The western republics: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and the Baltics

Abstract

The Soviet west came to the attention of scholars during the late 1960s and early 1970s. During the late nineteenth century, Estonians and Latvians were overwhelmingly peasant peoples, albeit with the level of literacy that was one of the highest in Europe. The Revolution of 1905 escalated the political and cultural demands of Estonian activists. Eastern or Dnieper Ukraine, which was part of the Russian Empire, shared many characteristics with Lithuania and Belorussia. Bordering Dnieper Ukraine in the south-west was Bessarabia, which is currently known under its historical name of Moldova. Territorial changes at the end of the Second World War favoured the western republics. The post-war period saw a quick industrial expansion, particularly in the Baltics and eastern Ukraine. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Baltic republics demonstrated standards of living higher than elsewhere in the USSR, while the rest of the region was on a par with the European part of Russia.