- the toponym baltia first appears in greco-roman geographical writings. In pliny the elder's natural history, at a distance of 3 days sail from shores of scythia, island called balcia, which by pytheas is called basilia. Alternative names by geographers of antiquiry are abalus (by pytheas) and basileia (by diodorus).
- great quantities of amber are washed up on the island shores
- root balt can in baltic and slavic languages refer to white (latvian balts, lithuanian baltas) or lake, marshland (russian boloto), but it has also been associated with germanic belt that originates from latin balteus.
- common identity of livland was largely lost when the confederation collapsed in the livonian wars (1558-83) and its territories were split up between sweden, poland and denmark. These partitions formed the seeds for provincial division between estland and livland that was essentially preserved until the establishment of estonian and latvian ethnic provinces after february revolution of 1917.
- estland, livland and kurland all had a ruling class of german origin and a peasant class of native peoples, and they shared the lutheran faith.
- During the reign of catherine ii (1762-96), concepts of ostzeiski krai and pribaltiiski krai were used in official documents as an attempt of administrative standardisation of provinces
- In 1801, the provincial government were submitted to administration of a single governor-general.
- German language publications addressing readership in these provinces
- society for study of history and antiquities of russian baltic provinces was founded in 1834 in riga.
- Ostsee-provinzen-blatt 1823
- Kur-, liv, und esthlandisches provinzialblatt 1828 to 1838
- Das inland 1836
- 1860s-70s
- emancipation of serfs took place in 1860s in baltic provinces
- the balts in the original sense referred primarily to the nobility who were working towared the political union of three governorates, including a common diet of four noble corporations (rittershaften). Baltic-german liberal thinkers, however, called for a baltic unity that would break down the class boundaries, proposing reforms that would legally equalise the nobility, burghers, and literati. In 1859, they launched the journal Baltische monatsschrift - the first time that baltic was used in a title, a fact that expressed its wide-ranging political program. Yet this liberal project excluded the local populations - latvians and estonians, who made up the peasant class and were considered by the germans as people without nationality. The three groups went along three different paths, forming their own distinct national identities, with a strong antagonism emerging between the balts on the one side and estonians and latvians on the other.
- latvian speakers faced the challenge of incorporating latgalians, who had experienced a different historical trajectory. Their nobility was polish, not german. Their religion was catholic, not lutheran
- until the end of 1917, baltic rim (randstaaten) was seen geopolitically as a frontline between the great powers Russia and Germany
- after the fall of russian monarchy in feb 1917, estonian leaders proposed a baltic-scandinavian federation that would connect the lithuanian, latvian, estonian, finnish and scandinavian nations. More limited variants were a scandinavian monarchy that would linclude estonia, or an estonian-swedish union state. But scandinavian states had no interest in being drawn into the struggle between russia and germany over the control of the eastern shores of the baltic sea.
- swedish conservative politicians and scientists, most notably rudolf kjellen, advocated the adoption of an ambitious baltic program that would project swedish economic and cultural power across the baltic sea.
- another popular alternative, proposed repeated by estonians in the period from 1917 to 1919, was a finnish-estonian state.
- with regard to the proposed latvian-lithuanian union, there was little enthusiasm in the relatively industrialised lutheran latvia to join with the agrarian and catholic lithuania.
- creation of fully independent estonia, latvia and lithuania became goal of local politicians in 1918, when all new proposed regionalist models had failed and old models were seen as athreatbto vital national interests. All three had to fight off bolshevik attempts to restore russia to its prerevolutionary boundaries, and at the same time they had to avoid the reestablishment of supremacy of former dominant nations in their territories: germans in the case of estonia and latvia, and poles in the case of lithuania. The germanization of russian baltic provinces became a real threat when they were occupied by the advancing german army in feb1918. Institutions such as baltische vertrauensrat, baltenverband and deutsch-baltishe geseelschaft had been set up in germany during the war with an aim to lobby for the annexation of baltikum.
- in 1934 a baltic entente was eventually secured between estonia, latvia and lithuania, with tge main goal of joint action in foreign policy. The aliance failed in practice, as its member states could not withstand the military pressure from germany and soviet union in 1939- 40.
- in its broadest sense, baltic states coincided with baltic sea states that sometimes included even the scandinavian countries but was more frequently restricted to 5 states onntge eastern shres of the sea. In estonia, a clear difference was made between baltic sea countries (laanemeremad) and baltic countries (balti maad).
- lithuanian geographer kazys pakstas revived the idea of baltoscandia during ww2 in the baltoscandian confederation (1942).
- during the soviet period, the three republics were called by a single name, the soviet baltic (sovetskaia pribaltika) and acquired the image in soviet union as the soviet west (sovetski zapad). In the actual west, the occupation created the persistent diplomatic problem of recognition, subsumed under the common name of baltic question, which was strongly advocated by baltic expatriate communities in us, canada, australia and sweden. In this period, many baltic societies and organisations were founded, and the concept of baltic studies was launched
- baltic revolution 1987-91
- baltic council of ministers was founded in 1994
- estonia and latvia tended to refer to themselves as northern countries whereas lithuanians viewed themselves simultaneously as part of central and eastern europe, or as a bridge or link between the baltic region and central europe. Toomas hendrik Ilves in 1998 attempted to move estonia out of the baltic region, treating the baltic affiliation as a burden.
- from 2004 onwards, latvia has been the strongest proponent of institutionalised cooperation
- a more recent developmentvin europevis a new cooperative frameworknbetween visegrad-nordic-baltic states (meeting of foreign ministers 2013)
nobles
- von ungern-sternberg
- Baron Roman (Robert) Fyodorovich von Ungern-Sternberg (Russian: Рома́н Фёдорович фон У́нгерн-Ште́рнберг, tr. Román Fyodorovich fon Úngern-Shtérnberg; 10 January 1886 [O.S. 29 December 1885] – 15 September 1921), often referred to as Baron Ungern, was an anti-communist general in the Russian Civil War and thereafter an independent warlord who intervened in Mongolia against China. One of the Russian Empire's Baltic German minority, Ungern was an arch-conservative monarchist who aspired to restore the Russian monarchy after the revolutions of 1917 and to revive the Mongol Empire under the rule of the Bogd Khan. His attraction to Vajrayana Buddhism and his eccentric, often violent treatment of enemies and his own men earned him the sobriquet "the Mad Baron" or "the Bloody Baron".In February 1921, at the head of an "Asiatic Cavalry Division", Ungern expelled Chinese troops from Mongolia and restored the monarchic power of the Bogd Khan. During his five-month occupation of Outer Mongolia, Ungern imposed order on the capital city, Ikh Khüree (now Ulaanbaatar), through fear, intimidation, and brutal violence against his opponents, particularly Bolshevik supporters. In June 1921 he went on to invade east Siberia in support of supposed anti-Bolshevik rebellions and to head off a Red Army-Mongolian partisan invasion; this action led to his defeat and capture two months later. He was taken prisoner by the Red Army and a month later put on trial for counterrevolution in Novonikolaevsk. After a six-hour trial he was found guilty, and on 15 September 1921 he was executed.Robert Nikolaus Maximilian Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg was born in Graz, Austria, in 1886 to a noble Baltic-German family. The Ungern-Sternberg family settled in what is now Estonia during the Middle Ages.[2] Ungern-Sternberg's first language was German, but he was also fluent in French, Russian, English and Estonian. His mother was a German noblewoman named Sophie Charlotte von Wimpffen, later Sophie Charlotte von Ungern-Sternberg, and his father was Theodor Leonhard Rudolph Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg (1857–1918). He also had Hungarian roots, and claimed descent from Batu Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, which played a role in his dream of reviving the Mongol Empire.
- ********1917年十月革命爆发，在俄國內戰期间，恩琴随其长官格里戈里·米哈伊洛维奇·谢苗诺夫拒绝参加高尔察克的白军，而獨自與红军作战。恩琴因其对敌我雙方的残酷手段，而得到了「血腥男爵」和「疯狂男爵」的外号。他宣稱要「灭绝所有的犹太人和共产党人」，支持米哈伊尔大公重建罗曼诺夫王朝。在这段期間，谢苗诺夫希望能在日本支持下，於贝加尔湖以东地区建立一個独立王国，甚至为此而抢劫协约国通过西伯利亚大铁路送给高尔察克的補给，间接导致了高尔察克的溃败。1919年7月，恩琴在哈尔滨娶了一位中国满族的金姓公主为妻，夫妻双方只能以共同的英语进行交流。此公主为中东铁路哈满护路司令、呼伦贝尔镇守使张奎武的亲属，这场政治婚姻只是为了拉拢清朝复辟势力，一年后男爵通过他的副官向通知她离婚[1]。1920年，恩琴同谢苗诺夫决裂。他有一个疯狂的计划：先扶植清朝宣统帝复辟，再将远东统一在其领导下，繼而以此作基地反攻西方世界。
- note french wiki version myths part
-Karl Ernst Ritter[2] von Baer Edler[3] von Huthorn (28 February [O.S. 17 February] 1792 – 28 November [O.S. 16 November] 1876) was a Baltic German scientist and explorer. Baer is also known in Russia as Karl Maksímovich Ber (Russian: Карл Макси́мович Бэр).Baer was a naturalist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, geographer, and a founding father of embryology. He was an explorer of European Russia and Scandinavia.Karl Ernst von Baer was born into the Baltic German noble Baer family (et) in the Piep Manor (et), Jerwen County, Governorate of Estonia (in present-day Lääne-Viru County, Estonia), as a knight by birthright. His family was of Westphalianorigin and originated in Osnabrück. He spent his early childhood at Lasila manor, Estonia. Many of his ancestors had come from Westphalia.
- Baer's pochard (Aythya baeri) is a diving duck found in eastern Asia. It breeds in southeast Russia and northeast China, migrating in winter to southern China, Vietnam, Japan, and India. The name commemorates the Estonian naturalist Karl Ernst von Baer.
- https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20210209/00180_025.html四川攀枝花市一名攝影愛好者，日前在一個水庫拍攝遷徙鳥，意外發現屬世界極度瀕危鳥類的青頭潛鴨。據悉，青頭潛鴨被列入瀕危物種紅色名錄中，是極為珍稀的鳥類，現存數量不足1,000隻。
Pomerania (Polish: Pomorze; German, Low German and Swedish: Pommern; Kashubian: Pòmòrskô) is a region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland.The name derives from the Slavic po more, meaning "by the sea".[1] Pomerania stretches roughly from the Recknitz and Trebel rivers in the west to the Vistula river in the east. The largest Pomeranian islands are Rügen, Usedom/Uznam and Wolin. The largest Pomeranian city is Gdańsk, or, when using a narrower definition of the region, Szczecin. Outside its urban areas, Pomerania is characterized by farmland, dotted with numerous lakes, forests, and towns. The region was strongly affected by post–World War I and II border and population shifts, with most of its pre-war inhabitants leaving or being expelled after 1945.
- 达尔斯半岛博恩Born auf dem Darß is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is part of the peninsula Darß, to which also belong the villages of Prerow and Wieck. Born is said to be the most beautiful village at the Darß since most of the tiny and typical thatched cottages are still there.he surrounding of Born is famous for being a resting place for tens of thousands of migrating cranes and geese.For centuries Born belonged to the Duchy of Pomerania and became Swedish after the Thirty Years War. After the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 Born became part of Swedish Pomerania until 1815, when Sweden ceded Pomerania to Prussia. Most of the inhabitants were fishermen or sailors at that time.
- people
- people
- Max von Sydow (/vɒn ˈsiːdoʊ/;[1] Swedish pronunciation: [fɔn ˈsy̌ːdɔv] born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French[a] actor. von Sydow was best known for playing the 14th-century knight Antonius Block in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957).
Swedish Pomerania (Swedish: Svenska Pommern; German: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts of Livonia and Prussia (dominium maris baltici). Sweden, present in Pomerania with a garrison at Stralsund since 1628, had gained effective control of the Duchy of Pomerania with the Treaty of Stettin in 1630. At the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the Treaty of Stettin in 1653, Sweden received Western Pomerania (German Vorpommern), with the islands of Rügen, Usedom, and Wolin, and a strip of Farther Pomerania (Hinterpommern). The peace treaties were negotiated while the Swedish queen Christina was a minor, and the Swedish Empire was governed by members of the high aristocracy. As a consequence, Pomerania was not annexed to Sweden like the French war gains, which would have meant abolition of serfdom, since the Pomeranian peasant laws of 1616 was practised there in its most severe form. Instead, it remained part of the Holy Roman Empire, making the Swedish rulers Reichsfürsten (imperial princes) and leaving the nobility in full charge of the rural areas and its inhabitants. While the Swedish Pomeranian nobles were subjected to reduction when the late 17th century kings regained political power, the provisions of the peace of Westphalia continued to prevent the pursuit of the uniformity policy in Pomerania until the Holy Roman empire was dissolved in 1806. In 1679, Sweden lost most of her Pomeranian possessions east of the Oder river in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and in 1720, Sweden lost her possessions south of the Peene and east of the Peenestrom rivers in the Treaty of Stockholm. These areas were ceded to Brandenburg-Prussia and were integrated into Brandenburgian Pomerania. Also in 1720, Sweden regained the remainder of her dominion in the Treaty of Frederiksborg, which had been lost to Denmark in 1715. In 1814, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, Swedish Pomerania was ceded to Denmark in exchange for Norway in the Treaty of Kiel, and in 1815, as a result of the Congress of Vienna, transferred to Prussia.
- note the strange animal in coat of arms
Industry
- bank
- "Baltics fret on Nordic bank reliance " ft 4aug16
- [tdc sem on 16jun15] sub-contracting work for major european and us brands like next, laura ashley, hugo boss, h&m, m&s, nike, decathlon; leading companies in the sector: neautiniv medziagu fabrikas group, korelita jsc, ut group, mli jsc, audimas sc, vernitas sc, linigas jsc, linas sc, omniteksas jsc and lelija jsc; 15% of companies with foreign capital: devold (norway), lietvilna (france), lietlinen (italy), visatex (germany), la-nika baltic ltd, ltp texdan, engel-dali, danspin (denmark), camira fabrics (uk)
mythology
- snakesvwere regarded as bearers of cosmic energy
festival
- Both a repository and a showcase for the region’s tradition of performing folk art, this cultural expression culminates in large-scale festivals every fifth year in Estonia and Latvia and every fourth year in Lithuania.These grand events, held over several days, assemble as many as 40,000 singers and dancers. For the most part, the participants belong to amateur choirs and dance groups.Their repertories reflect the wide range of musical traditions in the Baltic States, from the most ancient folk songs to contemporary compositions. Celebrations were initially organized in Estonia in 1869 and in Latvia in 1873. Lithuania hosted its first celebration in 1924. Once the Baltic States gained independence from Russia after the First World War, the celebrations acquired widespread popularity as a means of asserting Baltic cultural identity. In the three countries, special venues and festival sites were constructed to host the events. After the incorporation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War, the celebrations adapted to the prevailing communist ideology. Since regaining independence in 1991, the Baltic States have undertaken various measures to ensure the protection of this tradition, yet the major economic and social changes taking place in the region raise serious concerns for the future. Today’s principal threats stem from the rural exodus and the resulting break-up of local amateur groups.https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/baltic-song-and-dance-celebrations-00087
literature
- A daina or tautas dziesma is a traditional form of music or poetry from Latvia. Lithuanian dainos share common traits with them, but have been more influenced by European folk song traditions.[1] Latvian dainas often feature drone vocal styles and pre-Christian themes and legends, and can be accompanied by musical instruments such as Baltic psalteries (e.g. kokles). Dainas tend to be very short (usually four-liners) and are usually in a trochaic or a dactylic metre.Lyrically, dainas concern themselves with native mythology and traditional festivals[1] but, in contrast to most similar forms, do not have any legendary heroes. Stories often revolve around pre-Christian deities like the sun goddess Saule and the moon god Mēness. There are dainas that do not have a mythical theme as well – many simply describe the daily life of agrarian society and nature. However, these still often include personifications of natural phenomena.[1] Another major theme is the human life cycle, especially the three major events: birth, wedding, and death (including burial).[1] The dainas concerning birth are deeply emotional, and usually feature a mother figure not only as the person who gives birth but also as the one who determines the fate of the child. These also often feature the fate deity Laima and were historically sung immediately after birth, which traditionally took place in a bathhouse.[1] Many dainas are set apart from others by erotic and sexual themes and mockery.[1] These are commonly known as nerātnās (naughty) dainas. The dainas devoted to death describe an individual preparing for death and often relate to funeral customs.[1] These often feature a female god related to the world of the dead, variously known as kapu māte,[1] veļu māte, zemes māte or smilšu māte (mother of graves, mother of dead, mother Earth, mother of sand). The first collection of dainas was published between 1894 and 1915 as Latvju Dainas by Krišjānis Barons. There are well over two hundred thousand collected dainas in written form.
- economist 3apr2021 "folk histories in four lines" a baltic cultural treasure translated
any relation?
- [hairy bikers show]chicken balti invented by pakistani and kashmiris in uk (birmingham), exported to world even back to india
- balti heritage museum
- https://www.thehindu.com/society/in-ladakhs-turtuk-village-life-goes-on-as-it-has-since-the-15th-century/article25202192.ece after Partition, those born before 1947 went from being Indian to being Pakistani; then after the 1971 war they went back to being Indian — all this without ever having moved from their homes in this small village in north-eastern Ladakh.
Some 300 families live in this ‘border village’ right on the boundary of the Pakistan-administered region of Gilgit-Baltistan. Turtuk is just 10 km away from Thang, India’s northern-most village. While the other parts of Ladakh have a strong Buddhist and Tibetan influence, this region has a distinct Balti Muslim culture. And today, the lives of these people, their everyday culture, and the local Balti history is being documented in a quiet way by the residents of Turtuk.According to the Balti Heritage museum, Turtuk was once inhabited by the Brokpa tribe, and was later taken over by warriors of Central Asian origin, whose descendants are believed to still populate the village. With time, people from different regions came into Turtuk for trade, and the region thus has a rich racial diversity.Turtuk was opened to tourists in 2010. It is still not a popular destination, but tourists have started trickling in. The village now has homestays. A map points out the wooden bridge, a blacksmith, a traditional cold storage. A few restaurants offer Balti cuisine such as kisir (buckwheat pancakes) and walnut dip, and praku, a locally made pasta-like dish. The village also has annual events like polo matches, and a cultural festival.
USA
- https://www.ft.com/content/0036b09a-a825-11e6-8898-79a99e2a4de6 The Nato presence — and the possibility of a disengagement — has been the talk of Latvia and other Baltic states since the election of Donald Trump, after he set alarm bells ringing during his presidential campaign by appearing to make US support for the Baltics conditional on their spending more on defence.
- economist 6oct18 "in europe's mccainland" to the baltic states, european talk of "strategic autonomy" from america is alarming nonsense
scandinavia
- ft 18mar19 baltics fear money laundering scandels will scare off scandinavian lenders
China
- parliament
- Xi made the remark while meeting with a delegation of speakers from seven Nordic and Baltic countries, who are visiting China from Sunday to Saturday at the invitation of China's top legislator, Zhang Dejiang. It is the first time for the speakers from Nordic and Baltic countries to jointly visit China.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201801/11/WS5a5696ffa3102e5b173740a0.html
- http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20151127/PDF/a15_screen.pdf 國務院總理李克強26日下 午在人民大會堂會見來華出席第四次中國─中東歐國家領導 人會晤的拉脫維亞總理斯特勞尤馬。 李克強表示，拉脫維亞是中國在波羅的海地區重要合作 夥伴，中方願在相互尊重、平等互利的基礎上，同拉方攜手 努力，推動中拉關係快速健康發展。 李克強指出，中方願同拉方在 「三海港區合作」倡議框 架下，探討港口和物流園區建設；願發揮中國企業在鐵路建 設包括裝備等方面的優勢，以適當方式參與波羅的海聯合鐵 路項目建設。明年拉脫維亞將舉辦第五次中國─中東歐國家 領導人會晤，中方願同拉方一道，將 「16+1合作」平台做 大做實做強，造福17國人民。
Hong Kong
- Baltic Hong Kong Trade Association http://bhkta.org/
- event
- The business seminar “Hong Kong – your corporate base in Asian-Pacific Region” was held in “Jupiter Centre” on February 7thhttp://bhkta.org/index.php?id=9
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