lt, Liaudies Seimas , native_name_lang = , transcription_name = , legislature = , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , coa_caption = , logo_pic = , logo_res = , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , house_type = , houses = , chambers = , body = , jurisdiction = , term_limits = , foundation = , disbanded = , preceded_by =

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Jus ...

(Estonia)
4th Saeima (Latvia)
Fourth Seimas (Lithuania) , succeeded_by = Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR

Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR The Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR ( Latvian: ''Latvijas PSR Augstākā Padome''; Russian: Верховный Совет Латвийской ССР, ''Verkhovnyy Sovet Latvyyskoy SSR'') was the supreme soviet (main legislative institution ...

Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR The Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR ( lt, Lietuvos TSR Aukščiausioji Taryba; russian: Верховный Совет Литовской ССР, ''Verkhovnyy Sovet Litovskoy SSR'') was the supreme soviet (main legislative institution) of the ...

, new_session = , leader1_type = , leader1 = , leader1_term = , party1 = , election1 = , leader2_type = , leader2 = , party2 = , election2 = , leader2_term = , leader3_type = , leader3 = , party3 = , election3 = , leader3_term = , leader4_type = , leader4 = , party4 = , election4 = , leader4_term = , leader5_type = , leader5 = , party5 = , election5 = , leader5_term = , leader6_type = , leader6 = , party6 = , election6 = , leader6_term = , leader7_type = , leader7 = , party7 = , election7 = , leader7_term = , seats = , structure1 = , structure1_res = , structure1_alt = , structure2 = , structure2_res = , structure2_alt = , house1 = , political_groups1 = , committees1 = , house2 = , political_groups2 = , committees2 = , joint_committees = , term_length = , authority = , salary = , seats1_title = , seats1 = , seats2_title = , seats2 = , seats3_title = , seats3 = , seats4_title = , seats4 = , seats5_title = , seats5 = , seats6_title = , seats6 = , seats7_title = , seats7 = , seats8_title = , seats8 = , voting_system1 = , voting_system2 = , first_election1 = July 14–15, 1940 , first_election2 = , first_election3 = , redistricting = , motto = , session_room = , session_res = , session_alt = , meeting_place = , session_room2 = , session_res2 = , session_alt2 = , meeting_place2 = , session_room3 = , session_res3 = , session_alt3 = , meeting_place3 = , website = , constitution = , rules = , footnotes = The People's Parliaments or People's Assemblies ( lv, Tautas Saeima, lt, Liaudies Seimas) were puppet legislatures put together after the

show election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

s in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, sea across from Sweden, to ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, and

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

to legitimize the occupation by the Soviet Union in July 1940. In all three countries, the elections to the parliaments followed the same script, dictated by functionaries in Moscow and borrowed from the examples of the incorporation of the Belarusian and Ukrainian lands into Soviet Union in the aftermath of the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in 1939.

Occupation

On June 15 and 16, 1940, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

presented ultimatums to all three

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

, which were then invaded by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

. After the invasions, the previous governments of the Baltic states were replaced by pro-Communist " People's Governments". The new governments then dismissed the existing parliaments (

in Estonia,

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendmen ...

in Lithuania) and announced new elections to the "People's Parliaments" to be held on July 14 and 15, 1940 (originally, the election in Lithuania was to be held only on July 14, but due to low turnout was also extended to July 15).

Elections

Only candidates proposed by legally functioning institutions could run in each election. By that time all non-communist parties and organizations were outlawed. The local Communist parties emerged from underground with 1,500 members in Lithuania, 500 in Latvia, and 133 in Estonia. Therefore only the Working People's Leagues proposed candidates, exactly one per each available seat. There were a number of non-communists on its slate. Efforts to present alternative candidates were blocked. Repressions and terror were employed against election critics and political activists. For example, in Lithuania some 2,000 activists were arrested on June 11. People were coerced to vote – those who voted had their passports stamped while anyone who did not vote was dubbed an "

enemy of the people The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...

" and could expect future persecutions for "failing their political duties". The ballots had only one option – the name chosen by the Communists. According to the rigged results, Communist candidates received over 90% of the vote. The Soviet envoy in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

released election results even before the voting booths closed.

Parliament sessions and aftermath

All three parliaments convened on July 21, 1940. In their first sessions all three parliaments unanimously adopted resolutions to convert their states to

Soviet Socialist Republic The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ...

s (SSR): the

Estonian SSR The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

, and

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...

. Another decree resolved to petition the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

to accept these newly established SSRs into the Soviet Union. The parliaments also elected their representatives to go to Moscow and personally present their case in front of the Supreme Soviet. Other acts adopted in these early sessions concerned

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pr ...

of virtually all larger enterprises, real estate, and land, and other

Sovietization Sovietization (russian: Советизация) is the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets (workers' councils) or the adoption of a way of life, mentality, and culture modelled after the Soviet Union. This often included ...

policies. The laws were adopted unanimously, with virtually no discussion. On August 1, the Baltic delegates arrived to Moscow and petitioned the Supreme Soviet. After apparent deliberation, the Lithuanian request was granted on August 3, the Latvian request on August 5, and the Estonian request on August 6. As a result the People's Parliaments renamed themselves Supreme Soviets of the respective SSRs. Thus the process of legitimizing the occupation was complete. Even after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, Russia officially maintains that all three Baltic states voluntarily joined the Union.

References

{{reflist 1940 in Lithuania 1940 in Latvia 1940 in Estonia 1940 in the Soviet Union Historical legislatures Government of the Soviet Union

Occupation

Elections

Parliament sessions and aftermath

See also

References