Related culturally to Finland, Estonia was ruled at one time or another by Germans, Swedes and Russians, until a period of independence between 1918 and 1940. The Soviet Union annexed it along with Latvia and Lithuania under the 1940 Hitler-Stalin pact. A major producer of electric power, it declared independence on Aug. 20. Population: 1.6 million (Estonians: 62 percent; Russians: 9.5 percent).
This western Slavic society was the most intensively industrialized republic in the U.S.S.R. It declared independence from the Soviet Union on Aug. 2 1. Population: 2.7 million (Latvians: 52 percent; Russians: 34 percent).
Along with Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania was the site of fierce anti-communist guerrilla resistance until 195 1. An estimated 570,000 Balts were deported to Siberia in the late 1940s. Lithuania declared independence in 1990. Population: 3.8 million (Lithuanians: 80 percent; Russians: 9 percent).
One of the original republics to form the Soviet Union in 1922, this ancient Slavic heartland is a major supplier of grain. Stalin’s forced collectivization killed millions in the 1930s. Declared independence on Aug. 25. Population: 52 million (Ukrainians: 73 percent; Russians: 22 percent).
Incorporated in 1922, it has long been considered the most conservative of the western Slavic republics. Declared independence on Aug. 25. Population: 10 million (Belorussians: 78 percent; Russians: 13 percent).
Once part of Romania, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940. Declared independence on Aug. 27. Population: 4.4 million (Moldavians: 65 percent; Ukrainians: 14 percent; Russians: 13 percent).
This ancient Caucasian civilization turned to Russia in the 1800s for protection against the Turks and Persians. It declared independence in 1918 but was militarily annexed by Stalin in 1922. Last April it declared independence again. Population: 5.5 million (Georgians: 70 percent; Armenians: 8 percent; Russians: 6 percent). ..BI.Armenia:
The first state to adopt Christianity, in A.D. 300, it sought Russia’s protection against the Turks and joined the U.S.S.R. in 1922. Declared independence in August 1990. Population: 3.3 million (Armenians: 93 percent; Azeris: 3 percent; Kurds: 1.7 percent; Russians: 1.6 percent).
This Shiite Muslim society has close ties to Iran; recently it has seen violent clashes between Muslims and Armenian Christians. The Soviets absorbed it in 1922. Population: 7.2 million (Azeris: 83 percent; Russians: 5.6 percent; Armenians: 5.6 percent).
The Russian state was founded by Ivan the Terrible and ruled by czars until 1917. Centers of Bolshevism then, Russia’s major cities are now anti-communist strongholds. But resurgent Russian nationalism worries neighbors. Russia’s total population: 149 million (Russians: 82 percent; Tatars: 4 percent; Ukrainians: 3 percent).
Conquest of this vast region began in 1581. Large-scale colonization came only with the Trans-Siberian railroad in 1905. A theater in the post-1917 Civil War, Siberia was home to several anti-Bolshevik “White” armies, and later to Stalin’s labor camps. While it is rich in natural resources, the severe climate has hampered industrial development.
The nomadic Kazakhs were absorbed by Russia in the 1800s and subjugated by the U.S.S.R. in 1936. Population: 17 million (Kazakhs: 40 percent; Russians: 38 percent).
Despite fierce resistance, this Mongol-Turkic land was subdued by the Bolsheviks in 1924. Population: 21 million (Uzbeks: 71 percent; Russians: 8 percent).
Bolshevik rule in this desert region was established in 1924. Population: 3.7 million (Turkmens: 72 percent; Russians: 9.5 percent).
Ruled at different times by Afghanistan and Persia, the Tajiks were annexed by Moscow in 1929. Population: 5.4 million (Tajiks: 62 percent; Russians: 23 percent).
After the revolution, the mountainous Muslim region fought an anti-Soviet guerrilla war before its absorption as a republic in 1936. Population: 4.4 million (Kyrgyz: 53 percent; Russians: 22 percent).
