37th anniversary of the Baltic Way

Why in News?
August 23, 2026, marked the 37th anniversary of the Baltic Way, a historic non-violent protest that became a major turning point in the independence movements of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Key Points

• Baltic Way: On August 23, 1989, around 2 million people formed a continuous human chain of nearly 675 km, linking:
  Tallinn (Estonia) → Riga (Latvia) → Vilnius (Lithuania).
• Objective: To demand independence from the Soviet Union and draw global attention to the historical circumstances behind Soviet control of the Baltic states.
• Singing Revolution (1986–91):
  • A largely peaceful independence movement in the three Baltic states.
  • Songs, cultural expression and mass mobilisation played a major role.
  • Occurred during Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost and perestroika.
• Gandhian influence: The movement demonstrated the potential of non-violent resistance, mass mobilisation and civil disobedience.
• Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (1939):
  • A non-aggression agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
  • Its secret protocol divided parts of Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence.
  • The arrangement facilitated the Soviet occupation and annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1940.
• The Baltic Way was deliberately organised on the 50th anniversary of the Pact to protest its secret provisions.
• Baltic states. They are situated in the northeastern region of Europe containing the countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea.

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