Tunne Kelam on the Citizens Registration
The Singing Revolution Educational Content • 9m 58s
In 1988, over 800,000 Estonians (virtually every adult in the country) signed a petition denying the legality of the Soviet occupation and declaring themselves citizens of the 1939 Republic of Estonia. This led to an election of the “Congress of Estonia” in 1990…done while the Soviets were still in power. Hear Tunne Kelam explain the legal concept, share what was behind those events and their astonishment at the turnout.
Up Next in The Singing Revolution Educational Content
-
Comments on Gorbachev
Gorbachev is often seen in the West as a freedom-leaning Soviet leader. That is not the view of those who lived under his rule.
-
Role of Culture Under Soviet Occupation
Learn how Shakespeare’s play Hamlet was turned into a message of hope for a free Estonia…right under the eyes of Soviet authorities. When government controls schools, television, radio and the print press, double entendre in the arts becomes a principal pipeline of truth.
-
Comments on the Role of Vaino Valjas
From 1978 until 1988, Estonian’s Communist Party was led by hard-liner Karl Vaino. In 1988, in order to calm down the Estonian hunger for independence, Gorbachev replaced him with native Estonian Vaino Valjas, a childhood friend of Gorbachev’s with a much softer approach than Karl Vaino. Valjas...