Since the beginning of the 18th century, the Baltic states have been part of Russia for over 200 years. Without exaggeration, it was the quietest region of the empire. However, in 1941-1944. The Baltic states turned out to be the only territory of Europe occupied by Hitler, most of the population of which fought on the side of the Germans. And in 1990, it was the Baltic republics that initiated the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the monograph presented, the author tried to find the reasons for this phenomenon in the thousand-year history of the region.