The Baltic Way, stop by stop
- Tallinn. In Estonia the chain was organized by the Popular Front, Rahvarinne, and the day was declared a public holiday. At 19:00 Estonian Radio went live from Toompea, beside the Tall Hermann tower.
- Rapla – Türi. The Estonian stretch was first planned through Pärnu. In early August the route was changed to run inland, through Rapla, Türi and Viljandi. Monuments to the Baltic Way at Käru and Särevere were unveiled a few hours before the chain formed.
- Viljandi. From 17:00 Estonian Radio ran a three-hour live program, “Meie hoiame ühte” (We Hold Together): songs, poems, reports from along the route and traffic news. Many people stood with portable radios. Along the Estonian section, the word “Freedom” was passed from mouth to mouth.
- Estonian–Latvian border. Leaders of the Estonian and Latvian Popular Fronts gathered at the border, where a giant black cross was set alight. After the chain, many people came here, between Nuia and Rūjiena, to burn slogans of the totalitarian regimes in bonfires.
- Valmiera. In Latvia the chain was organized by the Popular Front of Latvia, which estimated that about 400,000 Latvians took part.
- Cēsis – Sigulda. Free buses took people to their assigned stretch of road. Some employers sponsored them; others refused to give workers the day off.
- Rīga. The chain crossed Rīga, the middle link between the three capitals. Footage filmed from airplanes and helicopters showed an almost continuous line of people across the countryside.
- Ķekava – Iecava – Bauska. South of Rīga the chain followed the Via Baltica road through Ķekava, Iecava and Bauska towards Lithuania.
- Latvian–Lithuanian border. In Lithuania the chain was organized by Sąjūdis. The Lithuanian section was about 220 km long.
- Pasvalys – Panevėžys. Estimates of the turnout varied. Reuters reported about 1,000,000 Lithuanians and 700,000 Estonians; organizers had expected 1,500,000 people in all.
- Ukmergė – Širvintos. The last stretch followed the A2 highway through Ukmergė and Širvintos and into Vilnius along Ukmergės Street. Airplanes flew over the chain to help coordinate it.
- Vilnius. The chain ended at Gediminas Castle Tower. About 5,000 people gathered in Cathedral Square with candles.
Timeline
- 23.08.1939: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact is signed. Its secret protocols divide Eastern Europe between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
- 23.08.1987: At a meeting in Hirvepark, Tallinn, the secret protocols are raised in public.
- 23.08.1989: The Baltic Way: about two million people join hands from Tallinn to Vilnius.
- 11.03.1990: Lithuania declares independence.
- 20.08.1991: Estonia restores its independence.
- 21.08.1991: Latvia restores its independence.
- 2009: The Baltic Way documents are added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.
Sources: Estonian History Museum: The Baltic Way, ERR archive: “Meie hoiame ühte”, Estonian Radio, 23 August 1989, Wikipedia: Baltic Way, Vabamu: Balti kett, lithuania.lt: The Baltic Way from Vilnius to Tallinn, UNESCO Memory of the World: The Baltic Way, Wikimedia Commons: Baltic Way photographs.