Invasion? There were local soviets in the Baltics that the German imperial army overthrew after they invaded in 1918. The Soviet central government intervened there to support the workers movement against the whites and restablish the councils. The only invasions were german and polish.
Baltics
Jack Reyes
Easton Thomas
Other than what other posters said
Access to warm water port, and control of strategic area.
Easton White
The prosperity of the Baltic states was built up during Soviet times, they were the most prosperous of the union, better than Ukraine and western Russia, way better than the central Asian states. I suppose that for nationalists this brings a certain feeling of inadequacy - their wealth is built upon the interconnectivity with an entity much larger than themselves. It's like trying to be a hardcore Luxembourg nationalist when you're just an appendage to Germany. Imagine being a generic reactionary nationalist politician (so not the common worker who identifies with nationalism) in a former socialist country and the sheer shame you must feel. Public works, infrastructure, education, healthcare etc. made great by the Soviets and now things are just stagnating despite all the EU bucks. The Americans have bases on your soil. There's beggars on the streets, something unthinkable 30 years ago. The Riga Metro was never built. People keep leaving the country!
Nationalists are a disgrace to their country and its people, they have no commitment to any larger historical project. Just being good puppets for oligarchy and imperialism.
Chase Fisher
I think that's by design – a kind of engineers emigration done via cutting the civil service and pushing people out, which not only cuts spending but also solves unemployment. Win win!
Connor Lopez
Shit like this makes me so depressed. What could've been, my friends…
Hunter Ortiz
Good take comrade. If these nationalists truly cared about their country's people, they would have expanded on the social services the Soviets bestowed upon them in the past. Instead of that, they throw a tantrum like a toddler, toss everything aside, and create their own bastardized version of these benefits (bonus points if this was done for some faux-national revitalization purpose). Empty promises of a better and more open economy and all in the name of growth. If that doesn't work, they throw their hands up when things don't go their way only to blame it on everyone but themselves.
Immigrants, Soviets, communists, and finally jews.
Nationalists are enemies of the working class.