of the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR, arguing that it was finalized in the summer of 1940 on the basis of decisions of higher legislatures these countries, which received the widest support of voters in the elections for the entire existence of the independent Baltic states. Some researchers, without calling the events voluntary, do not agree with their qualification as occupations. The Russian Foreign Ministry considers the accession of the Baltic states to the USSR as consistent with the norms of international law of that time.

Otto Latsis, a well-known scientist and publicist, stated in an interview with Radio Liberty - Free Europe in May 2005:

took place incorporation Latvia, but not the occupation"

Notes

Semiryaga M.I. - Secrets of Stalin's diplomacy. 1939-1941. - Chapter VI: Troubled Summer, M.: Higher School, 1992. - 303 p. - Circulation 50,000 copies.
Guryanov A. E. The scale of the deportation of the population deep into the USSR in May-June 1941, memo.ru
Michael Keating, John McGarry Minority nationalism and the changing international order. - Oxford University Press, 2001. - P. 343. - 366 p. - ISBN 0199242143
Jeff Chinn, Robert John Kaiser Russians as the new minority: ethnicity and nationalism in the Soviet successor states. - Westview Press, 1996. - P. 93. - 308 p. - ISBN 0813322480
Great Historical Encyclopedia: For schoolchildren and students, page 602: "Molotov"
Treaty between Germany and the USSR
http://www.historycommission.ee/temp/pdf/conclusions_en_1940-1941.pdf 1940-1941, Conclusions // Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity]
http://www.am.gov.lv/en/latvia/history/occupation-aspects/
http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/policy/4641/4661/4671/?print=on
- "Resolution regarding the Baltic States adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe" September 29, 1960
- Resolution 1455 (2005) "Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation" June 22, 2005
(English) European Parliament (January 13, 1983). "Resolution on the situation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania". Official Journal of the European Communities C 42/78.
(English) European Parliament resolution on the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe on 8 May 1945
(English) European Parliament resolution of 24 May 2007 on Estonia
Russian Foreign Ministry: The West recognized the Baltic states as part of the USSR
Archive foreign policy THE USSR. The Case of the Anglo-French-Soviet Negotiations, 1939 (vol. III), l. 32 - 33. quoted in:
Archive of foreign policy of the USSR. The Case of the Anglo-French-Soviet Negotiations, 1939 (vol. III), l. 240. cited in: Military Literature: Studies: Zhilin P. A. How Nazi Germany prepared an attack on the Soviet Union
Winston Churchill. Memoirs
Meltyukhov Mikhail Ivanovich Stalin's missed chance. The Soviet Union and the struggle for Europe: 1939-1941
Telegram No. 442 dated September 25 by Schulenburg at the German Foreign Ministry // Subject to disclosure: USSR - Germany. 1939-1941: Documents and materials. Comp. Y. Felshtinsky. M.: Mosk. worker, 1991.
Mutual Assistance Pact between the USSR and the Republic of Estonia // Plenipotentiary representatives report ... - M., International relationships, 1990 - pp. 62-64
Mutual Assistance Pact between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Republic of Latvia // Plenipotentiaries inform ... - M., International Relations, 1990 - pp. 84-87
Agreement on the transfer of the city of Vilna and the Vilna region to the Republic of Lithuania and on mutual assistance between the Soviet Union and Lithuania // Plenipotentiaries inform ... - M., International relations, 1990 - pp. 92-98

An independent state of Lithuania was proclaimed under German sovereignty on February 16, 1918, and on November 11, 1918, the country gained full independence. From December 1918 to August 1919, Soviet power existed in Lithuania and units of the Red Army were stationed in the country.

During the Soviet-Polish war in July 1920, the Red Army occupied Vilnius (transferred to Lithuania in August 1920). In October 1920, Poland occupied the Vilnius region, which in March 1923, by decision of the conference of Entente ambassadors, became part of Poland.

(Military Encyclopedia. Military Publishing. Moscow. In 8 volumes, 2004)

On August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact and secret agreements on the division of spheres of influence (the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) were signed between the USSR and Germany, which were then supplemented by new agreements of August 28; according to the latter, Lithuania entered the sphere of influence of the USSR.

On October 10, 1939, the Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of Mutual Assistance was concluded. By agreement, the Vilnius Territory, occupied by the Red Army in September 1939, was transferred to Lithuania, and Soviet troops numbering 20 thousand people were stationed on its territory.

On June 14, 1940, the USSR, accusing the Lithuanian government of violating the treaty, demanded the creation of a new government. On June 15, an additional contingent of Red Army troops was introduced into the country. The People's Seimas, elections for which were held on July 14 and 15, proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power in Lithuania and appealed to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a request to accept the republic into the Soviet Union.

The independence of Lithuania was recognized by the Decree of the State Council of the USSR of September 6, 1991. Diplomatic relations with Lithuania were established on October 9, 1991.

On July 29, 1991, the Treaty on the Fundamentals of Interstate Relations between the RSFSR and the Republic of Lithuania was signed in Moscow (entered into force in May 1992). On October 24, 1997, the Treaty on the Russian-Lithuanian state border and the Treaty on the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf in the Baltic Sea (entered into force in August 2003). To date, 8 interstate, 29 intergovernmental and about 15 interagency treaties and agreements have been concluded and are in effect.

Political contacts in recent years have been limited. The official visit of the President of Lithuania to Moscow took place in 2001. The last meeting at the level of heads of government took place in 2004.

In February 2010, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Helsinki Baltic Sea Action Summit.

The basis of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Lithuania is the agreement on trade and economic relations of 1993 (was adapted to EU standards in 2004 in connection with the entry into force for Lithuania of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Russia and the EU).

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources.

Plan
Introduction
1 Background. 1930s
2 1939. The beginning of the war in Europe
3 Pacts of Mutual Assistance and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary
4 The entry of Soviet troops
5 The ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments
6 The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR
7 Consequences
8 Contemporary politics
9 Opinion of historians and political scientists

Bibliography
Accession of the Baltic states to the USSR

Introduction

Accession of the Baltic States to the USSR (1940) - the process of including the independent Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and most of the territory of modern Lithuania - into the USSR, carried out as a result of the signing of the USSR and Nazi Germany in August 1939 by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the treaty of friendship and border, whose secret protocols fixed the delimitation of the spheres of interest of these two powers in Eastern Europe.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania consider the actions of the USSR an occupation followed by an annexation. The Council of Europe in its resolutions characterized the process of the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR as occupation, forced incorporation and annexation. In 1983, the European Parliament condemned it as an occupation, and later (2007) used such concepts as "occupation" and "illegal incorporation" in this regard.

The text of the preamble to the 1991 Treaty on the Fundamentals of Interstate Relations between the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Republic of Lithuania contains the lines: " referring to the past events and actions that prevented the full and free exercise by each High Contracting Party of its state sovereignty, being confident that the elimination by the USSR of the consequences of the annexation of 1940 that violate the sovereignty of Lithuania will create additional conditions of trust between the High Contracting Parties and their peoples »

The official position of the Russian Foreign Ministry is that the accession of the Baltic countries to the USSR complied with all the norms of international law as of 1940, and that the entry of these countries into the USSR received official international recognition. This position is based on the de facto recognition of the integrity of the borders of the USSR as of June 1941 at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences by the participating states, as well as on the recognition in 1975 of the inviolability of European borders by the participants of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

1. Background. 1930s

The Baltic states in the period between the two world wars became the object of the struggle of the great European powers (England, France and Germany) for influence in the region. In the first decade after the defeat of Germany in the First World War, there was a strong Anglo-French influence in the Baltic states, which later, from the beginning of the 1930s, began to interfere with the growing influence of neighboring Germany. He, in turn, tried to resist the Soviet leadership. By the end of the 1930s, the Third Reich and the USSR became the main rivals in the struggle for influence in the Baltics.

In December 1933, the governments of France and the USSR put forward a joint proposal to conclude an agreement on collective security and mutual assistance. Finland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were invited to join this treaty. The project named "Eastern Pact", was seen as a collective guarantee against aggression by Nazi Germany. But Poland and Romania refused to join the alliance, the United States did not approve of the idea of a treaty, and England put forward a number of counter conditions, including the rearmament of Germany.

In the spring and summer of 1939, the USSR negotiated with England and France on the joint prevention of Italian-German aggression against European countries, and on April 17, 1939, invited England and France to commit themselves to providing all kinds of assistance, including military assistance, to the Eastern European countries located between the Baltic and the Black Seas and bordering the Soviet Union, as well as to conclude for a period of 5-10 years an agreement on mutual assistance, including military, in the event of aggression in Europe against any of the contracting states (USSR, England and France).

Failure "Eastern Pact" was due to the difference in interests of the contracting parties. Thus, the Anglo-French missions received detailed secret instructions from their general staffs, which determined the goals and nature of the negotiations - the note of the French general staff said, in particular, that, along with a number of political benefits that England and France would receive in connection with by the accession of the USSR, this would allow him to be drawn into the conflict: “it is not in our interests for him to remain out of the conflict, keeping his forces intact.” The Soviet Union, which considered at least two Baltic republics - Estonia and Latvia - as a sphere of its national interests, defended this position at the negotiations, but did not meet with understanding from the partners. As for the governments of the Baltic states themselves, they preferred guarantees from Germany, with which they were connected by a system of economic agreements and non-aggression pacts. According to Churchill, “An obstacle to the conclusion of such an agreement (with the USSR) was the horror that these same border states experienced before Soviet help in the form of Soviet armies that could pass through their territories to protect them from the Germans and, along the way, include them in the Soviet-Communist system. After all, they were the most violent opponents of this system. Poland, Romania, Finland and the three Baltic states did not know what they feared more - German aggression or Russian salvation.

2. 1939. The beginning of the war in Europe

The situation escalated on September 1, 1939 with the outbreak of World War II. Germany launched an invasion of Poland. On September 17, the USSR sent troops into Poland, declaring the Soviet-Polish non-aggression pact of July 25, 1932, invalid. On the same day, the states that were in diplomatic relations with the USSR (including the Baltic states) were handed a Soviet note stating that "in relations with them, the USSR will pursue a policy of neutrality."

The outbreak of war between neighboring states gave rise to fears in the Baltics of being drawn into these events and prompted them to declare their neutrality. However, in the course of hostilities, a number of incidents occurred in which were involved and Baltic countries- one of them was the entry on September 15 of the Polish submarine "Ozhel" to the port of Tallinn, where she was interned at the request of Germany by the Estonian authorities, who began to dismantle her weapons. However, on the night of September 18, the crew of the submarine disarmed the guards and took her out to sea, while six torpedoes remained on board. The Soviet Union claimed that Estonia violated neutrality by providing shelter and assistance to a Polish submarine.

On September 19, Vyacheslav Molotov, on behalf of the Soviet leadership, blamed Estonia for this incident, saying that the Baltic Fleet was tasked with finding the submarine, as it could threaten Soviet shipping. This led to the actual establishment of a naval blockade of the Estonian coast.

On September 24, Estonian Foreign Minister K. Selter arrived in Moscow to sign the trade agreement. After discussion economic problems Molotov turned to the problems of mutual security and proposed " conclude a military alliance or an agreement on mutual assistance, which at the same time would provide the Soviet Union with the right to have strongholds or bases for the fleet and aviation on the territory of Estonia". Selter attempted to evade discussion by invoking neutrality, but Molotov stated that " The Soviet Union needs to expand its security system, for which it needs access to the Baltic Sea. If you do not wish to conclude a pact of mutual assistance with us, then we will have to look for other ways to guarantee our security, perhaps more abrupt, perhaps more complicated. Please do not force us to use force against Estonia ».

3. Pacts of Mutual Assistance and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary

As a result of the actual division of Polish territory between Germany and the USSR, the Soviet borders moved far to the west, and the USSR began to border on the third Baltic state - Lithuania. Initially, Germany intended to turn Lithuania into its protectorate, but on September 25, 1939, during the Soviet-German contacts "on the settlement of the Polish problem", the USSR proposed to start negotiations on Germany's renunciation of claims to Lithuania in exchange for the territories of the Warsaw and Lublin provinces. On this day, the German ambassador to the USSR, Count Schulenburg, sent a telegram to the German Foreign Ministry, in which he said that he had been summoned to the Kremlin, where Stalin pointed to this proposal as a subject for future negotiations and added that if Germany agreed, "the Soviet Union immediately will take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23 and expect the full support of the German government in this matter.