:I would not go quite that far either. There was definitely an occupation. However, at some point the occupation gives way to an incorporation of the Baltic territories into the Soviet Union. Both of these things transpired in the aftermath of WWII, and the rest just seems like Cold War politics. In any event, all three countries were not in the same boat as Romania or Hungary, or Poland, or any of the other Warsaw Pact client states, which were still sovereign, even if they were completely dominated by Moscow. The Baltic States, on the other hand were both dominated, and incorporated into the Soviet Union.