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Soviet Annexation Of The Baltic States (1940)
The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states covers the period from the Soviet–Baltic mutual assistance pacts in 1939, to their invasion and annexation in 1940, to the mass deportations of 1941. In September and October 1939 the Soviet government compelled the much smaller Baltic states to conclude mutual assistance pacts which gave the Soviets the right to establish military bases there. Following invasion by the Red Army in the summer of 1940, Soviet authorities compelled the Baltic governments to resign. The presidents of Estonia and Latvia were imprisoned and later died in Siberia. Under Soviet supervision, new puppet communist governments and fellow travelers arranged rigged elections with falsified results. Shortly thereafter, the newly elected "people's assemblies" passed resolutions requesting admission into the Soviet Union. In June 1941 the new Soviet governments carried out mass deportations of "enemies of the people". Consequently, at first many Balts greeted the Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad (Russian SFSR), Kiev (Ukrainian SSR), Minsk ( Byelorussian SSR), Tashkent (Uzbek SSR), Alma-Ata (Kazakh SSR), and Novosibirsk (Russian SFSR). It was the largest country in the world, covering over and spanning eleven time zones. The country's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917, when the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Russian Provisional Government ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Treaty
The Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Treaty, also known as the Bases Treaty was a bilateral treaty between the Soviet Union and Estonia, signed in Moscow on 28 September 1939. The treaty obliged both parties to respect each other's sovereignty and independence, and allowed the Soviet government to establish military bases in Estonia. Hiden & Salmon (1994). p. 110. These bases facilitated the Soviet takeover of the country in June 1940. It was signed by Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karl Selter and Soviet Commissar of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov. Ratifications were exchanged in Tallinn on 4 October 1939 and the treaty became effective on the same day. It was registered in ''League of Nations Treaty Series'' on 13 October 1939. Background In September 1939 the Soviet Union asserted its control over the Baltic states with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September, concluding operations on 6 October. After occupying eastern Poland, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulf Of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main connection between the gulf and the Baltic Sea is the Irbe Strait. The Gulf of Riga, as a sub-basin of the Baltic, also includes the Väinameri Sea in the West Estonian archipelago. Geography Extent The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Gulf of Riga's western limit as "A line running from Lyser Ort (57°34'N), in Latvia, to the South extreme of Œsel Island, through this island to Pammerort (22°34'E), thence to Enmast Point, the S extreme of Dagö, through Dagö to Takhkona Point, the North extreme thereof, and on to Spithamn Point in Estonia". Islands Major islands in the gulf include Saaremaa, Kihnu, and Ruhnu, which are all controlled by Estonia. Kihnu covers an area of . Saaremaa island is responsible for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Estonian Navy
The Estonian Navy ( et, Merevägi) are the unified naval forces among the Estonian Defence Forces. With only six commissioned ships and displacement well under 10,000 tonnes, the Estonian navy is one of the smallest navies in the world. Its ship prefix is EML (''Eesti Mereväe Laev''/Estonian Navy Ship). The Estonian Navy has participated numerous times in NATO's naval joint-exercises. History Interwar period Foundation The ''Merevägi'' was founded on November 21, 1918. The foundation and development of the Estonian Navy rely greatly on the Royal Navy which operated in the Gulf of Finland as an ally to Estonia during the Estonian War of Independence. The first Estonian navy warships were the destroyers '' Lennuk'' and '' Wambola'' and were gifts from the UK's Royal Navy after they had been captured from the Russian Baltic Fleet in 1919. Marine Infantry The Meredessantpataljon was a short-lived marine infantry - Naval landing battalion of the Estonian Defence Forces subjec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semyon Timoshenko
Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (russian: link=no, Семён Константи́нович Тимоше́нко, ''Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko''; uk, Семе́н Костянти́нович Тимоше́нко, ''Semen Kostiantynovych Tymoshenko'') ( – 31 March 1970) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. Early life A Ukrainian,Wojciech Roszkowski, Jan Kofman (2016). "Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century'". p.1030. Timoshenko was born in the village of Orman in the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Furmanivka in Odessa Oblast, Ukraine). Military career First World War In 1914, he was drafted into the army of the Russian Empire and served as a cavalryman on Russia's western front in the First World War. Upon the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917, he sided with the Bolsheviks, joining the Red Army in 1918 and the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1919 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leningrad Military District
The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District. History The Leningrad Military District was originally formed as the Petrograd Military District after the October Revolution of 1917 up to the beginning of the formation of the Red Army. The Petrograd District was established as a part of the Red Army (RKKA) by order в"– 71 of the Highest Military Council of 6 September 1918. On 1 February 1924, by the order в"– 126 the Revolutionary Military Councils of the USSR the Petrograd military district was renamed the Leningrad Military District. Markian Popov was appointed District Commander in 1939. Its main purpose was the defence of the Kola Peninsula and the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland. On the right flank it bordered with the Arkhangelsk Military District, on the left — with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aleksandr Loktionov
Aleksandr Dmitriyevich Loktionov (russian: Александр Дмитриевич Локтионов; ) – 28 October 1941) was a Soviet general. In 1923 he was given command of the 2nd Infantry Division in Belarus, and the next year he became a member of the Minsk City Council. In 1925 he became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Central Party Committee before continuing his education at the Frunze Military Academy in 1927. At the end of 1930 he became the commanding officer and commissar of the 4th Rifle Corps. From 1933 to 1937, he was assistant commander of the Byelorussian and subsequently Kharkov Air Force Military Districts. From 1937 to 1939, he served as commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Force. In July 1940, after the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, Loktionov was appointed commander of the Special Baltic Military District. In June 1941, he was arrested on fabricated charges of participation in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stalin's Missed Chance
''Stalin's Missed Chance'' is a study by Russian military historian Mikhail Ivanovich Meltyukhov, author of several books and articles on Soviet military history. ''Stalin's Missed Chance'' covers a theory of planned Soviet invasion raised by Viktor Suvorov, author of highly controversial books such as ''Icebreaker''. Unlike Suvorov's works, Meltyukhov's book is based on archive materials, some of which were until recently classified. Contrary to many Western scholars (David Glantz, John D. Erickson, Richard Overy and others), Mikhail Meltyukhov concurs with Suvorov's claim that Stalin and the Soviet military leadership had planned an offensive against Germany in 1941. Meltyukhov rejects, however, Suvorov's claims that the German assault (Operation Barbarossa) was a pre-emptive strike: Meltyukhov affirms both sides had been preparing to invade the other, but neither believed the possibility of the other side's strike. ''Stalin's Missed Chance'' is an extensive study of archiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финляндская война́ 1939–1940) are often used in Russian historiographybr>В.Н. Барышников. От прохладного мира к Зимней войне. Восточная политика Финляндии в 1930–е годы. Санкт-Петербург, 1997.; О.Д. Дудорова. Неизвестные страницы Зимней войны. In: Военно-исторический журнал. 1991. №9.; Зимняя война 1939–1940. Книга первая. Политическая история. М., 1998. – ; ttp://www.otvaga2004.narod.ru/photo/winterwar/wwar1.htm М. Коломиец. Танки в Зимней войне 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Background Of The Winter War
The background of the Winter War covers the period before the outbreak of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union (1939–1940), which stretches from the Finnish Declaration of Independence in 1917 to the Soviet-Finnish negotiations in 1938–1939. Before its independence, Finland had been an autonomous grand duchy within Imperial Russia. During the ensuing Finnish Civil War, the Red Guards, supported by the Russian Bolsheviks, were defeated. Fearful of Soviet designs, in the 1920s and the 1930s, the Finns were constantly attempting to align themselves with Scandinavian neutrality, particularly regarding to Sweden. Furthermore, the Finns engaged in secret military co-operation with Estonia in the 1930s. During the late 1920s and the early 1930s, relations with the Soviet Union had normalized to a degree, but in 1938, the Soviets feared that Finland could be used as a springboard for an invasion and so started negotiations to conclude a military agreement. Meanwhile, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
