That's a decision they made themselves, so no reason to pity them. Gorbachev wanted to start afresh and get along with the rest of Europe, but with cheap Russian resources, Europe would be a direct competition to the US, (financially speaking), so Uncle Sam acted the way he usually does, and here we are. The Baltics, and the rest of Europe would be better off by having good relationships with Russia but when you have a bunch of spineless pussies in the office, there isn't much you︀ can do except to get fucked.
Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm buying that they're︁ increasing taxes because of the eastern boogeyman that is to blame for every problem known︂ to man. Governments are greedy, and most of them will raise their taxes over time,︃ which we've seen with other jurisdictions. They probably saw this as an opportunity you can︄ not go to waste, similar to 9/11, covid etc.