On August 23, 1989, two million Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians joined hands to form a human chain almost 400 miles long.

The chain stretched from the Estonian capital of Tallinn, through Latvia, and to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.

This show of both unity among the Baltic states and resistance to the Soviet Empire cemented their fate.

Gorbachev’s government privately concluded that the Baltics’ secession from the USSR was inevitable.

In 1990, the Baltics each officially declared their independence.

One year later, the Soviet Union officially recognized their independence and the last Russian troops withdrew in 1994.