On the accession of the Baltic states and Bessarabia to the USSR. The black myth about the "Soviet occupation" of the Baltic states. Reasons for joining the Baltic states to the USSR

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania gained independence after the 1917 revolution in Russia. But Soviet Russia and later the USSR never gave up trying to regain these territories. And according to the secret protocol to the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, in which these republics were assigned to the Soviet sphere of influence, the USSR got a chance to achieve this, which it did not fail to take advantage of. On September 28, 1939, a Soviet-Estonian mutual assistance pact was signed. A 25,000-strong Soviet military contingent was introduced into the territory of Estonia. Stalin told Selter on his departure from Moscow: “It could work out with you, as with Poland. Poland was a great power. Where is Poland now?

On October 2, 1939, Soviet-Latvian negotiations began. From Latvia, the USSR demanded access to the sea - through Liepaja and Ventspils. As a result, on October 5, an agreement on mutual assistance was signed for a period of 10 years, which provided for the entry of a 25,000-strong contingent of Soviet troops into Latvia. And on October 10, an "Agreement on the transfer of the city of Vilna and the Vilna region to the Republic of Lithuania and on mutual assistance between the Soviet Union and Lithuania" was signed with Lithuania.

On June 14, 1940, the Soviet government delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania, and on June 16 to Latvia and Estonia. In general terms, the meaning of the ultimatums coincided - the governments of these states were accused of gross violation of the terms of the Mutual Assistance Treaties concluded earlier with the USSR, and a demand was put forward to form governments capable of ensuring the implementation of these treaties, as well as to allow additional contingents of troops into the territory of these countries. The conditions were accepted.

Riga. The Soviet Army enters Latvia.

On June 15, additional contingents of Soviet troops were brought into Lithuania, and on June 17 - into Estonia and Latvia.
Lithuanian President A. Smetona insisted on organizing resistance to the Soviet troops, however, having been refused by most of the government, he fled to Germany, and his Latvian and Estonian colleagues - K. Ulmanis and K. Päts - began to cooperate with the new government (both were soon repressed) , as well as the Lithuanian Prime Minister A. Merkys. In all three countries, friendly USSR, but not communist governments were formed, headed, respectively, by J. Paleckis (Lithuania), I. Vares (Estonia) and A. Kirchenstein (Latvia).
The process of Sovietization of the Baltic countries was monitored by authorized governments of the USSR - Andrey Zhdanov (in Estonia), Andrey Vyshinsky (in Latvia) and Vladimir Dekanozov (in Lithuania).

The new governments lifted bans on communist parties and demonstrations and called early parliamentary elections. In the elections held on July 14 in all three states, the pro-communist Blocks (Unions) of the working people won - the only electoral lists admitted to the elections. According to official data, in Estonia the turnout was 84.1%, while 92.8% of the votes were cast for the Union of Working People, in Lithuania the turnout was 95.51%, of which 99.19% voted for the Union of Working People, in Latvia The turnout was 94.8%, with 97.8% of the votes cast for the Bloc of the Working People.

The newly elected parliaments already on July 21-22 proclaimed the creation of the Estonian SSR, the Latvian SSR and the Lithuanian SSR and adopted the Declaration on joining the USSR. On August 3-6, 1940, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, these republics were admitted to the Soviet Union.

The delegation of the Estonian State Duma returns from Moscow with good news about the admission of the republic to the USSR, August 1940.

Vares is received by comrades-in-arms: in uniform - the chief political officer of the Defense Forces, Keedro.

August 1940, the delegation of the newly elected Estonian State Duma in the Kremlin: Luus, Lauristin, Vares.

On the roof of the Moscow Hotel, the prime minister of the government formed after the Soviet ultimatum of June 1940, Vares and Foreign Minister Andersen.

Delegation at the Tallinn railway station: Tikhonova, Luristin, Keedro, Vares, Sare and Ruus.

Telman, couple Lauristin and Ruus.

Estonian workers at a demonstration demanding joining the USSR.

Welcoming Soviet ships in Riga.

The Saeima of Latvia welcomes the demonstrators.

Soldiers at a demonstration dedicated to the Soviet annexation of Latvia

Rally in Tallinn.

Welcoming the delegates of the Estonian Duma in Tallinn after the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union.

On June 14, 1941, the internal affairs bodies of the USSR, with the support of the Red Army and communist activists, deported 15,424 people from Latvia. 10,161 people were resettled and 5,263 were arrested. 46.5% of the deportees were women, 15% were children under 10 years old. The total number of dead victims of deportation was 4884 people (34% of the total), of which 341 people were shot.

Employees of the Estonian NKVD: in the center - Kimm, on the left - Jacobson, on the right - Riis.

One of the transport documents of the NKVD on the deportation of 1941, for 200 people.

Memorial plaque on the building of the Estonian government - to the highest officials of the Estonian state who died during the occupation.

In the early twenties of the XX century, as a result of the collapse of the former Russian Empire, the Baltic states gained sovereignty. Over the next few decades, the territory of the countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia became the site of the political struggle of the dominant European countries: Great Britain, France, Germany and the USSR.

When Latvia became part of the USSR

It is known that on August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact was signed between the heads of state of the USSR and Germany. The secret protocol of this document dealt with the division of areas of influence in Eastern Europe.

According to the treaty, the Soviet Union claimed the territory of the Baltic countries. This became possible due to territorial changes in the State Border, as part of Belarus joined the USSR.

The inclusion of the Baltic States in the USSR at that time is regarded as an important political task. For its positive solution, a whole range of diplomatic and military events was organized.

Officially, any accusations of a Soviet-German conspiracy were refuted by the diplomatic sides of both countries.

Mutual Assistance Pacts and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary

In the Baltic countries, the situation was tense and extremely alarming: rumors spread about the upcoming division of the territories belonging to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, and there was no official information from the governments of the states. But the movement of the military did not go unnoticed by the locals, and brought additional anxiety.

There was a split in the government of the Baltic states: some were ready to sacrifice power for the sake of Germany, to accept this country as a friendly one, others expressed an opinion on the continuation of relations with the USSR on the condition of preserving the sovereignty of their people, and still others hoped to join the Soviet Union.

The sequence of events:

• On September 28, 1939, a mutual assistance pact was signed between Estonia and the USSR. The agreement stipulated the appearance of Soviet military bases on the territory of the Baltic country with the deployment of soldiers on them.
• At the same time, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Germany "On Friendship and Borders". The secret protocol changed the conditions for the division of spheres of influence: Lithuania came under the influence of the USSR, Germany "got" part of the Polish lands.
• 10/02/1939 - the beginning of a dialogue with Latvia. The main requirement is: access to the sea through several convenient seaports.
• On 10/05/1939, an agreement was reached on mutual assistance for a period of one decade, it also provided for the entry of Soviet troops.
• On the same day, Finland received a proposal from the Soviet Union to consider such a treaty. After 6 days, a dialogue began, but it was not possible to reach a compromise, Finland was refused. This was the unspoken reason that led to the Soviet-Finnish war.
• On October 10, 1939, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Lithuania (for a period of 15 years with the mandatory entry of twenty thousand soldiers).

After the conclusion of agreements with the Baltic countries, the Soviet government began to make demands on the activities of the union of the Baltic countries, to insist on the dissolution of the political coalition as having an anti-Soviet orientation.

In accordance with the pact concluded between the countries, Latvia undertook to provide the opportunity to deploy Soviet soldiers on its territory in an amount comparable to the size of its army, which amounted to 25 thousand people.

Ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments

In the early summer of 1940, the Moscow government received verified information about the desire of the Baltic heads of state to "surrender into the hands of Germany", enter into an agreement with her and, after waiting for an opportune moment, defeat the military bases of the USSR.

The next day, under the guise of exercises, all the armies were alerted and moved to the borders of the Baltic countries.

In mid-June 1940, the Soviet government issued ultimatums to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. The main meaning of the documents was similar: the current government was accused of gross violation of bilateral agreements, a demand was put forward to make changes in the personnel of the leaders, as well as to introduce additional troops. The conditions were accepted.

The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR

The elected governments of the Baltic countries allowed demonstrations, the activities of communist parties, released most political prisoners, and set the date for early elections.

Elections were held on July 14, 1940. In the electoral lists admitted to the elections, only the pro-communist Unions of the working people appeared. According to historians, the voting procedure took place with serious violations, including falsification.

A week later, the newly elected parliaments adopted a Declaration on joining the USSR. From the third to the sixth of August of the same year, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Council of the republic, they were admitted to the Soviet Union.

Effects

The moment the Baltic countries joined the Soviet Union was marked by the beginning of economic restructuring: rising prices due to the transition from one currency to another, nationalization, collectivization of the republics. But one of the most terrible tragedies affecting the Baltics is the time of repression.

Persecution swept the intelligentsia, the clergy, wealthy peasants, and former politicians. Before the beginning of the Patriotic War, the unreliable population was expelled from the republic, most of which died.

Conclusion

Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, relations between the USSR and the Baltic republics were ambiguous. Anxiety was added by punitive measures, exacerbating the difficult situation.

The past summer gave rise to another rampant Russophobia in the Baltic countries. For exactly 75 years ago, in the summer of 1940, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics...

The current rulers of the Baltic states claim that this was a violent action by Moscow, which, with the help of the army, overthrew the legitimate governments of all three republics and established a tough “occupation regime” there. This version of events, unfortunately, is supported by many current Russian historians.

But the question arises: if the occupation took place, then why did it pass without a single shot being fired, without the stubborn resistance of the “proud” Balts? Why did they capitulate so obediently to the Red Army? After all, they had an example of neighboring Finland, which on the eve, in the winter of 1939-1940, was able to defend its independence in fierce battles.

Does this mean that the modern Baltic rulers, to put it mildly, are prevaricating when they talk about “occupation” and do not want to admit the fact that in 1940 the Baltic states voluntarily became Soviet?

Misunderstanding on the map of Europe

The eminent Russian jurist Pavel Kazansky wrote in 1912: “We live in an amazing time when artificial states, artificial peoples and artificial languages ​​are being created.” This statement can be fully attributed to the Baltic peoples and their state formations.

These peoples never had their own statehood! For centuries, the Baltics have been the arena of the struggle of the Swedes, Danes, Poles, Russians, Germans. At the same time, no one took into account the local peoples. Especially the German barons, who from the time of the crusaders were the ruling elite here, who did not see much difference between the natives and livestock. In the 18th century, this territory finally ceded to the Russian Empire, which actually saved the Balts from final assimilation by the German masters.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the political forces that clashed in a deadly struggle on the Baltic soil also at first did not take into account the "national aspirations" of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians. On the one hand, the Bolsheviks fought, and on the other, the White Guards, where Russian and German officers united.

Thus, the White Corps of Generals Rodzianko and Yudenich operated in Estonia. In Latvia - the Russian-German division of Von der Goltz and Prince Bermond-Avalov. And the Polish legions attacked Lithuania, claiming the restoration of the medieval Rzhechi Commonwealth, in which the Lithuanian statehood was completely subordinated to Poland.

But in 1919, a third force intervened in this bloody mess - the Entente, that is, the military alliance of England, France and the USA. Not wanting to strengthen either Russia or Germany in the Baltics, the Entente, in fact, established three independent republics - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. And so that "independence" did not collapse, a powerful British navy was sent to the shores of the Baltic states.

Under the muzzles of naval guns, Estonian "independence" was recognized by General Yudenich, whose soldiers fought for a united and indivisible Russia. The Poles also quickly understood the hints of the Entente and therefore left Lithuania, though leaving behind the city of Vilnius. But in Latvia, the Russian-German division refused to recognize the "sovereignty" of the Latvians - for which they were shot near Riga with naval artillery fire.

In 1921, the "independence" of the Baltic states was also recognized by the Bolsheviks...

For a long time, the Entente tried to establish democratic political regimes in the new states according to the Western model. However, the absence of state traditions and elementary political culture led to the fact that corruption and political anarchy flourished in the Baltic countries in an unprecedented color, when governments changed five times a year.

In a word, there was a complete mess, typical of third-rate Latin American countries. In the end, following the model of the same Latin America, coups d'état took place in all three republics: in 1926 - in Lithuania, in 1934 - in Latvia and Estonia. Dictators sat at the head of states, driving the political opposition into prisons and concentration camps ...

It is not for nothing that Western diplomats contemptuously nicknamed the Baltics "a misunderstanding on the map of Europe".

Soviet "occupation" as salvation from Hitler

Twenty years ago, the Estonian historian Magnus Ilmjärva tried to publish documents in his homeland concerning the period of pre-war “independence”. But ... was refused in a rather harsh form. Why?

Yes, because after a long work in the Moscow archives, he managed to get sensational information. It turns out that Estonian dictator Konstantin Päts, Latvian dictator Karl Ulmanis, Lithuanian dictator Antanas Smetona were… Soviet spies! For the services rendered by these rulers, the Soviet side in the 30s paid them 4 thousand dollars a year (according to modern prices, this is somewhere around 400 thousand modern dollars)!

Why did these champions of "independence" agree to work for the USSR?

Already in the early 1920s it became clear that the Baltic countries were bankrupt either politically or economically. Germany began to exercise ever-increasing influence on these states. German influence especially increased with the advent of the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler.

It can be said that by 1935 the entire Baltic economy had passed into the hands of the Germans. For example, out of 9,146 firms operating in Latvia, 3,529 were owned by Germany. All the largest Latvian banks were controlled by German bankers. The same was observed in Estonia and Lithuania. In the late 1930s, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop reported to Hitler that "All three Baltic states send 70 percent of their exports to Germany, with an annual value of about 200 million marks."

Germany did not hide the fact that it plans to annex the Baltic states, just as Austria and Czechoslovakia were annexed to the Third Reich. Moreover, the large German Baltic community was to serve as the “fifth column” in this process. In all three republics, the "Union of German Youth" operated, openly calling for the establishment of a German protectorate over the Baltic states. At the beginning of 1939, the Latvian consul in Germany reported to his leadership with concern:

“Latvian Germans were present at the annual Nazi rally in Hamburg, where the entire leadership of the Reich visited. Our Germans were dressed in SS uniforms and behaved very belligerently... Reichschancellor Adolf Hitler spoke at the congress and reproached the German barons for having made a big mistake during their seven centuries of dominance in the Baltic states, not destroying the Latvians and Estonians as a nation. Hitler urged not to repeat such mistakes in the future!

The Germans also had their agents in the Baltic political elite. Especially among the military, who bowed before the German military school. Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian generals were ready to sacrifice the independence of their countries in order to join the ranks of the victorious German army, which began aggressive campaigns in Europe in 1939...

The rulers of the Baltics were in a panic! Therefore, they automatically chose the USSR as their ally, the leadership of which, in turn, did not smile at all at the prospect of turning the Baltic states into a base of Nazism.

As the historian Ilmjarva notes, Moscow began to “feed” the Baltic dictators a long time ago, approximately from the beginning of the 20s. The bribery scheme was very banal. A front company was created, through which large sums of money were transferred to the needs of this or that dictator.

In Estonia, for example, in 1928 a mixed Estonian-Soviet joint-stock company was created for the sale of petroleum products. And the legal adviser there was ... the future dictator Konstantin Päts, who was given a very decent monetary "salary". Now some historians are even convinced that Moscow even financed the coups d'état that brought its protégés to power.

In the early 1930s, with the help of their spies-rulers, the Soviet leadership managed to prevent the creation of a military alliance of the Baltic countries, directed against the USSR under the auspices of the Entente. And when the pressure of Nazi Germany increased on the Baltic States, Joseph Stalin decided to annex it to the Soviet Union. Especially now, fearing Germany, the rulers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were ready to work for Moscow even without money.

The annexation of the Baltic States was the first part of the secret Soviet operation "Thunderstorm", which provided for a plan to counter German aggression.

"Call me with you..."

In August 1939, Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler. According to the annex to the treaty, the Baltic States passed into the sphere of influence of the USSR. And in the autumn of the same year, Moscow signed an agreement with the Baltic countries on the deployment of Red Army troops on their territory. And no matter what the Baltic nationalists say today, the entry of the Red Army units was carried out with the full consent of the local governments to the sounds of the Soviet and national anthems. Judging by the reports of our commanders, the local population met the Russian soldiers quite well.

The troops entered the Baltic in the autumn of 1939. And in the summer of 1940, Stalin demanded that the local rulers allow the political opposition to participate in the elections. The Kremlin's calculation turned out to be correct. From time immemorial, Marxists have enjoyed great influence in the political life of the Baltic states. It is no coincidence that during the October Revolution there were many Estonians and Latvians among the leadership of the Bolsheviks: the latter even formed entire regiments of the Red Army.

Years of anti-communist repression in the independent Baltic countries only strengthened the position of the communists: when they were allowed to participate in elections in 1940, they proved to be the most cohesive political force - and the majority of the population gave them their votes. The Seimas of Lithuania and Latvia, the State Duma of Estonia in July 1940 came under the control of popularly elected Red deputies. They also formed new governments, which turned to Moscow with a request to reunite with the USSR.

And the dictator spies were overthrown. They were treated like a worn-out, useless tool. The Estonian Päts died in the Tver psychiatric hospital, the Latvian Ulmanis disappeared somewhere in the Siberian camps. Only the Lithuanian Smetona at the last moment managed to escape first to Germany and then to the USA, where he spent the rest of his days in complete silence, trying not to attract attention to himself ...

Anti-Soviet sentiments arose in the Baltics later, when Moscow, planting the communist idea, began to carry out repressions against the local intelligentsia, and to nominate communists of non-Baltic origin to leadership positions. This was on the eve and during the Great Patriotic War.

But that's another story. The main thing remains the fact that in 1940 the Baltic States SAMA sacrificed their independence ...

Igor Nevsky, especially for "Ambassadorial order"

Plan
Introduction
1 Background. 1930s
2 1939. The beginning of the war in Europe
3 Mutual Assistance Pacts and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary
4 The entry of Soviet troops
5 The ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments
6 The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR
7 Consequences
8 Contemporary politics
9 Opinion of historians and political scientists

Bibliography
Accession of the Baltic states to the USSR

Introduction

Accession of the Baltic States to the USSR (1940) - the process of including the independent Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and most of the territory of modern Lithuania - into the USSR, carried out as a result of the signing of the USSR and Nazi Germany in August 1939 by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the treaty of friendship and border, whose secret protocols fixed the delimitation of the spheres of interest of these two powers in Eastern Europe.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania consider the actions of the USSR an occupation followed by an annexation. The Council of Europe in its resolutions characterized the process of the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR as occupation, forced incorporation and annexation. In 1983, the European Parliament condemned it as an occupation, and later (2007) used such concepts as "occupation" and "illegal incorporation" in this regard.

The text of the preamble to the 1991 Treaty on the Fundamentals of Interstate Relations between the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Republic of Lithuania contains the lines: " referring to the past events and actions that prevented the full and free exercise by each High Contracting Party of its state sovereignty, being confident that the elimination by the USSR of the consequences of the annexation of 1940 that violate the sovereignty of Lithuania will create additional conditions of trust between the High Contracting Parties and their peoples»

The official position of the Russian Foreign Ministry is that the accession of the Baltic countries to the USSR complied with all the norms of international law as of 1940, and that the entry of these countries into the USSR received official international recognition. This position is based on the de facto recognition of the integrity of the borders of the USSR as of June 1941 at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences by the participating states, as well as on the recognition in 1975 of the inviolability of European borders by the participants of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

1. Background. 1930s

The Baltic states in the period between the two world wars became the object of the struggle of the great European powers (England, France and Germany) for influence in the region. In the first decade after the defeat of Germany in the First World War, there was a strong Anglo-French influence in the Baltic states, which later, from the beginning of the 1930s, began to interfere with the growing influence of neighboring Germany. He, in turn, tried to resist the Soviet leadership. By the end of the 1930s, the Third Reich and the USSR became the main rivals in the struggle for influence in the Baltics.

In December 1933, the governments of France and the USSR put forward a joint proposal to conclude an agreement on collective security and mutual assistance. Finland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were invited to join this treaty. The project named "Eastern Pact", was seen as a collective guarantee in the event of aggression by Nazi Germany. But Poland and Romania refused to join the alliance, the United States did not approve of the idea of ​​a treaty, and England put forward a number of counter conditions, including the rearmament of Germany.

In the spring - summer of 1939, the USSR negotiated with England and France on the joint prevention of Italian-German aggression against European countries and on April 17, 1939, invited England and France to commit themselves to providing all kinds of assistance, including military, to Eastern European countries located between the Baltic and the Black Seas and bordering the Soviet Union, as well as to conclude for a period of 5-10 years an agreement on mutual assistance, including military, in the event of aggression in Europe against any of the contracting states (USSR, England and France).

Failure "Eastern Pact" was due to the difference in interests of the contracting parties. Thus, the Anglo-French missions received detailed secret instructions from their general staffs, which determined the goals and nature of the negotiations - the note of the French general staff said, in particular, that, along with a number of political benefits that England and France would receive in connection with by the accession of the USSR, this would allow him to be drawn into the conflict: "it is not in our interests for him to remain out of the conflict, keeping his forces intact." The Soviet Union, which considered at least two Baltic republics - Estonia and Latvia - as a sphere of its national interests, defended this position at the negotiations, but did not meet with understanding from the partners. As for the governments of the Baltic states themselves, they preferred guarantees from Germany, with which they were connected by a system of economic agreements and non-aggression pacts. According to Churchill, “An obstacle to the conclusion of such an agreement (with the USSR) was the horror that these same border states experienced before Soviet help in the form of Soviet armies that could pass through their territories to protect them from the Germans and, along the way, include them in the Soviet-Communist system. After all, they were the most violent opponents of this system. Poland, Romania, Finland and the three Baltic states did not know what they feared more - German aggression or Russian salvation.

Simultaneously with negotiations with Great Britain and France, the Soviet Union in the summer of 1939 stepped up steps towards rapprochement with Germany. The result of this policy was the signing on August 23, 1939 of a non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR. According to the secret additional protocols to the treaty, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and the east of Poland were included in the Soviet sphere of interests, Lithuania and the west of Poland - in the sphere of German interests); By the time the treaty was signed, the Klaipeda (Memel) region of Lithuania had already been occupied by Germany (March 1939).

2. 1939. The beginning of the war in Europe

The situation escalated on September 1, 1939 with the outbreak of World War II. Germany launched an invasion of Poland. On September 17, the USSR sent troops into Poland, declaring the Soviet-Polish non-aggression pact of July 25, 1932, invalid. On the same day, the states that were in diplomatic relations with the USSR (including the Baltic states) were handed a Soviet note stating that "in relations with them, the USSR will pursue a policy of neutrality."

The outbreak of war between neighboring states gave rise to fears in the Baltics of being drawn into these events and prompted them to declare their neutrality. However, during the hostilities, a number of incidents occurred in which the Baltic countries were also involved - one of them was the entry on September 15 of the Polish submarine "Ozhel" into the Tallinn port, where she was interned at the request of Germany by the Estonian authorities, who began to dismantle her weapons. However, on the night of September 18, the crew of the submarine disarmed the guards and took her out to sea, while six torpedoes remained on board. The Soviet Union claimed that Estonia violated neutrality by providing shelter and assistance to a Polish submarine.

On September 19, Vyacheslav Molotov, on behalf of the Soviet leadership, blamed Estonia for this incident, saying that the Baltic Fleet was tasked with finding the submarine, since it could threaten Soviet shipping. This led to the actual establishment of a naval blockade of the Estonian coast.

On September 24, Estonian Foreign Minister K. Selter arrived in Moscow to sign the trade agreement. After discussing economic problems, Molotov turned to the problems of mutual security and proposed " conclude a military alliance or an agreement on mutual assistance, which at the same time would provide the Soviet Union with the right to have strongholds or bases for the fleet and aviation on the territory of Estonia". Selter attempted to evade discussion by invoking neutrality, but Molotov stated that " The Soviet Union needs to expand its security system, for which it needs access to the Baltic Sea. If you do not wish to conclude a pact of mutual assistance with us, then we will have to look for other ways to guarantee our security, perhaps more abrupt, perhaps more difficult. Please do not force us to use force against Estonia».

3. Pacts of Mutual Assistance and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary

As a result of the actual division of Polish territory between Germany and the USSR, the Soviet borders moved far to the west, and the USSR began to border on the third Baltic state - Lithuania. Initially, Germany intended to turn Lithuania into its protectorate, but on September 25, 1939, during the Soviet-German contacts "on the settlement of the Polish problem", the USSR proposed to start negotiations on Germany's renunciation of claims to Lithuania in exchange for the territories of the Warsaw and Lublin provinces. On this day, the German ambassador to the USSR, Count Schulenburg, sent a telegram to the German Foreign Ministry, in which he said that he had been summoned to the Kremlin, where Stalin pointed to this proposal as a subject for future negotiations and added that if Germany agreed, "the Soviet Union immediately will take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23 and expect the full support of the German government in this matter.

The situation in the Baltic states themselves was alarming and contradictory. Against the background of rumors about the impending Soviet-German partition of the Baltic States, which were refuted by diplomats from both sides, part of the ruling circles of the Baltic states were ready to continue rapprochement with Germany, while many others were anti-German and counted on the help of the USSR in maintaining the balance of power in the region and national independence, while the underground left forces were ready to support joining the USSR.