A Concise History of the Baltic States

492 Pages·2011·13.126 MB·English

by  Andrejs Plakans

A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE
BALTIC STATES
TheBalticregionisfrequentlyneglectedinbroaderhistoriesofEurope
and its international significance can be obscured by separate treat-
ments of the various Baltic states. With this wide-ranging survey,
Andrejs Plakans presents the first integrated history of three Baltic
peoples–Estonians,Latvians,andLithuanians–anddrawsoutthe
commonthreadstoshowhowithasbeenshapedbytheirlocationina
strategicallydesirablecornerofEurope.SubordinatedinturnbyBaltic
German landholders, the Polish nobility and gentry, and then by
RussianandSovietadministrators,thethreenationshavenevertheless
kepttheirdistinctiveidentities–significantlyretainingthreeseparate
languagesinanethnicallydiverseregion.Thebooktracesthecoun-
tries’ evolution from their ninth-century tribal beginnings to their
present status as three thriving and separate nation-states, focusing
particularlyontheregion’scomplextwentieth-centuryhistory,which
culminated in the eventual reestablishment of national sovereignty
after1991.
ANDREJS PLAKANS is Professor Emeritus at the Department of
History, Iowa State University. His previous publications include
The Latvians: A Short History (1995) and Historical Dictionary of
Latvia(secondedition,2008).

CAMBRIDGE CONCISE HISTORIES
Thisisaseriesofillustrated“concisehistories”ofselectedindividual
countries,intended bothasuniversityandcollegetextbooksandas
general historical introductions for general readers, travellers, and
membersofthebusinesscommunity.
Afulllistoftitlesintheseriescanbefoundat:
www.cambridge.org/concisehistories
FragmentofCartaMarina,1576.Thisfamous“seamap”of
northernEurope,createdinRomebytheSwedishclericOlaus
Magnus,usesnobordersinitsdepictionoftheeasternlittoralof
theBalticSea.
A Concise History of
the Baltic States
ANDREJS PLAKANS
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,
Singapore,SãoPaulo,Delhi,Tokyo,MexicoCity
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PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521541558
©AndrejsPlakans2011
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Firstpublished2011
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