"This book addresses a crucial question: the contribution of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the historic dissolution of the USSR in 1991, which in turn led to regained independence for the Baltic States in that year. This is an important history, relating to the interplay between divisions and tensions at the heart of the USSR and the growing Baltic independence movements. It also has great contemporary significance as a result of Russia's February 2022 invasion of the Ukraine. To justify this act, Vladimir Putin has explicitly promoted a 'Greater Russian' version of history, including a dangerously inaccurate narrative of what occurred in the Baltics in 1991. He also continues to threaten military action against the Baltic states, all of which are members of NATO. The contributors-who include Brendan Simms, Vladislav Zubok, Andrew Wilson, Mart Kuldkepp, Bridget Kendall, Kristina Spohr, Kaarel Piirimae and Neil Taylor- analyse the struggles of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to secure their independence, and set out how Moscow is propagating fake history, as well as engaging in destabilising measures and cyber-attacks, to undermine these countries' hard-won freedom. This indispensable volume addresses head-on the biggest geopolitical challenge facing the world today: responding to Russian military adventurism" -- Provided by publisher.

Part I: introduction --The importance of the Baltic / Rt Hon Charles Clarke -- A history of the Baltic region: 1860-1991 / Neil Taylor -- Part II: the international context -- The Baltic states, Russia and Europe's order: 1917-1991-2022 / Professor Kristina Spohr -- Attaining Baltic independence: in search of a helping hand / Professor Jonathan Haslam -- Baltic liberation, the Baltic Sea regional context and Sweden during the end of the Cold War / Dr Mart Kuldkepp -- Part III: the Baltic independence dimension -- The mice that roared / Professor Stefan Hedlund -- Contributions of the Baltic independence campaign to Soviet collapse / Professor Kaarel Piirime -- Baltic exceptionalism from Versailles to Belovezhskaya / Dr Donatus Kupéciåunas -- Part IV: the responses from Moscow -- Context, cross-pressures and compromise: the roles of Gorbachev and Yeltsin / Professor Archie Brown -- The house divided / Professor Vladislav Zubok -- Russia and the Baltic: the long view / Sir Rodric Braithwaite -- Too 'great' to thrive? / Sturla Sigurjónsson -- Part V: the British angle -- Moscow and the Baltics: a western correspondent's view / Bridget Kendall -- British policy towards the Baltic states in 1991 / Patrick Salmon -- The contemporary political dimension / Rt Hon Sir David Lidington -- Part VI: the contemporary use of history -- Historical propaganda in pro-Kremlin media: the case of the collapse of the Soviet Union / Dr Inga Zakésauskiençe -- The Ukrainian dimension / Professor Andrew Wilson -- Part VII: future new challenges -- The Baltic geopolitics challenge for today / Professor Brendan Simms and James Rogers -- The geopolitical significance of Kaliningrad and the Suwa±ki Gap / Professor Raimundas Lopata -- The maritime geopolitics of the Baltic Sea / Professor Basil Germond.8