Word: lithuania
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...through 1994 projected [TMFONT 1 d #666666 d {Sources: PlanEcon; U.S. State Dept.}]CAPTION: ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN BELARUS ESTONIA GEORGIA KAZAKHSTAN KYRGYZSTAN LATVIA LITHUANIA MOLDOVA RUSSIA TAJIKISTAN TURKMENISTAN UKRAINE UZBEKISTAN
...breakup of the Soviet Union, Lithuanians voted their former communist leaders back into power. But the victory of the freshly named Democratic Labor Party does not presume a return to orthodox communism. It testifies instead to the disappointment of the great expectations in the three Baltic republics of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia that the end of Soviet rule would mean the beginning of a wonderful life...
...supposed to be better in the Baltics. No one doubted the difficulty of exchanging Soviet authoritarianism for market capitalism and democracy, but because of their European heritage and compact size, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were expected to make the transition with greater speed and less hardship. Many Balts welcome an abundance of consumer goods and the establishment of national airlines as signs of their success. Estonia has even abolished the dual economy that split society between the elite few with access to Western currencies and the masses who could shop only with rubles. But consider...
...Political infighting and discontent over a deteriorating economy catapulted Lithuania's former communist leaders back into office on promises of restoring order and slowing the painful process of reform. The government of President Vytautas Landsbergis, who courageously led the resistance to the bloody Soviet army crackdown in January 1990, was unable to translate the skills of revolt into running a country. Politics has shifted in the opposite direction in Estonia, where the nationalist Fatherland coalition has taken power with a pledge to "clean house" -- code words for removing all former communists from office...
...three countries are suffering a sharp drop in industrial production, as well as chronic shortages of gas and oil once provided cheaply and plentifully ! by Russia. In Lithuania and Latvia, the energy crisis has forced many to go without heat and hot water; in Lithuania, gasoline for private cars is strictly rationed. In Estonia, where the introduction of a new convertible currency has helped eliminate shortages of consumer goods, inflation has made all but the most basic items unaffordable for the average person...