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The three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Formerly part of the Soviet Union, but became a member of NATO. Photo/Encyclopedia Britannica
JAKARTA – The Baltic countries consisting of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are in the northeastern region of Europe. The name of this region is taken from the Baltic Sea which borders on the west of these three countries.
In addition to the Baltic Sea in the west, these three countries also share a border with the region Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and Poland to the southwest.
Formerly these three countries were under the rule of the Russian Empire, then became the Soviet Union, before finally proclaiming independence shortly after the Soviets collapsed.
These three countries became independent in the same year, in 1918. According to the Britanica website, life expectancy in this Baltic country is low by European standards. This is because the population is getting older and always decreasing after independence.
This happened because at the time of independence, all immigrants who came from Russia returned to their country, followed by residents who started migrating to Western Europe and North America.
Get to know the 3 Baltic Countries
1. Latvia
Latvian independence was marked by the signing of the Brest-Litovsk treaty between Russia and Germany in March and the Allied armistice with Germany in November 1918. Prior to independence, Latvian territory had been part of the Russian Empire since the 1800s.
Reporting from the BBC, to proclaim its independence, Latvia had to fight against the Russian and German armies. Until finally a peace treaty was formed between Latvia and Russia in 1920.
Apparently the agreement still can not dampen Germany, where in 1941, Nazi troops managed to invade and kill 70,000 Jews in Latvia.
The invasion finally stopped after Berlin lost World War II and Adolf Hitler was declared dead.
