June 14 marks yet another anniversary of the occupation of the Baltic States by the Soviet Union. Fortysix years have passed since the proud people of Estonia. Lithuania. and Latvia were overrun by the Communists. who inhumanely exiled. deported. tortured. and murdered thousands. The Soviet Union in 1940 was committed to the systematic destruction of these three Baltic nations. along with eliminating the language. literature. culture. religion. and heritage of their peoples. In order to insure the success of their intentions. the Soviets first ordered the executions of the intellectuals and those who were politically active. Efforts were then concentrated on the massive deportation of the peasants and others whose only desire was to be left alone and live in peace. Within a year. the Communists intensified their efforts to break the will of the people who resisted their oppressive rule. Men. women. and little children of entire villages were rounded up and herded together under miserably overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. and were shipped in railroad boxcars east to the Soviet Union. Although these genocidal deportations briefly stopped when Germany invaded the Baltic States in June 1941. when the Red Army regained control in 1944. this activity began again. During the last 46 years of occupation. the Soviets have continued to deport millions of Estonians. Lithuanians. and Latvians. from their native land to remote parts of the Soviet Union. and at the same time have introduced large numbers of Russians into the Baltic States in an attempt to russify them further.
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deported deportations deportation