What a bunch of bullshit. It was naked irredentism as Stalin conquered countries that had gained their independence from Russia during the Revolutions and you know it.
And they were damn well proven right to be mistrustful of Russian chauvinism.
Many of these countries didn’t “gain” their independence from “Russia”, they were GRANTED independence by the Bolsheviks immediately after the November revolution. Really, look at Wikipedia’s article on the independence of Finland. The first constitution of the Russian Socialist Federation of Soviet Republics clearly specified the right to unilateral secession and independence.
Regardless of my or your opinions on the independence of these countries, you didn’t answer the question: what was the alternative to Soviet military occupation for the Baltics and Poland? Tell us, what was the realistic alternative?
What a bunch of bullshit. It was naked irredentism as Stalin conquered countries that had gained their independence from Russia during the Revolutions and you know it.
And they were damn well proven right to be mistrustful of Russian chauvinism.
Many of these countries didn’t “gain” their independence from “Russia”, they were GRANTED independence by the Bolsheviks immediately after the November revolution. Really, look at Wikipedia’s article on the independence of Finland. The first constitution of the Russian Socialist Federation of Soviet Republics clearly specified the right to unilateral secession and independence.
Regardless of my or your opinions on the independence of these countries, you didn’t answer the question: what was the alternative to Soviet military occupation for the Baltics and Poland? Tell us, what was the realistic alternative?