DISINFO: The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states is a myth
SUMMARY
In the European Parliament, the USSR is compared to Nazi Germany due to the “occupation” of the Baltic states. But the “occupation” is a myth, i.e. the Lithuanian authorities use it to support state ideology. But the myth about the “sad Soviet past” is not relevant because many people left Lithuania exactly after the so-called restoration of independence.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation message, a part of the historical revisionism campaign which denies that the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states ever happened.
The Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which had been independent between the two world wars, were forcibly annexed by the Soviet Union in June of 1940 following Soviet military occupation and the forced installation of “people’s governments”.
On 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a non-aggression (Molotov-Ribbentrop) Pact whose secret protocols divided the territories belonging to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Romania into Soviet and Nazi spheres of influence. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east short after Nazi-Germany had launched its attack from the west on 1 September.
The Pact gave Stalin a free hand in the Baltic states. The Soviet Union used threats to impose a series of “mutual assistance” treaties on the Baltic states allowing them to station troops in their territories laying the groundwork for the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1940. Like other countries mentioned in the pact, the Baltic states lost their independence and territories. The Soviet occupation of the Baltic States lasted for 50 years and resulted in mass deportations and repressions against local populations.
Today, Lithuania is part of the European Union, people have the freedom to choose where they want to live or work in the EU. Free movement of workers is a fundamental principle of the Treaty enshrined in Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and developed by EU secondary legislation and the case law of the Court of Justice.
See more examples of similar cases of disinformation: The Baltic countries had well-developed economy during the Soviet era; Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were incorporated into USSR legally; The Baltic states are perpetuating the myth of the Soviet occupation.