The Resurgence of Nationalism

Abstract

During the late 1980s the Baltic republics underwent a nationalist reawakening which transformed the whole character of social, political and economic life in the region. Although triggered off by the election in March 1985 of a reform-minded leadership in Moscow, what was to prove central in structuring the nature of this sea change was the emergence in the region of grassroots-based social movements. Beginning as movements in support of Gorbachev’s reform agenda, these self-styled ‘Popular Fronts’ quickly developed into nationalist movements committed to the re-establishment of independent statehood. In this chapter we examine the nature of this nationalist revival, the conditions which gave rise to the emergence of the popular fronts and the reasons why these movements were able to mobilise support for national self-determination from their respective nations so quickly and effectively.