The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will get 7 countries bigger today. Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become official members of the 55-year-old democratic, free market-based alliance at ceremonies to be held in Washington, D.C. today and in Brussels on Friday. The new countries will join Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic as former Russian/Soviet/communist-occupied countries in NATO. All these countries are showing an obvious bias in their allegiances: They have sided with the U.S. and not Russia. You haven't noticed any of these countries forging strategic alliances with Russia, have you?

The former Russian/Soviet-occupied Eastern European countries all have long memories of what it was like to live under totalitarian, communist rule. For example, during Russian occupation of the Baltic, thousands of Lithuanians were murdered, and at least 250,000 were deported to Siberia. Most never made it home from the cold, barren gulags (Russian "re-education camps"). Remember the Katyn Forest Massacre, where mostly Russian Soviet troops executed between 4,000 and 10,000 Polish soldiers? These are just a few examples of communist atrocities under Soviet rule.

Why do I emphasize Russian complicity in Soviet atrocities? Simple: Some have tried to paint the Soviet Union as some kind of distinctly “communist” phenomena. That’s like saying Germans had nothing to do with the Nazi Party during WWII. Sorry to disappoint the historical revisionists, but let’s give credit where credit is due. According to the U.S. Library of Congress:

The ethnic composition of the [Soviet communist] party reflected further disproportions between the party and the population as a whole (see table 26, Appendix A). In 1922 the share of Russian members in the party exceeded their proportion of the population by 19 percent. Since that time, the gap between Russians and other nationalities has narrowed. In 1979 Russians constituted 52 percent of the Soviet population; however, they constituted 60 percent of the party in 1981. Moreover, the percentage of Russians in the party apparatus was probably even greater than their percentage in the party as a whole.

Many Eastern Europeans had to put up with Russian domination during the reign of the czars. Old ideas didn’t die fast. The Soviet Union was very much like the czarist system: deification of the rulers (remember, communism was imposed just like religion), absolute dictatorship (remember Lenin’s emphasis on centralized rule), and plundering the occupied to enrich the occupiers. Under czarist rule, the peoples of the Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) were forbidden to use their native tongues. Under Soviet rule, they were forced to learn Russian. The Soviets built power plants in the Baltic countries and siphoned the energy off to Russia. (For more on Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, click here and here.)

I’m overjoyed that Russians no longer live under communist rule. But those Russian neo-communists and neo-imperialists who still dream of a “greater Russia” will have to bury those fantasies forever. The BBC seems to still yearn for the good old days:

The Baltic republics - Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia - used to be part of the Soviet Union and Russia has expressed irritation over their inclusion, fearing threats to its security and US interference in the region.

So what if they “used to be part of the Soviet Union.” Do they deserve to be occupied countries? Russia fearing threats to its security? The Russian Federation has a population of 146 million people, is the largest country on Earth, and has access to vast natural resources like timber, oil, and metals (e.g., Siberia). The Baltic republics have a combined population of 7.4 million, have scant resources (besides brain power and the will for hard work), and cover a tiny area of geography. What does the BBC think, that these tiny nations will invade Russia?

Whether Russians like it or not, Eastern Europe is free and will stay that way. Even the BBC admits:

Nato has agreed to include the Baltic states under its air defence shield and is planning to enforce it by stationing four F-16 fighter planes in Lithuania.

Actions speak louder than words. Joining NATO has been overwhelmingly supported by the voters in now-democratic Eastern Europe. The people have spoken. To the BBC and Russian neo-communists and neo-imperialists: “Get over it.”