History of the United States (1980–1991) which the nations of the world, East and West, North and South, can prosper and live in harmony." Nationalist agitation in the Baltic States for independence led to first Lithuania and then the other two states, Estonia and Latvia, declaring independence from the Soviet Union. On December 26, 1991, the USSR was officially disbanded, breaking up into fifteen constituent parts. The Cold War was over, and the vacuum left by the collapse of governments such as in Yugoslavia and Somalia revealed or reopened other animosities concealed by decades of authoritarian rule. While there was a certain reluctance among the U.S.
Russians in the Baltic states as the war drew to a close. Immediately after the war, a major influx from other USSR republics primarily of ethnic Russians took place in the Baltic states as part of a "de facto" process of Russification. These new migrants supported the industrialization of Latvia's economy. Most were factory and construction workers who settled in major urban areas. The influx included the establishment of military bases and associated personnel with the Baltic states now comprising the USSR's "de facto" western frontier bordering the Baltic Sea. Many military chose to remain upon retirement, attracted by higher living standards as compared to