EastERN EURoPE THE BALTIC STATES

Grouping Estonia, Latvia and Lithunania into one set of lessons is totally unfair. The three “Baltic States” may share the eastern coast of the Baltic sea but they have different histories, languages, religions and more.  Why do people group them together...?  For convenience?  Sure.  Because they were all under Russian rule until 1918, then became independent together, then came under Soviet domination in 1940, then became independent together again in 1991...?  That too.    

Since 1991 the Baltic nations have developed multiparty parliamentary democracies; all joined the European Union in 2004. European tourists flock to the Baltics for their seaside resorts and their reputation as being home to warm, welcoming people.  At the same time, the Baltic states are still coming to terms with a history full of struggle, especially in the 20th century in which they endured Nazi and Soviet rule.