One of the most thoroughly studied periods of twentieth-century history is associated with the end of the First World War. In Eastern Europe, nation-states emerged in place of the former empires, yet these new states did not enter the international arena on equal footing. Their differing positions were reflected above all in their status under international law. A key prerequisite for full statehood was recognition by other states. Between 1918 and 1921, both de facto and de jure recognition played a crucial role in relations among the new states. During this period, the role of the United States grew increasingly significant, as did debates over the interpretation and application of the right to self-determination. Despite close mutual contacts, Poland and the Baltic states achieved mutual de jure recognition only in early 1921. Moreover, a formal state of war between Lithuania and Poland remained in force until 1938.

Estonia was not invited to participate in the creation of the Versailles system, whereas Poland has often been described as one of its key components. Lithuania’s position was even more uncertain, as it was not yet clear how many former provinces of the Russian Empire would ultimately form part of the Lithuanian state. Presenting the early development of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as a shared historical trajectory is a common historiographical approach, but it risks creating a retrospective and, in some respects, anachronistic sense of common identity. Lithuania’s prospects were particularly complex in light of the plans of Polish politicians for a federative state and the influence of these ideas on President Woodrow Wilson. Even the apparent sense of unity among the Baltic states could neither justify nor impede Poland’s prolonged delay in extending recognition to Estonia.

In Estonia, the official representations of Poland and Lithuania began their activities simultaneously at the beginning of 1919, and Estonia treated both entirely equally, without prior obligations or prejudices. A consulate was soon formed out of the Polish committee established in Tallinn. The committee’s representative subsequently became a consular agent and chargé d’affaires in Estonia. Regarding final recognition, Poland remained reserved until the leading Entente powers reached a corresponding decision in January of 1921. The document announcing the recognition of Estonia was formally completed, and the date of the decision was symbolically recorded as 31 December 1920. Although friendly relations between Estonia and Poland during the interwar period have often been emphasised, the path to mutual recognition was in fact uneven and protracted.