Speech #910226127

Speaker. this week marks the 30th anniversary of two events of major historical significance: The loss of independence of the Baltic States. and their absorption by the Soviet Union. Between June 14 and June 17. 1940. the Soviets presented the three nations of Estonia. Latvia. and Lithuania with ultimatums. In turn. these were followed by Russian invasion. occupation. and domination. In the process of Soviet aggression. hundreds of thousands of -Estonians. Latvians. and Lithuanians were murdered. tortured. or deported to slavelabor and prison camps. In addition. the Soviets attempted to colonize the three countries by moving in thousands of Russian citizens and making their heretofore selfreliant industries totally de-