1940: Estonia

As the year 1940 opened, the Estonian Government received a protest from Finland against the presence in Tallinn harbor of several Soviet destroyers — grim reminders that in practice Estonia was no longer a free nation. Before the year was ended even nominal Estonian independence was to be swept away.

Russian Domination.

Although in order to give no excuse for further Soviet demands the Estonian Government rigidly fulfilled its obligations under the Soviet-Estonian mutual assistance pact of Sept. 28, 1939, there were several instances early in 1940 of minor difficulties between the U.S.S.R. and Estonia. In January a Russian submarine sank the Estonian vessel Kassari in the Gulf of Finland, and shortly afterward the Estonian population was evacuated from Paldiski (Baltic Port), in which the Soviet Union had leased territory for an air and naval base under the September 1939 agreement. On March 30, Soviet authorities demanded that the entire city of Paldiski be cleared of its civilian population by April 4.

Early in June the official newspaper Pravda ominously charged that Estonia was unfriendly toward the U.S.S.R. On June 16, Soviet Premier Molotoff handed the Estonian and Latvian Ministers in Moscow notes calling for an immediate change in their governments, and demanding free passage for Russian troops to occupy leading cities in the two countries. The notes accused Estonia and Latvia of violating their 1939 mutual assistance pacts with the Soviet Union by not cancelling their military alliance with each other, by extending this alliance to include Lithuania, and by trying to extend it to Finland. Both Governments acceded to the Soviet demands on the same day the notes were received, and within 24 hours Russian soldiers overran the two countries. Although the Soviet press claimed that Russian troops had marched into Estonia under the terms of an agreement supplementing the 1939 pact, the Estonian Riigikogu (National Assembly) had never approved any agreement of this nature.

Shortly after the Soviet invasion, demonstrations of Estonian workers and soldiers urged incorporation in the Soviet Union. The Red Army rapidly tightened its grip on the country. On July 1 the Kaitselit, a Fascist organization, was disbanded, and by July 3 the Baltic Entente (formed in 1934 by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) had been annulled. A puppet revolutionary government, set up on June 21, sponsored new elections to the Chamber of Deputies on July 14-15. The only candidates listed on the ballot were members of the People's Party, which advocated a 'fight for peace and happiness of the people of Estonia and the Soviet Union,' and a majority of 92.9 per cent was recorded for the official ticket. On July 21 the newly elected Chamber met and formally resolved (1) to establish a Soviet constitution and government, and (2) to petition the Supreme Soviet in Moscow for admission to the U.S.S.R. Despite these resolutions, a plebiscite would have been necessary to effect union with Russia legally, since Chapter XIV of the Estonian constitution stipulates that supreme power is vested in the people.

Absorption by the U.S.S.R.

Transformation of the country to conform with Soviet patterns was effected without delay. The Minister of the Interior decreed on July 17 that every house must acquire Soviet flags to display within 3 days. Before the end of the month the State Bank and 102 other banks, about 100 printing establishments, almost 500 industrial enterprises, and the 56 vessels in Estonia's merchant marine were nationalized. Arms and funds of the Civil Guard were handed over to the Communist Party. The final step in the country's absorption was taken on Aug. 6 when the Supreme Soviet admitted Estonia as the 16th Republic in the U.S.S.R.

Many diplomatic representatives of Estonia and the other Baltic countries abroad refused to recognize the legality of any action taken by their new parliaments. On Sept. 4 it was reported that Russia had united Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into one Baltic military district under the command of General Alexander Loktionoff, formerly in charge of the Soviet military bases in these states. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet decreed on Sept. 8 that all Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians in foreign countries must register as Soviet citizens at diplomatic posts of the U.S.S.R. Many failed to comply, however, and in countries which had not recognized the Soviet annexations — including Great Britain and the United States — Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian citizenship continued to be respected. Although on Nov. 24, the Soviet ruble was declared legal tender in the Baltic countries, local currencies continued in use throughout the year. See also EUROPEAN WAR; LATVIA; LITHUANIA; U.S.S.R.