Latvia's president called the collapse of the Soviet Union the greatest event in 20th-century European history.
As we mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, RFE/RL is looking again at some of the factors that determined the course of the struggle and shaped the new world that emerged from it. Russia next week plays host to celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. The conflict, which cost tens of millions of lives, formally ended with Germany's capitulation on 8 May 1945 -- just before midnight, Central European Time. In Moscow, it was already past midnight and the date marking the end of hostilities would be remembered as 9 May. The continent erupted in weary jubilation. But for some European nations, the defeat of Nazi Germany brought no respite from their suffering. For the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, 1945 meant a return to Stalinist rule, originally imposed in 1940 -- under the terms of the Nazi-Soviet agreement that carved up Eastern Europe: the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.
