ProSoviet Governments were established and the Baltic States were incorporated into the Soviet Union. The United States never recognized these puppet regimes. On June 14. 1941. mass deportations in Baltic nations were initiated. Men. women and children. who were considered to be unfriendly to the new regime. were transported in boxcars to various "gulags" without food or proper medical attention. Of those who survived the journey. thousands died from starvation. exhaustion and exposure to the harsh Siberian winters. Others were simply exterminated. After similar deportations in 1944. and 1949. the total number of political exiles exceeded 850.000. Despite formidable Soviet efforts over the last 40 years to subvert their national identities. the Baltic peoples have refused to surrender their ethnic and cultural heritage. Religious. social and educational oppression. and a growing Russian population. have not deteriorated their intense national spirit and identity.
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deportations