Armies, Smugglers, and Borders: Part V. Withdrawal Concludes; A New Era Begins

The early years of a democratic transition are the most difficult. Often voters confront choices of radically different candidates at elections. At the November 1992 and February 1993 elections in Lithuania, for example, voters blamed the Landsbergis government for the economic depression, but their main alternative was former Communist Party leader Algerdas Brazauskas. The economic goals of the Landsbergis government were simple: the immediate end of state-controlled enterprise. Mr. Brazauskas preferred a restoration of the state-controlled sector and closer trade ties to Russia. The electorate gave Mr. Brazauskas a narrow victory. His successor as President was Valdis Adamkis, a Lithuanian who went to the US after the second world war and returned to Lithuania in time to qualify for the 1999 election ballot.

By contrast Latvia had consistently conservative governments since its first free elections in 1989. In July 1993 President Guntis Ulmanis and prime minister Valdis Birkaus replaced the Gorbunovs/Godmanis government. Mr. Ulmanis (a nephew of Latvia's inter-war leader Karlis Ulmanis) confronted the Russian military withdrawal issue immediately. Russia invalidated the 15 August 1920 treaty it signed with Latvia after the first world war. This treaty provided guarantees for mutual respect for territorial integrity. In response to the treaty invalidation, protesters gathered at the Russian embassy in Riga. Latvian foreign minister George Andreas described the act as "departmentalized non-acceptance" and indicated that abolishing an international treaty constituted an act of war. Russia responded that any bilateral treaty that existed was negated the moment Soviet forces crossed the border in 1940. This wrangling continued until mid-1994 when the Soviet troop withdrawals were finally complete.

As a consequence of ongoing disputes on agriculture and citizenship policies within the Ulmanis/Birkaus government, on 14 July 1994 Valdis Birkaus and the entire cabinet submitted their notices of resignation. A week later the Conservative Party leader Andris Kratsyn was asked to form a government. At his confirmation hearing before the Parliament, Mr. Kratsyn acknowledged that Mr. Birkaus's Latvia Way Party would not join the new government but would be consulted for its opinions until the 1995 general elections. Latvian democracy passed its most important test: the peaceful transfer of power from one government to another.

After introduction of the lat as a fully convertible currency, Latvia's economy suffered somewhat, but it retains its status as having the highest per capita income of the former Soviet republics. Economics now pay little heed to borders, and as Latvia tries to enhance its role as a center of transit cargo, many problems have emerged. The most prevalent of these problems is smuggling - particularly vodka smuggling. Very unique methods have been found to accomplish this task. Recently Latvian port officials intercepted a shipment of 25,000 Matrushka dolls carrying vodka bottles instead of other dolls inside them. The intended recipient of the dolls was apparently a non-existent massage parlor. The investigation into that matter continues.

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