I always muddle up the three Baltic States. It’s only now that I realise that they are alphabetical, north to south.
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The three Baltic States. Which one is which?
- Thread starter Wapping
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The most important oneis at the (southern) bottom end
The three countries are not somewhere I have been very often *. I was though in Riga, when the Soviet Union was collapsing, as a client of ours (Aga gasses) was buying some previously state owned air to gas plants. They were also offered a mini-army of offensive weaponry. Anything from tanks down to crates of small arms ammunition. It really was the Wild West. Ukraine was worse. An Aga engineer went out with an insurance engineer to assess a big air to gas plant; in one huge compressor house, they realised they were standing in raw asbestos, falling off the pipe work and ceiling.
* That is my loss.
Yep, that time in history, was the birth of Oligarchs (ex convicts and general criminals) and their wealth through a legalised theft. A free for all if you like, and anybody who stood in their way, well it did not end well for them.
Lithuania was stuck in dark ages upon break up of USSR. I was only young lad back then, but country had no currency at the time. Soviet rubble was worth 0.00 in breakaway territories, and own currency wasn’t yet established, so government issued coupons were the legal currency. However, small time market traders suddenly could not trade in same way they used to.
*your loss… well it can be changed, in same way as eventual trip to Ukraine once the mad Vlad either been toppled, liquidated, or gone of natural causes. Preferably asap.
It has been many moons since I have lived in Ukraine, but I’d like to pay a visit again, at some point.
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Completely selfishly, I deeply resent Putin and his invasion. That, to all intents and purposes, he has rendered an entire massive country ‘out of bounds’ and ruined MY travel plans is bloody annoying. But that is very self-centred, while innocent people are being killed and a barbaric war, akin to WW1 but with modern weaponry, is fought.
The Baltic States though…. They should be easy…. 2025?
The Baltic States though…. They should be easy…. 2025?
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Indeed, I resent him (actually never really liked him) to the point that I do not wish to speak my mother/school taught tongue, that it Russian.
The wast population of Russia is so afraid of him and they have become involuntary noddy dog and afraid to speak out against anything that the government (mostly Putin) does.
I do like that idea…
I have been to Riga as a young teenager, but have never been to Estonia. Must correct that.
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I’ve made short visits to the major cities in all 3 and definitely preferred Tallinn to the others. You can do some nice routes through the forests on that side of Poland and on one trip I took in a flying visit to Warsaw so I could visit the Warsaw Uprising centre.
Hmmmm ... a UKGSer get together on the Baltic? It's be a bit different from Dent!
The part of Poland where my father was born (and enslaved age 10 and sent to the Siberian Gulag by the Russians) is now part of Ukraine, after the borders were carved up as reparations between Stalin and Churchill, the region slipping behind the old Curzon line. Stalin helped himself to Eastern Poland (deporting around two million Eastwards) just as Putin has done with the Donbas and its Children.
My Father spoke many languages fluently, but his Russian was as good as any native such was his education (plus he had no choice in the matter).
Our family has good reason to hate Putin and all he stands for, this explains it well:
en.m.wikipedia.org
en.m.wikipedia.org
My Father spoke many languages fluently, but his Russian was as good as any native such was his education (plus he had no choice in the matter).
Our family has good reason to hate Putin and all he stands for, this explains it well:
Man Is Wolf to Man - Wikipedia
The Gulag Archipelago - Wikipedia
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I've only been to one of them, Latvia, when it was the USSR back in the early 80s.
We went to Ventspils on a BP Oil Tanker, just before the Baltic froze over for the Winter.
It was a dire place, and bitterly cold.
We visited the town, there was only the Seamans Mission that was worth visiting, where I collected some Russian Propaganda, amongst which were a couple of books on the atrocities the Nazis committed during WW2. On returning to the ship I was held at the Guard Office as they thought I'd been peddling anti-Russian propaganda when they found the books in my bag. I was held for an hour whilst they checked out where I'd got them from. My Mrs thought I was going to be shipped off to a Gulag!
We went to Ventspils on a BP Oil Tanker, just before the Baltic froze over for the Winter.
It was a dire place, and bitterly cold.
We visited the town, there was only the Seamans Mission that was worth visiting, where I collected some Russian Propaganda, amongst which were a couple of books on the atrocities the Nazis committed during WW2. On returning to the ship I was held at the Guard Office as they thought I'd been peddling anti-Russian propaganda when they found the books in my bag. I was held for an hour whilst they checked out where I'd got them from. My Mrs thought I was going to be shipped off to a Gulag!
Pot, Kettle comes to mind !
Margaretski will doubtless be more welcoming....!
Doubt it. The Russians who live there are probably Putin supporters and just as grumpy / avaricious as herself!
I heard recently that the Estonians have a very advanced computing/AI/ digital finance sector. For the same reason that anyone living next a band of burglars would have state of the art burglar alarms and locks!
I take it IT isn't your strongest subject
Not particularly but my source was an MSP who'd recently been invited to Estonia and had been briefed on their IT/banking systems and threats against it from the Russians. IIRC there's also an EU/NATO hub in Estonia which is tasked to with preventing Russian cyber attacks. Yup. Here it is.I take it IT isn't your strongest subject
NB ... "Estonia is among the most advanced digital societies globally, with an outstanding e-government infrastructure."
They might even have a job for you Paul?
My point was aimed at your 'For the same reason that anyone living next a band of burglars would have state of the art burglar alarms and locks!' reference 
Yes, presumably you think that I'm stupid enough not to know what WWW means? I'll assume that you DO know the history of the Baltic States and the USSR/Russia.
I probably should have added something to my analogy about the house having been broken into previously by the neighbours but wtf. It's only a biker forum not a creative writing seminar.
I probably should have added something to my analogy about the house having been broken into previously by the neighbours but wtf. It's only a biker forum not a creative writing seminar.
Yeah, there’s Chat GPT for that.
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