Territorial changes of the Baltic states

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Territorial changes of the Baltic states refers to the redrawing of borders of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia after 1940. The three republics, formerly autonomous regions within the former Russian Empire and before that of former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and as provinces of the Swedish Empire, gained independence in the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917. After a two-front independence war fought against both Bolshevist Russian and Baltic German nationalist forces, the countries concluded peace and border treaties with Soviet Russia in 1920. However, with World War II and the occupation and annexation of these republics into the Soviet Union twenty years after their independence, certain territorial changes were made in favour of the Russian SFSR. This has been the source of political tensions after they regained their independence with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Some of the disputes remain unresolved.

The main issues are the territories which were part of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the interwar period, but which became incorporated into the Russian SFSR, Byelorussian SSR and Poland after World War II. In addition, some territories that were not controlled by the independent Baltic republics were also annexed during the Soviet era. The most notable case is Vilnius taken from Poland by the USSR to become the capital of Lithuania.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the issue of these territories was raised by the Estonian and Latvian governments.^{[citation needed]} Lithuania has never officially raised the question of its borders and has border treaties with all its neighbors. Only marginal political groups use the "issue of borders" in their political rhetoric.