Baltic Commonweal

Baltic Commonweal Baltijas Sadraudzība
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: "Pro libertate atque independentia"
Anthem: "Awake, Baltics!" "Atmostas Baltija, Bunda jau Baltija, Ärgake Baltimaad!"
Four Baltic Republics
Capital and largest city	Rīga
Official languages	German
Recognised national languages	Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian
Ethnic groups (2020)	Latvians (36.5 %) Lithuanians (33.9 %) Estonians (24.3 %) Russians (2.2 %) Polish (1.7 %) Belarusians (1.3 %) Ukrainians (0.1 %)
Demonym(s)	Balt, Balts
Government	Federal Constitutional Parliamentary Republic
• Federal President	Sandra Alunāne
• Prime Minister	Antanas Paulauskas
• Speaker of the Saeima	Raimond Tamm
• Chief of Justice	Aldona Butkutė
Legislature	Federal Saeima
Foundation
Area
• Total	238,410 km2 (92,050 sq mi)
• Water (%)	5.6 %
Population
• 2020 estimate	21 489 255 (59th)
• 2015 census	20 952 087
• Density	90/km2 (233.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	1.015 trillions
• Per capita	47,253
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	437.5 billions
• Per capita	20,361
Gini (2020)	35.2 medium
HDI (2020)	0.974 very high
Currency	Baltic Krona (BLK)
Time zone	UTC+ 2, + 3 in summer (EET)
Date format	yyyy.mmm.dd.
Driving side	right
Calling code	+370
ISO 3166 code	BLT
Internet TLD	.bl

The Baltic Commonweal of Democratic Republics(Baltijas Demokrātisko republiku sadraudzība [baltijas demokra:tisko republiku sadrau dʒi:ba]), commonly referred to as the Baltic Commonweal or the Baltic, is a democratic federal state in Eastern Europe with an area of 238,410 km2 and a population of 21,489,255 as of 31 December 2020. In the south, the Baltic borders with the Republic of Poland, in the southeast with the Republic of Belarus, in the east with the Russian Federation. In the north it is washed by the Baltic Sea.

The form of government is a constitutional parliamentary republic. The Federal President since 3 August 2017 is Sandra Alunāne from the SDPB party, since 26 April 2017 Antanas Paulauskas has been the Prime Minister and Head of Government from the Reform Party.

The capital and the largest city is Rīga. The state language is German.

The Baltic Commonweal consists of four unitary republics that have equal rights in the Commonweal, these are the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Lithuania and the Prussian Republic (until 1961 the Republic of East Prussia). Each republic is divided into counties (lat. Novads, lit. Apskritis, Est. Maakond). The Republic of Estonia is divided into 16 counties, the Republic of Latvia is divided into 22 counties, the Republic of Lithuania is divided into 13 counties, the Prussian Republic is divided into 4 counties. The total number of counties in the Commonweal is 55 counties.

The Baltic Commonweal is also a member of the United Nations, NATO and the Scandinavian Economic Bloc (the trade and economic bloc of the Scandinavian countries and the Baltic Commonweal, which are not members of the European Union).

Etymology

Baltia

Baltic is the name of an island in northern Europe, presumably off the coast of Prussia. From this name, Adam of Bremen for the first time produced the phrase "Baltic Sea" (lat. Mare balticum) to designate the East Sea - Ostsee.

Latvia

For the first time a similar name in the form of "Lettia" (Lettia, Letthia) is found in the "Chronicle" of Henry of Latvia (1209). Initially, the Germans called the lands where Latgalians lived. The name "Latvia" came into the Latvian language from Lithuanian, in which it was formed from the ethnonym of Latvians - "Latvian" (lit. latviai).

Lithuania

The etymology of the word "Lithuania" is not exactly known, but there are many versions, none of which has received universal recognition. The root "lit" and its variants "years" / "lute" admit different interpretations both in the Baltic and Slavic, and in other Indo-European languages. So, for example, there are consonant toponyms on the territory of Slovakia "Lytva" and Romania "Litua", known from the XI-XII centuries. According to some, the toponym is formed from the ancient name of the river Letava (Lietavà from lit. lieti "pour"). The feudal principality, through the lands of which this river flowed, eventually took a leading position and the name was extended to the entire state.

Estonia

Until the 18th-19th centuries, Estonians called themselves maarahvas, which literally means “people of the earth,” that is, engaged in agriculture. The term eestlane comes from Latin (Aesti). This is how Tacitus is named in "Germany" for the people inhabiting the distant coast of the Baltic Sea. The ancient Scandinavian sagas contain mention of a land called Eistland - this is how Estonia is still called in Icelandic, which is close to Danish, German, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian versions of the name - Estland. Early Latin sources also contain versions of the name of the territory Estia and Hestia.

Prussia

There is no consensus among researchers about the origin of the ethnic name of the Prussians prūss, prūsai ("Pruss", "Prussians") and the region Prūsa ("Prussia [en]"). According to the assumption of linguists, this generalizing exonym of the Prussians appeared among their neighbors, first of all, probably, among the Slavs who lived southwest of the city. The Poles called the Prussians "prysy". Words consonant with the name of the Prussians are found in different languages: Skt. पुरुष (puruṣa) - "man", Gothic. "𐍀𐍂𐌿𐍃" (prus) - horse, gelding (Adam of Bremen mentions that the Prussians ate horse meat and drank mare's milk and horse blood, the property of the dead was divided according to the results of riders' competitions).

State structure

Migration policy

After a series of terrorist acts in the world, the government has consistently tightened immigration laws. Anti-immigration measures have significantly reduced the inflow of certain categories of migrants to Baltic Commonweal. In particular, in 2018, 4198 entry permits for family reunification were issued, which is 70% less than in 2013, and 1038 people were granted political asylum (82.5% less). At the same time, over the period 2013-2018, the number of those who received a study visa increased from 10 to 28.4 thousand people (an increase of 2.8 times), and those who entered on a work visa - from 5.9 to 12.8 thousand people (an increase 100%). In 2019, the measures were further tightened - in particular, a point system was introduced for spouses of immigrants wishing to enter the country.