The Living Legacy of the Baltic Way

August 23rd marks both the 37th anniversary of the Baltic Way, a human chain of approximately 2 million Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians in protest of the Soviet Occupation and Black Ribbon Day, a day of commemoration for victims of Nazi and Soviet authoritarianism, on the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Both historical events are irrevocably linked, creating a unique day of reflection on lives lost and independence gained.  

A day of celebration and commemoration is of course no accident. By 1989, the popular front movement in Estonia and Latvia, and the Reform Movement in Lithuania had gathered political momentum, with the policy of glasnost allowing the underbelly of unrest to come to the forefront. The three national movements strategically organized the Baltic Way on the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, bringing attention to the secret protocols within the pact which divided Eastern Europe into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence. The secret protocols placed the Baltic states within the Soviet sphere of influence, paving the way for their occupation and annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940. For decades the Soviet Union had not publicly recognized these protocols.  

The Baltic Way itself was an immense logistical challenge, with grass roots networks over radio and print media coordinating the movement of 2 million people. The organizers were successful in creating a human chain of over 400 miles from Tallinn to Riga to Vilnius. Just as compelling as the political purpose are the testimonies of participants who typically traveled long distances with friends and family to take their place in the chain. To this day, the common experience of protest on August 23rd connects the Baltic people.  

The peaceful nature of the protest and powerful imagery of the human chain served a purpose: for international legitimacy and as a juxtaposition to a brutal Soviet system still maintaining an illegal occupation. The Baltic Way is not the first human chain protest, but the sheer scale and success of the protest ensured its place in history. 

By December of 1989, the Soviet Union, under the pressure of glasnost and Baltic challenges to historic narrative, acknowledged the secret protocols of the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact, which from the perspective of Baltic independence movements, made the Soviet occupation legally groundless. Despite efforts by the Soviet leadership to resist the political implications of acknowledging the protocols, the process toward independence accelerated. Lithuania restored independence on March 11, 1990, Estonia declared a transition toward the restoration of independence on March 30, and Latvia adopted its Declaration on the Restoration of Independence on May 4. The independence movements  successfully reclaimed August 23rd and in doing so delegitimized the Soviet Occupation.   

The historical memory of the Baltic Way continues to inspire in the fight against authoritarianism. Russia’s continued war of aggression against Ukraine is a reminder of the responsibility we have to continue the spirit of the Baltic Way, with a persistence on the Western values of sovereignty and rule of law.  

For the Baltic people and those who share the values of individual freedom more broadly, the enduring legacy of the Baltic Way is in its living memory, testament to the endurance of Baltic identity, and the correction of the historical injustice of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.  

Those who stood in the Baltic Way are connected by common experience. The next generation of Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians are connected to them by the freedoms earned. We now celebrate the anniversary of the Baltic Way on the shoulders of giants who only knew of Black Ribbon Day.  

Lee Allen is the Managing Director of the Joint Baltic American National Committee.