On August 11 in Tallinn, an armed member of the local neo-Soviet milieu forced his way into Estonia’s defense ministry, fired pistol shots, detonated smoke bombs, and took two hostages. In a two-hour confrontation with the security police, the intruder did not answer appeals to... MORE

Latvia is headed for pre-term parliamentary and presidential elections, potentially challenging the country’s strategic choices for the first time in two decades (see EDM, July 27). The political forces are grouped, broadly speaking, in three camps, none of them fully homogenous: parties of national-democratic and... MORE

Latvia’s upcoming elections will be the most difficult political test for the nation since the restoration of its independence 20 years ago. Pre-term elections are due to be held, as decided by a referendum on July 23. The upcoming elections will basically replay those held... MORE

The nuclear power plant project in Lithuania is a regional, not merely a national project (“Lithuania Chooses Hitachi-General Electric to Build Nuclear Power Plant,” EDM, July 19). The Visaginas project is intended to meet electricity demand on a region-wide basis. Its commerciality will be optimal... MORE

Lithuania has chosen Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, a consortium of Japan’s Hitachi and General Electric of the US, as the strategic investor for the planned nuclear power plant in Lithuania. Runner-up in the bidding was another Japanese-US company, Toshiba-Westinghouse. This project should replace the Soviet-era nuclear... MORE

Lithuania has become the first EU country to start implementing the EU’s Third Package of energy market liberalization laws. Estonia is considering a move in the same direction, possibly by October. Meanwhile, Latvia has postponed a decision, awaiting potentially fateful elections. In Lithuania (as elsewhere... MORE

On June 30, the Lithuanian parliament adopted legislation barring the supplier of natural gas (in this case, Gazprom) from owning or operating pipelines in the country. This conforms with the European Union’s Third Package of energy market legislation, which was adopted by the EU in... MORE

Attending the Lithuanian-chaired, Community of Democracies annual event in Vilnius on July 1, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed Lithuania’s energy security strategy on its three levels: the national, regional, and European. The political endorsement accompanies specific energy projects being launched by American companies... MORE

SummaryFollowing two years of negotiations, France and Russia have at last signed a contract finalizing the sale of two French Mistral-class amphibious-assault, helicopter-carrier ships to the Russian Navy for $1.7 billion. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev oversaw the signing ceremony on June 17, during the St.... MORE

Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia are each planning to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) reception terminal with a re-gasification plant on their Baltic littorals at Swinoujscie, Klaipeda, and near Riga, respectively. These projects can break Gazprom’s monopoly in the three Baltic States and Poland, creating... MORE