The Soviet Union, Finland, and the Baltic StatesSoviet War News — Soviet Information Bureau, 1941

Lithuania

In contradistinction to the other Baltic States (Finland, Estonia and Latvia), the foreign policy of Lithuania was less hostile in relation to the U.S.S.R. This was to be explained by the PolishLithuanian conflict which had arisen as a result of the seizure by Poland of the Vilno Province of Lithuania in 1920. As a result of these circumstances, Lithuania refused to enter into any combination with Poland.

When at the time of the Polish-Soviet war of 1920, Vilno was occupied by Soviet troops, the Soviet Government transferred this town to Lithuania. In the Soviet-Lithuanian Peace Treaty of July 12, 1920, Vilno and the Vilno region were recognised as constituent parts of the Lithuanian State. When in 1926 the Soviet Government proposed to the Baltic countries negotiations for the conclusion of Pacts of Non-Aggression and Neutrality, then, unlike the other Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Finland) which in one way or another had sabotaged these negotiations and refused to conclude such pacts until 1932, Lithuania accepted the Soviet proposal and on September a8, 1926, a Soviet-Lithuanian Pact of Non-Aggression and Neutrality was signed. This Pact was accompanied by an exchange of Notes. The Soviet Note pointed out that “ the factual violation of the Lithuanian frontiers which had taken place against the will of the Lithuanian people (the seizure by Poland of the Vilno region) had in no way altered their (the Government of the U.S.S.R.) attitude to the territorial sovereignty of Lithuania as defined in the Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty.”

As we shall see below Lithuania, having joined the Baltic Entente (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania) in 1934, could not but also subsequently adopt an anti-Soviet foreign policy, for those who had initiated this Entente did not conceal their endeavour to rely, in the last resort, on Poland.