Major events in the Baltics in 1999

ƒ Latvian Prime Minister Vilis Kristopans quits after his coalition
partners talk to the opposition behind his back. Former PM Andris
Skele is made leader of a new right-wing coalition.

ƒ President Vaira Vike-Freiberga vetoes a controversial language law
criticized by international bodies for prying into the private sector.

ƒ The first tanker fills up at Lithuania's $20 million Butinge oil
terminal amid howls from Latvian greens who claim the facility
threatens their countries' coastline. Four of them chain themselves
to the platform and are arrested.

ƒ Belarusian opposition leader Semion Sharetsky flees to Lithuania,
fearing arrest by President Alexander Lukashenko. Sharetsky claims he
is the legitimate Belarussian leader and Lukashenko's hold on power
is unconstitutional.

ƒ About 24,000 singers from around the world take part in the
Estonian Song Festival in Tallinn.

August

ƒ Balts mark the double anniversary on Aug. 25 of the 1939
Nazi-Soviet pact that led to their occupation and the 1989 Baltic Way
human chain for renewed independence.

ƒ Vladimir Putin replaces Sergei Stepashin as Russia's PM. Analysts
say this is more maneuvering by President Boris Yeltsin before next
year's presidential polls.

ƒ Finnish and Estonian businessmen announce plans for a 10,000-seat
sports and culture arena in Tallinn that will be the biggest in the
Baltics when it opens in late 2000.

ƒ Estonia reaffirms its ultra-liberal reputation by abolishing
corporate income tax.

ƒ Throughout Europe crowds don sunglasses to watch the biggest solar
eclipse in years. Predictions of the end of the world do not come
true.

September

ƒ Lithuania agrees to shut down two reactors at the Ignalina nuclear
plant by 2005, a move seen as a prerequisite for EU membership talks.

ƒ Latvia is scandalized by a TV show's claims that unnamed top
government officials are part of a pedophile ring.

ƒ The political honeymoon ends for Latvia's president, Vaira
Vike-Freiberga, after revelations she ran up big hotel bills during
a visit to New York.

ƒ Estonian border guards make a record drug bust when 7.5 kilos of
amphetamines worth $685,000 are discovered at Tallinn's passenger
port.

ƒ German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer backs Balts' EU aspirations
during a visit to Tallinn.

October

ƒ Lithuanian Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas resigns, claiming a deal
with American oil corporation Williams International will be
financially ruinous for Lithuania. He is replaced by
fellow-Conservative Party MP Andrius Kubilius.

ƒ Infamous businessman and former Tallinn deputy mayor, Mait
Metsamaa, is gunned down in the Estonian capital.

November

ƒ Passionate public demonstrations condemn Russia's military
offensive in Chechenya as Baltic governments react cautiously to the
war.

ƒ Latvians vote overwhelmingly to reject controversial pension law
changes, but the referendum is annulled because not enough voters
turn out.

ƒ Former Interior Minister Juri Mois is elected Tallinn's mayor after
protracted negotiations follow local elections.

ƒ Former Russian PM and leader of the fatherland-All Russia Party
Yevgeny Primakov visits Vilnius for talks with Lithuanian leaders.

December

ƒ Latvia and Lithuania are invited to start membership talks with the
EU at the Helsinki summit of European leaders; 2003 is given as the
earliest realistic accession date for the newcomers.

ƒ The presidents of Belarus and Russia agree to form a confederacy
between the two Slavic states.

ƒ Latvia's parliament passes a version of its language law acceptable
to the OSCE.

ƒ After two one-day strikes, Latvian teachers win some pay rises but
much less than they originally sought.

ƒ Storms rip across the Baltic coast killing seven and causing
millions of dollars worth of damage.

Compiled by Philip Birzulis.