In August 1991, following the abortive conservative attempted coup in the Soviet Union, Estonia and Latvia declared their complete independence, following Lithuania, which had declared independence the previous year. With these declarations, the three Baltic states restored the independence they had enjoyed in the years 1918–40. The last Russian troops left the Baltic states in August 1994. Ten years later, all three republics gained entrance into both the European Union (EU) and NATO.

Historical background

The first human settlers came to the Baltic region in the tenth millennium BCE. By the end of the twelfth century Northern Europe was generally Christianized, except for the area of today's Baltic states and some remote Arctic areas and Prussia. Finland had just been Christianized by the Swedes and the core of today's Russia was Christianized even before that from the ancient Rus capital of Kyiv. The areas of Prussia and today's Latvia and Estonia were Christianized by force mainly by German crusaders (the Order of the Brethren of the Sword and the Teutonic Knights, later merged as the Teutonic [or German] Order). Livonia was the historical name of the Order state covering today's Latvia and Estonia (named after the tribe – Livs – who lived in the coastal areas near Riga). The territory of Livonia was easier to access from the sea and the rivers than the areas of future Lithuania. Estonia was under foreign rule beginning in 1227, while Latvia came under foreign rule in the twelfth century.