Hippies in the Baltic [Volume: 7(1988), pp. 157-176]

158
MARK YOFFE
appear. Each Baltic nationality, joined, it would seem, with its neighbors
by the overall tragedy, struggles (if it does struggle) all alone. And more
than that, instead of unity among the three groups there exists mutual
animosity and hatred.
Hatred of the Baltic people toward the Russian invaders and enslavers
is a very natural fact and requires no explanation. Just as clear is the dislike
of the Baltic peoples for settlers from other republics of the Soviet Union,
especially the Belorussians and Ukrainians, who are often sent to the Baltic
in accordance with the Soviet program for destruction of the national
solidity in the Baltic republics.
Of course it would be a great deal better if, instead of dwelling on
their mutual grudges, all these nationalities would unite in a struggle against
their mutual enemy-the Soviet regime-but that is already in the realm
of fantasy.
In the meantime, to the present day the Latvians are, after the Russians,
probably the main enemies of the Estonians. And perhaps they are the
main enemies in the villages located near the borders between their republics. It is well known that those who drive vehicles bearing Latvian
license plates become, in Estonia, victims of the law against an incorrect
itinerary. To be convinced of this, it suffices to walk or ride from the
Latvian city of Valka to the city of Valoka in Estonia, or to travel the 40
kilometers from Salacgriva to Pamu.
The Latvians feel the same animosity, only, perhaps, more passive,
toward the Estonians. The mutual dislike can be explained by wars back
in the Middle Ages. In Estonia you often hear of the valiant Estonian army
in some 14th century which arrived at the walls of Riga itself, while the
Latvians will explain to you with no less pride that it was a brilliant ruse
of the splendid Latvian army, which lured the enemy to the walls of the
capital and commenced its slaughter from there.
Similar "brotherly love" flowers farther to the south on the border
between Latvia and Lithuania, where, in the border towns, you can frequently hear of numerous cases of violence of the Latvians toward the
Lithuanians, and vice versa. The jaunty village young people set up drunken
raids on the dance floors of the neighboring republics-Latvians go to smash
Lithuanians and they go to smash Latvians. In one such village the local
guys proudly showed the author of this text a well in which a "Lithuanian
girl was drowned" and they promised to beat up more of their blood
brothers-Lithuanians.
On a more intellectual level, and especially in the Western emigration,
representatives of all three nationalities pelt one another with continual
reproaches on who among them was the first to yield to the Soviet regime
and to Russification. They are unfailingly assigned places according to who
first joined the ranks of resistance and who was last. Naturally the Estonians
traditionally end up in first place, and the Latvians in last, although critics