Sovietization of the Baltic states

The Sovietization of the Baltic states is the sovietization of all spheres of life in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania when they were under control of the Soviet Union. The first period deals with the occupation from June 1940 to July 1941, followed by the German occupation during World War II. The second period of occupation covers 1944 when the Soviet forces pushed the Germans out, until the end of the Soviet occupation in 1991 when the three countries restored full independence.

Following the Soviet invasion of the Baltic states in June 1940, repressive measures were enforced in these countries, including arrests, executions and mass deportations, in accordance with the Serov Instructions. Thousands of opposants and their families were arrested and deported to eliminate any political and social opposition. Rigged elections led the Communist Party to power, and the three countries incorporated the Soviet Union.

After the German occupation, the Soviet Union reoccupied the Baltic states from 1944, sparking several years of armed resistance from groups like the Forest Brothers. This insurgency persisted until the deportation and resettlement of thousands of people, weakening the resistance movement and ending it the mid-1950s. Soviet governments in the Baltic states conformed to Soviet policies, including nationalizing industries, enforcing censorship and severely restricting religious liberties. The Baltic states experienced territorial changes under Soviet rule. At the end of the 1980s, as the influence of the Soviet Union decreased, peaceful demonstrations known as the Singing Revolution in the Baltic states ultimately led to their independence.