Vaba Maa
Vaba Maa ("Free Land") was one of the most important daily newspapers in Estonia during the interwar period . It was published from 1918 to 1938.
history
prehistory
In February 1918, the Republic of Estonia declared its state independence from Russia . However, the country remained occupied by Imperial German troops during the First World War .
It was not until Germany's military defeat in World War I that Estonia received de facto state sovereignty. On November 12, 1918, the Estonian government took over the state. The Republic of Estonia became a democratic constitutional state with a free press.
newspaper
The first edition of Vaba Maa appeared on December 5, 1918. In the first two years the publisher was the “Tallinn Publishing Association” ( Tallinna Kirjastusühisus ). The newspaper was then published by the publishing house OÜ Vaba Maa , founded in 1920 . In autumn 1920 the publishing house acquired new premises in the center of the Estonian capital Tallinn .
The founders of the joint stock company Vaba Maa in 1920 were among others the journalist Aleksander Veiler , the politician Konstantin Konik and the doctor and publicist Juhan Luiga .
The editor-in-chief was the diplomat Julius Seljamaa from 1918 to 1921 , the diplomat and politician Ants Piip from 1923, and then the diplomat and journalist Eduard Laaman from 1923 to 1938 . In 1927 the publishing house acquired the most modern rotary printing presses from the German company MAN .
The newspaper appeared every day except Monday. The editorial office was located in the Estonian capital Tallinn . The newspaper had its own local edition for the city of Pärnu .
From 1918 to 1932 the newspaper was politically close to the Estonian Labor Party ( Eesti Tööerakond ). From 1932 to 1935 she was the mouthpiece of the successor party National Center Party ( Rahvuslik Keskerakond ).
Press censorship
In 1934, the Estonian head of state and government, Konstantin Päts, carried out a bloodless coup with the help of the military . He established an authoritarian rule. The freedom of the press was severely restricted and the political parties were banned from operating in March 1935.
Vaba Maa was also affected by the rigid regulations of the police state . The newspaper could continue to appear, but like all print products, it was subject to censorship by the press and police authorities.
The End
In 1938 the Rahvaleht ("Volksblatt") newspaper, founded in 1923, merged with Vaba Maa . Both press organs had belonged to the same publishing house since 1927. The last edition of Vaba Maa appeared on March 4, 1938. Thereafter the newspaper was discontinued and the editorial offices of Vaba Maa and Rahvaleht were merged. Rahvaleht became the daily newspaper.
The paper existed until the Soviet occupation of Estonia in summer 1940. The Soviet authorities nationalized the publishing house Vaba Maa . They renamed him Punane Täht ("Red Star").
Web links
- Facsimile editions
- History of the publisher (Estonian)
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://entsyklopeedia.ee/artikkel/vaba_maa_(ajaleht)1
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
