ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents a multifaceted picture of the role of identity, history and memory in Baltic-Russian relations after the eastern enlargement of the European Union (EU) and NATO. It outlines alternative explanations of the troubled Baltic-Russian relationship, derived from rationalist theoretical perspectives in international relations, and argues that these explanations remain incomplete because they fail to explain interest and preference formation. The book explains the ways to conceptualize the impact of European integration on the Russian-Baltic relationship. Relations between Russia and the three Baltic states, namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have been remarkably poor for most of the post-Soviet period. In May 2005, Estonian and Lithuanian presidents refused to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, equating Soviet 'liberation' with a half-century of Soviet occupation and communist domination.
