I've been wondering when I'd see the first story describing the heartburn the Russian grab of Crimea is causing in the Baltic Republics of Estonia, Latvia, and to a lesser extent Lithuania. Here is a link to that first story, concerning Estonia, which appeared in the British publication The Spectator.
Why do Ukraine's troubles resonate so strongly on the shores of the Baltic? Large numbers of Soviet military officers and their families retired to Estonia and Latvia prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As the story reports, they're still there and still obstinately Russian, refusing to assimilate.
The governments of Estonia and Latvia have to be wondering when the Russian bear will turn his hungry eyes in their direction. After all, are not Russians living in their two countries to some degree "second-class citizens?" That they are able to assimilate and refuse to do so will likely count for little in Moscow.
