Latvia states of Northern and Eastern Europe were divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence". In the north, Latvia, Finland and Estonia were assigned to the Soviet sphere. A week later, on 1 September 1939, Germany and on 17 September, the Soviet Union invaded Poland. After the conclusion of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, most of the Baltic Germans left Latvia by agreement between Ulmanis' government and Nazi Germany under the Heim ins Reich programme. In total 50,000 Baltic Germans left by the deadline of December 1939, with 1,600 remaining to conclude business and 13,000 choosing to remain in Latvia. Most of
Border trade be worthwhile for a short international trip to the same purpose, although baggage restrictions can limit worthwhile savings to those for small high-value goods. Where border trade is done for tax evasion it forms part of the underground economy of both jurisdictions. Typical examples of this are the borders between Ukraine and Russia, between Norway and Denmark/Sweden/Finland/Russia/Estonia and between Denmark/Switzerland and Germany. For instance, the excise tax on alcohol is lower in Estonia than in Finland and much lower than in Sweden, thus it is common to buy large volumes of alcohol when returning from Estonia: there are shops in