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The term Baltic Russians is usually used to refer to the Russian-speaking communities in the Baltic...

The term Baltic Russians is usually used to refer to the Russian-speaking communities in the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The term "Baltic Russians" does not imply a separate ethnic subcategory among the Russians. It came into use in the context of discussions of their fate after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Therefore, Russians living in the Saint Petersburg area and the Kaliningrad Oblast are usually excluded, as they live within the current administrative boundaries of Russia. The Russian minorities of Finland and Poland, despite the fact that they live in countries by the Baltic Sea coast, are not considered "Baltic Russians" because they live on territory that was not annexed by the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Most of the present-day Baltic Russians are migrants from the Soviet era and their descendants, whereas only a relatively small fraction of them can trace their ancestry in the area back to previous centuries. The term "Baltic Russians" was rarely ever used before the end of the Second World War. Prior to 1945, there was no common "Baltic Russian" identity that would somehow cover the Russians living in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,