Letter of forty

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Jaan Kaplinski , the main initiator of the "Letter of Forty" (here in a recording from 2009)

The Letter of Forty ( Estonian Neljakümne kiri ) was a public letter from forty Estonian intellectuals in the autumn of 1980. In it, they demanded that the Soviet authorities respect the Estonian language and culture and end the Russification of Estonia .

Soviet occupation

The Red Army had as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in World War II occupied Estonia and the Estonian SSR incorporated into the Soviet Union. As everywhere in the Soviet Union, the state and social system followed the Soviet model. Stalin had a large part of Estonia's bourgeois and intellectual elite deported to Siberia .

In the period that followed, Soviet policy was aimed at increasing the Russification of Estonia. To this end, Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian workers from other parts of the Soviet Union were resettled in Estonia. According to the official population statistics for 1941, in Estonia in 1941 a total of 90.8% of the population were Estonians and 7.3% Russians . According to the published figures of the Soviet census of 1979, 64.7% Estonians and 30.3% Russians.

The Soviet authorities forced in the 1970s at the behest of Brezhnev's dominance of Russian in the Estonian SSR. Tensions between the Estonian-speaking population and Russian-speaking immigrants continued to escalate. The Estonian language was increasingly pushed back in favor of Russian in public life by Rein Ristlaan , who was appointed chief ideologist in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia (EKP) in January 1980 . The ceremony for the 40th anniversary of the EKP was held in Russian.

In the summer of 1980, the Soviet authorities dismissed the Estonian Education Minister Ferdinand Eisen and appointed the Russian Elsa Gretškina as his successor. With its strictly aligned politics, it became an enemy of many Estonian students. The Soviet war in Afghanistan , for which Estonian conscripts were also sent to the front, contributed to further discontent among Estonian youth from 1980 onwards. For the first time, spontaneous youth protests took place on May 17, 1980 after a film was shown in Pärnu . The fifty or so participants shouted anti-Soviet slogans.

In September 1980 the situation escalated. The short-term performance ban against the regime-critical Estonian punk rock band Propeller around Peeter Volkonski on September 22, 1980 on the sidelines of a football game in the Dünamo stadium led to riots of 200 to 500 young people in Tallinn. Numerous young people were subsequently expelled from school or provisionally arrested. In return, solidarity groups with the arrested were formed in the schools. They called for demonstrations on October 1st.

The following youth protests in Tallinn , Tartu and Pärnu at the beginning of October 1980 were primarily directed against the Russification policy of the Soviet authorities. The approximately 5,000 young people who took part in the protests were persecuted as "hooligans" by the Soviet Public Prosecutor. Many young people were provisionally arrested, beaten or intimidated by the police and the KGB . There were also work stoppages in Tartu and Tallinn, the first in the Estonian SSR. The Soviet authorities succeeded in bringing the work stoppages under control through economic improvements in the factories. The Soviet-Estonian authorities feared developments such as those following the August 1980 strike in Poland .

"Letter of Forty"

The protest movement also impressed the Estonian intellectuals. In the fall of 1980, forty Estonian intellectuals signed an “Open Letter from the Estonian SSR” ( Avalik kiri Eesti NSV-st ). The open letter was later popularly known as the "Letter of Forty". It is dated October 28, 1980.

The letter from the Estonian intellectuals was addressed to the Soviet newspapers Pravda , Rahva Haäl and Sovetskaja Estonija . As expected, there was no public reaction from the three newspapers.

In the text, the authors denounce the lack of freedom of expression in Estonia. They express their concern that the Estonians will become a minority people in their own country. The Estonian language is being pushed back in favor of Russian everywhere. The Soviet authorities aggressively promoted the use of the Russian language in kindergartens and schools. The state-praised bilingualism is only aimed at the Estonian-speaking population. People who have no knowledge or inclination to the Estonian language or culture are appointed to be leading figures. People who lived in Estonia for years without respecting the Estonian language or culture offended the Estonians' human dignity. Every resident of the Estonian SSR must have the right to use the Estonian language orally and in writing. This principle should be enshrined in law. The autochthonous Estonian population must always have the decisive say about the future of their country and the people. The Soviet industrialization takes no account of concerns of environmental protection.

The letter was hushed up in public by the Soviet and Soviet-Estonian authorities. It first appeared in print on December 10, 1980 in the Estonian exile newspaper Eesti Päevaleht in Stockholm . A day later it was read out by the Estonian-speaking editorial staff of Radio Free Europe . Later translations into other languages ​​appeared. In Estonia the letter spread as samizdat . In Estonia the letter was not printed until 1988 under Gorbachev under the sign of glasnost and perestroika .

In November 1980, the Soviet Estonian leadership took countermeasures against those who signed the letter. These were invited to "talks" at the workplace or interrogated by the KGB or the public prosecutor's office. The house of the alleged main author of the letter, Jaan Kaplinski , was searched. Four signatories were dismissed. The authorities exerted considerable pressure to get the signatories to withdraw their signature. However, the signatories did not have to fear for their lives.

The "Letter of Forty" was an expression of the deep-seated dissatisfaction of the Estonians with the Soviet power apparatus. At the same time, it was a public warning signal that even intellectuals who were not in fundamental opposition to the Estonian SSR no longer agreed with the Soviet and Soviet-Estonian leadership.

The effects of the letter were limited. The period of stagnation in the Estonian SSR continued. It was only with Gorbachev's liberalization steps that the opportunity arose to publicly advocate liberal reforms again.

Signatory

The "Letter of Forty" was signed by Priit Aimla , Kaur Alttoa , Madis Aruja , Lehte Hainsalu , Mati Hint , Fred Jüssi , Aira Kaal , Maie Kalda , Tõnu Kaljuste , Toomas Kall , Jaan Kaplinski , Peet Kask , Heino Kiik , Jaan Klõšeiko , Kersti Kreismann , Alar Laats , Aare Laht , Andres Langemets , Marju Lauristin , Peeter Lorents , Vello Lõugas , Endel Nirk , Lembit Peterson , Arno Pukk , Rein Põllumaa , Paul-Eerik Rummo , Rein Ruutsoo , Tõnis Rätsep , Ita Saks. , Aavo Saks , Mati Sirkel , Jaan Tamm , Rein Tamsalu , Andres Tarand , Lehte Tavel , Peeter Tulviste , Aarne Üksküla , Mati Unt , Arvo Valton and Juhan Viiding .

Some well-known Estonian intellectuals are noticeably not among the signatories of the letter, including the most important Estonian writer Jaan Kross and the filmmaker and later President of the Republic of Estonia Lennart Meri .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.postimees.ee/333362/avalik-kiri-eesti-nsvst-ajalehtedele-pravda-rahva-haal-ja-sovetskaja-estonija/
  2. ↑ Vikerkaar magazine , 1988, No. 7