Maria Zakharova delivers a lengthy and vicious speech trying to ridicule the independence of Baltic states after the collapse of Soviet Union, she even theatrically laughs when mentioning the end of Soviet occupation. That is okay, any empire in decline regrets its losses and relives its past conquers - but at the end she tries to use objective data to prove how well Baltic states lived under Soviet occupation, and here's the fundamental mistake she made, because between 1994-2024 the Baltic states have specifically experienced increase in real wages by up to 290%. As of 2025, the average salary in these countries is €1700-€2300 while in Russia it's only ~€900.