Latvia. Lithuania. and Estonia all declared their independence and enjoyed democratic governments until 1940. Under Stalin. tens of thousands of the Baltic peoples were killed and over a million were deported to slave labor camps. Many others were removed from their homelands because of their resistance to the subjugation or because of their political and religious views. As the Estonians. Latvians. and Lithuanians were deported. they were replaced by peopies from other areas of the Soviet empire. This exchange of population has substantially altered the ethnic composition of the Baltic nations. Only through russification can the Russian rulers hope to destroy the national identity of the Baltic people.
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deported