The Formation of the Baltic States: A Study of the Effects of Great Power Politics upon the Emergence of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia

212 Pages·1959·8.866 MB·English

by  Stanley Page

HARVARD HISTORICAL MONOGRAPHS
XXXIX
Published under the direction of the Department of History
from the income of The Robert Louis Stroock Fund

The Formation
of the
Baltic States
A Study of the Effects of Great Power Politics
upon the Emergence of
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia
By
STANLEY W. PAGE
CAMBRIDGE
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1959
© 19J9 ky fhe President and Fellows of Harvard College
Distributed in Great Britain by
Oxford University Press, London
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: ^9-76
Made and printed in Great Britain by
William Clowes and Sons, Limited, London and Beccles
To
EDWARD WHITING FOX
Whose inspirational guidance, as teacher
and friend, did much to make me a
happier and more useful person.

Preface
This study is the first attempt to examine in detail, and compara-
tively, the sequence of events through which Lithuania, Latvia, and
Estonia passed in the process of becoming independent nations. An
author knowing none of the Baltic languages might appear some-
what presumptuous in plunging into an investigation of this sort.
However, while I deplore my linguistic shortcomings, I estimated
correctly that a knowledge of German, Russian, French, and English
would, on the whole, be adequate for my purposes. Through most
of the war-torn period with which this book is principally concerned
the Baltic natives, dominated by Russians and Germans, wrote
mainly appeals for support, or propaganda, designed to be read
outside their countries and, therefore, published in one or more of
the four major languages.
One advantage, I think, comes specifically from the fact that I am
not a man of the Baltic, or a Russian, German, or Pole. Almost
every book thus far published which touches upon my subject, is
slanted along nationalist lines or is written from a strongly pro- or
anti-Soviet point of view. Whatever my own biases, I was not at the
outset inclined toward any group, party, or country, nor was I
attempting to prove any side right or wrong, good or evil.
In many college classrooms hangs that wonderfully colorful and
optimistic map of Europe in 1919- This depicts the Europe that
the Allied and Associated Powers had carved out, supposedly on the
democratic principle of self-determination of nations. On this map,
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, scarcely maintaining a foothold on
the shore, intrepidly block the Communist colossus from the Baltic
Sea. How did this amazing thing happen? How was it possible in
the age of the superpower for such pygmy states to come to life,
even granting the miracles wrought by Wilson's Fourteen Points?
This is perhaps the main question which this book sets out to
answer.
vii
viii Preface
The events with which this investigation deals are also very close
to the center of some of world history's most momentous occur-
rences. The Baltic peoples were inextricably involved in the Russian
revolution, the civil war, and the intervention. An ignorance of
Baltic national affairs in this period precludes a full understanding
of many aspects of those three years that shook the world. On a
small scale, too, the Baltic arena, in 1919, presented a preview of the
Second World War. For it was here that Germans, later to become
Nazis, first shed their blood in the struggle against Russia. Even
the appeasement of the 1930's was here foreshadowed, as Germany,
having already surrendered to the Allies, was given the opportunity
to fight on in the East against the menace of Bolshevism.
Because of the many shifts in political and cultural domination
in the territories dealt with, geographic designations presented a
knotty problem. To avoid confusion, I have, wherever there are two
or more names for the same locality, area, or river, used that which
is native to Lithuanians, Latvians, or Estonians. All dates referring
to Russian events are based on the Western calendar.
Professor Michael M. Karpovich of Harvard first directed my
attention to this richly rewarding subject for research, and I am
above all grateful for his unerring guidance and that kindness which
has become proverbial among his former students. Some of the most
important parts of this book could never have been written had I
not been fortunate enough to receive a Rockefeller Foundation
grant, enabling me to spend the summer of 1948 at the Hoover
Institute at Stanford. My deepest appreciation is owed Professor C.
Leonard Lundin of Indiana University. His critical reading of the
manuscript led to numerous changes, all of which, I believe, have
served to strengthen the scholarly quality of this work. Extremely
valuable, especially with regard to matters of bibliography, were the
carefully thought out suggestions made by Professor Robert G. L.
Waite of Williams College. The staff of Widener Library was
always most helpful to me, as was the cheerfully rendered en-
couragement of Mrs. Harriet Dorman, secretary of the History
Department of Harvard. I am indebted to my wife, Annette M.
Page, for her perceptive editorial assistance and to Ann Louise
Preface ix
Coffin for a most competent job of copyediting. I am further in-
debted to the American Slavic and East European Review for
permission to use portions of articles previously published in that
journal.
S. W. P.
September 30, 1958