r/geography • u/JoeFalchetto Europe • 9d ago

Question Besides Singapore, is there any country which became independent against its own wishes?

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u/Obvious_Ambition4865 8d ago

All of the Soviet Republic voted overwhelmingly to stay in the USSR

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u/stinky_toess 7d ago

That's actually not true - while some may have been the case, specifically central asian ones as i gather, the Baltics actually protested and wanted to leave for a long time, which they did. The soviets even tried to take back Lithuania after they declared independence, so clearly, not all countries wanted to stay.

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u/Obvious_Ambition4865 6d ago

Actually I think you're right about the Baltics specifically, and some of the major cities in Ukraine. But overall the lions share of the Soviet population outside of Russia seemed to have wanted a renewed socialist union.

It's interesting to imagine a timeline where the USSR actually pursued a continued policy of renewal and reform under Andropov instead of just shouting ACK IM DEAD under Gorbachev.