This article examines the official U.S. reaction to the Soviet government's use of force in the Baltic republics in January 1991, not only showing the complexity of the U.S. position but also demonstrating how reactions in Washington became harsher in the space of a week, eroding the previous “Gorbachev first” attitude. The article identifies the main reasons for this shift, especially West European reactions, domestic pressures, and growing concerns that violence in the Baltics marked the end of perestroika. The analysis sheds light on a larger debate between Kristina Spohr and Celeste Wallander about Western attitudes toward the Baltic question at the Cold War endgame. The article is based on newly available archival materials in the United States and France as well as on documents from the archives of the Gorbachev Foundation in Moscow and in the Latvian State Archives.

中文翻译：

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“这是改革的结束吗？” 1991 年 1 月苏联在波罗的海共和国使用武力的国际反应

这篇文章考察了美国官方对 1991 年 1 月苏联政府在波罗的海诸国使用武力的反应，不仅展示了美国立场的复杂性，还展示了华盛顿的反应如何在一周的时间里变得更加严厉，侵蚀了之前的“戈尔巴乔夫至上”的态度。文章指出了这种转变的主要原因，尤其是西欧的反应、国内压力以及对波罗的海的暴力事件标志着改革结束的日益增长的担忧。该分析揭示了克里斯蒂娜·斯波尔和塞莱斯特·瓦兰德之间关于西方在冷战末期对波罗的海问题的态度的更大辩论。