"Georg von Rauch (1904 - 1991) was a Baltic German historian specializing in Russia and the Baltic states. Rauch was born in Pskov, the son of Kornelius von Rauch, who was serving in the Russian army; in 1911 the family moved to Sangaste in southern Estonia, then part of the Russian Empire. Rauch graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in history in 1927, leaving for Germany in 1939. He joined the staff of the University of Marburg, where he taught Russian history, in 1946, becoming a professor in 1953. In 1958 he accepted an offer from the University of Kiel, where he became head of the Institute on East European History. His pioneering history of the Soviet Union was translated into other languages and became a standard textbook. His son was the anarchist Georg von Rauch, killed by the police in 1971."--Wikipedia.

In this key textbook, Andres Kasekamp masterfully traces the development of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, from the northern crusades against Europe's last pagans and Lithuania's rise to become one of medieval Europe's largest states, to their incorporation into the Russian Empire and the creation of their modern national identities. Employing a comparative approach, a particular emphasis is placed upon the last one hundred years, during which the Baltic states achieved independence, endured occupation by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and transformed themselves into members of the European Union. This is an essential textbook for undergraduate students taking modules on Eastern or Central European History, Communism and Post-Communism, the Soviet Union, or Baltic Culture and Politics. Engaging and accessible, this is also an ideal introduction to the Baltic States for general readers.

Immediately following the end of World War I, amid the collapse of the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires, bitter fighting broke out in the Baltic region as Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania struggled for their independence, and Red and White Russian armies began their civil war. There were also German forces still active in what had been the northern end of Germany's Eastern Front. This book offers a concise but detailed introduction to this whole theatre of war, focusing on the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and relevant German and Russian forces, plus Finnish, Danish and Swedish contingents. For each region there is a detailed map as well as meticulous orders-of-battle and insignia charts. Detailed for the first time in the English language, this fascinating book concisely tells the story of the birth of these Baltic nation states.

This is the first complete account of the diplomatic relations and military steps leading to Estonia's, Latvia's, and Lithuania's forcible absorption into the USSR in 1940. David Crowe—making use of recently opened archival sources—traces the Baltic states' relations with the Soviet Union, Germany, Poland, Great Britian, France and with one another from 1917-1940. He starts with an overview of 1917-1936 and then offers a detailed description of the diplomatic maneuvering that marked Europe's collective slide toward war. Crowe covers the Sudeten and Memel crises involving German communities in 1938, the German-Soviet Pact in August 1939, the mutual assistance pacts between the Baltic States and the USSR, the Baltic German migration, Soviet use of Estonia's military installations during their assault on Finland, and the subsequent Soviet occupation of the Baltic states. The story ends with the election of new, Soviet-sponsored legislatures that sought admission into the USSR as Soviet republics in 1940—a step that most Western countries never recognized, and one that the Baltic states finally reversed when they regained their independence fifty-one years later in August 1991.

The Baltic States brings together three titles, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, to provide a comprehensive and analytical guide integrating history, political science, economic development and contemporary events into one account.

'The Baltic States After Independence is an excellent and informative account of how the Baltic republics have failed. . . . This excellent book is indispensable for any scholar studying the former Soviet Union. Although this book will be a definitive reference for transition scholars, it deserves a wider audience. I would encourage every economics major to read it, or at least parts of it. Too often the economics curriculum, tainted by orthodoxy, ignores the interdependence of economics, politics, and international relations. The authors superbly demonstrate that markets do not develop independently and ahistorically, rather their development is path dependent and guided by a qualified and efficient state apparatus. I can think of no better book that disparages neoclassical orthodoxy almost to the point of irrelevancy, while at the same time vindicating the central tenets of institutionalism.' - Jack Reardon, Journal of Economic Issues Acclaim for the first edition: 'The book is of great help in understanding the Baltic states, in particular the survival of what has been referred to as the civil society and the (re)-establishment of democracy.' - Ulf Hansson, Initiative on Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity The second edition of this widely acclaimed book considers the extent to which the Baltic states have succeeded politically and economically in their aspirations to emulate Western institutions since independence. The book has been completely revised since the first edition to account for the rapid changes in the countries themselves, and in the theories that attempt to generalize the patterns of development in post-communist countries.

The Baltic States examines the struggles of the Baltic peoples for national self-determination. It is divided into two parts. Part one explores their nationalist awakening, how the realization of national self-determination during the inter-war years of independent statehood manifested itself, and the impact that fifty years of subsequent incorporation into the Soviet Union has had on Baltic politics and national cultures. Part two examines the nationalist reawakening in the late 1980s, the re-establishment of Baltic national self-governance in 1990-91 and the problems that these countries now face as sovereign entities.