A History of the Baltic States


Book Description

In this key textbook, Andres Kasekamp masterfully traces the development of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, from the northern crusades against Europe's last pagans and Lithuania's rise to become one of medieval Europe's largest states, to their incorporation into the Russian Empire and the creation of their modern national identities. Employing a comparative approach, a particular emphasis is placed upon the last one hundred years, during which the Baltic states achieved independence, endured occupation by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and transformed themselves into members of the European Union. This is an essential textbook for undergraduate students taking modules on Eastern or Central European History, Communism and Post-Communism, the Soviet Union, or Baltic Culture and Politics. Engaging and accessible, this is also an ideal introduction to the Baltic States for general readers.




The Baltic


Book Description

Alan Palmer traces the history of the Baltic region from its early Viking days and its time under the Byzantine Empire through its medieval prime when the Baltic Sea served as one of Europe’s central trading grounds. Palmer addresses both the strong nationalist sentiments that have driven Baltic culture and the early attempts at Baltic unification by Sweden and Russia. The Baltic also dissects the politics and culture of the region in the twentieth century, when it played multiple historic roles: it was the Eastern Front in the First World War; the setting of early uprisings in the Russian Revolution; a land occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War; and, until very recently, a region dominated by the Soviets. In the twenty-first century, increasing attention has been focused on the Baltic states as they grow into their own in spite of growing neo-imperialist pressure from post-Soviet Russia. In The Baltic, Alan Palmer provides readers with a detailed history of the nations and peoples that are now poised to emerge as some of Europe’s most vital democracies.




Baltic


Book Description

Baltic showcases the food culture of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, three countries experiencing new energy and interest in their food scene. This book celebrates traditional dishes from each country and adapts them to create nearly 70 delicious recipes suitable for home kitchens the world over. Baltic cuisine is a mixture of Russian and German culinary influences with spices thrown in such as cardamom and cinnamon because the region is a historic trading point with Byzantium. Rather than strive to be authentic to the core, author Simon Bajada has selected those Baltic recipes most suited to international palates, curating a mix that is a combination of traditional and contemporary Baltic cuisine – tasty, basic, hearty food that makes use of simple techniques. Start your day with Curd pancakes with sour cream & blackberry jam, and learn how to make Black bread and Latvian hemp butter, or try some Summer's milk soup. Baltic is your starting point for experimenting with the flavours of this resurgent cuisine. The atmospheric photography captures the colour and vibrancy of the produce, local culture and landscapes as these countries emerge from 50 years of Soviet rule, reconnect with the past and embrace new promise for the future.




The Baltic


Book Description

In this overview of the Baltic region from the Vikings to the European Union, Michael North presents the sea and the lands that surround it as a Nordic Mediterranean, a maritime zone of shared influence, with its own distinct patterns of trade, cultural exchange, and conflict. Covering over a thousand years in a part of the world where seas have been much more connective than land, The Baltic: A History transforms the way we think about a body of water too often ignored in studies of the world’s major waterways. The Baltic lands have been populated since prehistory by diverse linguistic groups: Balts, Slavs, Germans, and Finns. North traces how the various tribes, peoples, and states of the region have lived in peace and at war, as both global powers and pawns of foreign regimes, and as exceptionally creative interpreters of cultural movements from Christianity to Romanticism and Modernism. He examines the golden age of the Vikings, the Hanseatic League, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and Peter the Great, and looks at the hard choices people had to make in the twentieth century as fascists, communists, and liberal democrats played out their ambitions on the region’s doorstep. With its vigorous trade in furs, fish, timber, amber, and grain and its strategic position as a thruway for oil and natural gas, the Baltic has been—and remains—one of the great economic and cultural crossroads of the world.




The Naval War in the Baltic, 1939–1945


Book Description

A military historian and naval warfare expert delivers a revealing history of the Baltic Sea Campaigns and their significance throughout WWII. From the Battle of Westerplatte on the Polish coast in 1939 to the thousands of German refugees lost at sea in 1945, the Baltic witnessed continuous fighting throughout the Second World War. This chronicle of naval warfare in the region merges such major events as the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet campaign against Sweden, the three wars in Finland, the Soviet liberation of the Baltic states, the German evacuation of two million people from the East, and the Soviet race westwards in 1945. Naval historian Poul Grooss explains the political and military backgrounds of the war in this theatre while also detailing the ships, radar, artillery, mines and aircraft employed there. He also offers fascinating insights into Swedish cooperation with Nazi Germany, the Germans’ use of the Baltic as a training ground for the Battle of the Atlantic, the secret weapons trials in the remote area of Peenemunde, and the Royal Air Force mining campaign that reduced the threat of German submarine technology. A major contribution to the naval history of this era, Naval War in the Baltic demonstrates the extent to which the Baltic Sea Campaigns shaped the Second World War




Little Dog Lost


Book Description

A dog is rescued after being seen floating on an ice floe in the Baltic Sea.




The Baltic Sea


Book Description

The nine countries bordering the Baltic Sea offer an immense variety of cruising grounds, people and cultures. There are thousands of harbours and innumerable anchorages, and it would take an entire bookshelf, to cover them all in detail. The information contained in this book is therefore selective. It has been chosen for its value both at the planning stages - preparing the yacht, choosing the most suitable route, timing and communications etc - and again on arrival, when a general overview of each individual country is followed by specific harbour information. Where detailed cruising information is readily available - effectively Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland - only selected harbours are covered, chosen, with a few exceptions, as fulfilling certain key needs. Where cruising information is more limited - Poland, Kaliningrad, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Russia - many smaller harbours are also featured in detail. In addition to comprehensive suggestions for further reading (and sources in each country from which they may be ordered) more than 200 websites are listed, again chosen for their relevance both at the planning stages and en route. In order to facilitate the latter, as well as for general communication, details of internet access points are included for most major harbours. This 3rd edition has been produced by a team from the Royal Cruising Club and contains substantial changes. Coverage of the West Coast of Sweden, the Gota Canal and the Gulf of Bothnia has been extended and there is more detailed information on the Baltic states. Throughout there are new plans and photographs and the technical data on countries and navigation has been thoroughly revised. Beautiful, secluded anchorages, picturesque canals, bustling marinas, dramatic cities - all await those considering a Baltic cruise.




The Baltic States


Book Description

Since the end of the Cold War there has been an increased interest in the Baltics. The Baltic States brings together three titles, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, to provide a comprehensive and analytical guide integrating history, political science, economic development and contemporary events into one account. Since gaining their independence, each country has developed at its own pace with its own agenda and facing its own obstacles. The authors examine the tensions accompanying a post-communist return to Europe after the long years of separation and how each country has responded to the demands of becoming a modern European state. Estonia was the first of the former Soviet republics to enter membership negotiations with the European Union in 1988 and is a potential candidate for the next round of EU expansion in 2004. Lithuania and Latvia have also expressed their desire for future membership of NATO and the EU.







Library of Congress Subject Headings


Book Description