The Baltics, which have lost 20% of their population in 23 years, are perhaps the fastest emptying region in the world. No country in the world was hit as hard by the 2008 crisis as it was in Latvia. The economic consequences of the authorities' persistent support for sanctions against Russia are catastrophic. In the Baltics, which share Western “democratic values”, people are now being tried for disputes over historical issues, TV channels are being switched off the air for disagreeing with the position of the authorities, and old Soviet films shown on New Year’s Eve and songs by Russian performers are considered a threat to the political system... These countries exist based on a quasi-religious system of taboos, silences, prohibitions, sacred themes. The basis of their statehood is ethnic nationalism, which results in the persecution of national minorities, especially Russians. In Europe of the 21st century, given this state of affairs, it is difficult to talk about progress and advanced development. However, the media broadcast a different image of the Baltic countries - their political and economic reforms are presented as a “success story.” And the gap between the real Baltic states and its mythologized perception is rapidly growing. The purpose of this book is to show the real, and not fictitious, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, to prove the reality of their problems and to explain how and why, having once taken the “Baltic path”, these countries ended up at a dead end and what will happen to them next. In addition, “The History of Decline...” presents an analysis of the geopolitical function of the Baltic states as a “buffer zone” between Russia and the West, which was left outside the scope of the first book.