75 years ago this summer, the Baltic States became a part of the Soviet Union following an invasion and rigged elections. In 1990 and 91, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania regained their independence and subsequently became the only ex-Soviet states to join NATO and the European Union.
But last month the Russian prosecutor-general's office said it would review the legality of the Soviet Union's State Council’s decision during the last months of the Soviet empire to recognize the independence of the three Baltic countries. This along with the Russian annexation of Crimea last year and the on-going conflict in Ukraine, another former Soviet state, is reminding Baltic leaders of 1940.
University of South Dakota history professor David Burrow teaches Russian and Soviet history and joined Dakota Midday for a discussion of the Baltic countries and Russia.