ESTONIAN SSR

The 'Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic', short: 'Estonian SSR' (, short: ''Eesti NSV''; ) was a short-lived Soviet-backed puppet state^[1]^[2] proclaimed on July 21 1940 after the invasion and occupation of the Republic of Estonia by USSR, and a constituent republic of the U.S.S.R. that succeeded it after annexation between 1940-1941 and 1944-1991. Its territory was conquered by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944 (see Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany).

Controversies

Views diverge on history of Estonia, the core of the controversy lies in the different interpretations of the historical events during World War II and after.
During the times of Perestroika, the reassessment era of Soviet history in USSR, in 1989 the USSR condemned the 1939 secret protocol between Nazi Germany and itself that had led to the invasion and occupation of the three Baltic countries.^[3] The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the restoration Republic of Estonia's sovereignty ''(See History of Estonia: Regaining independence.)''

Plaque on the building of Government of Estonia, Toompea, commemorating government members killed by communist terror

The Bronze Soldier, Soviet World War II monument

''
According to the European Court of Human Rights^[4], Government of Estonia ^[5], EU^[6], USA^[7] Estonia remained occupied by the Soviet Union until restoration of its independence in 1991 and the 48 years of Soviet occupation and annexation was never recognized as legal by the Western democracies.
At the same time a Do-Over for history in Russia has started once again, raising fears among some historians that the Kremlin is — quite literally — trying to rewrite history in a way that risks whitewashing the darkest chapters of Russia's past.^[8]
Despite the fact that in 1940 those who had failed to have their passports stamped for voting Estonia into the USSR were allowed to be shot in the back of the head by Soviet tribunals,^[9], Russian government and officials continue to maintain that the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states was legitimate^[10] and that the Soviet Union liberated the countries from the Nazis^[11]^[12]. They state that the Soviet troops had entered the Baltics in 1940 following the agreements and with the consent of the then governments of the Baltic republics. They maintain that the USSR was not in a state of war and was not waging any combat activities on the territory of the three Baltic states, therefore, the argument goes, the word 'occupation' can not be used ^[13]
^[14]. "The assertions about [the] 'occupation' by the Soviet Union and the related claims ignore all legal, historical and political realities, and are therefore utterly groundless." (Russian Foreign Ministry)^[15]

Political History

Soviet Occupation 1940

1940 Soviet map of the Estonian SSR

The fate of the Republic of Estonia before the World War II was decided by the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact and its of August 1939.
On September 24, 1939 warships of the Red Navy appeared off Estonian ports, Soviet bombers began a threatening patrol over Tallinn and the nearby countryside. ^[16] Moscow demanded that Estonia allow the USSR to establish military bases and station 25,000 troops on Estonian soil for the duration of the European war. ^[17] The government of Estonia accepted the ultimatum signing the corresponding agreement on September 28. 1939.
On June 12, 1940. According to the director of the Russian State Archive of the Naval Department Pavel Petrov (C.Phil.) according to the records in the archive the order for total military blockade of Estonia to the Soviet Baltic Fleet was given. ^[18] ^[19]
On June 14 the Soviet military blockade of Estonia went into effect while world’s attention was focused on the fall of Paris to Nazi Germany a day earlier. Two Soviet bombers downed Finnish passenger airplane "Kaleva" flying from Tallinn to Helsinki carrying three diplomatic pouches from the U.S. legations in Tallinn, Riga and Helsinki. ^[20]
On June 16, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia. ^[21] the Soviet Union presented an ultimatum, demanding the replacement of the Estonian government and free access for Soviet troops. The Red Army emerged from the military bases in Estonia and, aided by additional 90,000 of Soviet troops, took over the country, occupying the territories of Republic of Estonia,^[22] ^[23], and organizing and supporting communist protests all over the country.^[24]
On June 17 the day France surrendered to Germany, Estonia accepted the ultimatum and the statehood of Estonia de facto ceased to exist. The Estonian government decided according to the Kellogg-Briand Pact not to use war as an instrument of national policy. Given the overwhelming Soviet force both on the borders and inside the country, not to resist, to avoid bloodshed and open war. ^[25]
Most of the Estonian Defence Forces and the Estonian Defence League surrendered according to the orders believing that resistance was useless and were disarmed by the Red Army. Only the Estonian Single Signal Battalion stationed in Tallinn at Raua Street showed resistance. As the Red Army brought in additional reinforcements supported by six armoured fighting vehicles, the battle lasted several hours until sundown. There was one dead, several wounded on the Estonian side and about 10 killed and more wounded on the Soviet side. Finally the military resistance was ended with negotiations and the Single Signal Battalion surrendered and was disarmed. ^[26]
On June 21, 1940, The military occupation of Republic of Estonia was complete ^[27] . The Flag of Estonia

was replaced with a Red flag

on Pikk Hermann tower, the symbol of the government in Estonia in force.
On June 21 President Konstantin Päts (deported to Ufa on July 30 and later arrested) formed the new government under Prime Minister Johannes Vares.

Meeting in Tallinn on July 17 1940 after the July "elections".^[28]

On July 14-15 the rigged, extraordinary single-party parliamentary election were held where all but pro-Communist candidates were outlawed. People were forced to vote under the threat of prosecution. Those who failed to have their passports stamped for so voting were allowed to be shot in the back of the head.^[9] Tribunals were set up to punish "traitors to the people." those who had fallen short of the "political duty" of voting Estonia into the USSR. The communist "Union of the Estonian Working People" "won" the absolute majority of seats. On July 21 the parliament (''Riigivolikogu'') proclaimed Estonian SSR, and, despite the promises given before the election, petitioned to join the Soviet Union on July 22. In response the Estonian SSR was formally annexed by the Soviet Union (USSR) on August 6, 1940, and nominally became the 16th constituent republic of the USSR. (On July 16, 1956, the Karelo-Finnish SSR was demoted to the Karelian ASSR; from then on until 1991, the Estonian SSR was considered the 15th constituent republic.)
According to Estonian and Western accounts the Republic of Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940, ^[30] ^[31] ^[32], ^[33] and forcibly incorporated as a result of a communist Coup d'état supported by the Soviet troops ^[34]. The United States, United Kingdom and other western powers considered the annexation of Estonia by USSR illegal following the Stimson Doctrine — a stance that made the doctrine an established precedent of international law.^[35] Although the US and the UK, the allies of the USSR against Germany during the World War II recognized the occupation of the Baltic states by USSR at Yalta Conference in 1945 de facto, they retained diplomatic relations with the exiled representatives of the independent Republic of Estonia,^[36] never formally recognized the annexation of Estonia de jure ^[37].
Russian government and officials however continue to maintain that the Soviet annexation of Estonia was legitimate^[38]

Soviet Terror

The Soviet authorities, having gained control over Estonia, immediately imposed a regime of terror. Order № 001223 "On the Procedure for carrying out the from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia" was issued.
During the first year of Soviet occupation (1940-1941) over 8,000 people, including most of the country's leading politicians and military officers, were arrested. About 2,200 of the arrested were executed in Estonia, while most others were moved to prison camps in Russia, from where very few were later able to return alive.
On July 19, 1940 the Commander-in-chief of the Estonian Army 'Johan Laidoner' was captured by the NKVD and deported together with his spouse to the Town of Penza. Laidoner died in the Vladimir Prison Camp, Russia on March 13, 1953. ^[39] President of Estonia, 'Konstantin Päts' was arrested and deported by the Soviets to Ufa in Russia on July 30, he died in a psychiatric hospital in Kalinin (currently Tver) in Russia in 1956.
800 Estonian officers i.e. about a half of the total were executed, arrested or starved to death in prison camps.
Estonian graveyards and monuments were destroyed. Among others, the Tallinn Military Cemetery had the majority of gravestones from 1918–1944 destroyed by the Soviet authorities, and this graveyard became reused by the Red Army after World War II.^[40]
Other cemeteries destroyed by the authorities during the Soviet era in Estonia include Baltic German cemeteries established in 1774 Kopli cemetery, Mõigu cemetery and the oldest cemetery in Tallinn, from 16th century, Kalamaja cemetery. After the conquest of Estonia in 1944, the destruction of the monuments of the Republic of Estonia, which had survived or had been restored during the German occupation, continued. On 15 April 1945 a monument by Amandus Adamson, erected to 87 persons who had fallen in the Estonian War of Independence, was blown up in Pärnu. The destruction of war memorials subsequately lasted for several years and spanned across all counties. A comprehensive file concerning the monuments of the Estonian War of Independence, which had been compiled by the Military Department of the EC(b)P Central Committee in April 1945, has been preserved in the Estonian State Archives. Monuments are listed by counties in this file and it specifies the amount of explosive and an evaluation concerning the transportation that were needed. For example an extract regarding Võrumaa: ''"In order to carry out demolition works, 15 Party activists and 275 persons from the Destruction Battalion must be mobilised. 15 workers are needed for the execution of each demolition and 10 people are needed for protection.... In order to carry out demolition works, 225 kg of TNT, 150 metres of rope/fuse and 100 primers are needed, since there is no demolition material on the spot. 11 lorries, which are available but which lack petrol, are needed for carrying the ruins away."'' ^[41]

Soviet repressions against ethnic Russians

Ethnic Russians in Estonia: Sergei Zarkevich, an activist of Russian organizations in Estonia, The owner of a book store "Russian Book": arrest order issued by NKVD on June 23, 1940, executed on March 25, 1941.
Oleg Vasilovski, a former General in the Russian Imperial Army. Arrest order issued by NKVD on July 1, 1940. Further fate unknown.
Sergei Klenski, one of the former leaders of the Russian Peasants Labor Party. Arrested on July 22. On November 19 1940, sentenced to 8 years in a prison camp. Further fate unknown. Mikhail Aleksandrov, Arseni Zhitkov. ^[42]
Other ethnic Russians in Estonia arrested and executed by different Soviet War Tribunals in 1940-1941.
Ivan Salnikov, Pavel Mironov, Mihhail Arhipov, Vassili belugin, Vladimir Strekoytov, Vasili Zhilin, Vladimir Utekhin, Sergei Samennikov, Ivan Meitsev, Ivan Yeremeyev, Konstatin Bushuyev, Yegor Andreyev, Nikolai Sausailov, Aleksandr Serpukhov, Konstatin Nosov, Aleksandr Nekrasov, Nikolai Vasilev-Muroman, Aleksei Sinelshikov, Pyotr Molonenkov, Grigory Varlamov, Stepan Pylnikov, Ivan Lishayev, Pavel Belousev, Nikolai Gusev, Leonid Sakharov, Aleksander Chuganov, Fyodor Dobrovidov, Lev Dobek, Andrei Leontev, Ivan Sokolov, Ivan Svetlov, Vladimir Semenov, Valentin Semenov-Vasilev, Vasili Kamelkov, Georgi Lokhov, Aleksei Forlov, Ivan Ivanov, Vasili Karamsin, Aleksandr Krasilnikov, Aleksandr Zhukov, etc. Full list at: ^[43]

Soviet Deportations

The mass deportations of ethnic Estonians during the Soviet era together with migration into Estonia from other parts of the Soviet Union resulted in the share of ethnic Estonians in the country decreasing from 88% in 1934 to 62% in 1989. ^[44]''
Population of the Estonian SSR grew from 1,054,000 in 1940 to 1,565,662 in 1989.^[45]. Due to the urbanisation in the Soviet time, percentage of urban population of Estonia raised from 33 in 1940 to 61 in 1976
While the Baltic republics had the highest living standard in the Soviet Union and high industrialization rates, ethnic Estonians in Estonian SSR (similarly to Latvians in Latvian SSR, but unlike Lithuanians in Lithuanian SSR) suffered sharp decline of their percentage in the total population due to the large-scale immigration, mostly of Russians. While in 1934 the Estonians comprised 88 percent of the total population of Estonia, by 1959 and 1970 their number had decreased to 75 and 68 percent, respectively (and to 61.5% by 1989.
^[46]) The decline in percentage was especially severe as to urban and young population, which made it difficult for Estonians to maintain their ethnic identity. Within 11 years between 1959 and 1970 the proportion of Estonians in Tallinn declined as much as from 60 to 56 percent.
^[47] Population growth throughout the existence of the Estonian SSR was mainly due to immigration from other regions of the Soviet Union.
^[48]
Although the percentage of Estonians in the total population of the Estonian SSR declined due to Soviet migration policies, total number of ethnic Estonians was increasing in the Soviet period.^[49] This was due to the positive natural growth rate. The increase was some 1 or 2 thousand per year. For example, in 1970 number of live births of Estonians was 14,429 and number of deaths was 12,356, giving natural increase of 2,073 ethnic Estonians.
In 1940-1941 and 1944-1951 during the Soviet deportations from Estonia tens of thousands of Estonian citizens were forcibly resettled to Siberia.^[50] During the first year of occupation, 1940-1941, alone, an estimated 43,900 lives were irrecoverably lost, not counting refugees.
^[51] The following three-year Nazi occupation brought with it a loss of 32,740 lives, again not counting refugees. Another 16,000 people deaths were caused through Soviet repressions in the years following 1944.

Nazi Occupation 1941-1944

After Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941,the Wehrmacht reached Estonia in (July 1941).
Although initially the Germans were perceived as liberators from the USSR and its repressions by most Estonians in hope for restoration of the countries independence, it was soon realized that they were but another occupying power. Germans pillaged the country for the war effort and unleashed the Holocaust. Estonia was incorporated into the German province of Ostland.

Soviet Occupation 1944-1991

Soviet forces reconquered Estonia in the autumn of 1944 after fierce battles in the northeast of the country on the Narva river and on the Tannenberg Line (Sinimäed). In 1944, in the face of the country being re-occupied by the Red Army, 80000 people fled from Estonia by sea to Finland and Sweden, becoming war refugees and later, expatriates. 25,000 Estonians reached Sweden and a further 42,000 Germany. During the war about 8 000 Estonian Swedes and their family members had emigrated to Sweden. After the retreat of Germans, about 30,000 partisans remained in hiding in the Estonian forests, further on leading a massive guerrilla war.
In 1945 some territories of eastern Estonia with the towns of Jaanilinn and Petseri were transferred to the Russian SFSR.
In 1949 27,650 Soviet troops still led the war against the local partisans. Only the 1949 mass deportation when about 21,000 people were taken away broke the basis of the partisan movement. 6600 partisans gave themselves up in November of 1949. Later on the failure of the Hungarian uprising broke the resistance moral of the 700 men still remaining under cover. According to the Soviet data, up to 1953, 20,351 partisans were disarmed. Of these, 1510 perished in the battles. During that period, 1 728 members of the Red Army, NKVD and the militia were killed by the "forest brothers". August Sabbe, the last surviving ''Forest Brother'' in Estonia, was discovered and killed ^[52] by KGB agents in 1978.

Border changes of Estonia after World War II

During the first post-war decade of Soviet regime, Estonia was governed by Moscow via Russian-born Estonian governors. Born into the families of native Estonians in Russia, the latter had obtained their Red education in the Soviet Union during the Stalinist repressions at the end of the 1930s. Many of them had fought in the Red Army (in the Estonian Rifle Corps), few of them had mastered the Estonian language.^[53]
Although the United States and the United Kingdom, the allies of the USSR against Germany during World War II, recognized the occupation of the Republic of Estonia by USSR at Yalta Conference in 1945 de facto, the governments of the rest of the western democracies did not recognize the seizure of Estonia by the USSR in 1940 and in 1944 de jure according to the Sumner Welles' declaration of July 23, 1940 ^[54]^[55]^[56] Such countries recognized Estonian diplomats and consuls who still functioned in many countries in the name of their former governments. These aging diplomats persisted in this anomalous situation until the ultimate restoration of Estonia's independence in 1991.^[57]
First freely elected parliament during the Soviet era in Estonia had passed independence resolutions on May 8, 1990, and renamed Estonian SSR to the Republic of Estonia. On August 20, 1991 Estonian parliament issued the Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union. On September 6 1991, the USSR Supreme Council recognized the independence of Estonia.^[58], immediately followed by the international recognitions of the Republic of Estonia.
In 1992, Heinrich Mark, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia in duties of the President in exile ^[59], presented his credentials to the newly elected President of Estonia Lennart Meri. On February 23 1989 The flag of the Estonian SSR

had been lowered on Pikk Hermann, it had been replaced with the flag of Estonia

on February 24, 1989.
The last Soviet troops withdrew from Estonia in August 1994. ^[60]

Historical, pre-Perestroika Soviet Sources

Up to the reassessment of Soviet history in USSR that began during Perestroika, before the USSR had condemned the 1939 secret protocol between Nazi Germany and itself that had led to the invasion and occupation of the three Baltic countries including Estonia. ^[3]
The events in 1939 according to the pre-Perestroika Soviet sources were following: in a prior province of the Russian Empire: The Governorate of Estonia (Russian: Эстляндская губерния) Soviet power was established in the end of October 1917. The Estonian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Narva on November 29 1918 but fell to counter-revolutionaries and the White movement in 1919. In June 1940 Soviet power was restored in Estonian as workers had overthrown the fascist dictatorship in the country.^[62] ^[63]^[64]

According to the Soviet sources The Government of the Soviet Union suggested that the Government of the Republic of Estonia conclude a mutual assistance treaty between the two countries. The pressure from Estonian working people forced the Estonian government to accept this suggestion. On September 28, 1939 the Pact of Mutual Assistance was signed^[65] which allowed the USSR to station a limited number of Red Army units in Estonia. Economic difficulties, dissatisfaction with the Estonian government policies 'that had sabotaged fulfillment of the Pact and the Estonian government' and political orientation towards Nazi Germany lead to a revolutionary situation on June 16 1940. A note from the Soviet government to the Estonian Government suggested that they stick strictly to the Pact of Mutual Assistance. To guarantee fulfillment of the Pact additional military units entered Estonia, welcomed by the Estonian workers who demanded the resignation of the Estonian government. On June 21 under the leadership of the Estonian Communist Party political demonstrations by workers were held in Tallinn, Tartu, Narva and other cities. On the same day the fascist government was overthrown, and the People's government lead by Johannes Vares was formed. On July 14-15 1940 elections for the Estonian Parliament, the State Assembly(Riigikogu) were held. The "Working People’s Union", created by an initiative of the Estonian Communist Party received with 84.1% electorate participation 92.8% of the votes. ^[66]^[67]. On July 21 1940 the State Assembly adopted the declaration of the restoration of Soviet power in Estonia and proclaimed the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. On July 22 the declaration of Estonia's wish to join the USSR was adopted and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was addressed accordingly. The request was approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on August 6 1940. On July 23 the State Assembly proclaimed all land to be People's Property while banks and heavy industry were nationalized. On August 25 the State Assembly adopted the Constitution of the Estonian SSR, renamed itself the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR and approved the Council of People's Commissars of the Estonian SSR.

Development

On July 23 1940, the Estonian SSR nationalized all land, banks and major industrial enterprises in Estonia. Peasants were allowed to use only small parcels of land. Later small businesses were also nationalized. The occupation brought with it colonisation^[68] According to some Western scholars, relations between the Soviet Union and Estonian SSR were those of internal colonialism.^[69]^[70]

★ the earlier economic structures constructed mostly in 1920-1940 were purposefully destroyed;

★ new production structures were constructed only to satisfy interests of the colonial power, assigning priorities according to an all-union production chain network;

★ local environmental resources were used in an extensive, robber-like manner;

★ the employment and migration policies were tailored towards assimilating the native population;

★ former economic ties of Estonia were cut off and Estonian economy was isolated from non-Soviet markets.
All banks and accounts were essentially nationalized; a lot of industrial machinery was disassembled and relocated to other Soviet territories.^[71] Before retreating in 1941, Red Army, following the scorched earth policies, burnt most industrial constructions, destroying power plants, vehicles and cattle. Millions of dollars worth of goods were also moved from Estonia to Russia under the pretext of "evacuation" without providing any compensation.
Immediately after the war, major immigration projects were undertaken, labelled "brotherly aid under Stalinist nationality policies". For postwar reconstruction, hundreds of thousands of Russophones were relocated into Estonia, mainly the cities. For example, during the years of 1945-1950, the total urban population count grew from 267,000 to 516,000; over 90% of the increase being fresh immigrants.^[72]
A special care was taken to change the ethnic structure of population,^[73] especially in Northeastern Estonia. For example, a policy of prioritising immigrants before returning war refugees in assigning dwelling quarters was adopted.^[74]

Collectivization

On May 21 1947, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (bolsheviks) authorized collectivization of Estonian agriculture. Initially it was implemented with great difficulties in the Baltic republics but it was facilitated by mass deportations of dissident farmers, termed 'kulaks'. As a result, by the end of April 1949, half of the remaining individual farmers in Estonia had joined kolkhozes.^[75]^[76]^[77] 99.3% of farms had been collectivised by 1957^[78]

Soviet capital investments in Estonia

Cities, such as Tallinn, destroyed during the World War II, were rebuilt. In 1955 TV Centre was built in Tallinn, that began TV broadcasts on June 29 of that year.^[79] During preparations to the 1980 Summer Olympics (Tallinn was selected the host for sailing events) sports and general infrastructure buildings were built, including Tallinn TV Tower, Pirita Yachting Centre and Linnahall. Tallinn Song Grounds, the host for song festivals, were built in 1960 ^[80]

Industry

Oil shale and lumber, later also uranium ore, a number of large-volume capital investments were undertaken by the Soviet central power on Estonian territories, mostly under the guise of "postwar reconstruction".^[81] The first Five Year Plan of the occupation, called the fourth Five Year Plan, prescribed a total of 3.5 billion roubles of investments for enterprises in Estonia.
One of the important goals in this reformation of Estonia's economy was providing economic support to Leningrad. To this end, 40% of the total capital investments of the fourth Five Year Plan to be spent in Estonia were intended for investments in oil shale mining infrastructure. Gasified oil shale was delivered to Leningrad via a specially built pipeline starting from 1948; gas from this very same source didn't reach Tallinn until 1953. Even in 1961, 62.5% of the gas produced was delivered to Leningrad.
By the end of 1954, 227,000 apartments in Leningrad were gasified using the gas output of Kohtla-Järve; only about three percent of that, or 6,041 apartments, had been gasified in Tallinn.^[82]

Healthcare in Estonian SSR

In the year 1950, the major problems meriting medical research were declared to be tuberculosis, traumatism, occupational diseases and dysentery. In comparison to the war years, birth rate had increased, mortality (including infant mortality) decreased, and the birth rate again exceeded the death rate.^[83]
Despite the immense needs for research, the Faculty of Medicine at Tartu State University (now University of Tartu) suffered from major repressions, culminating after the March plenary session of 1950 . Altogether, 56 staff of the university were repressed; in the Faculty of Medicine, 12 professors of 17 were removed from their positions. They were replaced with less skilled but politically more trusted medical doctors.
Only after the Khrushchev Thaw period of 1956 started the healthcare networks to stabilise. Due to natural development, science and technology advanced and popular welfare increased. All demographic indicators improved: birth rate increased, mortality decreased. Healthcare became freely available to everybody.
On a downside, closed nature of the Soviet system severely restricted advances of science. Isolation from Western medical journals brought with it technical lag. International contacts were insignificant and more dependent on personal position in Party than actual skill.
Due to Soviet alcohol policies, alcoholism became a growing health issue.
^[84] The Communist Party organs attempted to cover it up; up to year 1985 (see glasnost), it was illegal to publish statistical data on alcohol sales. This indicator became the greatest in 1982-1984, when it reached 11.2 litres of absolute alcohol per person per annum. (In comparison, this indicator in Finland during the same period was only 6-7 litres per person per annum).
Life expectancy of a person born in Estonia in 1991 was 5.5 years shorter than that of a person born in Finland in the same time. In comparison, Estonian life expectancy had exceeded that of Finnish life expectancy before 1940.

Budgetary system

In the Soviet system, all local ''proceeds'' were initially appropriated into the federal budget at Moscow, and some of them were then "invested" back to the local economies. Thus, the ''"investment"'' numbers do not represent influx of money; rather, they resemble the ''spending'' side of the national budget.

Economy

The Soviet rule significantly slowed Estonia's economic growth, resulting in a wide ''wealth gap'' in comparison with its neighboring countries that went free of Soviet yoke (e.g., Finland, Sweden).
^[85] The economic damages directly attributable to the second Soviet occupation (from 1945 to 1991) have been estimated to lie in the range of hundreds of billions of dollars.
^[86] Similarly, the damages to Estonian ecology were estimated at around 4 billion USD.
Put another way, by the end of 1980s, Estonian economy had acquired a lag of about three decades.
^[87]
In comparison with other parts of the USSR its economy fared better and today Estonia remains the wealthiest of the formerly Soviet-controlled states.

Stagnation and technological lag

From late 1960s, economic stagnation hit Estonia. This was expressed in falls in production and exports, as well as significant slowing in technological progress, especially in machine and metal industries.
^[88]

Occupation propaganda

Occupying powers made repeated attempts to present the extensive, damaging exploitation of local natural resources in positive light. For example, it was common to point towards constructing large power plants on Estonian soil, including two world's largest oil shale-fired Narva Power Plants built in the 1960s and the 1970s. Great Soviet Encyclopedia compared Estonia's annual industrial power output in 1940, the first year of occupation-caused destruction,
^[89]
190 GWh, against that of 1975, 16712 GWh.
^[90]
Similarly, the official statistics pointed out that in 1988:
^[91]

★ Estonian SSR produced 11188 kWh of electricity per person (Finland 10846 kWh, Sweden 20104 kWh, BRD 7101 kWh);

★ Estonian SSR produced 145 kg of meat per person (Finland 73 kg, Sweden 67 kg, BRD 96 kg);

★ Estonian SSR produced 818 kg of milk per person (Finland 556 kg, Sweden 406 kg, BRD 405 kg);

★ Estonian SSR produced 20.7 kg of butter per person (Finland 11.0 kg, Sweden 8.1 kg, BRD 6.9 kg).
This production was largely pointless
^[89], which became painfully obvious in the respective industries' economic collapse after the fall of the Soviet Union. Since a majority of these enterprises' employees had been specifically relocated to Estonia in the occupation times, the resulting layoffs led to a sharp rise in unemployment among the Russian-speaking minorities. Furthermore, most of the products were of quality level marketable only inside Soviet Union; they could not be profitably exported to the rest of the world.
^[93]

Moscow olympic games of 1980

Main articles: Sailing at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Tallinn was selected the host for sailing events. In preparations, a number of sports and general infrastructure buildings were built, including Tallinn TV Tower, Pirita Yachting Centre and Linnahall.

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42. fate of individuals arrested at EIHC
43. Individuals executed at EIHC
44. Background Note: Estonia AT U.S Department of State
45. Estonia population
46. The White Book, P. 21.
47. Parming, Tõnu (1980). Population Processes and the Nationality Issue in the Soviet Baltic. ''Soviet Studies'' 32 (3), 398-414.
48. The White Book, P. 21, 147, 150.
49. BIRTHS, DEATHS AND NATURAL INCREASE. ESTONIANS
50. Parming, Tõnu (1972). Population changes in Estonia, 1935-1970. ''Population Studies'' 26 (1), 53-78.
51. Valge raamat, page 42
52. Laar, Mart. War in the Woods: Estonia's Struggle for Survival, 1944-1956. ISBN 0-929590-08-2
53. Biographical Research in Eastern Europe: Altered Lives and Broken Biographies. Humphrey, Miller, Zdravomyslova ISBN 0754616576
54. Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State at U.S Department of State
55. The Baltic States and their Region: New Europe or Old? by David J. Smith on Page 48 ISBN 9042016663
56. Post-Cold War Identity Politics: Northern and Baltic Experiences by Marko Lehti on Page 272: ''Soviet occupation in Baltic countries - a position supported by the fact that an overwhelming majority of states never recognized the 1940 incorporation de jure.'' ISBN 0714683515
57. Diplomats Without a Country: Baltic Diplomacy, International Law, and the Cold War by James T. McHugh , James S. Pacy, Page 2. ISBN 0313318786
58. The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union: 1917-1991 (Sources in History) Richard Sakwa Page 248, ISBN-10: 0415122902
59. Heinrich Mark at president.ee
60. Baltic Military District globalsecurity.org
61. The Forty-Third Session of the UN Sub-Commission at Google Scholar
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64. Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd edition, entry on "СССР.Население", available online here
65. 1939 USSR-Estonia Mutual Aid Pact (full text)
66. POLITICS, MIGRATION AND MINORITIES IN ESTONIA, 1918-1998, pdf, p.79
67. Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd ed., entry on "Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика", available online
68. The White Book: Losses inflicted on the Estonian nation by occupation regimes, p. 143-144.
69. Mettam, Collin W. and Stephen Wyn Williams (2001). A colonial perspective on population migration in Soviet Estonia. ''Journal of Baltic Studies'' 27 (1), 133-150.
70. Mettam, Colin W. and Stephen Wyn Williams (1998). Internal colonialism and cultural division of labour in the Soviet Republic of Estonia. ''Nations and Nationalism'' 4 (3), 363-388.
71. Valge raamat, page 129; The White Book: Losses inflicted on the Estonian nation by occupation regimes, p. 145
72. Valge raamat, page 129; The White Book: Losses inflicted on the Estonian nation by occupation regimes, p. 147
73. Estonian Museum of Occupations: Majandus: Teise maailmasõja ja Nõukogude okupatsiooni aastad (1940-1991)
74. "Narvskij rabochij" April 25, 1950, quoted in Valge raamat, page 132 and The White Book: Losses inflicted on the Estonian nation by occupation regimes, p. 149-150.
75. Taagepera, Rein (1980). Soviet Collectivization of Estonian Agriculture: The Deportation Phase. ''Soviet Studies'' 32 (3), 379-397.
76. Jaska, Elmar (1952). The Results of Collectivization of Estonian Agriculture. ''Land Economics'' 28 (3), 212-217.
77. ''Eesti Nõukogude Entsüklopeedia'' (Estonian Soviet Encyclopedia). Tallinn: Valgus, 1972. P. 221.
78. The White Book, P. 155.
79. TV History
80. Tallinn Song Grounds
81. Valge raamat, page 130; The White Book: Losses inflicted on the Estonian nation by occupation regimes, p. 146-147.
82. Valge raamat, page 132; The White Book: Losses inflicted on the Estonian nation by occupation regimes, p. 149.
83. Valge raamat, page 48
84. Valge raamat, page 49
85. Valge raamat, pages 125, 148
86. Valge raamat, page 20
87. Valge raamat, page 134
88. Valge raamat, page 140
89. Valge raamat, page 128
90. Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd edition, entry on "Эстонская ССР", available online here
91. "Statistika aastaraamat 1990", 1991, pages 413-418, quoted in Valge raamat, page 146
92. Valge raamat, page 128
93. Ibid, page 147.

External links

★ Museum of occupations of Estonia — Project by the Kistler-Ritso Estonian Foundation

★ Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity

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