In the article, the author made an attempt to predict the development of the Baltic region for the next five years, as well as for the long term. Following the course chosen at the stage of the collapse of the USSR, the Baltic countries found themselves in a vicious circle. The bet on the development of economic power through easier access to the rich European market and extensive Euro-Atlantic subsidies did not work. On the contrary, the ruling elites had to pay for integration into the European economy by destroying the Soviet industrial heritage, and neither the countries of Western Europe, let alone the United States, consider it necessary to create a new industrial base.