Introduction

Like life-changing moments in the life of individuals, 1991 was life changing in the history of the Baltic nations when Estonia, Latvia and LithuaniaLithuania regained the independence they had lost in 1939, the year Stalin and Hitler agreed on a non-aggression pact that sealed the fate of the three Baltic states under the Soviet Union. In the 1980s when the Soviet Union embarked on a path of controlled transformation there was a renewed drive for independence in the Baltic SSRs. Rallies were held, leaflets and texts published, all with one objective—to re-establish the sovereignty that the nations lost in 1939.