The three Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—have long languished in semiobscurity, victims of their geographic remoteness vis-à-vis the rest of Europe and of the actions of powerful neighbors who have annexed these countries, invaded them, or simply marched through them with armies. (The list of these conquering foes is too long to cite in full here but includes Germans, Swedes, and Russians.) Often, and mistakenly, lumped together as "the Balts," each country has a distinct, non-Slavic language and culture at its core. Linguistically, only Latvian and Lithuanian are related (even they are separate languages), and Estonian is close to Finnish.

Obviously, as three small countries in a relatively compact region, they have some traits in common, including strong folk traditions, many of which predate the Christianization of the area, which began only in the twelfth century and took centuries to fully accomplish. Estonia and Latvia endured centuries of domination by a Baltic German aristocracy, which enserfed the local peasantry; Lithuania enjoyed a brief period of independent expansion and was later subject to strong Polish influence in matters of both religion and politics. All three peoples would end up as subjects of the Russian Empire under the czars.

A common history was again imposed on all three states by the long period of Soviet domination over the Baltic countries, which came to an end only with the breakup of the USSR in 1991. Since that time, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have enjoyed independence, emerging into the light such that their individuality is once again discernible. And, although they may never wield great influence in world affairs, the three Baltic countries are about to become a good deal less obscure, at least in terms of Europe.

As of May 2004, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will all accede to full membership in the European Union, as part of the largest E.U. expansion in recent history. This, combined with their recent acceptance into the NATO alliance, means that the Baltic states will once again play a pivotal role in an area where Central and East Europe, as well as Scandinavia, converge.

The three countries currently seek to position themselves as a kind of northern bridgeway between East and West, and each is undergoing fundamental changes in terms of economic development and political life. Now, as in the past, the Hoover Institution Archives seeks to record the history of these three countries through documents, manuscripts, and artifacts of various kinds. Having collected materials on the Baltic states throughout the vicissitudes of the twentieth century, during which great tragedies befell the region, the archives maintains a continuing interest in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as they currently enter a much brighter period in their respective histories.