The History

Official recognition of independence for the three Baltic states ends a struggle by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia since their annexation by the Soviet Union on the eve of World War II. But their history involves centuries of both Germanic and Russian domination.

* Independence for the three provinces of imperial Russia came with the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. They remained independent between the two world wars, but with tension building they were occupied by the Germans in 1939.

* The secret 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler allowed the Soviet Union to swallow them as republics in August, 1940.

* The Germans invaded again in 1941, occupying all three Baltic states until the Nazis capitulated to allied forces.

* The Soviet Union took over the three states again, though their annexation was never officially recognized by the United States.

* The fight against their status continued, but flagged in 1975, when the Helsinki Accords set down the principle of respect for established borders.

* Last year, Lithuania declared sovereignty in March and announced it would secede. Moscow clamped restrictions on it, and Lithuania delayed its declaration. Estonia and Latvia followed its lead, with both voting to observe a transition period.

* This year, there were renewed efforts at separation, with refusals to sign or draft a proposed Union Treaty to define relations between the republics and Moscow. That treaty proposal was among the factors triggering the failed coup to oust President Mikhail S. Gorbachev on Aug. 19. Upon the coup's collapse, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia immediately proclaimed independence.

The Numbers

* LITHUANIA:

--The largest and most populous of the three republics that lie on Baltic Sea. It covers 26,080 square miles and has 3.7 million inhabitants, Lithuania is bounded by Latvia, Byelorussia and Russia and has a short frontier with Poland.

--Lithuanians total about 80% of the population, making it the Baltic republic with the highest percentage of its titular nationality. About 9% are Russian, 7% Polish and 2% Byelorussian.

--It is poor in natural resources, importing all its gas and oil from the Soviet Union, so it will need to international assistance and cooperation to survive.

--Capital: Vilnius.

ESTONIA: