ABSTRACT
The new Bonn-Moscow axis that emerged in 1989-91 and dominated Germany’s Ostpolitik throughout the first post-Cold War decade unquestionably represented a problem for the Baltic states. As in the past, when the Baltic countries had been the constant battlefield of Germany and Russia, they found themselves after 1991 located in a ‘grey zone’ between east and west. In this new post-Cold War world their situation represented the litmus test of Europe’s security architecture. Would they remain in Russia’s shadow or would they be able to join the political and military organisations of the West? After Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania regained independence their goal was to escape Russia’s self-declared sphere of influence by joining the ‘institutional West’ with Germany’s support. Not only did the Baltics perceive Germany as western Europe’s most influential power, but they also felt that it bore a historico-political responsibility for their cause.
