Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Estonia, 1940–1991. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Estonia, was a de facto administrative unit (union republic) of the former Soviet Union, established on the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia in 1940. It existed from 1940 to 1941 and again from 1944 until 1990, when the use of the name Estonian SSR was discontinued. Most of the world's countries did not recognise the incorporation of Estonia into the Soviet Union de jure and only recognised its Soviet administration de facto or not at all. On 16 November 1988, Estonia became the first of the then Soviet-controlled countries to declare state sovereignty from the central government in Moscow.
Seat of power: Tallinn
Rulers
Johannes Vares
Head of state, 1940–1946
Päts resigned in July 1940, and Vares formally took over most presidential duties. When the Kremlin "accepted" the petition in August 1940, Vares remained as nominal head of state, now titled as chairman of the Estonian Supreme Soviet, until 1946.
Portrait of Johannes Vares: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Nigol Andresen
Head of state, 1946–1947
In 1940 he was the minister of foreign affairs in the puppet government headed by Johannes Vares' cabinet. He fell into disgrace during a purge of the Estonian Communist Party in 1949.
Portrait of Nigol Andresen: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Eduard Päll
Head of state, 1947–1950
From 1947 to 1950, he was the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Portrait of Eduard Päll: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
August Jakobson
Head of state, 1950–1958
August Jakobson was an Estonian writer and politician. He has been described as the leading Stalinist in Soviet Estonian drama.
Portrait of August Jakobson: Voldemar Markus, Public domain, file
Johan Eichfeld
Head of state, 1958–1961
From 1958 to 1961, he was the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Portrait of Johan Eichfeld: Anonymous/Kaleva, CC BY 4.0, file
Aleksei Müürisepp
Head of state, 1961–1970
From 1961 to 1970, he was the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Arnold Koop
Q109937335, 1967–1968
From 1970 to 1988 he was the rector of the University of Tartu, where he was responsible for exerting political control at the university, closing the sociology laboratory and dismissing its director, and shifting its focus from Estonian to Soviet studies. Koop was known as ideologically orthodox Communist, who supported Neo-Stalinist tightening up policies of the 1970s Brezhnev era.
Portrait of Arnold Koop: Regina-Mareta Soonsein, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Artur Vader
Head of state, 1970–1978
Artur Vader was the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1970 to 1978.
Aleksander Ansberg
Head of state, 1970–1970
He was Acting Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic from 7 October to 22 December 1970.
Johannes Lott
Q109937335, 1975–1978
A member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he served as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR from 1975 to 1978.
Portrait of Johannes Lott: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Johannes Käbin
Head of state, 1978–1983
He was an Estonian Soviet politician who led the Communist Party of Estonia from 1950 to 1978.
Portrait of Johannes Käbin: Jaan Künnap, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Meta Vannas
Head of state, 1978–1978
She was Acting Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic from 25 May to 26 July 1978.
Arnold Rüütel
Q109937335, 1983–1992
He served as the last chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR from 8 April 1983 to 29 March 1990. On 29 March 1990, he was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council (head of parliament), after the first free elections in the then Soviet-occupied Estonia.
Enn-Arno Sillari
Q109937335, 1989–1990
Enn-Arno Sillari served as the last First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia from 1990 to 1992. He was also Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR from 1989 to 1990.
Culture
- On 30 March 1990, the newly elected parliament declared that Estonia had been illegally occupied since 1940 and proclaimed a transitional period for the restoration of the country's full independence through Restitutio ad integrum.
- This policy of non-recognition gave rise to the principle of legal continuity, which held that de jure, Estonia remained an independent state under occupation throughout the 1940–1991 period.
- The Nazi-Soviet Pact which was signed on 23 August 1939, a week before the outbreak of World War II, secretly assigned Estonia to the Soviet "sphere of influence".
- The cornerstone was laid on 30 September 1975, and the building was inaugurated 11 July 1980 (although the first transmission took place in 1979).
Picture
Tallinn TV Tower is a free-standing structure with an observation deck, built to provide better telecommunication services for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics regatta event.
Image: Dmitry G, PD, file
Sources
- Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (Wikipedia)
- Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.