A number of recent developments have sharpened the interest in Europe’s eastern margins where Russia finds itself in direct contact with NATO and the EU. The accession of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia in 2004 to these entities, the scaling back of U.S. involvement in the Baltic Region (in particular, the de facto termination of the Northern European Initiative), the appearance of an “Old” vs. “New” European divide, the emergence of the Eastern Dimension (ED) sponsored by Poland, and a clearer articulation of the importance of contacts with CIS countries in foreign policies of the Baltic states have highlighted the importance of this region. [...]