In Latvia, as in the other Baltic states, it is usually the smaller museums outside of the main occupation museums that tend to be the most impactful. Over three floors that hide a deceptively detailed series of exhibits, the Latvian Popular Front Museum focuses on those pivotal moments from 1986 to 1993 when everything was on the line and the course of history was being determined by real people in real time who suffered greatly. Similar to the Baltic states, the museum is unassuming yet rich in character with a profound and inspiring story to tell of the Popular Front of Latvia and Latvia’s regaining of independence through key moments like The Baltic Way of August 1989.

The Baltic Way, when roughly two million Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians formed a human chain stretching from Tallinn to Vilnius, as well as the coordinated actions of the Baltic states in securing their independence from the Soviet Union, is a masterstroke in the triumph of human will and deft diplomacy. It is a reminder that history is often messy before it is organized and presented as a clear series of events whose outcome seems preordained. In Latvia, history is laid bare, with all of its imperfections yet knowing that its cause is morally just. Unlike in some other European states, the neighbor to the east is not glamourized, but rather analyzed, dissected, and used as a template to guide others along in their dealings.

For some Latvians like Vilis Vitols in his book On Russia, there is an inherent barbarism to the Russians, combined with a need for territorial expansion, that prohibits both democratic reforms within Russia as well as the potential for Russia to live peacefully amongst its neighbors. For Vitols, it is only a matter of time before another tyrant emerges in Russia who will be even more bloodthirsty than Putin, seeking land in Kazakhstan, the Caucasus, or even China, not to mention the three small Baltic states. In dealing with Russia, Vitols agrees with Latvian MP Aleksandrs Kirsteins of the only two ways in which relations can be established, either ‘by punching them in the nose or by licking their boots.’ For many Latvians, it is clear that German Chancellors Gerhard Schroeder and Angela Merkel chose the latter option, while history makes clear for the peoples of the Baltic states and others long oppressed by Russia that the former is the only plausible path. Now that Schroeder has emerged as Putin’s preferred peace negotiator over the future of the war in Ukraine, Latvia and the other Baltic states would like a word over the dangers of bootlicking when carving up spheres of influence or making broad territorial claims in Europe.

In addition to important matters of statecraft, the Baltic states also have much to offer in the language and the practice of travel and how it informs our understanding of history and contemporary geopolitics. In the Baltic states, there are beautiful facades and palaces that are a physical manifestation of a certain form of history. However, there is also that divine element of chance in which history may have a destination, a physical manifestation, but it also lurks on every street corner in the most unexpected of places. In other countries history often presents itself as a destination, whereas in the Baltic states, history is an act of discovery. One is safe while the other is challenging, or to paraphrase the great chronicler of Central Europe Stefan Zweig, in one you are guided by chance, ‘the real god of travellers’, and you participate in the act of travel rather than being travelled. The Baltic states present the challenge of knowing history but discovering it at the same time and in the same destination, a rare feat that invites that most important quality of nuance into our understanding of both the past and the present.

In the Baltic states, those places where history does not return, it does not rest behind facades either. It is raw, discomforting, complex, but ultimately inspiring. As the Baltic states continue to lead in Europe on matters of defense spending, technological advancement, strategic autonomy, and relations with Russia, there is another less visible arena in which they also excel. Stretching from Tallinn to Vilnius is a different Baltic Way for the 21^st century. Just as millions locked arms to proclaim their freedom in August 1989, the soft power of historical discovery and enrichment is also one that should guide all of Europe and her democratic allies like the United States towards a more prosperous future.

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