Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in the context of "Vilnius Region"

The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The Soviet Union had annexed the Baltics around 1940, following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (a non-aggression agreement with Nazi Germany) though this annexation was not widely recognized.During the subsequent occupation the Soviet Union suppressed local languages, religious institutions, and cultural expression, and carried out large-scale deportations and political repression.

In the late 1980s, massive demonstrations against the Soviet regime began after widespread liberalization of the regime failed to take into account national sensitivities. Civic organizations such as Sąjūdis in Lithuania, the Popular Front of Latvia, and the Estonian Popular Front coordinated petitions, rallies, and public forums to express dissent. Public song festivals became a key element of resistance, as tens of thousands of participants sang national and folk songs in mass gatherings, blending cultural revival with political protest.

Izmail Oblast (Ukrainian: Ізмаїльська область, romanized: Izmailska oblast; Romanian: Regiunea Ismail) (7 August 1940 — 15 February 1954) was an oblast in the Ukrainian SSR, roughly corresponding to the historical region of Budjak in southern Bessarabia. It had a territory of 12,400 km (4,800 sq mi). The region had a multi-ethnic population consisting of Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Russians, Moldovans, and Gagauz.

First mentions of the name of the region are found in documents from 16th century CE. The region was with the Russian Empire briefly before the Ottomans took control of it in the 17th century CE. Russians recaptured it in 1809 and it became an autonomous territory within the Ottoman Empire following the Crimean War (1853-1856). The area was under Russian occupation from 1877 to 1917, and was occupied by Romania after the First World War. The Soviet Union re-took control of it after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact before the Second World War in 1939-40.