Baltic Provinces

Baltic Provinces (in Russia). This term, in a wider sense, comprehends the five Russian governments bordering on the Baltic—viz. Courland, Livonia, Esthonia, Petersburg, and Finland; in a restricted sense it often designates the first three. The Baltic provinces once belonged to Sweden, except Courland, which was a dependency of Poland. They came into the possession of Russia partly in the beginning of the 18th century, through the conquests of Peter the Great, partly under Alexander in 1809. The three Baltic governments strictly so called have an area of 36,500 sq. m., and (1897) a population of 2,386,664. No pains have been spared to Russianise them, and since 1876-77 they have lost their remaining privileges, and been thoroughly incorporated in the Russian empire. They form, however, a borderland between the Germanic and Slavonic areas, and have been a frequent cause of difficulty between Germany and Russia. The bulk of the population (over 1½ millions) is composed of Esths and Letts; the Germans number above 200,000, the Russians only 65,000. See also LITHUANIA.