The Baltic republics: post‐Soviet bell‐wethers and bridges

As western businesses and governments participate in the overhaul of the former Soviet Union, the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania can play a potentially important role in bridging economic and cultural differences. An analogy is drawn to Hong Kong, which has achieved remarkable success by leveraging a favourable location, good infrastructure and industrious human resources to forge a mutually beneficial relationship with its huge neighbour (and future sovereign), the People′s Republic of China. The Asian territory is proposed as a role model for the future development of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. As market‐oriented democracies, the three small Baltic republics will provide a gateway into Russia and serve as bell‐wethers for larger scale transformation across the former Soviet Union.