Lithuania's EU Presidency in Historical Context

[McCauley]

well they are immigrants, but most of them have citizenship so ''foreigner'' doesn't really apply.

How well are they assimilated, I mean do most of them make an effort to learn your language?

[RussiaPrussia]

my opinion in russian minority is the average of lithuania. we judge them on a person-to-person basis, in our minds russians are a separate entity from the kremlin regime.

i guise thats why you are treating poles and ukrainians the same like russians because they part of the Kremlin regime

[McCauley]

i guise thats why you are treating poles and ukrainians the same like russians because they part of the Kremlin regime

How exactly would you know how they treat Poles and Ukranians from your couch in Germany? Better yet, why are you saying anything at all when you just made a thread five minutes ago celebrating Latvians' demographic decline and the growth of minorities like Russians?

[RussiaPrussia]

Lithuania assumed the European Union's six-month rotating presidency July 1, but the strategic interests that shape its foreign policy will continue to be intertwined with those of its immediate neighbors -- Poland, Belarus and Ukraine -- and those of Russia, its historic adversary. The priorities of Lithuania's presidency reflect these lingering connections, but Vilnius' foreign policy constraints are outweighed by its interests -- as they have since the founding of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwe...............

russia this russia that, is that all what lithuenia is caring about, lithuenia lost more people to poor birthrate which is casuad by western liberalism and open border to EU than it did to stalins purges and deportations.

The Baltic Apartheid regimes need a foreign enemy so they can excuse their internal problems and removing baltic independence little after little, like adopting the euro what Estonia and Latvia did and soon Lithuania too.

[RussiaPrussia]

How exactly would you know how they treat Poles and Ukranians from your coach in Germany? Better yet, why are you saying anything at all when you just made a thread five minutes ago celebrating Latvians' demographic decline and the growth of minorities like Russians?

i didnt celebrated anything, i pointed also out that it could be because they faked their numbers in the last census or they count now lativian citizens living abroad too.

[McCauley]

russia this russia that, is that all what lithuenia is caring about, lithuenia lost more people to poor birthrate which is casuad by western liberalism and open border to EU than it did to stalins purges and deportations.

The Baltic Apartheid regimes need a foreign enemy so they can excuse their internal problems and removing baltic independence little after little, like adopting the euro what Estonia and Latvia did and soon Lithuania too.

Did you it read what Hercus Monte wrote? He just said that most Lithuanians treat Russians fairly.

Giving up their independence by joining the EU, are you serious? I've seen you and say that you think that Russia should have a "stronger presence" in the Baltic countries. Fortunately, that will never happen. The Baltic counties will remain free of Russia.

[Hercus Monte]

How well are they assimilated, I mean do most of them make an effort to learn your language?

most of them speak it quite well, if they have an accent they usually apologise for not learning it well enough, it's quite funny.

[Hercus Monte]

The Baltic counties will remain free of Russia.

remains to be seen.
I highly recommend adding RP to your Ignore list, it makes this forum bearable.

[Aunt Hilda]

russia this russia that, is that all what lithuenia is caring about, lithuenia lost more people to poor birthrate which is casuad by western liberalism and open border to EU than it did to stalins purges and deportations.

The Baltic Apartheid regimes need a foreign enemy so they can excuse their internal problems and removing baltic independence little after little, like adopting the euro what Estonia and Latvia did and soon Lithuania too.

believe it or not, these two countries interact on almost a daily basis.
mind you, the baltics to bring up security concerns for russia, thus It's understandable why russia pays so much attention to them.

here's a short overview:

Russia's Levers

• Political: Russia has only limited ties to Lithuania's business elites and marginal political parties that lack representation in parliament.

• Social: Less than 10 percent of Lithuania's population is ethnic Russian, and roughly 4 percent of the population is Russian Orthodox.

• Security: Like the other Baltic states, Lithuania is a committed member of NATO and outside Russia's alliance system. Lithuania is flanked by Russian troops in Kaliningrad and outside of St. Petersburg, and has an alliance with Belarus.

• Economic: Russia controls 37 percent of Lithuania's energy firm Lietuvos Dujos and supplies 100 percent of the country's natural gas and most of its oil.

Like the other Baltics, Lithuania is located on the North European Plain. It has served as a traditional invasion route from the west and (along with Poland) has challenged Russia's control of Eastern Europe, particularly Belarus and Ukraine. Lithuania also borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Lithuania has been one of Russia's most aggressive challengers, enacting the Third Energy Package relatively quickly and taking Gazprom to court. Lithuania also built a liquefied natural gas terminal and is pursuing a nuclear power station, though Russia has worked to undermine these plans by pursuing the construction of nuclear power plants in Kaliningrad and Belarus. Russia's talks with Latvia about the Moscow-Riga rail project are part of its plan to undermine Baltic unity over the EU-oriented Rail Baltica project.

Russia displayed its military strength in the Baltic region with a weapons buildup in Kaliningrad and showed its might in the field of energy with two projects in Kaliningrad and Belarus, both near Lithuania's borders. However, Lithuania is still oriented toward NATO and the European Union and is interested in regional groupings like the Nordic-Baltic group. Lithuania is also seeking more interest from NATO via its energy security center and from the United States by supporting its ballistic missile defense plans.

As in the other Baltic states, Russia wants to prevent cross-Baltic economic, energy and rail projects. It wants to neutralize Lithuania or weaken the support it gets from external players, particularly Germany. This strategy with Lithuania is part of Moscow's overall strategy to keep NATO divided and prevent further commitments to Baltic security.

Lithuania is unique among the Baltic states in that it has its own tradition of being a legitimate power whose interests historically have overlapped with Russia's in areas like Belarus and Ukraine. Lithuania is also unique in that it is more oriented (geopolitically and economically) toward Eastern and Central Europe than it is towards the Baltic region and Scandinavia. Additionally, Lithuania's relatively small population of ethnic Russians does not give Moscow the same foothold it has in Estonia and Latvia. All of this adds up to a government in Lithuania that is more willing to stand up to Russia in key areas such as energy (the Third Energy Package) and political ties to Eastern Europe (hosting and supporting Belarusian opposition figures).

Because Lithuania is a small country, it knows it cannot challenge Moscow alone, so it has sought regional partners. This can be seen in its efforts to secure NATO involvement in its energy diversification projects and support of regional security initiatives such as the Nordic-Baltic grouping and the U.S. ballistic missile defense system in Central Europe. It has partnered with Poland to counter Russian influence in Belarus and Ukraine, though traditional cultural and historical tensions with Poland have complicated this effort. Lithuania's overall strategy regarding Russia has been confrontational, resisting any overtures from Moscow in the economic or political spheres and attempting to reverse Russia's gains in the wider region.

Russia will find it difficult to make direct inroads into Lithuania because its levers there are relatively weak. Instead, Russia will work to undermine the regional and institutional support that Lithuania is trying to secure from the likes of NATO and regional countries like Poland and the other Baltic states. This will create increasing tensions that could lead to an eventual confrontation between the two countries, though is not likely to play out militarily.

[RussiaPrussia]

Fortunately, that will never happen. The Baltic counties will remain free of Russia.

so why discriminate russians? why the fear?