United Baltic Duchy
From Kaiserreich
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| Official Language | German | |||
| Capital | Riga | |||
| Head of State | Adolf Friedrich | |||
| Head of Government | Andrievs Niedra | |||
| Establishment - Treaty of Brest-Litovsk | March 3, 1918 | |||
| Government | Constitutional Monarchy | |||
| Currency | Papiermark | |||
The United Baltic Duchy was established as a tributary state of the German Empire in the aftermath of the collapse of the Russian Empire in the face of decisive German offensives. The early days of the Duchy were not the best ones, as it had to fight for survival in the face of nationalist Estonian and Latvian forces, supported by the Entente. The bolshevik threat from the east, the general chaos in the years of the Russian Civil War until German intervention helped ensure White Russian victory, all this has left a mark on the baltic country.
The Baltischer Landeswehr, the armed forces of the newly established state, performed admirably during the wars of establishment and even came to be semi-seriously referred to as the östliche Schutzwall des Kaiserreichs (the Eastern Rampart of the Empire). The term was quickly picked up by official Duchy propaganda agencies to stress the importance of the Baltic state to the Empire as a whole.
Initially, and unlike other states established in the areas of western Russia ceded to Germany, the United Baltic Duchy was expected to one day become a formal constituent state of the German Empire. However, internal problems in both the Fatherland and in the Duchy itself have delayed initial plans.
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