Summer 1989: Two million people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania demonstrated their desire for freedom in a spectacular rally. Today they look back on it with pride.
On the 35th anniversary of the “Baltic Way”, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania acknowledged the significance of the 600-kilometer-long human chain through the three Soviet republics of the time. “The Baltic Way was an expression of the unity of our subjugated nations and our longing for independence and freedom that was visible to the whole world,” said Estonia’s President Alar Karis at one of many commemorative events in the three states, which have been members of the EU and NATO since 2004.
Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkevics spoke of a “unique and to this day unrivalled action in world history”. His Lithuanian colleague Gitanas Nauseda said: “Everyone who formed the human chain from Vilnius to Tallinn at that time felt an extraordinary surge of hope and energy. The stagnating, decaying Soviet system could not withstand such a challenge.”
On August 23, 1989, around two million Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians demonstrated for their freedom and independence with a 600-kilometer-long human chain from Tallinn (Estonia) via Riga (Latvia) to Vilnius (Lithuania). They were commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. The secret additional protocol of the so-called Hitler-Stalin Pact gave the Soviet Union a free hand to conquer the Baltic states, which did not become independent again until 1991.
Thirty-five years later, people in all three countries held concerts, exhibitions and ceremonies to commemorate the peaceful protest that drew the attention of the world to the Baltic states’ efforts to achieve independence and gave the freedom movement a huge boost. The “Baltic Way” was a decisive turning point in the so-called “Singing Revolution,” which led to the independence of the Baltic states and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the autumn of 1991.
All three heads of state stressed that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand alongside the nations and states fighting for their independence and freedom.
