James Baquet The Baltic States are three sovereign nations located on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, a so-called “marginal sea” of the Atlantic Ocean which stretches from a strait between Norway and Denmark all the way up north into the Gulf of Bothnia and east to the Gulf of Finland. Historically, any country touching that sea — including Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Russia and Finland — could be called a “Baltic State,” but the term has been reserved for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania since the three began their cooperation in several intergovernmental organizations on a regional level starting in the 1930s. It should be noted that Lithuanians and Latvians are Balts (or Baltic peoples) proper, as their languages are the sole surviving examples of Baltic languages. The Estonian language, as behooves its more northerly location, is more closely related to Finnish. In addition to the Baltic Sea on the west and Latvia on the north, Lithuania is surrounded by Belarus on the east and south, Poland for a short distance on the south, and a Russian exclave (Kaliningrad Oblast) along the rest of the southern border to the Baltic Sea. The population stands at just 2.8 million people, placing Lithuania at the lower end of national populations, and is some 87 percent ethnic Lithuanian, with the rest being Poles, Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians and others. Vilnius is the capital and largest city. Baltic tribes lived in the region for centuries, though unification under the first king of Lithuania did not take place until the 1230s. The largest country in Europe in the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania embraced modern Belarus and Ukraine, as well as parts of Poland and Russia, in addition to the current Lithuanian territory. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed in 1569 and lasted to the late 18th century, when most of Lithuania’s territory was annexed by the Russian Empire. Independence was first declared after the First World War, but was lost to a second Russian occupation during World War II. Restoration of independence occurred in 1990. Vocabulary: Which word above means: 1. is appropriate, fits, suits 2. in the past, no longer in use 3. taking of a country 4. of an area 5. pointed out, paid attention to 6. in the fullest sense 7. between governments 8. at the edge, not central 9. lasting, not becoming extinct 10. groups of peoples | 