    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2025)]
    [Senate]
    [Page S1305]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                           Estonian Independence Day

      Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today is Estonian Independence Day.
      On this day in 1918, the Estonians declared their independence from
    the Russian Empire. They had to fight a war against both Germans and
    the Army of Soviet Russia to secure their independence in a treaty in
    1920. In that treaty, Russia renounced any claim to Estonian territory
    and recognized the independence and sovereignty of Estonia forever.
    Forever lasted only 20 years because the Soviet Union illegally
    occupied Estonia as well as Latvia and Lithuania for the next 50 years.
    Ten percent of the population of the Baltic countries was deported or
    sent to labor camps.
      The United States always saw the occupation of the Baltics as
    illegitimate and recognized their sovereignty throughout the entire
    Cold War. In the depths of the Cold War, it was hard to imagine that
    the Baltics would ever, ever regain their independence. Today, to the
    contrary, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are vibrant, prosperous, and
    free. Of course, that irritates Putin, the KGB dictator of Russia.