Comparative study of cultural aspects of Baltic History

Résumé du document

Living for a time in the Baltic States area makes one realize how different Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are from each other. With respect to the political, economic and social fields, the three countries experience different phenomena and do not follow the same paths. This fact questions the representation of these three countries in the rest of Europe, as they are often pictured as a coherent group of states, very close to each other. One of the main reasons of this misunderstanding is indeed history, and especially the recent one, connected to the Soviet times and to the re-establishment of independent states. However, generally speaking, the Baltic shore area in itself had been put under foreign influence from the end of the 12th century. Interested in gaining new territories and the control of the valuable shores of the Baltic Sea, the neighboring powers actively fought for their hegemony over the region and its advantages.

Extraits

[...] The cultural life of the late 1980s was then very active and corresponded to a new moment of national awareness. The result was the shake of the whole USSR and its collapse in 1991, and eventually the re-establishment of the independent Baltic States Cultural processes after the reestablishing of independence in the Baltic States. A search of a new identity. The context of European Union. The problem of globalization The second independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was seen as the legal continuation of the interwar period states. But the situation was indeed very different. [...]

[...] These minorities remained then very important in the cultural activities and in the public life in general. Baltic Germans used their old and skilful traditions in the music, opera and theatre fields to participate in the exceptional cultural dynamism of Estonia and Latvia during the interwar period. At the same time, Baltic nations were now able to promote their own culture. They attempted to promote their historical heritage, even with a certain lack of objectivity. That is to say, the national historiographies tried to create national heritages, typically Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian. [...]

[...] Riga gave to itself the privileges of the city of Hamburg, while Tallinn chose the rights of the city of Lübeck. Both of them, and some cities such as Valmiera became very important within the Hanseatic network, and Riga became the third largest port of the League. This power initiated deep differences between these cities and the rest of the territories. It made their populations privileged and richer, while it consecrated the predominant role of the Baltic Germans. Generally speaking, the activities within the League created many contacts between these territories and the rest of Europe. [...]

[...] Furthermore, the social claims used quite soon the centuries-old resentment against the Baltic Germans and Polish landlords and nobility. In Estonia and Latvia were organized attacks against German properties, and many manors were burned down and some people killed. The Baltic Germans replied, with the support of the Russian army. At the end of the troubles, a deep division between the different groups of population could be observed. The national awakenings had already enlightened differences between the Baltic people and establish separate identities. [...]

[...] But at the beginning of the century, Baltic provinces were taking their new growth from their position within the Russian empire, as its opening on Europe. That explains why the nationalist ideas did not gain the social-democrat movements at once Riga the Baltic metropole Jugendstyle. The revolution of 1905-1907 and its impact on cultural process in the Baltic area. The formation of nationally segmented societies In January 1905, the outcome of protests in St-Petersburg led to the outbreak of mass demonstrations in the Baltic provinces, and especially in Riga. [...]