The authors are indebted to the numerous individuals and organizations who contributed to the preparation of this volume. Valuable advice was provided by Stephen R. Burant and Jonathan Bemis of the Department of State. The collection of data was assisted by the contributions of the embassies of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Sincere thanks go to all individuals who so graciously allowed their photographs to be used in this study, particularly to Priit Vesilind, from whose vast collection many photographs were selected.

The authors gratefully acknowledge Ralph K. Benesch, who oversees the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program for the Department of the Army, and Sandra W. Meditz, the Federal Research Division's coordinator of the handbook series, for her guidance and suggestions. Special thanks also go to Marilyn L. Majeska, who supervised editing; Andrea T. Merrill, who managed production; David P. Cabitto, who provided graphics support and, together with the firm of Maryland Mapping and Graphics, prepared the maps; Thomas D. Hall, who assembled the materials for the maps; Wayne Horne, who prepared the illustrations on the title page of each chapter and on the book cover; Pirkko M. Johnes, who researched and drafted the country profiles; and Helen Fedor, who coordinated the acquisition of photographs. The following individuals are gratefully acknowledged as well: Vincent Ercolano and Janet Willen, who edited the text; Beverly Wolpert, who performed the final prepublication editorial review; Barbara Edgerton and Izella Watson, who did the word processing; Victoria Agee, who compiled the index; and David P. Cabitto, Stephen C. Cranton, Janie L. Gilchrist, and Izella Watson, who prepared the camera-ready copy.

Preface

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania: Country Studies is the latest in a new subseries examining the fifteen newly independent states that emerged from the disintegration of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991. Hitherto, aside from their coverage in the 1991 Soviet Union: A Country Study , none had received individual treatment in the Country Studies/Area Handbook series. This volume aims to provide an overview of the history, Soviet legacy, and post-Soviet development of the Baltic states, whose first modern period of independence (1918-40) was a casualty of the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. The authors describe the quest of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania for self-determination, their struggle to reestablish independent statehood, and their attempts to cope with the political, economic, and social problems confronting them in the 1990s.

Transliteration of all Slavic names generally follows the system developed by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Conventional English-language variants, such as Moscow and Yeltsin (rather than Moskva and Yel'tsin), are used when appropriate. Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian names appearing in the text of this volume regrettably are missing some diacritics because the typesetting software being used cannot produce all the necessary diacritics (although they do appear on the maps). Measurements are given in the metric system.

The body of the text reflects information available as of January 1995. Certain other portions of the text, however, have been updated. The Bibliography lists published sources thought to be particularly helpful to the reader.

Country Studies Index

Source: U.S. Library of Congress