Presentation for the 2015 "Business in the Baltics" studytrip, organized by ConnecTTerzake StudentUnion (Saxion University of Applied Sciences). The presentation gives a brief overview of the Baltic states and some insight in its specific history and economy.

1. Kom verder. Saxion.
The Baltic Republics
Geography & History of the Eastern Baltic Sea
Region
Jacques Bazen
Lecturer International Economics
School of Business, Building & Technology

2. Kom verder. Saxion.
The Baltics
The Baltic region takes its name from the sea that it is
close to: the Baltic Sea (Germanic languages: Ostsee,
Eastern Sea)
Balt seems to come from Byel, meaning White (Maybe
white from the ice in winter).
There is also a White Sea, but that is somewhere else

3. Kom verder. Saxion.
Map
Eastern Baltic Sea
Region,
The focus of this
presentation

4. Kom verder. Saxion.
Geography of the Baltics
The Eastern Baltic States
are flat and consist of
very old rocks (Devonic /
Silurian / Ordovician)
In the North there is a
fault line, the Baltic Klint.
The “waterfall” in Narva is
a consequence of this

5. Kom verder. Saxion.
“Baltic Klint” – Cliffs & Waterfalls

6. Kom verder. Saxion.
Eastern Baltics – soil fertility
Because of its rather fertile soils, the Eastern Baltic
area has always been of interest among great
powers around it.

7. Kom verder. Saxion.
Eastern Baltics – mining
Estonia has large shale oil deposits and also some
uranium (closed town of Sillamäe)

8. Kom verder. Saxion.
Eastern Baltics – mining
Lithuania and Kaliningrad have large deposits of
amber. Lithuania also exploits gips and limestone
deposits.

9. Kom verder. Saxion.
Eastern Baltics - climate

10. Kom verder. Saxion.
History of the Eastern Baltics
In ancient times, people who we call now to be
from “Baltic tribes”, settled in the Eastern Baltics.
Little is known about them, written accounts are
scarce.
In the Middle Ages these were the last pagans in
Europe to become Christianized.

11. Kom verder. Saxion.
History of the Eastern Baltics
Northern Crusades by the
Teutonic Order

12. Kom verder. Saxion.
Northern Crusades

13. Kom verder. Saxion.
Germanic influence
The largest cities in the Eastern Baltics are of
Germanic origin (Scandinavian / German). Original
inhabitants mainly lived in rural areas (Tallinn =
“Danish city” in Estonian).
Because of the fertile lands, a lot of agricultural
products (mostly grains) could be exported. Cities
became large and wealthy. The Hansa League was
very important for this.

14. Kom verder. Saxion.
Hansa network

15. Kom verder. Saxion.
On the map
Tallinn
Riga
Kaunas
Tilsit
KönigsbergDanzig

16. Kom verder. Saxion.
Germanic cities in the Eastern Baltics
Reval (now Tallinn)

17. Kom verder. Saxion.
Germanic cities in the Eastern Baltics
Riga

18. Kom verder. Saxion.
Germanic cities in the Eastern Baltics
Kaunas

19. Kom verder. Saxion.
Germanic cities in the Eastern Baltics
Tilsit (now Sovietsk)

20. Kom verder. Saxion.
Germanic cities in the Eastern Baltics
Königsberg (now Kaliningrad)

21. Kom verder. Saxion.
Germanic cities in the Eastern Baltics
Danzig (now Gdansk)

22. Kom verder. Saxion.
On the map
Tallinn
Riga
Kaunas
Tilsit
KönigsbergDanzig

23. Kom verder. Saxion.
Early modern period
Emergence of Poland – Lithuania (16th – 17th Century)

24. Kom verder. Saxion.
Early modern period
Influence of Sweden in the and 17th and 18th century

25. Kom verder. Saxion.
Early modern period
Influence of Russia – since the 18th century

26. Kom verder. Saxion.
Early modern period
Influence of Russia – since the 18th century

27. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern times
After World War I,
at the Versailles
peace treaty, the
decision was made
to separate
Germany and
Russia with buffer
states in between.
Buffer states

28. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern times
The three Baltic states got
their independence from
Russia (1918 – 1940)
As a consequence of the
Molotov – Ribbentrop pact,
the Soviet Union occupies
the Baltic states again, while
Germany occupies Poland

29. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern times
During the second World
War, the Baltics states were
occupied by Germany.
Baltic soldiers fought on
both Nazi & Soviet side…
controversy even today.

30. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern times
Result: After the second World War, the Baltic
States were occupied and annexed by the Soviet
Union.

31. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern times
German Eastern Prussia was divided by the Soviet
Union and Poland

32. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern times
Russification of the Baltics/Eastern Europe is still a
very controversial subject today

33. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern Times
In the early 1990s, the Baltic states become
independent once again.

34. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern Times
Don’t make the mistake of
assuming there is something like
a “Baltic states culture”!
The people of each country see
themselves as distinctly different
from the other.

35. Kom verder. Saxion.
Surface & People
17 Million
7 Million

36. Kom verder. Saxion.
Large cities, empty countries
Country Population
Metropolitan
area Population %
Estonia 1315819 Tallinn 542983 41
Latvia 1985600 Riga 1018295 51
Lithuania 2921920 Vilnius 807607 28
Kaliningrad Oblast 941873 Kaliningrad 431402 46
The Netherlands 16912640 Amsterdam 1590520 9

37. Kom verder. Saxion.
Estonia
Culture: Scandinavian, with German influence.
Language group: Uralic (Related to Finnish and
Hungarian)
Protestant heritage and work ethic. Liberal society
and culture, aimed at human rights.
Don’t feel themselves specifically
Baltic.

38. Kom verder. Saxion.
Latvia
Culture: Baltic, with German influence.
Language group: Indo European
Strong influence of German settlers/nobility on the
development of the country/culture. Identify
themselves as descendants of
Baltic tribes (Mainly Latgalians
and Curonians).

39. Kom verder. Saxion.
Lithuanian
Culture: Baltic, influence from Poland
Language group: Indo European
Roman-Catholic heritage. Strong heritage of the
past Polish – Lithuanian commonwealth. The
glorious days of the Grand Duchy
of Lithuania. “Lithuania as small
surviving part of an empire”.

40. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern Times
The Baltic Republics are
Western oriented:
Negotiations with the EU lead
to accession of the Baltic
States to the EU in 2004 and
adoption of the Euro. The new
republics also become
members of NATO.

41. Kom verder. Saxion.
Modern Times
Ethnic tensions within the
Baltic Republics remain: There
are many ethnic Russians.
WWII is in many cases still
fiercely debated…

42. Kom verder. Saxion.
Economy of the Baltic Republics
All three Baltic Republics and also in a lesser
extent Kaliningrad are small countries with open
economies. They have to… the home market is
simply too small.

43. Kom verder. Saxion.
Economy of the Baltics
Kaliningrad is a special economic zone in Russia
aimed at boosting foreign investments.
Unfortunately it is not successful enough. Main
reasons are political: visa regime and high prices
Unemployment is far above the Russian average.

44. Kom verder. Saxion.
Economy of the Baltics
Industry in the Baltic Republics is concentrated
around Riga.
Service sector is the most important source of
income for all the republics, especially the fast
development of tourism and ICT-services.

45. Kom verder. Saxion.
Finally
It is most important to be here, look around and
learn from what you see and hear…
Enjoy your stay in the Baltics!