From Union to Union

In 2011, the three Baltic states ¿ Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania ¿ observed the 20th anniversary of restored independence. For 50 years they were incorporated in the Soviet Union and then chose to join the European Union. The book presents a survey of economic history of the Baltic region up to the present day. It is a story of how this industrially advanced area of the Russian Empire and of the former USSR became a poor periphery of the EU. History helps in proper valuing attempts to calculate economic losses of the Baltic states caused by the Soviet rule and assertions that these states could have now the same level of development and welfare as Finland or Scandinavia. Nice visions of future were drawn in the Baltic states ¿ copying Finland, Netherlands or Switzerland. No one has come true by now. The region encountered acute economic, social, and demographic problems. It should be realized by small countries that economic integration is not a charity institution, but a means of global competition. The EU often faces similar problems and failures as the former Soviet Union. The book may prove useful to economists and historians and to anyone interested in the Baltic region.