Doing It the “Baltic Way”: Internationalism and the Soviet Roots of the Singing Revolution

The roots of the “Singing Revolution” in the Baltic Soviet Socialist Republics are often attributed to a spirit of resistance. However, in the “Soviet West,” a mixture of Soviet internationalism and nationalism was typical in everyday life. Although party leaders believed the national question resolved, Soviet nationalities policies evoked both an emphasis on bringing diverse national particularities together into a greater whole and a celebration of the blossoming of ethnic cultures. Personal networks were created under the guise of the “friendship of peoples,” forming a supra-national Sovetskaia Pribaltika . These personal ties during perestroika fostered cooperation between the Baltic SSR’s popular fronts. Thus, Soviet internationalism encouraged “banal” nationalism on an everyday basis, creating an opening for nationalizing policies throughout late socialism.