Turning citizens into soldiers: Baltic paramilitary movements after the Great War

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ENThis chapter will primarily focus on one of the least known of these paramilitary groups – the Šauliai (‘Lithuanian Riflemen Union’ or LRU). Yet it will also provide a comparative perspective on other two paramilitary formations that emerged in Latvia and Estonia: the Latvian Aizsargi (‘Home Guard’) and the Estonian Kaitseliit (‘Defence League’). All three were established in 1918-1919 as self-defence citizen militias. By 1940 each grew to more than 60,000 members (the Kaitseliit to almost 100,000 with all auxiliaries). Yet by late 1940 they were dissolved by the Soviets as their leaders were arrested, imprisoned, deported or executed. I will explore their ideological roots, military activities, political aims and initiatives, as well as long-term legacies in order to explain their evolution into sizeable social movements with more similarities than differences between them.