Primacy of International Law in Relations Between Russia and the Baltic Countries

Abstract

Russia's relations with the Baltic States have led to the development of a set of myths, prejudices, and false stereotypes. One of these is the myth of occupation. The article examines the sources of this myth and analyzes the process of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia’s admission into the USSR. In the late 1930s, there was a dramatic situation in Europe. This situation prevented the preservation of the Baltic States’ independence. All of continental Western Europe came under the rule of Germany. On the European continent, Germany had only one strong contender, the Soviet Union. By the beginning of World War II, the Baltic republics were part of the Soviet Union. The article’s content analyses of processes of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia’s incorporation into the Soviet Union, which is based on a document of international law that 44 states signed, the Fourth Hague Convention. These documents define occupation as being the result of war or military conflict. Similarly, the 1949 Geneva Convention also defines the term "occupation”. In must be noted, however, that a state of war or armed conflict did not occur between the Soviet Union and the Baltic States in 1940. Consequently, there was no occupation. It does not remove responsibility for the Stalinist government’s repression, which began in the Baltic States after their entry into the USSR. The population of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia experienced a psychological shock during this time. In the mass consciousness of the population of the Baltic countries, a false stereotype was thus formed. The consequence of the Baltic States’ incorporation into the USSR thus overshadowed their actual admission into the Union.