Asutav Kogu
The Asutav Kogu ( Estonian founding assembly ) was the constituent assembly of the Republic of Estonia, which was proclaimed in 1918 . It met in Tallinn from April 23, 1919 to December 20, 1920 .
prehistory
With the February Revolution in Russia in 1917, the tsarist rule that had existed since 1710 was also abolished in Estonia. On April 12, 1917, the Provisional Government of Russia issued a decree on the autonomy of Estonia. In May and June 1917, the general, indirect elections to the provisional state parliament of the Estonia Governorate ( Ajutine Maanõukogu , unofficially called Maapäev ), based in Tallinn, took place there.
At the time of the election, the governorate comprised the former, smaller governorate of Estonia and the Estonian-speaking areas of the governorate of Livonia. The Estonian demand for the amalgamation of all Estonian-speaking areas in one government was taken into account. The turnout was relatively low at 30%. The voting system for the 62 seats was very time-consuming and complicated. However, it led to a balanced urban / rural distribution of the MPs and to the formation of the Estonian party system. The state parliament was constituted on July 14, 1917.
On November 28, 1917, shortly after the coup d'état of the Bolsheviks in Petrograd on November 7, 1917, the provisional state parliament in Tallinn declared itself in its last session on the supreme power in Estonia until a constituent assembly convened. The assembly set up a council of elders ( Eesti maapäeva vanemate nõukogu ), which was also competent to legislate in the event of a crisis. The delegates did not comply with the Bolsheviks' demand for the state parliament to dissolve itself. Eleven days later, the Bolsheviks forcibly dissolved the state parliament. The MPs went underground. State authority in Estonia was exercised from November 1917 to February 1918 by the Bolshevik Revolutionary War Committee of Estonia ( Eestimaa Sõja-Revolutionary Committee ) and was marked by atrocities against regime opponents.
On February 19, 1918, under the impression of the Russian-Bolshevik troops withdrawing from Estonia in the course of the First World War and the emerging power vacuum , the council of elders of the state parliament adopted the nationally-minded Estonian “independence manifesto ” and formed the three-person “rescue committee” ( popes' committee ) with extensive executive powers.
The council of elders of the state parliament declared on February 24, 1918 in Tallinn with the " Manifesto to all the peoples of Estonia " ( Manifesto Kõigile Eestimaa Rahvastele ), citing the sovereignty of the people , Estonia's state independence from Russia was finally declared. On the same day, he appointed the 13-member Provisional Government of Estonia, which should also include members of the national minorities.
The very next day, Tallinn was occupied by German imperial troops in the course of the First World War . Leading Estonian politicians had to go underground again. Only with the collapse of the German Empire could on 11./14. November 1918 the Provisional Government will again exercise effective state power over the territory of the Republic of Estonia. The state parliament was also able to resume its work. However, the situation remained extremely unstable.
On November 28, 1918 Bolshevik troops invaded Estonia. In the subsequent Estonian War of Freedom , which lasted until February 1920, Estonia was able to maintain its independence militarily. The war situation, however, shaped the work of the constituent assembly of the young republic.
Election to Asutav Kogu
From April 5 to 7, 1919 the elections for the Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Estonia took place. It was seen as an expression of the pouvoir constituant of the Estonian people. All adult men and women living in Estonia were eligible to vote. The elections were free, equal, secret and immediate. They took place on the basis of proportional representation .
Ten parties or groups competed for the 120 seats in the Asutav Kogu . The most important were the Land Union ( Maaliit ) of the Prime Minister and Minister of War Konstantin Päts , the Estonian People's Party ( Eesti Rahvaerakond ) of journalist Jaan Tõnisson , the Estonian Labor Party ( Eesti Tööerakond ) and the Estonian Social Democratic Labor Party ( Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatiline Tööliste Party ).
The turnout was very high at 80%. A total of 467,906 Estonian citizens cast valid votes. The elections were fair and democratic. The social democratic parties received the majority of the seats. Above all, the defeat of the Maaliit under Prime Minister Päts, who only came in fourth place, was surprising . Three seats went to the German and one to the Russian minority in Estonia. The Estonian Bolsheviks did not take part in the election and called for a boycott.
In the Asutav Kogu sat 25 lawyers, 11 journalists, 7 agronomists, 6 farmers, 3 teachers, 2 writers, 2 students and other professional groups. There were seven women among the elected MPs.
Election result
| Political party | be right | Seats |
| Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatiline Tööliste party | 152.341 | 41 |
| Eesti Tööerakond | 114,879 | 30th |
| Eesti Rahvaerakond | 94,892 | 25th |
| Eesti Maarahva Liit | 29,989 | 8th |
| Eesti Sotsialistide-Revolutionary Party | 26,536 | 7th |
| Eesti Kristlik Rahvaerakond | 20 157 | 5 |
| Saksa erakond Eestimaal | 11,462 | 3 |
| Vene Kodanikkude Kogu | 5,765 | 1 |
| Hiiu saare elanike party | 1,090 | 0 |
| Üle-eestimaaline Meremeeste Liit | 795 | 0 |
Work of the Asutav Kogu
On April 23, 1919, the opening session of the Asutav Kogu took place in the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn. Later meetings were held in the White Hall of the castle on Tallinn Toompea. April 23rd was not chosen by chance, since in Estonian history it is connected with the uprising against foreign rule on St. George's Night in 1343. The social democratic lawyer August Rei was elected chairman of the meeting .
Session periods
- April 23 to June 5, 1919 (27 sessions)
- June 17 to December 20, 1919 (70 sessions)
- January 20, 1920 to March 26, 1920 (22 sessions)
- April 13 to July 31, 1920 (35 sessions)
- September 7 to December 20, 1920 (16 sessions)
legislation
The Asutav Kogu was subsequently both the constituent assembly and the legislative body of the Republic of Estonia.
On May 3, an amnesty law was passed unanimously , benefiting mainly convicts who had been imprisoned under the war laws of the First World War. On the same day, the assembly passed a new school law that provided six years of free schooling for all.
On May 8, 1919, the parliament introduced the first regular Estonian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Otto August Strandman ( Eesti Tööerakond ). At the same time, the mandate of the Provisional Government ended.
On May 19, 1919, the Asutav Kogu adopted a declaration on the state independence of Estonia. In it she confirmed the secession from Russia "for historical reasons". The declaration was intended primarily for use abroad. Its purpose was to prepare the ground for de jure recognition of the young state. The Baltic German MPs left the room during the vote. The representative of the Russian minority abstained.
On February 13, 1920, ratified Asutav Kogu the Peace Treaty of Tartu of 2 February 1920, the international law founding document of the Republic of Estonia. With him the Estonian War of Freedom was ended. In the treaty, Soviet Russia recognized the state independence and the borders of Estonia “for all time”.
Land reform
On October 10, 1919, against the votes of the Baltic Germans, the assembly passed the radical land law ( Maaseadus ) for the expropriation of large estates and some church properties in Estonia. 2,346 million hectares including livestock and agricultural inputs were affected. This largely expropriated the large Baltic German landowners, who had set the tone in Estonia economically and politically for 700 years. They were only allowed to keep 50 hectares of land. The law thus eliminated the consequences of the distribution of land ownership in Estonia and Livonia, which stemmed from medieval feudalism .
The land reform should primarily benefit the Estonian smallholders and the war veterans. It was very popular domestically, even if it was rejected as too radical by most foreign states. It was a decisive motivation for the Estonian soldiers to fight for the young Estonian state in the war of freedom. With it, over 30,000 new farmers became owners of their land. The law laid the basis for economic success and social peace in the agriculturally oriented new state. Bolshevik propaganda was deprived of the basis with the land law.
However, the law took away the livelihood of many Baltic German nobles. A great dispute arose between the Estonian parties over whether the dispossessed should be compensated. Social democrats and socialists demanded expropriation without compensation, the right-wing land union advocated compensation payments. The former initially prevailed; however, in 1926 a law on compensation was passed, which was based on the "real land value".
Working on the constitution
On June 4, 1919, a 15-member constitutional committee was elected by the Asutav Kogu . The assembly groups sent him proposals for the Estonian constitution that was to be drafted. Work on the design was completed by the end of 1919. The constitution guaranteed human and civil rights in a catalog of basic rights. The idea of a presidential system was rejected. Instead, state organization law put parliament at the center. With referendums and referendums, the constitution opened up numerous democratic participation rights for the people.
In May 1920 the work was presented to the public. On June 15, 1920, the congregation adopted the first Estonian constitution ( Eesti Vabariigi Põhiseadus ). It came into force on December 21, 1920. This completed the task of the constituent assembly.
Balance sheet
During its existence there have been 170 meetings of the Asutav Kogu . Around 800 laws were passed by it. Important decisions such as the radical land law, a comprehensive school reform to raise educational standards, the law to abolish class differences, the separation of church and state and many others laid the foundation for a modern Estonian state.
The new, liberal constitution was radically committed to civil rights, democracy and popular sovereignty. The ideas of Rousseau and Montesquieu were realized in it. This corresponded to the political beliefs and hopes of the time, but favored political instability and led to frequently changing Estonian governments. In 1934 there was a fundamental constitutional reform.
From November 27 to 29, 1920 the elections for the new Estonian parliament ( Riigikogu ) took place. With the meeting of the first Riigikogu on December 20, 1920, the mandate of the Asutav Kogu expired .
Web links
- History of the Asutav Kogu (Estonian Parliament)
- Õnne sünnipäevaks, parliament! ( Postimees , April 21, 2007)
- The state order of Estonia in its historical development ( Memento from June 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ The manifesto had already been read out to the public and printed in Pärnu the evening before
- ↑ a b http://www.riigikogu.ee/?id=31619
- ↑ http://www.riigikogu.ee/index.php?id=36723
- ↑ a b Хnne sьnnipдevaks, parliament! ( Memento from February 13, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ^ The Land Reform of 1919–1940: Lithuania and the Countries of East and Central Europe ( Memento of March 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The Story of the Estonian Republic - 1918–1940 ( Memento from June 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ according to current usage fractions
