Ethnic Russians in the Baltic states and Russia's foreign policy

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Authors
Bales, Brian Blake
Subjects
Baltic States
Estonia
Latvia
Civil rights violations
Human rights violations
Linkage
Troop witihdrawal
Advisors
Tsypkin, Mikhail
Date of Issue
1993-03
Date
March 1993
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, ethnic Russians living in the former republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have alleged that their civil and human rights are being violated. The issue has generated a great deal of concern from both progressive and conservative elements within the Russian government. Although Russia has vital military and economic interests in the Baltic region, and the human rights problem could possibly play into the hands of those who would use the issue as a pretext for maintaining a military presence in the area, this thesis will examine the possibility that the human rights agenda is not so much a cover for geostrategic interests as it is a political problem that facilitates the Russian foreign policy for keeping a foothold in the Baltic States. The situation may also represent a beneficial condition for the Russian military who have been pressing for support of a foreign policy that would discontinue the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Baltics, retain a Russian military presence in the area, and address their interests and concerns.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
103 p.
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.
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