Lithuania decided to use its veto on cooperation with Russia

[Yalta1945]

I am glad to see a change in your barbaric attitude to international law. President Medvedev claims his country actions to be in comply with international law. He did not say or imply we should dismiss international law, while you wrote there were “just interests and opportunities” (on 27 Sep 2008).<...>

I havent changed my attitude. <...> Of course everyone will try to follow international law, as long as it is in thier interests. Opportunity arises and international law misteriusly fails. Sovereignity becomes not so much important and territoryal integrity no main value. And then it backs to norm untill next opportunity.

Given this kind of description for international law, why should anyone bother about any EU agreement with Russia? You say Russia may not fulfill its obligations if it sees an “opportunity”. Europeans will be fooled.

You are not fair saying there are no rules. Without rules all international business would stop immediately

Of course there are. Are they working good? There must be rules for ALL, not just for those who is not strong enough to ignore them.

Some rules reflect the fact that international relations are quite different from relations between individuals within a single state. Look at the UN Security Council. Russia is certainly one of those states that are “more equal”. However, there are the rules to be followed by all, and Russia violates those rules.
Russia looks on some of its sovereign neighbours as if they were protectorates of Russia.

[Yalta1945]

We have a friend who used to live in Serbia. He grew up in Novi Sad. He now lives in the EU and remembers his past in Yugoslavia as the lost paradise. This paradise seems to be lost because of too big ambitions certain politicians in Yugoslavia used to have. We should not forget it. Although Russia has never been a paradise, you may also regret in the future of something lost because of your leaders’ ambitions.
Milosevic and Saddam were the evil and Russia was not among those powers that cared much of that. Not only Kuwait but Iraqis themselves and even America’s opponent Iran experienced Saddam’s evil in practice as well. Almost unconditional support of Milosevic by Russia was immoral. What policy did he implement? The elements of fascisms were set up under his command and German minister Joschka Fischer said we could not tolerate new fascism in Europe. It’s stunning this argument does not reach ears of those who still want the world to see their country as the most fervent fighter against fascism in WW II.

Dont worry about us we should be alright. Russia is not a country that could be invaded like Serbia or Iraq.
US and NATO spread good than? I think you already know that serbs think otherwise ( you call them fascists? that is too much. Better turn your attention to former nazi soldiers parades in some eastern european countries

Genocide, ethnic cleansing, concentration camps – these were the products of Milosevic so vehemently supported by Russia. You can just serf the internet to find information about real human tragedy in the former Yugoslavia.
What “nazi soldiers parades” are you talking about? You should be more specific.
If you googled for “fascism in Russia”, you would find a lot of information you should be worried about.

With all criticism (not yours,SiD) of the US, I do not forget the history. I can imagine what would happen to Europe if the US disengaged from Europe completely. With all criticism of Bush, I was pleasantly surprised to hear in his speech in Riga the re-evaluation of the decisions the leading powers made to shape the world order after the end of the WWII. In the future, democratic countries should be ashamed of neglecting the smaller states in such agreements as Yalta 1945, and if Russia is ever going to turn into a truly democratic state, its people will sooner or later see how wrong their state used to be internationally, too. But the present is far away from this dream. I hope other Europeans are not absolutely blind as to see no danger in the shift Russia is making both domestically and internationally. Unfortunately, the world paid more attention to Georgia when only its parts were occupied by Russia, although Russia had followed its aggressive politics long before that.

[SiD]

Given this kind of description for international law, why should anyone bother about any EU agreement with Russia? You say Russia may not fulfill its obligations if it sees an “opportunity”. Europeans will be fooled.

Gain must be worth the cost dont forget that.

Some rules reflect the fact that international relations are quite different from relations between individuals within a single state. Look at the UN Security Council. Russia is certainly one of those states that are “more equal”. However, there are the rules to be followed by all, and Russia violates those rules.
Russia looks on some of its sovereign neighbours as if they were protectorates of Russia.

Exactly what rules you think are violated?

[SiD]

Genocide, ethnic cleansing, concentration camps – these were the products of Milosevic so vehemently supported by Russia. You can just serf the internet to find information about real human tragedy in the former Yugoslavia.
What “nazi soldiers parades” are you talking about? You should be more specific.
If you googled for “fascism in Russia”, you would find a lot of information you should be worried about.

You think serbs are evil and all others were good? Word terror dont impress you i think.

Check aout Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia for former nazi.

i am worried about nazi in Russia. This is problem and it must be dealt with.

[Yalta1945]

Genocide, ethnic cleansing, concentration camps – these were the products of Milosevic so vehemently supported by Russia. You can just serf the internet to find information about real human tragedy in the former Yugoslavia.
What “nazi soldiers parades” are you talking about? You should be more specific.
If you googled for “fascism in Russia”, you would find a lot of information you should be worried about.

You think serbs are evil and all others were good? Word terror dont impress you i think.

Check aout Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia for former nazi.

i am worried about nazi in Russia. This is problem and it must be dealt with.

Lithuania has nothing to do with former nazi soldiers parades.
It's the same lie as the earlier fairy-tales about the squads of the "White Stockings" :lol: - the Lithunian or other Baltic female suicide killers fighting against Russians in Chechnya. What kind of people live in the contemporary Russia if they can be taken in by such stuff? Similarly, I could advise you to take care of packs of white bears dangerously roaring on the Red Square in Moscow. :lol:
As for Latvia and Estonia, it is misinterpretation at best (explainable by misinformation or lack of all the relevant information on Latvia and Estonia) but it can in some cases be Goebbels style propaganda welcomed by Russia’s “3D policy” - discredit, destabilize, and divide the Baltic States.
-----------------
Do you say Milosevic's politics was not an evil?

[SiD]

Lithuania has nothing to do with former nazi soldiers parades.
It's the same lie as the earlier fairy-tales about the squads of the "White Stockings" :lol: - the Lithunian or other Baltic female suicide killers fighting against Russians in Chechnya. What kind of people live in the contemporary Russia if they can be taken in by such stuff? Similarly, I could advise you to take care of packs of white bears dangerously roaring on the Red Square in Moscow. :lol:
As for Latvia and Estonia, it is misinterpretation at best (explainable by misinformation or lack of all the relevant information on Latvia and Estonia) but it can in some cases be Goebbels style propaganda welcomed by Russia’s “3D policy” - discredit, destabilize, and divide the Baltic States.
-----------------
Do you say Milosevic's politics was not an evil?

I havent heard anything about "White Stockings". And about baltic females in Chechnia too. And what do you have agains white bears on the Red squere? . they are funny feiendly animals. .Drinking vodka, dancing and playing balalaika.
Parhaps they have nothing to do with parades i just briefly cheked if they had former nazi.
Of course if there is even minor problem in Russia whole europe can see it but if problem is inside EU it is just prapoganda, misunderstanding and so on. I got your logick.

Serbian people will decide if Milosovic is evil or not. You think serbs acted like they acted just becouse they are bad in nature? I think no one cared, they needed excuse and they created one. Western mass media shown serbs as bloothirsty monsters ignoring crimes from other side. And granting independance to Kosovo was great mistake. Why is it done? becouse Milosovic politics was evil?

[Yalta1945]

Lithuania has nothing to do with former nazi soldiers parades.
It's the same lie as the earlier fairy-tales about the squads of the "White Stockings" :lol: - the Lithunian or other Baltic female suicide killers fighting against Russians in Chechnya. What kind of people live in the contemporary Russia if they can be taken in by such stuff? Similarly, I could advise you to take care of packs of white bears dangerously roaring on the Red Square in Moscow. :lol:
As for Latvia and Estonia, it is misinterpretation at best (explainable by misinformation or lack of all the relevant information on Latvia and Estonia) but it can in some cases be Goebbels style propaganda welcomed by Russia’s “3D policy” - discredit, destabilize, and divide the Baltic States.
-----------------
Do you say Milosevic's politics was not an evil?

I havent heard anything about "White Stockings". And about baltic females in Chechnia too. And what do you have agains white bears on the Red squere? . they are funny feiendly animals. .Drinking vodka, dancing and playing balalaika.
Parhaps they have nothing to do with parades i just briefly cheked if they had former nazi.
Of course if there is even minor problem in Russia whole europe can see it but if problem is inside EU it is just prapoganda, misunderstanding and so on. I got your logick.

I don’t know why we should prove we are not camels. The pro-Kremlin propaganda just repeats again and again as if we are camels, and we have to prove we are not. I’ve already mentioned there is nothing in the politics of the Baltic States that shows any sympathy to Nazism.
In general, the three Baltic States were not parts in the WW II. They were occupied by the Soviets, then by Nazi Germany, and then by the Soviets again. Actually, Nazis were tried in court in Lithuania in 1934, while the Soviets collaborated with them until 1941.
Now Russia exploits the historical fact that some Latvians and Estonians after the first Soviet occupation put on German uniforms to defend their homeland in fight against the Soviets. As much as their actions were motivated more by their patriotism than anything else they are remembered in Latvia and Estonia. In any case, there is no ground to talk of “parades” now. E.g., on the 16th of March, 2008, a group of people simply laid flowers at the Freedom monument in Riga and in a cemetery to the memory of those who died in the fight – no “parades” took place, no Nazi symbols were exposed.
I understand how it is easy nowadays to equal a man in the uniform of a Nazi German soldier to fascism and holocaust; however we should be fair in evaluating people’s true motivation in their real situation in the Baltic States in 1941. I know very well so many Russians were just unaware of those atrocities their government committed in the Baltic Sates. The same goes true about Latvians and Estonians being ignorant of the nature of the Nazi regime in Germany and its politics of Holocaust.
Moreover, the Baltic “legionnaires” refused to fight against British, French, and American soldiers, they fought only against Soviets, and they did not participate in executing civilians. Those who specially studied this case of history concluded that their ideology, goals, motivation, and military qualification were different from those of similarly named divisions of other Nazi German troops.
Some ethnical Lithuanians, Latvians or Estonians participated in Holocaust under German command – it’s their individual responsibility. And for local Jews or persons of any other national origins who participated in the Soviet genocide – it’s their individual responsibility. Only Soviet and Nazi German occupations made such crimes possible. Before 1940 it was nothing comparable to those crimes. You may say there was a tension between Jews and Lithuanians before WW II, but the tension was contained.
Nazism is strongly condemned in the Baltic States, and this fact matters most today. Occupations and the war inflicted enormous human loss for the Baltic States, and the victims of holocaust are remembered as an exceptionally important part of this terrible loss.

Serbian people will decide if Milosovic is evil or not. You think serbs acted like they acted just becouse they are bad in nature? I think no one cared, they needed excuse and they created one. Western mass media shown serbs as bloothirsty monsters ignoring crimes from other side. And granting independance to Kosovo was great mistake. Why is it done? becouse Milosovic politics was evil?

I remember very well what was going on in Yugoslavia as I was working with that information. Something urgent had to be done to stop Milosevic. Kosovo independence was not then on the agenda.

[SiD]

I don’t know why we should prove we are not camels. The pro-Kremlin propaganda just repeats again and again as if we are camels, and we have to prove we are not. I’ve already mentioned there is nothing in the politics of the Baltic States that shows any sympathy to Nazism.
In general, the three Baltic States were not parts in the WW II. They were occupied by the Soviets, then by Nazi Germany, and then by the Soviets again. Actually, Nazis were tried in court in Lithuania in 1934, while the Soviets collaborated with them until 1941.
Now Russia exploits the historical fact that some Latvians and Estonians after the first Soviet occupation put on German uniforms to defend their homeland in fight against the Soviets. As much as their actions were motivated more by their patriotism than anything else they are remembered in Latvia and Estonia. In any case, there is no ground to talk of “parades” now. E.g., on the 16th of March, 2008, a group of people simply laid flowers at the Freedom monument in Riga and in a cemetery to the memory of those who died in the fight – no “parades” took place, no Nazi symbols were exposed.
I understand how it is easy nowadays to equal a man in the uniform of a Nazi German soldier to fascism and holocaust; however we should be fair in evaluating people’s true motivation in their real situation in the Baltic States in 1941. I know very well so many Russians were just unaware of those atrocities their government committed in the Baltic Sates. The same goes true about Latvians and Estonians being ignorant of the nature of the Nazi regime in Germany and its politics of Holocaust.
Moreover, the Baltic “legionnaires” refused to fight against British, French, and American soldiers, they fought only against Soviets, and they did not participate in executing civilians. Those who specially studied this case of history concluded that their ideology, goals, motivation, and military qualification were different from those of similarly named divisions of other Nazi German troops.
Some ethnical Lithuanians, Latvians or Estonians participated in Holocaust under German command – it’s their individual responsibility. And for local Jews or persons of any other national origins who participated in the Soviet genocide – it’s their individual responsibility. Only Soviet and Nazi German occupations made such crimes possible. Before 1940 it was nothing comparable to those crimes. You may say there was a tension between Jews and Lithuanians before WW II, but the tension was contained.
Nazism is strongly condemned in the Baltic States, and this fact matters most today. Occupations and the war inflicted enormous human loss for the Baltic States, and the victims of holocaust are remembered as an exceptionally important part of this terrible loss.

That is funny. They just put german uniforms, taken german or other countrys monufactured weapon and starting to fight for nazi whos invasion costed Soviet people tens millions of lives. Parhaps should we appologies that we fought against such patriots (or camels?) ? Was every german soldier killed in that war nazi? And i know how they are mourning "all" losses of WW2. Check the web and you can find that there is some memory they want to destroy and that is what important to me. Of course they cant officially suport nazi that is too much. And Sovet Union is nothing like nazi Germany that is important either.

I remember very well what was going on in Yugoslavia as I was working with that information. Something urgent had to be done to stop Milosevic. Kosovo independence was not then on the agenda.

By something urgent you mean bombings and killing innocent people? Yeah SOMETHING was done. And what changed in agenda if Kosovo is recognized as independent by many countries? Parhaps you havent noticed true agenda? Or it shifts so quickly?

[Yalta1945]

I remember very well what was going on in Yugoslavia as I was working with that information. Something urgent had to be done to stop Milosevic. Kosovo independence was not then on the agenda.

By something urgent you mean bombings and killing innocent people? Yeah SOMETHING was done. And what changed in agenda if Kosovo is recognized as independent by many countries? Parhaps you havent noticed true agenda? Or it shifts so quickly?

Now I see where the support for genocide in Balkans comes from. You’re as dangerous as in 1939.

[Yalta1945]

<...> I’ve already mentioned there is nothing in the politics of the Baltic States that shows any sympathy to Nazism.
In general, the three Baltic States were not parts in the WW II. They were occupied by the Soviets, then by Nazi Germany, and then by the Soviets again. Actually, Nazis were tried in court in Lithuania in 1934, while the Soviets collaborated with them until 1941.
Now Russia exploits the historical fact that some Latvians and Estonians after the first Soviet occupation put on German uniforms to defend their homeland in fight against the Soviets. As much as their actions were motivated more by their patriotism than anything else they are remembered in Latvia and Estonia. In any case, there is no ground to talk of “parades” now. E.g., on the 16th of March, 2008, a group of people simply laid flowers at the Freedom monument in Riga and in a cemetery to the memory of those who died in the fight – no “parades” took place, no Nazi symbols were exposed.
I understand how it is easy nowadays to equal a man in the uniform of a Nazi German soldier to fascism and holocaust; however we should be fair in evaluating people’s true motivation in their real situation in the Baltic States in 1941. I know very well so many Russians were just unaware of those atrocities their government committed in the Baltic Sates. The same goes true about Latvians and Estonians being ignorant of the nature of the Nazi regime in Germany and its politics of Holocaust.
Moreover, the Baltic “legionnaires” refused to fight against British, French, and American soldiers, they fought only against Soviets, and they did not participate in executing civilians. Those who specially studied this case of history concluded that their ideology, goals, motivation, and military qualification were different from those of similarly named divisions of other Nazi German troops.
Some ethnical Lithuanians, Latvians or Estonians participated in Holocaust under German command – it’s their individual responsibility. And for local Jews or persons of any other national origins who participated in the Soviet genocide – it’s their individual responsibility. Only Soviet and Nazi German occupations made such crimes possible. Before 1940 it was nothing comparable to those crimes. You may say there was a tension between Jews and Lithuanians before WW II, but the tension was contained.
Nazism is strongly condemned in the Baltic States, and this fact matters most today. Occupations and the war inflicted enormous human loss for the Baltic States, and the victims of holocaust are remembered as an exceptionally important part of this terrible loss.

That is funny. They just put german uniforms, taken german or other countrys monufactured weapon and starting to fight for nazi whos invasion costed Soviet people tens millions of lives. Parhaps should we appologies that we fought against such patriots (or camels?) ? Was every german soldier killed in that war nazi? And i know how they are mourning "all" losses of WW2. Check the web and you can find that there is some memory they want to destroy and that is what important to me. Of course they cant officially suport nazi that is too much. And Sovet Union is nothing like nazi Germany that is important either?

You are a shameless liar, if you say that (and I don’t find it “funny”).
It was the Soviet Union who invaded Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In the places where the Soviet aggressors faced the weakest resistance – in the Baltic States – they were most cruel and barbaric.It was genocide.In Lithuania alone, in 1940 the Soviets deported tens of thousands of people – including children, women, and the elderly to the most severe regions of permafrost in Russia to the conditions were they had to strive very hard just not to die during the very first winter. The Soviets killed and imprisoned a lot of people for the reason the free world could hardly understand.
What should you then expect people to do when Germans came to the Baltic States in 1941? Some Estonians and Latvians formed separate divisions (although they formally were the part of German forces) for the only purpose to fight the Soviets and defend their homeland against the reoccupation of the Soviets whose horrible atrocities their nations had experienced in 1940-1941. They did not participate in executions and refused to be sent against Americans, British, and French. Most of them died in Estonia and Latvia, when the Soviets advanced. Lithuanians didn’t follow Latvians and Estonians, and they spared their people to be able to exercise a much stronger armed resistance after the WW II.
For the tremendous Russian human losses during the WW II, blame just Stalin’s terror in the USSR preceding 1941, when a lot of the very best Russian military and non-military specialists were destroyed as well as Stalin’s aggressive plans which meant that the military strategy was prepared for offensive war, not a defensive one the USSR would be forced to fight in reality.
It is a known fact that Stalin cooperated with Hitler until Germany lunched a surprise war against the USSR, and NKVD cooperated with Gestapo, and taught its staff. The Soviet Union helped Nazi Germany to instigate the Holocaust.
A new film about Nazi-Soviet links - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11401983">http://www.economist.com/world/europe/d ... d=11401983</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sovietstory.com/about-the-film/photos/">http://www.sovietstory.com/about-the-film/photos/</a><!-- m -->

This is the way the Soviet „liberators“ acted:
On 14 December Kurkliečių village in Svėdasų District was nihilated. Algis Mateikis, a 3-year old boy, and her 4-year old sister Nijolė were thrown into fire and burnt alive. 70-year and 80-year old people were killed as well. All this was done by the Soviet soldiers.

This is the way some of your „Soviet people” behaved (more like cannibals, not people!):

“Of these massive burnings, especially widely known are the massacres organised on
23 December 1944 in the Panemunės Dzukija (southern Lithuanian) villages of Klepočiai, Ryliškiai, Lizdai, etc, which massacres were organised by two battalions of the 331st and 86th Frontier Regiments led by operatives, who had come from Vilnius. Sent due to the insubordination of the inhabitants of Dzukija, their ignoring of the occupation authorities, and refusing to enlist in the army, the occupiers during several days shot about 40 people (A part of these were burned in their cottages.) and burned down about 50 cottages24. The 13th Frontier Regiment organised no smaller a cottage burning and murder bacchanalia on 18-21 December 1944 in Čekiškės locality, Kaunas County, where 56 people were murdered and 29 cottages burned down. (In another report, it was written that 46 “bandit cottages” were burned down.) The same regiment on 22 December in
Vilkija District shot 16 people and burned down 9 cottages25. On 22 December 1944 in Meleišiškės
village in Troškūnai locality 12 people were murdered and 4 houses burned down.”
Supression Of Armed Resistance. Use And Role Of Military And Paramilitary Units.
The Chekist Army And Stribai <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.komisija.lt/Files/www.komisija.lt/File/Tyrimu_baze/II%20Sovietine%20okupacija%20I%20etapas/Nusikaltimai/Ginkluotos%20rezistencijos%20slopinimas/J.%20Starkauskas.%20Cekistine%20kariuomene%20ir%20stribai/ENG/Starkausko%20darbas%20english.pdf">http://www.komisija.lt/Files/www.komisi ... nglish.pdf</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sovietstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/katyn-decorated.gif">http://www.sovietstory.com/wp-content/u ... orated.gif</a><!-- m -->
Soviet officers who shot more than 20 000 unarmed people were decorated.

[SiD]

You are a shameless liar, if you say that (and I don’t find it “funny”).
It was the Soviet Union who invaded Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In the places where the Soviet aggressors faced the weakest resistance – in the Baltic States – they were most cruel and barbaric.It was genocide.In Lithuania alone, in 1940 the Soviets deported tens of thousands of people – including children, women, and the elderly to the most severe regions of permafrost in Russia to the conditions were they had to strive very hard just not to die during the very first winter. The Soviets killed and imprisoned a lot of people for the reason the free world could hardly understand.
What should you then expect people to do when Germans came to the Baltic States in 1941? Some Estonians and Latvians formed separate divisions (although they formally were the part of German forces) for the only purpose to fight the Soviets and defend their homeland against the reoccupation of the Soviets whose horrible atrocities their nations had experienced in 1940-1941. They did not participate in executions and refused to be sent against Americans, British, and French. Most of them died in Estonia and Latvia, when the Soviets advanced. Lithuanians didn’t follow Latvians and Estonians, and they spared their people to be able to exercise a much stronger armed resistance after the WW II.
For the tremendous Russian human losses during the WW II, blame just Stalin’s terror in the USSR preceding 1941, when a lot of the very best Russian military and non-military specialists were destroyed as well as Stalin’s aggressive plans which meant that the military strategy was prepared for offensive war, not a defensive one the USSR would be forced to fight in reality.
It is a known fact that Stalin cooperated with Hitler until Germany lunched a surprise war against the USSR, and NKVD cooperated with Gestapo, and taught its staff. The Soviet Union helped Nazi Germany to instigate the Holocaust.
A new film about Nazi-Soviet links - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.economist.com/world/europe/d">http://www.economist.com/world/europe/d</a><!-- m --> ... d=11401983
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sovietstory.com/about-the-film/photos/">http://www.sovietstory.com/about-the-film/photos/</a><!-- m -->

This is the way the Soviet „liberators“ acted:
On 14 December Kurkliečių village in Svėdasų District was nihilated. Algis Mateikis, a 3-year old boy, and her 4-year old sister Nijolė were thrown into fire and burnt alive. 70-year and 80-year old people were killed as well. All this was done by the Soviet soldiers.

This is the way some of your „Soviet people” behaved (more like cannibals, not people!):

“Of these massive burnings, especially widely known are the massacres organised on
23 December 1944 in the Panemunės Dzukija (southern Lithuanian) villages of Klepočiai, Ryliškiai, Lizdai, etc, which massacres were organised by two battalions of the 331st and 86th Frontier Regiments led by operatives, who had come from Vilnius. Sent due to the insubordination of the inhabitants of Dzukija, their ignoring of the occupation authorities, and refusing to enlist in the army, the occupiers during several days shot about 40 people (A part of these were burned in their cottages.) and burned down about 50 cottages24. The 13th Frontier Regiment organised no smaller a cottage burning and murder bacchanalia on 18-21 December 1944 in Čekiškės locality, Kaunas County, where 56 people were murdered and 29 cottages burned down. (In another report, it was written that 46 “bandit cottages” were burned down.) The same regiment on 22 December in
Vilkija District shot 16 people and burned down 9 cottages25. On 22 December 1944 in Meleišiškės
village in Troškūnai locality 12 people were murdered and 4 houses burned down.”
Supression Of Armed Resistance. Use And Role Of Military And Paramilitary Units.
The Chekist Army And Stribai <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.komisija.lt/Files/www.komisi">http://www.komisija.lt/Files/www.komisi</a><!-- m --> ... nglish.pdf
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sovietstory.com/wp-content/u">http://www.sovietstory.com/wp-content/u</a><!-- m --> ... orated.gif
Soviet officers who shot more than 20 000 unarmed people were decorated.

<...> I’ve already mentioned there is nothing in the politics of the Baltic States that shows any sympathy to Nazism.
In general, the three Baltic States were not parts in the WW II. They were occupied by the Soviets, then by Nazi Germany, and then by the Soviets again. Actually, Nazis were tried in court in Lithuania in 1934, while the Soviets collaborated with them until 1941.
Now Russia exploits the historical fact that some Latvians and Estonians after the first Soviet occupation put on German uniforms to defend their homeland in fight against the Soviets. As much as their actions were motivated more by their patriotism than anything else they are remembered in Latvia and Estonia. In any case, there is no ground to talk of “parades” now. E.g., on the 16th of March, 2008, a group of people simply laid flowers at the Freedom monument in Riga and in a cemetery to the memory of those who died in the fight – no “parades” took place, no Nazi symbols were exposed.
I understand how it is easy nowadays to equal a man in the uniform of a Nazi German soldier to fascism and holocaust; however we should be fair in evaluating people’s true motivation in their real situation in the Baltic States in 1941. I know very well so many Russians were just unaware of those atrocities their government committed in the Baltic Sates. The same goes true about Latvians and Estonians being ignorant of the nature of the Nazi regime in Germany and its politics of Holocaust.
Moreover, the Baltic “legionnaires” refused to fight against British, French, and American soldiers, they fought only against Soviets, and they did not participate in executing civilians. Those who specially studied this case of history concluded that their ideology, goals, motivation, and military qualification were different from those of similarly named divisions of other Nazi German troops.
Some ethnical Lithuanians, Latvians or Estonians participated in Holocaust under German command – it’s their individual responsibility. And for local Jews or persons of any other national origins who participated in the Soviet genocide – it’s their individual responsibility. Only Soviet and Nazi German occupations made such crimes possible. Before 1940 it was nothing comparable to those crimes. You may say there was a tension between Jews and Lithuanians before WW II, but the tension was contained.
Nazism is strongly condemned in the Baltic States, and this fact matters most today. Occupations and the war inflicted enormous human loss for the Baltic States, and the victims of holocaust are remembered as an exceptionally important part of this terrible loss.

That is funny. They just put german uniforms, taken german or other countrys monufactured weapon and starting to fight for nazi whos invasion costed Soviet people tens millions of lives. Parhaps should we appologies that we fought against such patriots (or camels?) ? Was every german soldier killed in that war nazi? And i know how they are mourning "all" losses of WW2. Check the web and you can find that there is some memory they want to destroy and that is what important to me. Of course they cant officially suport nazi that is too much. And Sovet Union is nothing like nazi Germany that is important either?

You are a shameless liar, if you say that (and I don’t find it “funny”).
It was the Soviet Union who invaded Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In the places where the Soviet aggressors faced the weakest resistance – in the Baltic States – they were most cruel and barbaric.It was genocide.In Lithuania alone, in 1940 the Soviets deported tens of thousands of people – including children, women, and the elderly to the most severe regions of permafrost in Russia to the conditions were they had to strive very hard just not to die during the very first winter. The Soviets killed and imprisoned a lot of people for the reason the free world could hardly understand.
What should you then expect people to do when Germans came to the Baltic States in 1941? Some Estonians and Latvians formed separate divisions (although they formally were the part of German forces) for the only purpose to fight the Soviets and defend their homeland against the reoccupation of the Soviets whose horrible atrocities their nations had experienced in 1940-1941. They did not participate in executions and refused to be sent against Americans, British, and French. Most of them died in Estonia and Latvia, when the Soviets advanced. Lithuanians didn’t follow Latvians and Estonians, and they spared their people to be able to exercise a much stronger armed resistance after the WW II.
For the tremendous Russian human losses during the WW II, blame just Stalin’s terror in the USSR preceding 1941, when a lot of the very best Russian military and non-military specialists were destroyed as well as Stalin’s aggressive plans which meant that the military strategy was prepared for offensive war, not a defensive one the USSR would be forced to fight in reality.
It is a known fact that Stalin cooperated with Hitler until Germany lunched a surprise war against the USSR, and NKVD cooperated with Gestapo, and taught its staff. The Soviet Union helped Nazi Germany to instigate the Holocaust.
A new film about Nazi-Soviet links - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11401983">http://www.economist.com/world/europe/d ... d=11401983</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sovietstory.com/about-the-film/photos/">http://www.sovietstory.com/about-the-film/photos/</a><!-- m -->

This is the way the Soviet „liberators“ acted:
On 14 December Kurkliečių village in Svėdasų District was nihilated. Algis Mateikis, a 3-year old boy, and her 4-year old sister Nijolė were thrown into fire and burnt alive. 70-year and 80-year old people were killed as well. All this was done by the Soviet soldiers.

This is the way some of your „Soviet people” behaved (more like cannibals, not people!):

“Of these massive burnings, especially widely known are the massacres organised on
23 December 1944 in the Panemunės Dzukija (southern Lithuanian) villages of Klepočiai, Ryliškiai, Lizdai, etc, which massacres were organised by two battalions of the 331st and 86th Frontier Regiments led by operatives, who had come from Vilnius. Sent due to the insubordination of the inhabitants of Dzukija, their ignoring of the occupation authorities, and refusing to enlist in the army, the occupiers during several days shot about 40 people (A part of these were burned in their cottages.) and burned down about 50 cottages24. The 13th Frontier Regiment organised no smaller a cottage burning and murder bacchanalia on 18-21 December 1944 in Čekiškės locality, Kaunas County, where 56 people were murdered and 29 cottages burned down. (In another report, it was written that 46 “bandit cottages” were burned down.) The same regiment on 22 December in
Vilkija District shot 16 people and burned down 9 cottages25. On 22 December 1944 in Meleišiškės
village in Troškūnai locality 12 people were murdered and 4 houses burned down.”
Supression Of Armed Resistance. Use And Role Of Military And Paramilitary Units.
The Chekist Army And Stribai <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.komisija.lt/Files/www.komisija.lt/File/Tyrimu_baze/II%20Sovietine%20okupacija%20I%20etapas/Nusikaltimai/Ginkluotos%20rezistencijos%20slopinimas/J.%20Starkauskas.%20Cekistine%20kariuomene%20ir%20stribai/ENG/Starkausko%20darbas%20english.pdf">http://www.komisija.lt/Files/www.komisi ... nglish.pdf</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sovietstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/katyn-decorated.gif">http://www.sovietstory.com/wp-content/u ... orated.gif</a><!-- m -->
Soviet officers who shot more than 20 000 unarmed people were decorated.

And what is it all about? You want me to cry or what? Germany lost ten times more and are they messing things? Baltic states are not main victims and they lost not more than others. So this stories are not impressing me, we have our own, but it is history. If you dont know russian people suffered from Soviet regime too. We can go forward but i think someone is stuck in past. better find out civilian death toll from Iraq war.
your justification of nazi in baltic states wont work. They fought for nazi that is enough. If you think SU is bad that is becouse nazi havent won war.
Stick to topic and finaly answer me why are baltic states cant understand that Soviet Union is no more and there is Russian federation, different country. Parhaps they havent bought new maps?

Now I see where the support for genocide in Balkans comes from. You’re as dangerous as in 1939.

I do not support genocide i support serbian people. And what happend with your goal to stop genocide if military presence is needed still? You need decades? Hundreds of years parhaps? Milosovic died, Kosovo was taken away from Serbia what good thing you havent done still?

[Yalta1945]

It was the Soviet Union who invaded Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In the places where the Soviet aggressors faced the weakest resistance – in the Baltic States – they were most cruel and barbaric.It was genocide.In Lithuania alone, in 1940 the Soviets deported tens of thousands of people – including children, women, and the elderly to the most severe regions of permafrost in Russia to the conditions were they had to strive very hard just not to die during the very first winter. The Soviets killed and imprisoned a lot of people for the reason the free world could hardly understand.
What should you then expect people to do when Germans came to the Baltic States in 1941? Some Estonians and Latvians formed separate divisions (although they formally were the part of German forces) for the only purpose to fight the Soviets and defend their homeland against the reoccupation of the Soviets whose horrible atrocities their nations had experienced in 1940-1941. They did not participate in executions and refused to be sent against Americans, British, and French. Most of them died in Estonia and Latvia, when the Soviets advanced. Lithuanians didn’t follow Latvians and Estonians, and they spared their people to be able to exercise a much stronger armed resistance after the WW II.
For the tremendous Russian human losses during the WW II, blame just Stalin’s terror in the USSR preceding 1941, when a lot of the very best Russian military and non-military specialists were destroyed as well as Stalin’s aggressive plans which meant that the military strategy was prepared for offensive war, not a defensive one the USSR would be forced to fight in reality.
It is a known fact that Stalin cooperated with Hitler until Germany lunched a surprise war against the USSR, and NKVD cooperated with Gestapo, and taught its staff. The Soviet Union helped Nazi Germany to instigate the Holocaust.
A new film about Nazi-Soviet links - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11401983">http://www.economist.com/world/europe/d ... d=11401983</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sovietstory.com/about-the-film/photos/">http://www.sovietstory.com/about-the-film/photos/</a><!-- m -->

This is the way the Soviet „liberators“ acted:
On 14 December Kurkliečių village in Svėdasų District was nihilated. Algis Mateikis, a 3-year old boy, and her 4-year old sister Nijolė were thrown into fire and burnt alive. 70-year and 80-year old people were killed as well. All this was done by the Soviet soldiers.

This is the way some of your „Soviet people” behaved (more like cannibals, not people!):

“Of these massive burnings, especially widely known are the massacres organised on
23 December 1944 in the Panemunės Dzukija (southern Lithuanian) villages of Klepočiai, Ryliškiai, Lizdai, etc, which massacres were organised by two battalions of the 331st and 86th Frontier Regiments led by operatives, who had come from Vilnius. Sent due to the insubordination of the inhabitants of Dzukija, their ignoring of the occupation authorities, and refusing to enlist in the army, the occupiers during several days shot about 40 people (A part of these were burned in their cottages.) and burned down about 50 cottages24. The 13th Frontier Regiment organised no smaller a cottage burning and murder bacchanalia on 18-21 December 1944 in Čekiškės locality, Kaunas County, where 56 people were murdered and 29 cottages burned down. (In another report, it was written that 46 “bandit cottages” were burned down.) The same regiment on 22 December in
Vilkija District shot 16 people and burned down 9 cottages25. On 22 December 1944 in Meleišiškės
village in Troškūnai locality 12 people were murdered and 4 houses burned down.”
Supression Of Armed Resistance. Use And Role Of Military And Paramilitary Units.
The Chekist Army And Stribai <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.komisija.lt/Files/www.komisija.lt/File/Tyrimu_baze/II%20Sovietine%20okupacija%20I%20etapas/Nusikaltimai/Ginkluotos%20rezistencijos%20slopinimas/J.%20Starkauskas.%20Cekistine%20kariuomene%20ir%20stribai/ENG/Starkausko%20darbas%20english.pdf">http://www.komisija.lt/Files/www.komisi ... nglish.pdf</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sovietstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/katyn-decorated.gif">http://www.sovietstory.com/wp-content/u ... orated.gif</a><!-- m -->
Soviet officers who shot more than 20 000 unarmed people were decorated.

And what is it all about? You want me to cry or what? Germany lost ten times more and are they messing things? Baltic states are not main victims and they lost not more than others. So this stories are not impressing me, we have our own, but it is history.

It would be a miracle if you ever drop a human teardrop, not a crocodilian one. You prove your absolute disrespect to human life. There used to be mass murderers in the past, they exist at the present, and they will come after our children from the environment where respect for humanity is not a value.
You are devilishly open, probably revealing the criminal mentality passed upon your generation from those who never cried for having killed (burnt alive) 3 and 4 year old kids, from those who always were ready to do any inhuman and lunatic act to please their feeling of being members of some superpower above humanity. Either it is fascism in action or communism – there is not much difference between them in essence (the difference is more theoretical than practical).
So you say the fact that your country (it is your country) helped to instigate the most horrible crime of Holocaust does not impress you. I can only pray God to save Russia from the evil who speaks it.
This must be a logical consequence for the morality of supporters of Putin who had fully adapted himself in the KGB, a successor organization of the NKVD, and who called the break down of the USSR the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the XX century.
N.B. (for ignorant homo sovieticus): Latvia lost a bigger part of their population in the WW II than Germany. Lithuania lost even more. You can hardly prove the USSR lost a bigger part than Lithuania. Lithuania and Latvia altogether lost a bigger part of population than the USSR and Germany altogether. Only Poland lost more during the war. But as far as countries are concerned not only during the war but after it as well, the Baltic States did lose more than others. I understand this fact might be new to homo sovieticus, so please take your time to check it and digest it.

If you dont know russian people suffered from Soviet regime too.

Thus you could justify beating others on the ground your wife suffered from you too?

your justification of nazi in baltic states wont work. They fought for nazi that is enough.

Justification of nazis? I hate them!! And who likes them, after all?!
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://allaboutlatvia.com/article/706/for-latvian-press-2-fascist/">http://allaboutlatvia.com/article/706/f ... 2-fascist/</a><!-- m -->
The point was clearly they were fighting for themselves - not nazis, stupid! You really deserve a good punch to your nose!

Stick to topic and finaly answer me why are baltic states cant understand that Soviet Union is no more and there is Russian federation, different country.

Russia is internationally recognized to be the legal successor to the Soviet Union, therefore it is the same country. Though its behaviour might have been different, indeed.

I do not support genocide i support serbian people. And what happend with your goal to stop genocide if military presence is needed still? You need decades? Hundreds of years parhaps? Milosovic died, Kosovo was taken away from Serbia what good thing you havent done still?

It is the lip service only. You should have really tried to stop the perpetrators of war crimes and genocide, instead of just opposing the US on every occasion globally (flirting with rogue regimes of North Korea, Iraq, Yugoslavia…) as if it were the old Cold War. If you cared of basic human rights, instead of just meddling in and around, you would make the world better. But with the kind of Russia we are currently witnessing, the world might seem to be a better place to live without it.

[SiD]

It would be a miracle if you ever drop a human teardrop, not a crocodilian one. You prove your absolute disrespect to human life. There used to be mass murderers in the past, they exist at the present, and they will come after our children from the environment where respect for humanity is not a value.
You are devilishly open, probably revealing the criminal mentality passed upon your generation from those who never cried for having killed (burnt alive) 3 and 4 year old kids, from those who always were ready to do any inhuman and lunatic act to please their feeling of being members of some superpower above humanity. Either it is fascism in action or communism – there is not much difference between them in essence (the difference is more theoretical than practical).
So you say the fact that your country (it is your country) helped to instigate the most horrible crime of Holocaust does not impress you. I can only pray God to save Russia from the evil who speaks it.
This must be a logical consequence for the morality of supporters of Putin who had fully adapted himself in the KGB, a successor organization of the NKVD, and who called the break down of the USSR the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the XX century.
N.B. (for ignorant homo sovieticus): Latvia lost a bigger part of their population in the WW II than Germany. Lithuania lost even more. You can hardly prove the USSR lost a bigger part than Lithuania. Lithuania and Latvia altogether lost a bigger part of population than the USSR and Germany altogether. Only Poland lost more during the war. But as far as countries are concerned not only during the war but after it as well, the Baltic States did lose more than others. I understand this fact might be new to homo sovieticus, so please take your time to check it and digest it.

It would be a miracle if you ever will understand anything. They lost more than USSR? give me number i realy want to see it. And as i said victory over nazi means to us a lot more than loses of baltic states. I dont excuse crimes, just victory is MUCH more important to Russia. Even USSR changed much since WW2 just for you to know, Russia is much more different, we know about numerous terrible crimes of Stalin regime and they are strongly condamned parahaps it is new to you homobalticusdefendus or wanewer you want to call yourself. Horrible methods but no one can say that results were not amasing. Agricultural, recently in civil war defeated in first world war state was turned into industrial state that won most terrible war in mankinds history (with allies of course) and became Super power. That is impressing. And as i said history cant be changed it can only be learnt from.

Justification of nazis? I hate them!! And who likes them, after all?!
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://allaboutlatvia.com/article/706/f">http://allaboutlatvia.com/article/706/f</a><!-- m --> ... 2-fascist/
The point was clearly they were fighting for themselves - not nazis, stupid! You really deserve a good punch to your nose!

You like them. You defend people who fought for nazi.

Russia is internationally recognized to be the legal successor to the Soviet Union, therefore it is the same country. Though its behaviour might have been different, indeed.

It is DIFFERENT COUNTRY!!! could i read your anti soviet and anti russian posts if it was like in SU? Were is airon certain? Open your eyes it is different country but someone cant understand that.

It is the lip service only. You should have really tried to stop the perpetrators of war crimes and genocide, instead of just opposing the US on every occasion globally (flirting with rogue regimes of North Korea, Iraq, Yugoslavia…) as if it were the old Cold War. If you cared of basic human rights, instead of just meddling in and around, you would make the world better. But with the kind of Russia we are currently witnessing, the world might seem to be a better place to live without it.

First with western interferance you only succeded in opposing serbian people not solving problem. How many serbs are in Kosovo now? You helped alright. West cares only for itself and its interests not human rights. US lied to the whole world about WMD that Iraq has and have they found any?! Is it in basic human rights to be invaded becouse US dont like your leader? But they brought democracy, parhaps in containers or inside thier bombs. Tousands died? no matter, democracy and US interests are worth any sacrifice dont they? Just bad Russia cant understand that any country must be happy to be invaded by humanists and human rights defenders.
And your last statment is realy something. Russia that has its interests and independent foreign policy is not needed to the world like you think. Good thing that we can defend ourselves. Better to live in dictatorship (even if it will appear in Russia) than to cease to exist.

[Yalta1945]

Russia Hijacked and Lithuania Tremulous
“Is it an Orthodox church?” asked me some Russian whom I had met just 20 minutes ago at the Gariūnai market in Vilnius. We were passing by one of the central quarters of the city, close to the parliament building, in a taxi. I affirmed and pointed: “There is also a mosque over there”. I’d like everybody to know of the traditional tolerance of Vilnius tracing as far back in time as the city became Lithuania’s capital in the Middle Ages. Vilnius enjoyed its religious freedom in the times when intolerance was widespread in Europe. You can find churches of different Christian confessions, synagogues and mosques in Lithuania. You can now also find groups of local Buddhists and other believers. Vilnius has been the home for many different nationalities as well. But the man who came from Russia maybe just a few hors ago replied: “No, thanks. I would level all of the mosques to the soil.”
I recall it now as I wonder why I cannot find any signs of tolerance in so many comments coming from Russian internauts. They seem to be almost 100% imperialist, chauvinistic, and reactionary. They are often leaning towards fascism if we define it as “a system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism”. Do they represent the face of real Russia? I think these people are just hijackers.
The population of the Baltic States is different from that of Russia, as well as Georgians are different from Ossetians, and any nation may said to be different from others to a certain extent – but why can’t all they be democratic and live in peace? I really see no natural reason why Russia could not develop democratically if they just wished it.
Japan, Italy, and Germany – all they changed after the WW II. Despite all the previous hysteria of German superiority, Germany is a fully democratic country. Should we call its people “anti-German” now? So I’d rather call “anti-Russian” the imperialists in Russia. (It’s so nasty that even the Orthodox Church in Russia gets incorporated into Putin’s statehood.)
Our different nationalities, different identities do not preclude us from living in peace and harmony. My wife is of a different nationality and from a different country. The same is about my parents. My mother is Russian. My children may hear five different languages spoken at home. When I visit the cemetery of my wife’s family I clearly see in the surnames of her relatives roots of four different ethnicities. It is also so about my family roots. When my grandmother used to teach me counting she did it in four languages. Well, maybe I’m too much of a mix myself, but I remember from my childhood we had different nationalities just in our yard, in the kindergarten and at school, including Russians, Jews, and Poles – and we were friends.
When I think of Russia today, I see it very much in line with the comment I found on some Estonian site (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://palun.blogspot.com/2008/08/kekkoslovakia.html">http://palun.blogspot.com/2008/08/kekkoslovakia.html</a><!-- m -->):

It was only yesterday, when I saw a documentary in Estonian national TV-channel (ETV) about restoring the independence of Estonia. The documentary was made only a few years after the actual events took place.<…> Well, today, 20 years later what we say about it? They're actions and statements were horrifyingly similar to those made by activists of the Night Watch and NASHI.
Brainwashed dummies? Maybe. But mr Putin himself said - collapse of the USSR was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. This statement makes mr Putin a traitor of his own country, because 20 years ago Estonians were treated in Moscow like heroes, people on the streets said "You're from Estonia? Cool! We're with you, we are trying to regain our independence too, we are restoring Russia!” These sentences are from another documentary, showed in ETV a few days ago.
People, who supported Interrinne in those days and who are supporting movements like Night Watch and NASHI and Putin and his neo-soviet-fascist ideas are probably not aware that they are actually acting as traitors of their own motherland Russia and are giving up the freedom that was handed them 17 years ago.

Russia gets radicalized but there are some troublesome tendencies in Lithuania, too. This year a bunch of youth made a surprise march along the central prospect of Vilnius on the day of restoration of Lithuanian independence. Some of them shouted the slogans of the Nazis. It is really something new for Lithuania and might be compared to such alien phenomena in Lithuanian culture as Satanist groups and celebration of Halloween (which is absolutely incompatible with the way this holly day is traditionally respected in Lithuania). The police didn’t stop them. V.Landsbergis called their manifestation anti-Lithuanian. It’s correct. Similarly, seeing freedom supporters in Russia as Russophobes is quite odd. (‘Russophobes’ pages: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://larussophobe.wordpress.com/">http://larussophobe.wordpress.com/</a><!-- m --> ). It is also not the all deciding question if Putinists are in majority or minority in Russia. When the Bolsheviks usurped power they were in minority. On the other hand, Nazis step by step acquired the majority’s support.
It is easier for Putinists if they can sell their presumed success story to the people of Russia. The West is feeding Russia financially and helps it strengthen economically. Then the Kremlin and its agents channel the growing Russia’s economic strength to the military, to the other enforcing institution, to the covert operations (Plutonium for Litvinenko also cost something), propaganda, etc. Europe might be tempted to engage into the “non-participation” act that Russian people are already taking part in. That is, they might be tempted to close their eyes as not to notice many Russian dirty deeds in exchange for some economic benefits – for Europe it’s, chiefly, gas and oil. “I’m not interested in politics” is still the most popular refrain among Russian voters who, nevertheless, cast their ballots on the voting day in support of those whom the Kremlin nominates. Then the Kremlin may allow for existence of some tiny opposition – it will also bring benefits for the purpose of further propaganda. I also see no reason why the Kremlin should not be happy with European critics while it does not go any further than a mere lip service.
The temptation for the Baltic States is objectively much lesser as the implementation of Karaganov’s doctrine and the “3D [discredit, destabilize, divide] politics” is not going to stop any way. They want us and they are sure they will get what they want.
We can be very instrumental for Russia in several aspects. First, we are the doors they can use for filthily moving their capital, businesses, cargo, and persons to and through the EU. (Have you heard of the passports scandal in Latvia, when Russians bought Latvian passports? Some documents were issued for entirely fictitious persons who do not exist in reality. There are also attempts to legalize various shadow businesses, including arms export, via the EU, and move guns for Russian gangs in Europe. By the way, there are more than 215 thousand guns that disappeared from Russian military arsenals [official figure]). Second, they can use us for spying against NATO (but not NATO only) – just lately, the scandal of the classified NATO information being transferred to Russia broke up in Estonia. (“Estonia arrests senior official for spying“ <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2008/09/estonia-arrests-senior-official-for-spying/62360.aspx">http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/20 ... 62360.aspx</a><!-- m -->)
Third, they can use us for showing that the new (authoritarian) Russian regime is better (for some countries, at least) than the European standards. They can succeed in the latter if they can bribe and scare us, infuse distrust in us for the Western partners, and help destabilize the domestic situation, in general. It is not so impossible. To explain it, a new topic is actually needed to start in this forum. I’ll just mention briefly Paksas, the first impeached president of Lithuania. Russians played an important role in paving the path to power for him. In turn, he patronized some Russian business connected to arms export to Sudan. It is now prohibited by Lithuanian law for R.Paksas to take a seat in the parliament or be again the president but he’s still very active in politics, and there are still lots of people susceptible to his populism, despite all the compromising information on him.
There is still questionable if Russia does not influence the processes in Lithuania more than the EU. I mean that the EU may lose eventually but it cannot be said that the EU has already lost it to Russia. The EU does not care of its frontiers as much as any sovereign nation would do about it – it’s an obvious fact.

[SiD]

:haha well your entire topic is hard to comment becouse it is big. But main idea is Russia - bad. Putin - dictator. Parhaps i lost something?
If Georgia is your so called peacefull democracy than yes i am against such democracies. Becouse nation that wants peace dont start war.
And i like how everyone are trying to say that there is no opposition and choice in Russia. Parhaps they should finaly acknowledge that we have our own heads and choose what we want, not they.

[Newrussian town]

I have strange feeling is Yalta1945 a CIA agent? You have a lot of emotions. Of cores it is bad that Georgia became a terrorist state ( Yesterday was explosion near Peacekeeper's base. 7 KIA 8 WIA. Who did it? May be Ossetians? And now Georgians will say-“ Yes it was Ossetians, because Russians conquered them” . And it doesn’t matter that Russians in SO are heroes, who saved this people from genocide. Somebody said that in Georgia Ossetians feel themselves much better than in Russia. Nonsense. Ask about it North and South Ossetians people, and 1\4 of the Georgian population live in RF, why? Because in Georgia is poverty. If in Georgia was much better than in Russia they all would come back.

[Yalta1945]

The one who is interested in the general information on the death toll by countries in the WW II could find it on the internet searching for Casualties in WW II, I guess. It was not difficult for me.
If you have questions concerning the scope and details of human tragedy in Lithuania under the Nazi and Soviet occupations, please visit the site of The International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.komisija.lt/en/">http://www.komisija.lt/en/</a><!-- m -->
(Research works database
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.komisija.lt/en/naujienos.php?cat=publication&m=1150461059">http://www.komisija.lt/en/naujienos.php ... 1150461059</a><!-- m -->)

I hold that a free democratic country needs no special propaganda – just the truth, even if it may be in certain instances quite an unpleasant or inconvenient truth.

Below I also provide a couple of other basic links on the worst pat of the recent history of the Baltic States:

Conclusions of the Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions.htm">http://www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions.htm</a><!-- m -->

The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.occupationmuseum.lv/eng/about_us/welcome.html">http://www.occupationmuseum.lv/eng/abou ... lcome.html</a><!-- m -->