Baltic.

Tourism opportunities in the Baltics

The nature of the Baltics is quite diverse, the amount of natural resources per capita exceeds the European average. There is 10 times more land per inhabitant of the Baltic States than in the Netherlands, 10 times more renewable water resources than the world average. There are hundreds of times more forests per person than in most European countries. A temperate climate and stable geological conditions protect the territory from cataclysms, and a limited amount of minerals protect the territory from intensive pollution of the territory by various mining wastes.

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Estonia

Latvia

Lithuania

Denmark

The Baltic lies in the temperate zone, bordered by the Baltic Sea in the north and west. The climate is greatly influenced by Atlantic cyclones, the air is always humid due to the proximity of the sea. Due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, winters are warmer than in the continental regions of Eurasia.

The Baltic states are quite attractive for sightseeing tourism. A large number of medieval buildings (castles) have been preserved on its territory. Almost all the cities of the Baltic States are spared the hustle and bustle inherent in any even a regional city in Russia. In Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, the historical parts of the city have been perfectly preserved. All the Baltic countries, such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Denmark, are always popular with Russian tourists who want to get into the atmosphere of medieval Europe.

The Baltic hotels are much more European in terms of the quality of services provided with fairly affordable prices.

the Baltic States it is part of Northern Europe, corresponding to the territories of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, as well as the former East Prussia. After Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia announced their secession from the USSR in 1991, the phrase "Baltic states" usually means the same as the "Baltic republics" of the USSR.

The Baltic states have a favorable geographical position. Access to the Baltic Sea and the proximity of the developed countries of Europe on the one hand, and the neighborhood in the east with Russia on the other hand, makes this region a "bridge" between Europe and Russia.

On the southern coast of the Baltic on the Baltic coast, the most important elements are distinguished: the Sambian Peninsula with the Vistula Spit and the Curonian Spit branching off from it, the Kurland (Kurzeme) Peninsula, the Gulf of Riga, the Vidzeme Peninsula, the Estonian Peninsula, the Narva Bay and the Kurgalsky Peninsula, behind which the entrance to the Gulf of Finland opens .

A Brief History of the Baltics

The earliest entries in time are those of Herodotus. He mentions the neurons, androphages, melanchlens, budins, who today belong to the Dnieper-Dvina culture, who lived on the eastern coast of the Sveva (Baltic) Sea, where they cultivated cereals and collected amber along the seashore. In general, ancient sources are not rich in information about the Baltic tribes.

The interest of the ancient world in the Baltic was rather limited. From the shores of the Baltic, with its low level of development, Europe received mainly amber and other ornamental stone. Due to climatic conditions, neither the Baltic states, nor the lands of the Slavs lying behind it, could provide any significant amount of food to Europe. Therefore, unlike the Black Sea region, the Baltic did not attract ancient colonizers.

At the beginning of the 13th century, significant changes began in the life of the diverse population of the entire southern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic states fall into the zone of long-term strategic interests of neighboring states. The capture of the Baltic states occurs almost instantly. In 1201, the crusaders founded Riga. In 1219, the Danes occupied the Russian Kolyvan and founded Tallinn.

For several centuries, different parts of the Baltic states came under different rule. They were ruled by the Russians in the person of the Novgorod and Pskov princes, who themselves were mired in internecine wars, and the Livonian Order until its collapse and further ousting from the Baltic states.

According to the peace treaty concluded by Peter 1 in Nystadt in 1721 with Sweden, Russia returned the lost part of Karelia, part of Estonia with Reval, part of Livonia with Riga, as well as the islands of Ezel and Dago. At the same time, Russia assumed obligations in relation to political guarantees to the population again accepted into Russian citizenship. All residents were guaranteed freedom of religion.

By the beginning of the First World War in the Baltic States, the largest administrative-territorial formations of Russia were the three Baltic provinces: Lifland (47027.7 km?) Estland (20246.7 km?) Courland (29715 km?). The provisional government of Russia adopted the regulation "On the autonomy of Estonia". Although the new border between the Estonian and Livonian provinces was not demarcated under the Provisional Government, its line forever divided the county town of Valk along the river line, and part of the Petrograd-Riga railway turned out to enter the territory of the adjacent province, practically not serving it itself.

The entry of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into the USSR begins with the approval of the VII session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of decisions on admission to the USSR: the Lithuanian SSR - August 3, the Latvian SSR - August 5 and the Estonian SSR - August 6, 1940, based on statements from higher bodies authorities of the respective Baltic States. Modern Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania consider the actions of the USSR an occupation followed by annexation.

On the night of March 11, 1990, the Supreme Council of Lithuania, headed by Vytautas Landsbergis, proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Lithuania. On November 16, 1988, the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR adopted the "Declaration on the Sovereignty of the Estonian SSR". The Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR announced the independence of Latvia on May 4, 1990.

The Baltic countries (Baltic) include three former Soviet republics that were not part of the CIS - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All of them are unitary republics. In 2004, all three Baltic states joined NATO and the European Union.
Baltic countries
Table 38

A feature of the geographical position of the Baltic countries is the presence of access to the Baltic Sea and the neighboring position with the Russian Federation. In the south, the Baltic countries border on Belarus (Latvia and Lithuania) and Poland (Lithuania). The countries of the region have a very important political and geographical position and an advantageous economic and geographical position.
The countries of the region are very poor in mineral resources. Among the fuel resources, peat is ubiquitous. The richest among the Baltic countries is Estonia, which has reserves of oil shale (Kohtla-Järve) and phosphorites (Maardu). Limestone reserves stand out in Latvia (Brocene). Mineral water springs are famous: Baldone and Valmiera in Latvia, Druskininkai, Birštonas and Pabirže in Lithuania. in Estonia - Häädemeeste. The main wealth of the Baltic States is fish and recreational resources.
In terms of population, the Baltic countries are among the small countries of Europe (see Table 38). The population is distributed relatively evenly, and only on the coast the population density increases slightly.
In all countries of the region, the modern type of reproduction dominates, and everywhere the death rate exceeds the birth rate. The natural population decline is especially high in Latvia (-5% o) and in Estonia (-4% o).
The gender composition, as in most European countries, is dominated by the female population. In terms of the age composition of the population, the Baltic countries can be classified as “aging nations”: in Estonia and Latvia, the share of pensioners exceeds the share of children, and only in Lithuania these figures are equal.
All the Baltic countries have a multinational composition of the population, and only in Lithuania the Lithuanians make up the absolute majority of the population - 82%, while in Latvia the Latvians account for only 55% of the population of the republic. In addition to the indigenous peoples, a lot of the so-called Russian-speaking population lives in the Baltic states: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Poles in Lithuania. The largest share of Russians is in Latvia (30%) and Estonia (28%), however, it is in these countries that the problem of observing the rights of the Russian-speaking population is most acute.
Estonians and Latvians are Protestants by religion, while Lithuanians and Poles are Catholics. The majority of the believing Russian-speaking population consider themselves Orthodox.
The Baltics are characterized by a high level of urbanization: from 67% in Lithuania to 72% in Estonia, but there are no millionaire cities. The largest city in each republic is its capital. Among other cities, it should be noted in Estonia - Tartu, in Latvia - Daugavpils, Jurmala and Liepaja, in Lithuania - Kaunas, Klaipeda and Siauliai.
The structure of employment of the population of the Baltic countries
Table 39

The Baltic countries are provided with highly qualified labor resources. Most of the population in the countries of the region is employed in the non-manufacturing sector (see Table 39).
Emigration of the population prevails in all the Baltic countries: the Russian-speaking population leaves for Russia, Estonians - for Finland, Latvians and Lithuanians - for Germany and the USA.
After the collapse of the USSR, the structure of the economy and the specialization of the Baltic countries changed significantly: the predominance of the manufacturing industry was replaced by the predominance of the service sector, and some branches of precision and transport engineering, light industry, in which the Baltic countries specialized, practically disappeared. At the same time, the importance of agriculture and the food industry increased.
The power industry is of secondary importance in the region (moreover, 83% of Lithuanian electricity is provided by the largest in Europe Ignalina
NPP), ferrous metallurgy, represented by the only center of conversion metallurgy in Liepaja (Latvia).
The branches of industrial specialization of the modern Baltic include: Precision engineering, especially the electrical industry - the production of radio equipment in Estonia (Tallinn), Latvia (Riga) and Lithuania (Kaunas), televisions (Siauliai) and refrigerators (Vilnius) in Lithuania; machine tool building in Lithuania (Vilnius) and ship repair in Latvia (Riga) and Lithuania (Klaipeda). The transport engineering developed in Latvia in Soviet times (production of electric trains and minibuses) has practically ceased to exist; Chemical industry: production of mineral fertilizers (Maardu and Kohtla-Järve in Estonia, Ventspils in Latvia and Jonava in Lithuania), production of chemical fibers (Daugavpils in Latvia and Vilnius in Lithuania), perfume industry (Riga in Latvia) and household chemicals (Tallinn in Estonia and Daugavpils in Latvia); Timber industry, especially furniture and pulp and paper (Tallinn, Tartu and Narva in Estonia, Riga and Jurmala in Latvia, Vilnius and Klaipeda in Lithuania); Light industry: textile (Tallinn and Narva in Estonia, Riga in Latvia, Kaunas and Panevezys in Lithuania), clothing (Tallinn and Riga), knitwear (Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius) and shoe industry (Vilnius and Siachulyai in Lithuania); The food industry, in which a special role is played by dairy and fish (Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, Riga, Liepaja, Klaipeda, Vilnius).
The Baltic countries are characterized by the development of intensive agriculture with a predominance of animal husbandry, where dairy cattle breeding and pig breeding play a leading role. Almost half of the cultivated area is occupied by fodder crops. Rye, barley, potatoes, vegetables, flax are grown everywhere, in Latvia and Lithuania - sugar beets. In terms of agricultural production, Lithuania stands out among the Baltic countries.
The Baltic countries are characterized by a high level of development of the transport system: where road, rail, pipeline and maritime modes of transport stand out. The largest seaports in the region are Tallinn and Pärnu - in Estonia; Riga, Ventspils (oil tanker), Liepaja - in Latvia and Klaipeda - in Lithuania. Estonia has a ferry connection with Finland (Tallinn - Helsinki), and Lithuania - with Germany (Klaipeda - Mukran).
Among the branches of the non-productive sphere, recreational economy is of particular importance. The main tourist and recreational centers of the Baltic States are Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu - in Estonia;
Riga, Jurmala, Tukums and Baldone - in Latvia; Vilnius, Kaunas, Palanga, Trakai, Druskininkai and Birštonas are in Lithuania.
The main foreign economic partners of the Baltic states are the countries of Western Europe (especially Finland, Sweden and Germany), as well as Russia, and the reorientation of foreign trade towards the countries of the West is clearly observed.
The Baltic countries export appliances, radio and electrical equipment, communications equipment, perfumes, household chemicals, forestry, light, dairy and fishing industries.
Imports are dominated by fuel (oil, gas, coal), industrial raw materials (ferrous and non-ferrous metals, apatite, cotton), vehicles, consumer goods.
Questions and tasks Give the economic and geographical characteristics of the Baltic States. What are the factors that determine the specialization of the economy of the Baltic countries. Describe the problems of development of the region. Give the economic and geographical characteristics of Estonia. Give the economic and geographical characteristics of Latvia. Give the economic and geographical characteristics of Lithuania.

Despite the outward similarity of the Baltic countries in political, social and cultural terms, there are many historically determined differences between them.

Lithuanians and Latvians speak the languages ​​of a special Baltic (Letto-Lithuanian) group of the Indo-European language family. Estonian belongs to the Finnish group of the Uralic (Finno-Ugric) family. The closest relatives of Estonians, in terms of origin and language, are the Finns, Karelians, Komi, Mordvins, and Mari.

The Lithuanians are the only one of the Baltic peoples who in the past had experience not only in creating their own state, but also in building a great power. The heyday of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania fell on the XIV-XV centuries, when its possessions stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea and included the main part of modern Belarusian and Ukrainian lands, as well as some Western Russian territories. The Old Russian language (or, as some researchers believe, the Belarusian-Ukrainian language that developed on its basis) was the state language in the principality for a long time. The residence of the great Lithuanian princes in the XIV-XV centuries. the city of Trakai, located among the lakes, often served, then the role of the capital was finally assigned to Vilnius. In the 16th century, Lithuania and Poland concluded a union between themselves, forming a single state - the Commonwealth ("republic").

In the new state, the Polish element turned out to be stronger than the Lithuanian one. Yielding to Lithuania in terms of the size of its possessions, Poland was a more developed and populous country. Unlike the Lithuanian ones, the Polish rulers had a royal title received from the Pope. The nobility of the Grand Duchy adopted the language and customs of the Polish gentry and merged with it. The Lithuanian language remained mainly the language of the peasants. In addition, Lithuanian lands, especially the Vilnius region, were largely subjected to Polish colonization.

After the divisions of the Commonwealth, the territory of Lithuania at the end of the 18th century became part of the Russian Empire. The population of these lands in this period did not separate their fate from their western neighbors and participated in all Polish uprisings. After one of them, Vilnius University was closed by the tsarist government in 1832 (founded in 1579, it was the oldest in the Russian Empire, it would be reopened only in 1919).

The lands of Latvia and Estonia in the Middle Ages were the object of expansion and colonization by Scandinavians and Germans. The coast of Estonia at one time belonged to Denmark. At the mouth of the Daugava River (Western Dvina) and other areas of the Latvian coast at the turn of the 13th century, German knightly orders settled - the Teutonic Order and the Order of the Sword. In 1237 they united into the Livonian Order, which dominated most of the Latvian and Estonian lands until the middle of the 16th century. During this period, the German colonization of the region was going on, the German nobility was formed. The population of the cities also mainly consisted of German merchants and artisans. Many of these cities, including Riga, were part of the Hanseatic League.

In the Livonian War of 1556-1583, the order was defeated with the active participation of Russia, which, however, in the course of further hostilities failed to secure these lands at that time. The possessions of the order were divided between Sweden and the Commonwealth. In the future, Sweden, turning into a great European power, was able to push Poland.

Peter I conquered Estonia and Livonia from Sweden and included them in Russia following the results of the Northern War. The local German nobility, dissatisfied with the policy of "reduction" pursued by the Swedes (confiscation of estates into state property), for the most part willingly swore allegiance and went over to the service of the Russian sovereign.

In the context of the confrontation between Sweden, Poland and Russia in the Baltic states, the Grand Duchy of Courland, which occupied the western and southern part of modern Latvia (Kurzeme), acquired a de facto independent status. In the middle - second half of the 17th century (under Duke Jacob) it experienced its heyday, turning, in particular, into a major maritime power. The duchy at that time even acquired its own overseas colonies - the island of Tobago in the Caribbean Sea and the island of St. Andrew at the mouth of the Gambia River on the African continent. In the first third of the 18th century, the niece of Peter I Anna Ioannovna became the ruler of Courland, who later received the Russian throne. The entry of Courland into the Russian Empire was officially formalized at the end of the 18th century after the divisions of the Commonwealth. The history of the Duchy of Courland is sometimes regarded as one of the roots of Latvian statehood. However, during its existence, the duchy was considered a German state.

The Germans in the Baltic lands were not only the basis of the nobility, but also the majority of the inhabitants of the cities. The Latvian and Estonian population was almost exclusively peasant. The situation began to change in the middle of the 19th century with the development of industry in Livonia and Estonia, in particular with the transformation of Riga into one of the largest industrial centers of the empire.

At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, national movements were formed in the Baltic States, putting forward the slogan of self-determination. Under the conditions of the First World War and the revolution that began in Russia, opportunities were created for its practical implementation. Attempts to proclaim Soviet power in the Baltics were suppressed by both internal and external forces, although the socialist movement in this region was very powerful. The units of the Latvian riflemen who supported the Soviet government (they were formed by the tsarist government to fight the Germans) played a very important role during the Civil War.

As a result of the events of 1918-20. the independence of the three Baltic states was proclaimed, at the same time, for the first time, the modern configuration of their borders took shape (however, Vilnius, the original capital of Lithuania and the area adjacent to it, were captured by Poland in 1920). In the 1920s and 1930s, dictatorial political regimes of an authoritarian type were established in the Baltic republics. The socio-economic situation of the three new states was unstable, which led, in particular, to significant labor migration to Western countries.

Today, the Baltic is a significant region of Northern Europe. One of the most important historical and economic points of the region is Pomorie. This is an administrative and sovereign region, which was previously called the Ostsee Region. Deal with the question: "The Baltics - what are the countries and states?" - Historical and economic reviews of the region will help.

The formation of the region

The very word "Baltic" comes from the name of the sea, on the shores of which the region is located. For a long time, the German and Swedish peoples fought for sole power in the territory. It was they who in the 16th century for the most part made up the population of the Baltic states. Many local residents left the region in search of a quiet life, and conquering families moved in their place. For a while, the region became known as Sveiskaya.

Endless bloody wars ended thanks to Peter I, whose army did not leave even a wet place from the enemy forces of the Swedes. Now the peoples of the Baltic States could sleep peacefully without worrying about tomorrow. The united region began to bear the name of the Ostsee province, which is part of

Many historians are still struggling with the question of what kind of countries the Baltics were at that time. It is difficult to answer it unambiguously, because in the 18th century dozens of peoples with their own culture and traditions lived on the territory. The region was divided into administrative parts, provinces, but there were no states as such. The demarcation took place much later, as evidenced by numerous records in historical documents.

During the First World War, the Baltic states were occupied by German troops. For many years the region remained a German duchy in Russia. And only decades later, the monarchical system began to be divided into bourgeois and capitalist republics.

Accession to the USSR

The Baltic states in their modern form began to form only in the early 1990s. However, the territorial formation took place in the post-war period in the late 1940s. The accession of the Baltic States to the Soviet Union is dated August 1939 under a mutual non-aggression pact between the USSR and the German Republic. The agreement spelled out both the boundaries of the territory and the degree of influence on the economy by the two powers.

Nevertheless, most foreign political scientists and historians are sure that the region was totally occupied by the Soviet authorities. But do they remember, the Baltics - what are the countries and how they were formed? The association includes Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. All these states were formed and formed precisely thanks to the Soviet Union. And yet, Western experts agree that Russia is obliged to pay financial compensation to the Baltic countries for the years of occupation and excesses. The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, insists that the annexation of the region to the USSR did not contradict any canons of international law.

Division of republics

After the collapse of the USSR, many countries gained legalized sovereignty, but the Baltic states gained independence in early 1991. Later, in September, the pact on the new region was reinforced by resolutions of the USSR State Council.

The division of the republics took place peacefully, without political and civil conflicts. Nevertheless, the Baltics themselves consider modern traditions to be a continuation of the state system until 1940, that is, before the occupation by the Soviet Union. To date, a number of resolutions have been signed by the US Senate on the forcible incorporation of the Baltic States into the USSR. Thus, the Western powers are trying to turn the neighboring republics and their citizens against Russia.

In recent years, the conflict has been aggravated by demands for payment of compensation to the Russian Federation for the occupation. It is noteworthy that in these documents the generalized name of the territory "Baltic" appears. What are the real countries? These include today Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. As for the Kaliningrad region, it is part of the Russian Federation to this day.

Geography of the region

The territory of the Baltic States is located on the European Plain. From the north, it is washed by the Gulf of Finland and the eastern border is, and the southwestern - the Polissya lowland. The coast of the region is represented by the Estonian, Courland, Kurgalsky and Sambian peninsulas, as well as the Curonian and Vistula spits. The largest bays are Riga, Finnish and Narva.

The highest cape is Taran (60 meters). A significant part of the coastal border of the region is sand and clay, as well as steep cliffs. One only stretches for 98 kilometers along the Baltic Sea. Its width in some places reaches 3800 m. The local sand dunes are the third largest in the world in terms of volume (6 cubic km). The highest point in the Baltics is Mount Gaizins - more than 310 meters.

Republic of Latvia

The capital of the state is Riga. The location of the republic is Northern Europe. About 2 million people live in the country, despite the fact that the territory of the region covers an area of ​​​​only 64.6 thousand square meters. km. In terms of population, Latvia ranks 147th in the world list. All the peoples of the Baltic States and the USSR are gathered here: Russians, Poles, Belarusians, Jews, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Germans, Gypsies, etc. Naturally, the majority of the population is Latvians (77%).

The state system is a unitary republic, parliament. The region is divided into 119 administrative divisions.

The country's main sources of income are tourism, logistics, banking and the food industry.

Republic of Lithuania

The geographical location of the country is the northern part of Europe. The main city of the republic is Vilnius. It is worth noting that almost half of the population of the Baltic states consists of Lithuanians. About 1.7 million people live in their native state. The total population of the country is just under 3 million.

Lithuania is washed by the Baltic Sea, along which trade ship routes are established. Most of the territory is occupied by plains, fields and forests. There are also more than 3 thousand lakes and small rivers in Lithuania. Due to direct contact with the sea, the climate of the region is unstable, transitional. In summer, the air temperature rarely exceeds +22 degrees. The main source of government revenue is oil and gas production.

Republic of Estonia

It is located on the northern coast of the Baltic Sea. The capital is Tallinn. Most of the territory is washed by the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland. Estonia shares a common border with Russia.

The population of the republic is more than 1.3 million people, of which a third is occupied by Russians. In addition to Estonians and Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Finns, Germans, Lithuanians, Jews, Latvians, Armenians and other peoples live here.

The main source of replenishment of the state treasury is industry. In 2011, the national currency was converted to the euro in Estonia. Today, this parliamentary republic is considered moderately prosperous. GDP per person is about 21 thousand euros.

Kaliningrad region

This region has a unique geographical location. The fact is that this subject, which belongs to the Russian Federation, has no common borders with the country. It is located in the north of Europe in the Baltic region. It is the administrative center of Russia. It occupies an area of ​​15.1 thousand square meters. km. The population does not even reach a million - 969 thousand people.

The region borders on Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. It is considered the westernmost point of Russia.

The main economic sources are the extraction of oil, coal, peat, amber, as well as the electrical industry.

Fedorov G.M., Korneevets V.S.

General information

The Baltic states in Russian literature are traditionally understood as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. This territory was inhabited by humans relatively recently, about 10 thousand years ago, after the retreat of the glacier. It is impossible to determine the ethnicity of the first inhabitants of the region, but, presumably, by the 3rd millennium BC, this territory was occupied by Finno-Ugric peoples of the Altai language family, who came here from the east. At this time, the process of resettlement of Indo-European peoples began in Europe, which included the Balto-Slavs, who migrated to the territories north of the Carpathians from the general area of ​​​​settlement of Indo-Europeans in the northern Black Sea region. By the beginning of our era, the Baltic tribes that separated from a single Balto-Slavic community settled the entire southern Baltic, including the southeastern coast of the Gulf of Riga, assimilating or pushing the Finno-Ugric peoples to the north. From the Baltic tribes settled in the Baltic states, the Lithuanian and Latvian peoples later consolidated, and then the nations, from the Finno-Ugric peoples the Estonian people formed and later the nation.

The national composition of the population of the Baltic States

A significant part of the population of the Baltic states are Russians. They have long inhabited the shores of Lake Peipus and Pskov and the Narva River. In the 17th century, during the religious schism, the Old Believers migrated to the Baltic states. But the main part of the Russians living here moved during the period when the Baltic states were part of the Russian Empire and the USSR. Currently, the number and proportion of the Russian population is declining in all the Baltic countries. By 1996, compared with 1989, the number of Russians decreased in Lithuania by 38 thousand people (by 11%), in Latvia by 91 thousand (by 10%), in Estonia by 54 thousand (by 11. 4%). And the outflow of the Russian population continues.

The Baltic states have a number of common features in their economic and geographical position, natural conditions, history, structure and level of economic development. They are located on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, on the adjacent marginal area of ​​the East European (Russian) Plain. For a long time this territory served as an object of struggle between the powerful powers of Europe and now continues to be a zone of contact between Western European and Russian civilizations. After leaving the Soviet Union in 1991

During the Soviet period, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, together with the Kaliningrad region, were included by the planning bodies of the USSR in the Baltic economic region. Attempts were made to integrate their national economy into a single complex. Some results of cooperation between individual industries, for example, in the fishing industry, in the formation of a unified energy system, etc., have been achieved. However, internal production ties did not become so close and branched out that one could speak of an integral territorial-production complex of the Baltic states. We could talk about such common features as the proximity of national economic specialization, the similarity of the role in the all-Union territorial division of labor, the higher standard of living of the population compared to the average Union. That is, there were socio-economic differences between the region and other parts of the country, but not its internal unity.

The Baltic republics differed from other parts of the USSR in ethno-cultural terms, but at the same time they had very little in common with each other. For example, unlike most of the Soviet Union, where the alphabet is based on the Cyrillic alphabet, on their territory the autochthonous population uses the Latin alphabet, but it is used for three different languages. Or, for example, believing Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians are most often not Orthodox, like Russians, but differ in religion and among themselves: Lithuanians are Catholics, while Latvians and Estonians are predominantly Protestants (Lutherans).

After leaving the USSR, the Baltic states are trying to implement measures of economic integration. However, their economic structures are so close that they are more like competitors in the struggle for foreign markets than partners in economic cooperation. In particular, servicing Russia's foreign economic relations through the Baltic ports is of great importance for the economies of the three countries (Fig. 6).

The Russian market is extremely important for the sale of food products, light industry products and other consumer goods, the production of which is developed in the Baltics. At the same time, the trade turnover between Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is insignificant.

The share of the other two Baltic countries in the trade turnover of Lithuania and Estonia in 1995 was 7%, Latvia - 10%. In addition to the similarity of manufactured products, its development is hampered by the limited size of the markets of the Baltic States, which are small in terms of territory, population and economic potential (Table 6).

Table 6

General information about the Baltic States

Sources: The Baltic States: Comparative Statistics, 1996. Riga, 1997; http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/lg.html

Lithuania has the largest territory, population and GDP among the three countries, Latvia is in second place, and Estonia is third. However, in terms of economic development, as follows from a comparison of GDP and population, Estonia is ahead of other Baltic countries. Comparative data, taking into account the purchasing power parity of currencies, are given in Table 7.

Table 7

Gross domestic product in the Baltic States,

taking into account the purchasing power of currencies, 1996

Source: http://www.odci.go/cia/publications/factbook/lg.html

Rice. 7. The main trading partners of the Baltic States

The natural conditions of the Baltic states, while having a general similarity, also have some differences. Taking into account the whole complex of factors, they are most favorable in the south of Lithuania, the least favorable - in the northernmost republic - Estonia.

The relief of the Baltics is flat, mostly low-lying. The average surface height above sea level is 50 meters in Estonia, 90 meters in Latvia, and 100 meters in Lithuania. Only a few hills in Latvia and Estonia slightly exceed 300 meters, and in Lithuania they do not even reach it. The surface is composed of glacial deposits, which form numerous deposits of building minerals - clays, sands, sand and gravel mixtures, etc.

The climate of the Baltics is moderately warm, moderately humid, belongs to the Atlantic-continental region of the temperate zone, transitional from the maritime climate of Western Europe to the temperate continental climate of Eastern Europe. It is largely determined by the western transfer of air masses from the Atlantic Ocean, so that in winter the isotherms take a meridional direction, and the average January temperature for most of the Baltic territory is -5 ° (from -3 in the western coastal part to -7 in remote from the sea). areas). Average July temperatures range from 16-17° in the north of Estonia to 17-18° in the south-east of the region. The annual rainfall is 500-800 mm. The duration of the growing season increases from north to south and is 110-120 days in northern Estonia and 140-150 days in southern Lithuania.

The soils are predominantly soddy-podzolic, while in Estonia they are soddy-calcareous and bog-podzolic. They do not have enough humus and require the introduction of a large amount of fertilizer, and due to frequent waterlogging - drainage work. Liming is necessary for acidic soils.

The vegetation belongs to the zone of mixed forests with a predominance of pine, spruce, birch. The largest forest cover (45%) is in Latvia and Estonia, the smallest (30%) is in Lithuania, which is the most developed in terms of agriculture. The territory of Estonia is heavily swamped: swamps cover 20% of its surface.

In terms of the degree of economic development of the territory, Lithuania ranks first, and Estonia ranks last (Table 8).

Table 8

The degree of economic development of the Baltic states

Compared to the European countries located to the south, the level of development of the territory of the Baltic states is lower. Thus, Lithuania, which has the highest population density among the Baltic republics - 55 people. per sq. kilometer, twice inferior in this indicator to Poland and four times to Germany. At the same time, this is much more than in the Russian Federation (8 people per square kilometer).

From the data in Table 8, we can also draw a conclusion about the ongoing reduction in sown areas in Estonia, and especially in Latvia. This is one of the consequences of the changes in the economy that are taking place in the Baltics after the collapse of the USSR and the beginning of the transformational processes of transition from a directive to a market economy. Not all of these changes are positive. Thus, by 1997, none of the Baltic republics had reached the level of production of the 1990 gross national product. Lithuania and Estonia have come close to it, Latvia is more behind than others. But, unlike the rest of the former republics of the USSR, in the Baltic states since 1994 the growth of the gross national product began. The standard of living of the population is also rising.