THE BALTIC WAY

At 7:00 PM on 23 August 1989, approximately two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands, forming a human chain from Tallinn through Riga to Vilnius, spanning 675 kilometres, or 420 miles. It was a peaceful protest against the illegal Soviet occupation and also one of the earliest and longest unbroken human chains in history. Anne-Marie Riitsaar recalls,

“By the time we made it to the highway, it was filled with people holding hands. When we slowed down the car, the demonstrators started throwing candies to us through the car windows,” Anne-Marie recalled. “Everyone was delighted with joy – smiling, singing, and hugging each other regardless of one’s national heritage. This burst of joy was simply contagious!”

The Baltic Way, also known as the Baltic Chain, was organised in order to draw the world’s attention to the existence of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact – a treaty signed 50 years prior, on 23 August 1939, between the foreign ministers of the Soviet Union and Germany – Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop.

The Baltic Way was organised over six weeks by the popular front parties from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – the first non-communist political movements since the annexation of the three states by the Soviet Union. The organisers mapped out the chain, designating specific locations to specific cities, towns and villages to make sure that the chain would be unbroken.

In 1989, there were no mobile phones in the Baltic states – walkie-talkies were used instead by the organisers. The exact timing of the demonstration was coordinated by special radio broadcasts, and participants carried with them portable radios to be kept in the loop and to listen to speeches by popular front activists and politicians.

No one knew if it would succeed. But at 7 PM, for 15 minutes, two million people held hands in a human chain from the foot of Toompea in Tallinn to the foot of the Gediminas Tower in Vilnius, crossing Riga and the River Daugava on its way.

A clear testimony to the peaceful power of 'the people'.

Photo by Gunnar Vaidla.