Conclusion

Abstract

The evolution of elections and democracy in post-Soviet Eastern Europe and Eurasia features remarkable progress and stunning reversals. At the end of 1991, the Soviet Union’s collapse introduced fifteen newly independent states with little experience in managing competitive politics and elections. While Estonia and Latvia initially stumbled in efforts to address integration of the Russophone population, all three Baltic states moved steadily toward free elections and democratic decision making. Their successes were capped off by accession to the European Union less than fifteen years after the USSR’s demise.