As much as we should call for fair treatment of all citizens of the Baltic States. we should remember that the acts of Russias predecessor State. the Soviet Union. towards Estonia. Latvia and Lithuania were illegal. We should also bear in mind that. due to the purposeful policies of the former Soviet regime. specifically its attempts to Russify the Baltic States through policies of deportation of Baltic residents of those states and settlement of ethnic Russians in those states. the Baltic countries are today faced with the presence of large numbers of ethnic Russian residents. many of whom appear to resent the renewed independence of those states. The actions of the Russian government with regard to the small Baltic states has not been reassuring. Despite the fact that. at the urging of the United States and the European Union. the Baltic governments have adopted policies meant to fairly integrate ethnic Russians into their politics and society. the Russian government in Moscow seems determined to take advantage of any complaint voiced by ethnic Russians in the Baltic states to renew their harsh criticism of those countries and to claim violations of the human rights of ethnic Russians.
Keywords matched
deportation