Стр. 20 - V

Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
fend their rights, fight discrimination, and act against the atmosphere of discord generated by
the Baltic governments and radical groups.
AFTER THE COLLAPSE of the Soviet Union, both Russia and the Baltic states came up with
concepts for bilateral relations. Russia put economy above politics and built up investments in
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the expectation that growing inputs of Russian capital would
convince those countries to boost their relations with their eastern neighbor. The Baltic nations
focused on a thesis that their former close ties with Russia could make them become a bridge
between Russia and the West.
THE STATUS of the Russian-speaking minorities in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania is a special
concern for Russia. There are Russian-speaking communities in many countries, but the Baltic
states are exceptional in the sense that they have legalized ethnic discrimination against their
Russian speakers, in other words, their governments legally divide their people into native pop-
ulation and Russian speakers and sustain this division.
One shouldn't underestimate the inevitable growth of national self-awareness in the Baltic na-
tions and hence increasing power ambitions on the part of Baltic politicians who base their pro-
grams not on dictums from abroad but on what their own population wants without dividing
the latter into native and non-native communities. Sooner or later, genuinely independent politi-
cians may come forward in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, people who would be able to resolutely
champion genuine national interests. This may quickly and drastically alter the situation in the
Baltic countries and change their international role, enabling them to restore their former regional
and international prestige and making them more attractive as independent partners.