Singing Revolution
| Singing Revolution | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Revolutions of 1989 and the Dissolution of the Soviet Union | |||
Clockwise from the top left: the Song of Estonia Festival in 1988, the Baltic Way human chain in 1989, leaders of the Supreme Council of Lithuania after the promulgation of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania in 1990, a Lithuanian civilian confronts a Soviet tank during the January Events in 1991, The Barricades in Riga in 1991 | |||
| Date | 14 June 1987 – 6 September 1991 (4 years, 2 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by |
| ||
| Goals |
| ||
| Methods |
| ||
| Resulted in | Restoration of the independence of the Baltic states
| ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Lead figures | |||
| |||
| Part of a series on |
| Revolution |
|---|
| Politics portal |
The Singing Revolution[a] was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The Soviet Union annexed the countries as republics around 1940, though this annexation was not widely recognized.
In the late 1980s, massive demonstrations against the Soviet regime began after widespread liberalisation of the regime failed to take into account national sensitivities. The situation deteriorated to such an extent that by 1989, there were campaigns aimed at freeing the nations from the Soviet Union altogether. The Baltic peoples staged mass demonstrations against Soviet rule, most notably the Baltic Way of 1989 on the 50th anniversary of the Nazi-Soviet pact.
In 1988–89, the three countries proclaimed sovereignty within the Soviet Union, the first republics to do so. Lithuania declared independence in March 1990, followed by Latvia and Estonia in May. Soviet government economic pressure and armed crackdowns in Lithuania and Latvia failed. Following the failed August Coup by Communist hardliners, various countries began to recognize Baltic independence. The Soviet Union recognized the three Baltic states in September 1991, over two months before its final dissolution. All three countries joined the EU and NATO in 2004.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).