This study is a translation of my book "Vastupanu 1955–1985" ("Resistance 1955–1985"), published in 1997, which formed the basis of the Master’s degree in history I earned at the University of Tartu in 1998. The study examines non-violent resistance during those years. It covers the activities of underground youth resistance organizations between 1955 and 1962, the struggle of the Estonian Democrats from 1968 to 1975, and the public resistance movement from 1977 to 1985. It also addresses repressions by the authorities and political trials involving members of the resistance.
Because the book was written about 30 years ago, I corrected the errors I identified and made minimal additions for clarity. Over time, additional information has become available through other studies I have written on the same subject, such as "The non-violent resistance in the First Soviet Year of Estonia in 1940-1941", "The attempts to create the Estonian Helsinki Group and the Supreme Committee of the National Movements of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania", and "The Relief Centre for the Political Prisoners in the USSR".
PREFACE
Immediately after the Soviet Union's occupation and annexation of Estonia in June 1940, the Estonian people's resistance to foreign rule began and continued uninterrupted until the restoration of Estonia's independence in August 1991. Initially, this was passive opposition to Soviet restructuring in Estonia and efforts to preserve national values. Active resistance began as soon as the opportunity arose. After the outbreak of hostilities between Germany and the Soviet Union, men gathered in the woods, seized weapons, and began to fight against the Red Army units and the extermination battalions[1] retreating from the Germans.
After
the re-occupation of Estonia in the autumn of 1944, the resistance took new
forms. On the one hand, there was the active resistance, consisting of the
armed struggle of the Forest Brothers, the activities of the youth underground
resistance organizations, the appeals of the democrats, and public resistance
to the world public to draw attention to the occupation of the Republic of
Estonia and human rights violations in Estonia. Several smaller groups consistently
produced and distributed literature and leaflets banned by the authorities,
hoisted national flags, took part in street demonstrations, and so on. However,
relatively few people were engaged in active resistance. At the same time, nationwide
passive resistance expressed itself in opposition to the occupation
authorities' attempts to destroy Estonians' national identity, in protecting
the Estonian language and culture, and in restrained protests against
Russification and Sovietization. Estonians also tried to organize their
personal lives as independently as possible and sought to achieve relative
independence in their professional and creative work.
Because of external factors, active
resistance took various forms, from the armed struggle of the Forest Brothers
to mass anti-occupation demonstrations involving large crowds, such as the
Hirvepark demonstration, the Baltic Chain[2],
the Estonian Song[3], etc. Unlike passive
resistance, which continued uninterrupted as a steady wave from Estonia's
occupation until its restoration of independence, the active resistance
movement experienced several periods of rise and fall. According to the more
characteristic forms of resistance used at different times, the active
resistance movement can be conditionally divided into five periods:
I – Armed resistance against the
first Soviet occupation, which began in June 1941 with the outbreak of the war
between the Soviet Union and Germany, with battles against retreating Red Army
units and extermination battalions, and continued in 1944-1953 as the Forest
Brotherhood.
II – The activities of underground
youth resistance organizations in 1944-1962, which during the Forest
Brotherhood period (1944-1953) mainly assisted the Forest Brothers. From 1955
onwards, the youth organizations operated completely independently.
III – The activities of democratic movements in
1968-1975.
IV – Public resistance in 1977-1985.
V – The general popular freedom movement (Singing
Revolution) in 1987-1991.
This study examines Estonia's active
resistance movement from 1955 to 1985. The second period of the resistance
movement began in 1955, when, amid the Forest Brotherhood's decline,
underground youth organizations began operating independently. The third and
fourth periods of the resistance movement have been examined in full.
[1] Extermination
battalions were paramilitary units created by the Soviet Union leadership
during and after World War II. Communists, members of the Young Communist League
(Komsomol), and NKVD (The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) were
recruited as members of the extermination battalions.
[2] The
Baltic Chain was a joint political mass demonstration organized on August 23,
1989, in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, to show the world the Baltic states'
desire for independence and draw attention to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
signed between the USSR and Nazy-Germany half a century ago, the secret
protocols of which led to the occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by
the USSR.
