Word: baltics
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This immense landmass, so long made immutable and monolithic by rule from the Kremlin, is now quaking under the impact of Gorbachev's reforms. The Soviet republics are beginning to snap the political and economic bonds linking them to the once all-powerful center in Moscow. With the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the vanguard, some of the imprisoned peoples are battering the outside walls and intend to leap to freedom. It now seems certain that the center cannot hold onto all 15 republics. What was unthinkable only a few months ago has now become reality...
...epicenter of the Soviet secessionist quake is in the Baltic states, which enjoyed 20 years of independence before being re-annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 under a cynical deal between Stalin and Hitler. As a result, says Sajudis president Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuania "is not seeking to establish independence, but working to restore it." Visiting the republic in January, Gorbachev tried to apply the brakes with an offer to create a new Soviet federation with increased autonomy for all republics. While every republic had a constitutional right to leave the Union, he said, a law on secession procedures first...
...Baltic states dismissed Gorbachev's plea. Says Valery Chalidze, an exiled dissident and editor: "I think ((the Soviet leaders)) are very far from any clear ideas on what they want in any new constitution." Peter Reddaway, senior Soviet specialist at George Washington University, agrees: "I don't think Gorbachev has any realistic design for a particular type of federation. He is under so much pressure from so many problems that trying to devise something stable is really hopeless...
...meaning was perfectly evident to delegates from the rebellious Baltics. They refused to participate in the voting, arguing that because they will soon be independent they should not take part in creating new Soviet institutions. After the session, Gorbachev invited six Baltic delegates to his office to explain their position to him. He then told them he stood firmly on his plan to create a new federation and would stick to it in future negotiations with the Baltic states. Said Estonian journalist Tarmu Tammerk: "This was the first time he has admitted that Baltic independence is something we can legitimately...
Russians do not indicate that they are determined to hold on to the empire at all costs. Indeed, the costs of the empire, rather than its glory, seem uppermost in their minds. Both Gorbachev and Shevardnadze have assured President Bush that Moscow will not use force against the Baltic states. A senior Soviet diplomat says of the Baltics, "Of course they can choose independence. But the laws have to be observed, and they must keep in mind that they will have to pay a heavy economic price." In Paris last month, Gorbachev's adviser Andrei Grachev said if Lithuanians cannot...