Suchergebnisse

A review essay on books by: Walter C. Clemens, Jr., Baltic Independence and Russian Empire (New York, NY: St Martin's Press, 1991); Dietrich Andre Loeber, V. Stanley Vardys, & Laurence P. A. Kitching, Regional Identity under Soviet Rule: The Case of the Baltic States (Hackettstown, NJ: Assoc for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, 1990); Toivo U. Raun, Estonai and the Estonians ([second edition] Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1991); Alfred Erich Senn, Lithuanian Awakening (Berkeley, CA: U of California Press, 1990); & Antanas J. Van Reenan, Lithuanian Diaspora: Konigsberg to Chicago (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1990 [see listings in IRPS No. 87]). These books on the situation of the post-Soviet Baltic states stimulates a discussion on the relationship between state building & ethnic consciousness. It is argued that the historically enforced subordination of the Baltic people to powerful neighbors, eg, Poland, Germany, & Russia, has catalyzed fear of cultural & religious extinction. Therefore, the Baltic states have sought sovereignty as a means of preserving their culture rather than seeking independence as a necessary end in itself. However, a diverse range of religious & ethnic subgroups exist within these states, & these subgroups are also willing to fight for independence if faced with extinction. It is suggested that military, political, & diplomatic relations have all been shaped by the need to ensure the safety of linguistic & cultural tradition. Therefore, it is concluded that state building must be seen as a product of ethnic consciousness, & that intellectuals must understand the historical link between these two factors in order to better predict & transform the future of the Baltic states. 5 References. T. Sevier