scholarly journals Financial Security in the Baltic States: Comparison with Selected EU Countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadežda Semjonova
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Financial Security ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Financial Independence ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
The Baltic

AbstractThe present paper applies recently developed consolidated indicator of the state financial security to the situation in Baltic States and some EU countries. The indicator summarises a number of economic and financial parameters relevant to the financial independence of the country. The resulting indicator demonstrates a reasonable correlation with sovereign Fitch rating both for Baltic States and the “old” EU countries, but Fitch rating gives more optimistic evaluation for old EU countries.

National Historical Myth as an Element of the Baltic States’ Strategic Cultures: Examining Postage Stamps

Istoriya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7 (105)) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Vladislav Vorotnikov
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Political Class ◽  
Semiotic Model ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
Postage Stamps ◽  
Relative Proximity ◽  
The One ◽  
The Baltic

The article examines the structure of national historical mythology of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) with an emphasis on the foreign policy dimension based on the analysis of their issues of the postage stamps. Since issuing of the postage stamps is a product of consensus between the state and civil society, their topics and images presented on them, on the one hand, may be considered as a part of the semiotic model of the state image, thus reflecting its stance on processes, events, phenomena or personalities of the past and the present and, accordingly, shaping, transforming or supporting a certain nation-forming mythology or state ideology; on the other hand, they reflect mass perceptions of the dominant national historical narrative, and often the priorities of contemporary politics. Due to the specifics of the Baltic states’ history and the dominant values and ideology of their political class, the mainstream historical narrative is inevitably turned outward, that makes the analysis of its main elements extremely operational in the study of their strategic cultures. The article proposes the author's attitude to categorizing and highlighting the main chronological and thematic elements of the arrays of postage stamps of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia from 1990 to 2020. On the basis of discourse and selective iconographic analysis, the key elements of national historical narratives and their coherence with the foreign political positioning and strategies of the Baltic states are identified and analyzed. A comparative analysis of the three country cases allows us to pinpoint their relative proximity as well as some specific features.

Civil society versus nationalizing state? Advocacy of minority rights in the post-socialist Baltic states

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timofey Agarin
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
State Policies ◽  
The State ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Full Support ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Baltic

Strong civil society provides individuals with arenas to bring their interests to the attention of policymakers. In so doing, civil society organizations (CSOs) can support state policies, but can also criticize policies. This paper argues that most minority rights advocacy CSOs in the Baltic states have little say in the crafting of policy and are compartmentalized into the existing agendas, with only a few groups able to evaluate policies independently. It concludes that the Baltic civil society is weak because the CSOs working on minority issues ask policymakers either too much, or too little. The findings suggest that policymakers quell criticism of their work from the side of the CSOs by ignoring their activities. Alternatively, by funding the CSO that shores up the state agenda, policymakers delegate their responsibilities to civic actors, keep critical voices from public debates and claim that their policies have the full support of a vibrant civil society. This paper investigates the options available for civil society actors to relate to policymakers in a nationalizing state by drawing on the data collected in 77 semi-structured interviews with the CSOs working with Russian and Polish minorities in the Baltic states between 2006 and 2009.

State as Transgressor: Šilingas versus the State—A Case Study

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-150
Author(s):  
Svaja Vansauskas Worthington
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The State ◽  
Soviet Rule ◽  
World War ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Travel Guide ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Baltic

The usually cheerful Insight Travel Guide to the Baltic States offers this synopsis of the Baltic situation:Their independence was sentenced to death by the Nazi–Soviet Pact [the secret 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact] just before World War II. The pact envisaged the Baltic States would be parceled out between them, but it was overtaken by events with Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union. The three states were incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940 … Among few other people did the Soviet mill grind finer than in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania … The final injustice was the permanent imposition of Soviet rule and Stalinist terror. Anyone a visitor meets today in the Baltics is likely to have a relation who was sent to Siberia or simply shot.

scholarly journals Lithuania’s search for International support to Resist Russian Aggression in 1918

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-175
Author(s):  
Gediminas Rudis
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
International Support ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
State Research ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Military Support ◽  
The Baltic

The paper rejects a viewpoint prevalent among Lithuanian historians that the first government of the Republic of Lithuania, led by Augustinas Voldemaras, did not recognize the danger of Russia and was not concerned with the security of the state. Research shows that the government was fully conscious of the international situation of Lithuania and expected efficient diplomatic and military support from the Allies to counter Russian aggression. The orientation to the Allied powers was well-grounded, but too little attention was paid to the mobilization of the internal resources for the defence of the country. That was probably the most crucial drawback of the activity of Voldemaras’ government. Such a conclusion can reasonably be drawn if one takes into account the fact that at that time the Allied powers had not yet defined their policy with respect to the Baltic states.

scholarly journals Legal regime for church property in Russia and the Baltic states

Baltic Region ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 60-73
Author(s):  
Valentina Yu. Smorgunova ◽  
Аleksandra А. Dorskaya ◽  
Tatyana V. Tolstukhina
Keyword(s):  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
The State ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Religious Objects ◽  
The Church

In this article, we carry out a comparative analysis of the legal regimes for church property in the Baltic States and in Russia after the demise of the USSR,. We stress the significance of this problem for the newly established relations between the state and the religious organisations, for the conclusion of agreements between these actors, and for the development of the ideas of interdenominational peace and intergovernmental relations. In this study, we aim at identifying the similarities and differences between the legal regulation of the state/denomination relations regarding church property, as well as the economic component of these relations. We analyse the regulatory documents of Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia that enshrine the transfer (return) of the church property, which was seized illegally in the first Soviet years in Russia and during the incorporation of the Baltic republics into the USSR, to the religious organisations. We compare the restitution, which was carried out in the Baltics, with Russia’s moderate approach to the transfer of religious objects to religious organisations. We conclude that the international factor affects the resolution of the church property issue and that the economic benefits of the property transfer are unclear. The transfer of the church property is associated with additional expenditure incurred by the state. In conclusion, we consider the reasons why the complete transfer (return) of the church property seized in the Soviet period is impossible.

OLD BELIEVERS IN THE NATIONAL CONTEXTS OF THE BALKANS AND THE BALTIC STATES

2021 ◽  
pp. 12-25
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Anastasova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Community ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Ethnic Community ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
National Discourse ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Old Believers ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
The Baltic

The author considers the current situation with Russian Old Believers in the Balkans and the Baltic States by analyzing two aspects in the development of the Old Believers Diaspora development in the context of the membership of some Balkan and Baltic countries in the European Community: 1) Old Believers as Russian minority living in the “new” European democracies in comparison with the “Soviet” Russians; 2) Old Believers as a religious and ethnic community, which is intensively participating in the postmodern processes of reviving their own culture, traditions and identity. The article studies concepts of the minority in the national discourse of the “new” EU countries (Bulgaria and Romania in the Balkans and Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the Baltic States). The article is based on field researchers in the Balkans and the Baltic States conducted by the author in 2008–2017, as well as published and archive materials

European memory beyond the state: Baltic, Russian and European memory interactions (1991–2009)

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 677-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Perchoc
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
European Institutions ◽  
Accurate Picture ◽  
International Environment ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This article claims that the rapid institutional transformations after 1991 in the Baltic states altered the relationship of memory and power. In order to get an accurate picture of this phenomenon, one needs to take into account not only the national stage but also the international environment, because both neighbouring countries (primarily Russia) and the European institutions play a role in the transformation of the memory figuration.

scholarly journals Pre-World War II Romania from Latvian Perspective: An Envoy’s views

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-181
Author(s):  
Ēriks Jēkabsons
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The State ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
World War ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
International Pressure ◽  
State Archives ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Pre World War Ii

The paper approaches the working environment and observations of Latvian envoy Ludvigs Ēķis in Romania from the autumn of 1939 when the Latvian Legation was opened in Bucharest until the summer of 1940 when the State of Latvia was liquidated. The main focus is on the Latvian-Romanian relations in this period of time, the Romanian foreign and economical policy and the reaction of Romanian statesmen and society to the events and processes of the first stage of World War: the policy of Soviet Union, Germany and Hungary, the Soviet-Finnish War and other conflicts in region and in Europe. The article is based on the materials stored in the State Archives of Latvia and particularly on Ludvigs Ekis’ reports. In a time when war was raging in Europe, Romania, too, was subject to considerable international pressure. Some similarities can be detected between the developments in this region and in the Baltic States.

Soviet Genocide? Communist Mass Deportations in the Baltic States and International Law

2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 757-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauri Mälksoo
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Present Article ◽  
The State ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
General Context ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
International History ◽  
Soviet Occupation ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Historical Truth

The present article deals with international law problems that have arisen in the process of legal clarification of the state crimes committed during the Soviet occupation in the three Baltic states. Following the restoration of their independence in 1991, the Baltic states have sought to establish the historical truth about the mass crimes committed during the Nazi and Soviet occupations – Estonia's International History Commission recently published its first report which is analyzed in this article. Moreover, the courts in the Baltic states have convicted deporters of 1941 and 1949 for crimes against humanity and/or genocide. By discussing different definitions of ‘genocide,’ the author attempts to answer the question whether the general context of the Stalinist mass repressions in the Baltic states permits to qualify the occupant's policy as ‘genocide.’

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