The Baltic Way, One of the Earliest and Longest Unbroken Human Chains in History ~ Vintage Everyday

At 7:00 PM on August 23 1989, approximately two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands, forming a human chain from Tallinn through Riga to Vilnius, spanning 675 kilometers, or 420 miles. It was a peaceful protest against the illegal Soviet occupation and also one of the earliest and longest unbroken human chains in history.

The Baltic Way, also known as the Baltic Chain, was organised in order to draw the world’s attention to the existence of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact – a treaty signed 50 years prior, on August 23, 1939, between the foreign ministers of the Soviet Union and Germany – Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop.

In the secret protocols that accompanied the treaty of non-aggression, the two totalitarian powers divided Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania – in violation of international law – into respective spheres of influence, which led to Nazi Germany to start the Second World War on September 1, 1939 with its attack on Poland. The Soviet Union invaded Estonia and Latvia on June 16, 1940.

The Baltic Way was organized over six weeks by the popular front parties from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – the first non-communist political movements since the annexation of the three states by the Soviet Union. The organizers mapped out the chain, designating specific locations to specific cities, towns and villages to make sure that the chain would be unbroken.

In 1989, there were no mobile phones in the Baltic states – walkie-talkies were used instead by the organizers. The exact timing of the demonstration was coordinated by special radio broadcasts, and participants carried with them portable radios to be kept in the loop and listen speeches by popular front activists and politicians.

No one knew if it would succeed. But at 7 PM, for 15 minutes, two million people held hands in a human chain from the foot of Toompea in Tallinn to the foot of the Gediminas Tower in Vilnius, crossing Riga and the River Daugava on its way.

A statement from the Central Committee of the Communist Party, issued on August 26, 1989 in Moscow, read, “Matters have gone far. There is a serious threat to the fate of the Baltic peoples. People should know the abyss into which they are being pushed by their nationalistic leaders. Should they achieve their goals, the possible consequences could be catastrophic to these nations. A question could arise as to their very existence.”

The pro-independence activists and the public in the Baltic states were concerned – could Moscow intervene militarily to crush the national movements, just as the Soviet Union had done in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968?

On August 31, the Baltic activists issued a joint declaration to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, claiming to be under threat of aggression and asked for an international commission to be sent to monitor the situation. The US President, George H. W. Bush, and the Chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Kohl, urged the Soviet Union to show restraint, urging peaceful reforms.

Faced with an international embarrassment, after four years of so-called perestroika, the Soviet authorities eventually toned down their rhetoric and failed to follow up on any of their threats. Furthermore, the Soviet Union finally acknowledged the existence of the secret protocols and on December 24, 1989, the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union declared the secret protocols to the pact to be null and void and without legal basis.

In the years since the Baltic Way took place, it has become an example of how peaceful protest can create change. The human chain helped publicize the Baltic cause around the world and symbolized solidarity among Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The positive image of the non-violent Singing Revolution spread among the Western media.

The national movements used the increased exposure to position the debate over Baltic independence as a moral and not just political question: reclaiming independence would be restoration of historical justice and liquidation of Stalinism. The pro-independence movements, established in 1988, became more assertive and radical: they shifted from demanding greater freedom from Moscow to full independence – finally achieved on August 20, 1991.