Operation Weserübung's effects on Sweden became strategically encircled by the German-Soviet pact. Since the Baltic states; Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; had been forced to accept "limited" Soviet forces on their soil, in the autumn of 1939, they were de facto more or less in a state of occupation. For Sweden and Finland, this meant that the only possible trade route to nations other than Germany and the Soviet Union, was through Petsamo harbour, in the far north of Finland. This seriously hampered the supply situation in both these nations. It also meant that an invasion of Sweden could be launched from almost any direction. Sweden
Latvia–Russia relations (Don and Kuban). From June 1919 to October 1920, Latvia was also represented in Siberia and the Urals by (Vladivostok). The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, which included deportations to Siberian Gulags (June deportation), created a large degradation of Latvian-Russian relations. Nazi Germany then occupied Latvia in 1941 German occupation of Latvia during World War II, until the USSR returned in 1944 to resume occupation, resulting in further deportations. During this period many Latvians fled with the retreating Germans or to Sweden. The Soviet occupation dramatically increased the number of Russians living in Latvia in a short space of