Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940, after the secret protocols of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 placed them in the Soviet sphere. Staged elections produced parliaments that asked to join the USSR, and the three states were annexed as Soviet republics, an action most Western governments never recognised. Mass deportations to Siberia followed in 1941 and 1949, and the Baltic lands were occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944, when the Soviet army returned. Armed resistance continued for years afterward. Independence was restored in 1990 and 1991 through the Singing Revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Soviet troops left in the early 1990s.
Before and after
- 1940Construction of Brussels Airport
- from 1940 to 1948Rise of Lehi
- c. 1940sRise of Postmodernism
- from 1940 to 1957Rise of Forest Brothers
- from 1940 to 1991Occupation of the Baltic states
- 1940Discovery of astatine
- 19401940 becomes the warmest year on record
- 4 January 1940Birth of Gao Xingjian
- 19 January 1940Construction of Dublin Airport
More in Wars, politics & history
- 1919Paris Peace Conference
- 3 March 1923Time
- from 1 August 1927 to 1 May 1950Chinese Civil War
- from 7 July 1937 to 9 September 1945Second Sino-Japanese War
- from 1 September 1939 to 6 October 19391939 Invasion of Poland
- 1944Golden Globes
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.