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