Trip to Baltic States and Finland 15-25 July 2023

 

The Baltic states comprise Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia which all have a shoreline on the Baltic Sea to the west and border Belarus and/or Russia to the east.  Populations range from 1.4 million to 3.7 million people.  Being small states struggling for independence throughout their history, they have been easy targets for larger predator states desiring their resources and Baltic Sea access.  As a result they have spent a large portion of their history either under direct occupation by or at least subservient to a foreign state.  In the 20th century, after a brief period of independence from Russia and relative autonomy from 1918-1939, their countries became a battleground between the Soviet Union and Germany during WWII.  They all finally regained their independence by 1991 after the fall of the Berlin Wall with the last Soviet troops leaving Lithuania in 1993. 

 

I purposely wanted to visit the Baltic States to learn about their history of occupation and get a firsthand feel for the atmosphere there considering they border Russia (and its Belarus puppet) who is currently battling to occupy and oppress Ukraine.  I found that all of their capitals have museums on their histories of occupation and documented atrocities committed by both the Nazis and the Russian KGB.  I was especially interested in the KGB-related stories and found that Russian tactics have changed little in the last 100 years.  Some key highlights are below but first I just wanted to say how pleasantly surprised I was at the beauty, architecture, cleanliness, and safety in their capital cities, and welcoming spirit of the local population.  The food was also outstanding, culture very enjoyable, and English widely spoken everywhere we went.  I would say these cities, though not nearly as large as their more popular Western European counterparts, can offer a very similar experience with their outdoor cafes, cultural attractions, very comfortable weather in the summer, and are much less crowded.  I also found prices to be relatively inexpensive, especially for very delicious meals.  I know some may be hesitant to visit these countries due to their proximity to Russia, but unless something really crazy happens in Ukraine, these countries are perfectly safe and I highly recommend visiting. 

 

I have to say the best part about the whole trip was that during the entire time I was there, unlike Arlington, VA, I never once detected the odor of marijuana and everyone seemed to be coherent – it was heavenly!  Of course that came to a sobering end as soon as I entered the Reagan Airport Metro Station upon my return to Washington, D.C. and was overwhelmed by that putrid skunky odor—so depressing.

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Vilnius, Lithuania

 

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Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights

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Museum Exhibit—The Baltic States essentially lost their independence in 1939 when the Soviet Union forced them to accept the stationing of Soviet troops on their territory.  By 1940, the Baltic States were annexed by the Soviet Union.  Note the forced deportation of over 5,000 children in 1940-1941– just like the Russians are doing in Ukraine today.

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Note that the Lithuanian "People did not give in to the policy of Russianisation attempts to erase the past and make them give up the Christian beliefs which had been handed down from their parents." 

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Note the tactics used by the KGB:  "Besides propaganda measures, the KGB placed a lot of emphasis on undercover work, trying to split the parties and organisations which were being restored, and increasing the tension and disagreements among them.  It supported radical communist and anti-Lithuanian groups..., and attempted to increase the tension between national minorities."  This is classic KGB trying to sow tension, distrust, and animosity within a society.  This is why I refer to our politicians and their media mouthpieces as Putin's "Useful Idiots" when they continue to tout polarizing unfounded conspiracy theories, and who most recently have been asserting "the weaponization of the FBI and Justice Department" by their political adversaries.  Fortunately, these tactics ultimately failed in Lithuania.  Only time will tell if they fail here as well.

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KGB holding "box" for political prisoners purposely designed to be small enough where one can neither sit down nor stand up straight.  The small seat that is shown in this box was installed after Stalin's death as Soviet leadership wanted to soften the KGB's image.
 

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KGB prison cell.

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This sign reads in part, "Here, in the execution cell in the basement of the central KGB building, more than a thousand people were killed between 1944 and the early 1960s.  Almost one-third of them were sentenced to death by Soviet courts or so-called "courts of three" for participation in the anti-Soviet resistance."

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I believe this is the chamber where executions were carried out.

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I encountered a very moving and educational exhibition outside of the museum about the Holodomor which I had never heard of before.  This one display reads:

History teaches us to recognise maniacs who, when they look at a person, do not see a soldier, but just "cannon fodder".

In a field of rye, the eyes of the regime sees bullets.

The Holodomor (1932-1933)

17 per minute

1,000 per hour

25,000 per day

According to different historical estimates, the "hunger bullets" fired by the communists killed 7‑10 million Ukrainians in approximately 500 days.

The Holodomor was not a natural disaster; it was an intentional state policy – a weapon of destruction aimed at free people and nations.

The Ukrainian Holodomor was recognized as a genocide by over 20 countries around the world.  Lithuania recognised it as a genocide in 2005 and the European Parliament did so in 2022.

Instead of acknowledging, apologising, and regretting, Russia is responding by inflaming a global food crisis in that very same Ukraine, which, in addition to grain blackmail, is further deepened by terrorist ecocide.

There is no justice in history. But justice is attainable today.

Today, there is freedom in our lives. 

Today, there are nations and states that live democratically and defend these values.

Today, memory and knowledge are the bulletproof vest that protects the steps to Ukraine's victory and to our prosperity and peace.

Such a bulletproof vest is being sewn by the Ukrainian artists and documentary photographers whose works are on display at the outdoor exhibition entitled Hunger as a Weapon: 1932-33, 2022.

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On a later tour of downtown Vilnius, our guide made sure to point out this plaque displaying the words of President George W. Bush during a brief visit here on November 23rd, 2002, "Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America."

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I asked our tour guide, who was actually from Latvia, what it was like when Russia initially invaded Ukraine in February 2022.  He said they were all very scared and began making contingency plans to flee.  Latvia in particular has a large Russian population and our tour guide feared Putin would use that as an excuse to invade—to protect the Russian speaking peoples (just like he did in Crimea).  But once it became clear the Russian army was much weaker than anticipated and NATO was supporting Ukraine with weapons, they no longer feared the Russians. 

 

I think the picture below captures the feelings of Lithuanians toward Vladimir Putin.

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Note the banner which reads, "PUTIN, THE HAGUE IS WAITING FOR YOU." 

For those of you unfamiliar with "The Hague," it is located in the Netherlands and is the seat of the International Criminal Court which recently issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for his war crimes.

 

On our way to Latvia, we stopped at the Hill of Crosses which is believed to contain over 100,000 crosses.  Over time it has come to represent Lithuania's peaceful resistance especially against their Soviet occupiers.

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Riga, Latvia

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KGB Museum which contained very moving video documentaries of political prisoners who survived KGB detention and interrogation tactics.

 

Near the entrance to Latvia's Museum of Occupation, a "Hunger as a Weapon" exhibition similar to the one seen in Lithuania was on display:

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The Museum of Occupation contained a very thorough history of Latvia's occupation and suffering told through exhibits and storyboards.  Below are samples of these storyboards:

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Notice the claim that Soviet annexation was an "expression of the 'people's will.'"  This is exactly what Putin claimed when he illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and more portions of Ukraine in September 2022.  The following Aljezeera headline appeared on September 21, 2022:  "President Vladimir Putin announces incorporation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia into Russia after referendums slammed by Kyiv and the West as illegal."  Some things, unfortunately, never change.  But then why should they when the rest of the world consistently lets one get a away with it.

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Note that "By the end of the war, Latvia has lost a third of its population."

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To the grave disappointment of the Baltic States, after WWII the attention of the U.S. was entirely focused on Germany and there was no appetite to confront the Soviet Union over their continued control over them.

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More than 700,000 Russians ended up settling in Latvia during the Cold War.  Our tour guide noted that these Russians were largely against Latvia joining NATO.  But after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, they are very "conflicted and confused" and not quite sure where they stand on things and how to view themselves.  Many are still buying into Putin's propaganda but many as well are not.

 

I believe the overall atmosphere in Latvia regarding Russia and Vladimir Putin is self evident in the following photos:

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Russian embassy in Riga, Latvia

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A close-up of the street sign in the above picture which shows the street where the embassy is located being renamed in honor of Ukraine.

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A two-story high banner hung by by staff of the Medicine History Museum which is located directly across the street from the Russian embassy.

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Various expressions of protest outside of the Russian embassy.

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Tallinn, Estonia

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25,000 Soviet Red Army troops are stationed in Estonia in 1939.

In August 1940, the Soviet Union annexes Estonia and this building became their KGB headquarters.

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The following are a few displays inside the building:

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This holding cell, known as a "Pagari box"  is similar to the one seen in Lithuania where prisoners could neither stand up straight nor sit down.

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As in the other Baltic States, there is not much love for Vladimir Putin in Estonia as seen in these pictures outside of the Russian embassy in Tallinn, Estonia's capital city.

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Here is a picture of sign outside of a local cafe.

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Helsinki, Finland

 

Helsinki, Finland is an easy and inexpensive 2-hour ferry ride across the Gulf of Finland from Tallinn, Estonia's northern coastline.  Finland was mostly successful in staving off Soviet occupation so does not have a similar history of 20th century occupation and oppression compared to the Baltic States.  But Finland does share an 830-mile border with Russia. 

 

In talking with a local Finnish couple, they noted that Finland was a very popular tourist destination for Russians and everyone seemed to get along fine.  But after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Finnish border was closed to tourism and now Russians are viewed by many with suspicion.  They seemed very sad about the whole situation.

 

Summary

 

I realize I presented a lot of information and hope you were able to take the time to read everything, including the storyboards in the photos.  If not, I would encourage you to do so.  The reason why I documented my travels this way is to impress upon the reader that the history of the Baltic states is not some historical event that can be relegated to the past that we can try to forget about.  What happened in the Baltics was orchestrated by the same Soviet and KGB mentality that is being repeated today in Ukraine by Vladimir Putin – a product of the Soviet Union and KGB.  He is using the same evil and ruthless tactics:

• Using food as a weapon in destroying Ukraine's grain stockpiles and preventing their internal use and shipment to countries who will starve without them;

• Kidnapping Ukrainian children and having them sent back to Russia to be "reeducated" in Soviet propaganda;

• Using sham public referendums to claim legitimacy in territory annexed by Russia;

• Resettling Russians in annexed territory to further its "Russianisation" and destroy any Ukrainian identity;

• Bombing civilian targets and infrastructure to intimidate and ultimately force the people of Ukraine to submit to Emperor Putin.

 

The bottom line is Vladimir Putin is perpetuating the worst kind of evil in Ukraine and must be categorically defeated, removed from power, and tried for his war crimes.  He has no respect for any human lives, including even those of his own soldiers.  The hopes of a negotiated settlement with Putin is absolute foolhardiness and would only serve to reward his actions, just like we are doing in cowering to his threats of nuclear attack.  The longer the Biden Administration insists on pussyfooting around Putin, the longer Putin remains in power.  The longer Putin remains in power, the more dangerous he becomes and the more others like him around the world become emboldened to imitate him.  Unfortunately, there is a long list of these kinds of people. 

 

If history has taught us anything, it is we cannot ignore what is happening in Europe—any part of Europe!  We tried to stay out of two world wars by sitting on the sidelines, helping where we could, but not getting directly involved.  So how did that work out for us?   We lost a lot of brave Americans on D-Day trying to recapture conquered territory and defeat what metastasized into an existential threat to our democracy.  These lessons are apparently lost on the growing number of ignorant members of Congress who are having second thoughts about supporting Ukraine and want to view this as "Europe's problem." 

 

It is no wonder the people of the Baltic states are so united in their universal condemnation of Putin's actions in Ukraine and are trying to support Ukraine in every way possible.  They spent over 50 years living through the destruction, repression, and horrors of Soviet/KGB domination hoping that someday the West (who allowed this to happen as we traded territory for "peace"—i.e. peace for us) would liberate them.  We cannot allow Ukraine to suffer this same fate and we certainly cannot allow the Baltic states to re-suffer that fate!

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The Scenic Baltic States

 

On a lighter and more positive note, below is a link to more photos showing some of the beautiful sites and wonders of the Baltic states if you are interested.  Again, I highly recommend visiting.

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