Synopsis
At the end of the 1980s, the Soviet empire is in upheaval. Communist leaders start to feel the heat as the most powerful among them, Mikhail Gorbachev, makes it clear that the Red Army will no longer bolster the satellite regimes of Eastern Europe. Many regard him as a hero for his willingness to let go of the Soviet empire.
His willingness to concede does not, however, include the states that comprise his own country, the Soviet Union, which he wants to keep intact at all cost. And in spite of the fact that the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were forced to become part of the Soviet Union. It is still vivid in the peoples’ memories that they never joined the union out of their own free will but rather as a result of Hitler’s agreement with Stalin. The people in the Baltic states want nothing more than to to sever their ties with the Soviets.
The Berlin wall has not yet fallen when on 23 August, 1989, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians unite in a huge rally to express their will to break away from: more than one million citizens of the Baltic republics form the longest human chain of all times, stretching out for more than 600km. Among the protesters is Loreta Asanaviciute. A young girl, full of hopes and dreams.
His willingness to concede does not, however, include the states that comprise his own country, the Soviet Union, which he wants to keep intact at all cost. And in spite of the fact that the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were forced to become part of the Soviet Union. It is still vivid in the peoples’ memories that they never joined the union out of their own free will but rather as a result of Hitler’s agreement with Stalin. The people in the Baltic states want nothing more than to to sever their ties with the Soviets.
The Berlin wall has not yet fallen when on 23 August, 1989, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians unite in a huge rally to express their will to break away from: more than one million citizens of the Baltic republics form the longest human chain of all times, stretching out for more than 600km. Among the protesters is Loreta Asanaviciute. A young girl, full of hopes and dreams.