what countries are in the baltic region?
Latvia Lithuania Estonia
entailment
 The Baltic states of Lithuania , Latvia , and Estonia were part of the Russian Empire during the 19th century , achieving independence in the aftermath of World War I. The rise of Nazi Germany during the 1930s created Russian fears of a German invasion . The Soviet Union signed the Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact with Germany in August 1939 , in part as an attempt to delay this possibility . Germany shortly initiated World War II by invading Poland on September 1 . The secret protocols of the pact , which were reinforced by the German – Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty of September 28 , divided large portions of northeastern Europe between the two powers , and assigned Lithuania to the Soviet sphere of influence . A Lithuanian delegation was invited to Moscow , where it signed the Soviet – Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty on October 10 , 1939 . According to the treaty , the Soviet Union would cede a portion of the Vilnius Region , including the important city of Vilnius , which it had gained during the invasion of Poland , to Lithuania in exchange for the right to station up to 20 @,@ 000 ( the original bargaining point was 50 @,@ 000 ) Soviet troops in Lithuania on a permanent basis . Official Soviet sources claimed that the presence of the Soviet military was necessary to strengthen defenses of a weak nation against possible attacks by Nazi Germany . In reality , it was the first step toward the eventual occupation of Lithuania and was described by The New York Times as a " virtual sacrifice of independence . " 

neutral
 The northeast corner of contemporary Poland 's territory was and remained populated by Baltic tribes . They were at the outer limits of significant cultural influence of the Roman Empire . 

neutral
 Almost forgotten in coverage of the summit was that six new members from the former Warsaw Pact – Lithuania , Latvia , Estonia , Slovakia , Bulgaria and Romania – joined NATO in March 2004 and were formally welcomed into the Alliance . 

entailment
 The secret protocol contained in the 1939 Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union had relegated Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania to the Soviet sphere of influence . During the course of late 1939 and early 1940 , the Soviet Union issued a series of ultimatums to the Baltic governments that eventually led to the illegal annexation of the states . ( At about the same time , the Soviet Union was exerting similar pressure on Finland . ) About 30 @,@ 000 Soviet troops entered the Baltic states during June 1940 , followed by arrests of their leaders and citizens . 

entailment
 Germany subsequently invaded Denmark and Norway , the Netherlands , and France , and began bombing Great Britain in preparation for an invasion . On 21 June 1941 , the day before invasion of the Soviet Union , Himmler commissioned the preparation of the Generalplan Ost ( General Plan for the East ) ; the plan was finalised in July 1942 . It called for the Baltic States , Poland , western Ukraine , and Byelorussia to be conquered and resettled by ten million German citizens . The current residents — some 31 million people — would be expelled further east , starved , or used for forced labour . The plan would have extended the border of Germany a thousand kilometres to the east ( 620 miles ) . Himmler expected that it would take twenty to thirty years to complete the plan , at a cost of 67 billion Reichsmarks . Himmler stated openly : " It is a question of existence , thus it will be a racial struggle of pitiless severity , in the course of which 20 to 30 million Slavs and Jews will perish through military actions and crises of food supply . " 
