[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 25, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S1809]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 RUSSIA

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, on this day in 1949, the Russian-Soviet 
regime occupying the Baltic countries rounded up 95,000 people, mostly 
women and children, and sent them to Siberia.
  During Stalin's rule, more than 220,000 innocent people were deported 
to cold Siberia. This doesn't even include political prisoners sent to 
the gulag camps.
  This day is observed by those Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, 
and Lithuania by lighting candles in the memory of these deportees.
  The reason the Soviets did this is pretty simple: They wanted to 
crush civil society in newly occupied areas because they took over the 
Baltic countries in 1940.
  The ultimate goal was to eliminate Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian 
national identity entirely, replacing it with, of course, a Soviet-
Russian identity. The Soviets did not succeed in this effort.
  Now, you may not remember this from history, but the United States 
never recognized the illegal Soviet occupation of these three Baltic 
States.
  Now, the people of those three countries kept the flame of freedom 
alive by quietly telling their children the truth about how their 
countries were once free and independent.
  Then, when the Soviet empire showed signs of weakness, their desire 
for freedom burst forth in what is called the Singing Revolution. It 
got the name because of the use of national songs banned by the Soviet, 
and this, by singing it, was their means of protest.
  Fifty years of brutal Soviet occupation could not extinguish the 
flames of freedom and all Baltic countries are again free and 
prosperous and these three countries happen to be among the most pro-
American allies.
  I wonder if we can learn a lesson because we know that when Putin 
invaded Ukraine in 2022, he has since kidnapped about 20,000 young 
people from Ukraine and taken them to Russia to ``Russiafy'' them, I 
guess you would say.
  We don't hear enough of that. We ought to be reminded of what the 
Soviets did after World War II, and it seems like the world has not 
learned a lesson or Putin wouldn't get away with his kidnapping of 
20,000 children to take them to Russia from Ukraine.
  We should not allow this to continue, and the United States of 
America ought to be very cautious in any dealings with an international 
war criminal as Putin has been so condemned.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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