The Evolving Meaning of the “Baltic” Countries
The term “Baltic countries” today commonly refers to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, three small nations on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. This usage emerged only in the 20th century. Before World War I, the idea of a unified “Baltic” group of nations did not really exist – Estonia and Latvia were known as the Baltic Provinces of the Russian Empire, while Lithuania was often grouped with Poland. After World War I, however, a cluster of newly independent states formed on the Baltic Sea’s eastern shore. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – all gaining independence around 1917–1918 – were initially all considered “Baltic states” in the interwar period.