'It is easy to underestimate the importance of the Baltics. Easy, but wrong. Understanding the Baltic States should be required reading for anyone wishing to know and understand Europe from West to East.' -- The Rt Hon. Sir John Major KG CH Broad and accessible enough to enlighten readers beyond academe. -- The Russian Review We see through the chapters of this book much more than the customary, almost Cinderella-style tale of the Baltic march to freedom. -- CEU Review 'A useful chronology.' -- Slavonic and Eastern Europe Review 'The Baltic states were once in the shadowy world beyond the Iron Curtain, but today they are again back in the bright light of freedom and democracy. They are now vibrant members of both the European Union and NATO. They are not only in the front line in the newly challenging European environment but they also represent a shop-window for economic and democratic vitality. The resurgence of the Baltic states, where I was both a witness and bit-player, is an inspiring story of our time and these essays flesh out the then and the remarkable now.' -- Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, 10th Secretary General of NATO, and former UK Defence Secretary 'The war in Ukraine has confirmed the position of the Baltic states as both the front line and notable front runners of democratic Europe. This excellent volume of essays by experts and practitioners tells us what we should all know about them.' -- Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies, Oxford University, and author of Homelands: A Personal History of Europe 'Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have long been poorly understood by much of the rest of the world. This book goes a long way towards tearing the veil of ignorance about the history of the region, the role these three countries play in geopolitics, their commonalities and differences, and their complex relationship with Russia and the Soviet Union.' -- Dan Kaszeta, author of Toxic: A History of Nerve Agents, From Nazi Germany to Putin's Russia, and The Forest Brotherhood: Baltic Resistance against the Nazis and Soviets
