of the independent Baltic states, ethnic conflicts there had mainly been a subject of closed studies carried out by Anglo-Saxon scientists for their governments. Their results were unknown to the wide scientific audience. Official Baltic researches chose to ignore the facts of ethnic discrimination against aliens in their countries. Russian authorities were talking only about Russian compatriots and did not bring attention to the fact that the discrimination had a clearly anti-Russian nature. That was because of the lack of a clear position in respect of the ‘Russian issue’ within Russia itself. For the same reason, issues of ethnic discrimination against Russians abroad were largely excluded from the area of studies of Russian academic scientists and were only a subject of interest of patriotically disposed Russian public figures.
Most of the authors who have provided the materials for this collection are representatives of the population groups being discriminated in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and, therefore, present their views in terms of the theory of ethnic conflicts. In the view of the compiler of this collection, this approach allows describing the situation in the Baltic countries in the post-Soviet period in the most adequate way and provides some material to develop solutions to dismantle the ethnocratic regimes, which are reactionary in their essence.
Ethnic conflicts in post-soviet Baltic states:
Content, form, mechanisms of formation, external influences
Dr. Ec. Alexander Gaponenko
President of the Institute of European Studies, Latvia
In the mid-80s of the twentieth century, the Soviet Union was faced with the need to privatize large-scale and highly inefficient used of public means of production. An attempt to solve this problem in during the so-called “the policy of perestroika” has caused conflict within the monopoly of the ruling Communist Party and weakened the centralized system of government in the country. The conflict took advantage of the titular power groups of the communist nomenclature in the Union republics and began to concentrate power in his hands. Particularly active national Communists acted in the Soviet Baltic Republics. It was they who initiated the beginning of the collapse of a single Soviet nation into its separate ethnic elements.
In 1988, the Baltic national communists created massive social movements: the Popular Front of Latvia, the Popular Front of Estonia and Lithuania “Sajudis.” The assets of these movements consisted mainly of humanitarian titular intellectuals. Intellectuals began to carry out the mobilization of the masses with the radical nationalist slogans. As a result of the mobilization of the rather amorphous Soviet nations began to crystallize quickly Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian nations.
In 1990, the titular Communist nomenclature, supported by its intellectuals, came to power in all three Baltic States. She uses this power for personal appropriation of state property and for the sake of properly organizing the process of privatization. The nomenclature is also interested in the preservation of a life-long positions and related income in state government bodies. Otherwise, the purpose of the ruling bureaucracy was the institutionalization of their positions. So she is trying to prevent the establishment of any control over the people its actions.
Communist slogans titular nomenclature has rejected as contrary to the essence of its ongoing socio-economic transformation, and it starts to position itself as national liberals advocating the change from an inclusive government to a pure market economy. In parallel with the privatization of state-owned Baltic communist nomenclature takes the strategic option of withdrawing their republics from the USSR in order to completely get rid of the control of the higher authorities.
In August 1991, after the acute political conflict in Moscow and with the active assistance of the West, the Baltic nationalist-communist implemented a strategy to get rid of external control. The Baltic republics become independent. Then they (the old German style) are beginning to call themselves the Baltic countries.
The main political opponent of the Baltic National Liberals after independence is the part of the local Communist elite, which remained standing on a socialist and internationalist positions. This part of the ruling group was based primarily on the support of non-titular population. The proportion of non-titular population at the beginning of 1989 was quite large: in Latvia – 48.0 %, Estonia – 37.9 %, Lithuania – 20.4 %. Non-titular population in its ethnic composition consisted of the Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Russified minorities. In Lithuania, in addition, more than 7 % of the total population was ethnic Poles.
Former National Communists hold against Communist Internationalists extensive lustration, fearing that they could rally the non-titular population. Communist Party prohibits, their property confiscated, key leading employees arrested party activists deny civil rights and do not take on any job. Prohibits Communist and Soviet symbols, cancel all the old national holidays; demolish monuments of the Communist and Soviet movements. In other words, the destruction are all the symbolic tools by means of which internationalists has mobilized the masses of the Soviet nation. All of these legal restrictions apply so far.
Another opponent for the former national communists became Latvian intellectuals, which has mobilized indigenous population and therefore enjoyed a great influence of his environment. The former nomenclature intercepts from intellectuals nationalist slogans and equips by them their own national liberal parties. So there is a party of “Latvian Way” in Latvia, the ”Social Democratic Party” of Lithuania, “Reform Party” in Estonia. Titular intellectuals by former national communists skillfully pushed out of real power. By 1993, the massive popular movements completely disappear from the political scene of the Baltic countries. From the remnants of people’s fronts and “Sąjudis” the titular intelligence forms radical nationalist party. In Latvia, appear party “TB/LNNK” (For Fatherland and Freedom/Latvian National Independence Movement), in Lithuania – “Conservative Party”, in Estonia – “IRI”. National Liberals then take these radical nationalist parties on the role of junior partner in the organized ruling coalition.
As for the individual appropriation of state property latter-day National Liberals were weak, and also make little sense in a market economy, they began to look for allies. The most suitable for the role of an ally they had the titular emigration. This emigration was formed mainly of people who had fled to the West after World War II, for fear of to be punished for their crimes against the people or for collaborationism. This emigration was large, well-organized and had the experience of the capitalist economy. For assistance in the implementation of western emigration authorities demanded from the National Liberals return of their property, which was confiscated by the Communists in 1940. However, immigration did not apply for privatization of state property created in Soviet times, although much larger in scope. Immigrants are not interested in positions in the state apparatus, as they intended to continue living in the West, which had long been a home for them.
The interests of western emigration at home have come to represent parties of the radical nationalist wing. These parties are actively immigrants fueled both ideologically and materially.
Western emigration has brought to the Baltic’s aggressive anti-communism and revanchist sentiments. However, former secretaries of the Central Committee of the Republic, party committees, districts, cities, representing the titular nation, it is quite satisfied because it allowed distracting people’s attention from their own sins and initiated by them the process of privatization of state property. Therefore, the radical nationalists openly and National Liberals secretly have adopted the emigrant’s slogans of building ethnically pure societies – “Latvian Latvia”, “Lithuania Lithuania” and “Estonian Estonia.” These slogans supplemented by the provisions of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States, Russian accusations of genocide titular nations, estimates of equivalent of the crimes the Communist and Nazi regimes. This ideological construct is theoretically enabled to substantiate the claims of former national communists to the power and to find common ground with the emigration. The new ruling elite ideology of ethnically pure societies is adopted as a state.
Seriously
