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The three Baltic countries, or the Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – are held to have continued as legal entities under international law while under the Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1991, as well as during the German occupation in 1941–1944/1945. The prevailing opinion accepts the Baltic thesis of illegal occupation and the actions of the USSR are regarded as contrary to international law in general and to the bilateral treaties between the USSR and the three Baltic countries in particular. This legal continuity has been recognised by most Western powers and is reflected in their state practice. The application of the Stimson Doctrine by the Welles Declaration where a significant segment of the international community refused to grant formal approval for the 1940 Soviet conquest during World War II, the resistance by the Baltic peoples to the Soviet regime, and the uninterrupted functioning of rudimentary state organs in exile support the legal position that sovereign title never passed to the Soviet Union, which implied that occupation sui generis (German: Annexionsbesetzung, lit. 'annexation occupation') lasted until the Soviet Union recognized the independence of the three countries in 1991. Thus the Baltic states continued to exist as subjects of international law. The official position of Russia is a continuation of the Soviet position that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were not annexed by the Soviet Union but joined of their own accord in 1940. Russia insists that incorporation of the Baltic states gained international de jure recognition by the agreements made in the Yalta and Potsdam conferences and by the Helsinki accords. They have also argued that in accordance to the internal Soviet laws and constitution, restoration of independence was illegal and the Baltic republics could become newly created sovereign entities only via the secession laws of the USSR. According to this position, all previous treaties, such as the Treaty of Tartu, are invalidated, and all possible claims by Baltic states for monetary compensation have no legal basis. This alternate thesis on continuity of the Baltic states and its related consequences has fueled a fundamental confrontation between Russia and the Baltic states. The legal principle, ex injuria jus non oritur (law cannot arise from unjust acts), differs from the competing principle of ex factis jus oritur (the facts determine the law). On one hand, legal recognition of Baltic incorporation on the part of other sovereign nations outside the Soviet bloc was largely withheld based on the fundamental legal principle of ex injuria jus non oritur, since the annexation of the Baltic states was held to be illegal. On the other hand, de facto interruption of statehood due to foreign occupation for a period of fifty years did indeed occur, giving a place to the legal principle of ex factis jus oritur, as well as irrevocable territory and demographic changes that make the Baltic case much more complex than mere restitutio in integrum (a restoration of—in this case—territorial integrity). Historical background The four countries on the Baltic Sea that were formerly parts of the Russian Empire – Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – consolidated their borders and independence after the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian independence wars following the end of World War I by 1920 (see Treaty of Tartu, Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty and Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of 1920). The European Great Powers accorded de jure recognition of Estonia and Latvia on January 26, 1921 and Lithuania on December 20, 1922. The United States extended de jure recognition to all three states on July 28, 1922. All three Peace treaties between the respective Baltic states and Soviet Russia identically enshrined the right of self-determination and Russia renounced all previous rights and claims as final and permanent. This principle of self-determination reflected one of four key principles proclaimed by Lenin and Stalin on 15 November 1917 in the Declaration of the Soviet Government: "The right for Russia's peoples of free self-determination even unto separation and establishment of independent states." After the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922, the new union had by 6 July 1923 adopted all treaties entered into previously by Soviet Russia and the original peace treaties continued to be a basis for relations between the USSR and Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, respectively. In the subsequent decade, several bilateral and multilateral treaties and agreements regulating relations were entered into: Protocol to bring into force the Pact of Paris (to which all four parties were original signatories), signed in Moscow on February 9, 1929, renouncing war as an instrument of national policy bilateral Treaties of Non-Aggression signed with the respective Baltic states and the Soviet Union between 1926 and 1932 Conciliation conventions related to the Non-Aggression treaties Convention for the Definition of Aggression signed in London in July, 1933 This Convention for the Definition of Aggression, an initiative of the Soviet Government, defined in Article 2 various acts as aggression, including naval blockades. The Convention also stipulates that "No political, military, economic or other consideration may serve as an excuse or justification for the aggression referred to in Article 2." Estonia Estonia adopted the Estonian Declaration of Independence on 24 February 1918. The document stated a number of principles such as freedom of expression, religion, assembly and association. These principles were further elaborated in the Provisional Constitution of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti vabariigi valitsemise ajutine kord) of 1919 and the first Constitution of 1920. Popular sovereignty was to be the basis of Estonia. Also, the second, presidential Constitution was based on popular sovereignty. Later the Constitution of 1938 was an attempt to return to democratic rule, but it still accorded powers to the president. Overall, in spite of internal political changes, Estonia was a legal, internationally recognized state in the years prior to 1940. This independence was interrupted in June 1940, in the aftermath of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union of August 1939. The Soviet Union used a similar pattern with all three Baltic states, beginning with ultimatums on the basis of alleged failures to fulfill mutual assistance pacts signed the previous year. The ultimatums had to be obeyed within hours, and soon after the Soviet troops marched into the capitals. The Soviets proposed and approved their new governments. Now, the new local governments seemingly made decisions which led to the annexation. In order to create an image of legitimacy, new elections were imposed under the presence of Soviet troops. The United States, along with a number of other states, did not recognise the occupation and annexation .... Discover the Lawrence Juda popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Lawrence Juda books.