Intentional homicides in Baltic and Nordic States 1990-2021

Abstract

The main goal of the article was to analyse data on homicides in Estonia and the other Baltic states in the years 1990–2021 and to conceptualize these changes. The level and dynamics of intentional homicides committed in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania during the last three decades were assessed to highlight their similarities and differences. The situation in the field of homicides in the Baltic states was put next to the three Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Evaluating the number of intentional homicides in the three Nordic countries, we see that the picture is radically different. The homicides committed in the Nordic countries during the last thirty years are characterised by a persistently low rate, without substantial changes. A hypothesis was set and controlled according to which the dynamics of intentional homicides committed in the Baltic states largely coincide with the mirror image of the j curve.