Word: baltic
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...other republics. It seemed to explode on the political scene like a firecracker tossed by some impish prankster. Then, in characteristic style, the Russian leader slunk out of Moscow, leaving no official word of his whereabouts, though he was presumed to be on his way to one of the Baltic republics. Such acts are the stuff of grand legends, not sound policies. And they are most definitely not characteristic of the cautious Gorbachev style of leadership...
...Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius, nationalists indignantly rejected the notion that they should play by the Kremlin's rigged rules. But in Moscow, Gorbachev's apparent willingness to accept even the idea of Baltic freedom further antagonized the hard-liners and set in motion the chain of events that led to last week's coup d'etat...
Gorbachev met frequently with Boris Pugo, who had become Interior Minister on Dec. 2, 1990. In these conversations Pugo was careful to steer clear of the fundamental issue of whether the Baltic republics were entitled to independence. Instead he stayed within the bounds of his responsibility for law and order. With the Baltics acting as though they were already sovereign states, he said, the situation was "spinning out of control"; if the Baltics succeeded in defying Moscow, other republics would be encouraged to do the same...
This time, unlike during the Baltic crisis in January, Gorbachev took personal control of the forces amassed in the side streets around Red Square. He kept them in check, and the huge, orderly demonstration came off without serious incident...
Some kind of union treaty will be signed, creating a new country in place of the old Soviet Union, and at least six republics -- Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Ukraine, Moldavia and Georgia -- may remain outside it. All three Baltic states have formally declared their independence. On Saturday, the Ukraine's parliament did the same, though it also called for a referendum on the question in December. Gorbachev had been trying to prevent Baltic secession by winking at the use of force and insisting on drawn-out legal procedures. Now he can hardly order the discredited army or Interior Ministry...