Baltics may be testing ground for the West
As I prepare for a vacation next month to the charismatic old town of Vilnius, Lithuania, I have repeatedly considered the state of Eastern Europe in 2021. It has been reported by CNN that Belarus, Lithuania's neighbor to the east, has built a detention camp for political prisoners; an Olympian from Belarus has been given permission to go to Poland instead of returning to her home country for fears of reprisals; and, the bellicose words of the Russian leadership in reference to the Baltics continue to plague NATO leaders.
It won't be my first trip overseas since COVID-19, as I managed to briefly visit Iceland in June, but I know my apprehension in a new world with stricter border controls is at least partially justified. The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania shouldn't fear, as they are not only members of the European Union, but NATO allies; however, as I learned from previous visits to the Baltics, many residents of these countries still wonder whether NATO would support their freedom and independence from Russia should push come to shove.
Many Americans are ignorant of these countries, given their brief status as countries after World War I until World War II and, again, since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Nevertheless, I would argue that the Baltics are a test piece for the West - a chance to redeem the failures of policy that has led to a chaotic situation in Ukraine and the increasingly authoritarianism of Belarus.
I encourage readers to get acquainted with the Baltics as the people are friendly, have developed, technology-based economies and the aforementioned beautiful "old town" sections of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. These three countries will be appreciated by visitors and deserve more than perfunctory defense if the need arises.
The West cannot afford, politically or financially, a return to the geography of the Cold War and a new, quasi-Russian alliance in the revised Eastern European shatterbelt.
Willis Lambertson
Barrington