In June 1940, the Soviet Union presented the goverments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with ultimatums, accused them of activities which violated The Mutual Assisstance Pact and threatened to annihilate the Baltic nations unless they agreed to a total military occupation of their territories, and to the institution of Soviet rule in all three countries.

As an example, the 1940 occupation of Estonia. The 10th Red Army invaded Estonia according to the following schedule: Tallinn (capital of Estonia) - the 65th Rifle Corps. The environs of Tallinn - the 16th Rifle Division. Narva Rakvere and environs - the 113th Rifle Division. Valga-Võru and environs - the 90th Rifle Division. The Estonia-Latvia border area - the 161th Rifle Division. The airfields of Estonia were occupied by the 15th, 35th, 38th, 50th and 63rd Air Regiments. All told, 70,000 Red Army soldiers marched into Estonia in 1940. In addition 10,000 sailors from the Soviet Baltic Fleet entered Estonia. These were in addition to the 25,000 Red soldiers already established in Soviet bases in Estonia.

The Estonian railway network, Estonian highways, sea-lanes, and telegraph and telephone systems were soon 100% in the control of the Soviet authorities, who now began a relentless and thorough search for the men and women who had participated in the National Self-Defence League. The majority of its leaders, both men and women, presently disappeared into prisons and concentration camps. From 1940 onwards tens of thousands Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians ended their life-journey in the depths of Soviet Russia.

The second Soviet occupation of Estonia
Towards the end of September 1944, after the retreat of the Nazi German troops and before the second Soviet occupation, the long active underground Estonian Liberation Committee proclaimed a Natonal Estonian Goverment, led by former Minister of Justice Otto Tief as Prime Minister. And once again, the Estonian blue, black and white tricolor, the symbol of freedom for the Estonian people was raised atop the Pikk Herman tower on Toompea Hill.

On September 20,1944 Estonian Prime Minister Otto Tief issued an Official Proclamation demanding the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Estonian territory and the restoration of full Estonian sovereignty and concurrently broadcast an appeal to the world, which, however, was not heard in the noise of war. Two days later,on September 22,1944, the advancing Soviet troops recaptured Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, and thus began the second Soviet occupation. The Soviet military presence continued until August 31, 1994.

In their struggle for freedom and the independence of their countries Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians gained moral, political and legal support from most of the free world, led by United States of America, a fact today’s Russian leaders cannot ignore.

Before the second Soviet occupation in the autumn of the 1944, about 10% of the total population of Estonia Latvia and Lithuania escaped to the free Western countries, an important factor in the struggle to regain freedom and independence for the occupied Baltic Republics.

People who have already fought for, then won and been able to live andenjoy their freedom and independence will never relinquish this ideal. Moscow must apologize, twice, for the illegal occupations of the Baltic nations and admit to the free world the crimes of the Soviet period.

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