The Baltic states
Answers are for parents and teachers.
1
Make a table for the three states: capital, date of restoring independence, year of adopting the euro.
Estonia – Tallinn, 20 August 1991, 2011; Latvia – Riga, 4 May 1990 (complete in August 1991), 2014; Lithuania – Vilnius, 11 March 1990, 2015.
2
Write the positions of the two sides on the citizenship question in Estonia and Latvia in 6–7 sentences.
The Baltic governments: protection of the state and language, and naturalization is possible. Russia and some rights groups: many people lack citizenship and their rights are limited.
3
What did NATO do in the Baltic states after 2014? Write 5 sentences based on the textbook and additional sources.
In 2016–2017 NATO deployed small battlegroups; later, especially from 2022, defence spending and troops were increased; Russia regards this as directed against itself.
4
Find on the map and write the neighbours of each Baltic state.
Estonia – Latvia and Russia; Latvia – Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus; Lithuania – Latvia, Belarus, Poland and Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast).
5
Explain in 5 sentences the effect of the 2008–2009 crisis on the Baltic states.
Output fell sharply, unemployment rose, many emigrated; in the following years the economies recovered.