With the collapse of three empires. Poland was not the only country which enjoyed the regaining of independence. Czechs, Slovaks, Finns, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians also managed to create their own states. The Southern Slavs from the Balkans got their own country too. Ukrainians also tried to fight for their own country, but without success; while Belarusian intelligentsia began to consider the prospect of statehood for the very first time. Nevertheless, happiness mingled with fear. The Bolsheviks did not acknowledge the independence of the new states and were set on seizing them. A new war would decide the future of Central and Eastern Europe.