Stalinist Repression in Estonia: State of the Research and Open Questions

This article focuses on the research of Stalinist repression in Estonia, observing the work done within the past 25 years. Understandably, many studies have concentrated on victims and repressive institutions. The public concern for the topics in the 1990s has considerably declined in recent years. Although by today we have an excellent overview of committed acts of violence, there are numerous aspects that require in-depth research. It is necessary to notice not only the victims and perpetrators, but also common citizens’ forms of action both in crucial and everyday situations. The engagement of fellow-citizens in various punishment operations, staging “guilt” and confrontation, and other similar maneuvers caused tensions in the population and as such facilitated the established control over society. Mapping various measures taken by the state and the experiences gained by different social groups is an essential stage in interpretation of tough times. This work needs to be continued

Cleansing and Compromise

RésuméÉpuration et compromis : la SSR d’Estonie en 1944-1945En 1944, alors que l’Armée rouge occupait de nouveau l’Estonie, commença une immense vague de purges. Plus du tiers de l’ensemble des arrestations dues au régime stalinien se firent au cours de ces 15 mois, le nettoyage de l’Estonie -- en préparation dès 1941 sur le sol soviétique -- étant une priorité de la politique soviétique dans cette république. Seuls les territoires anciennement occupés par les Allemands connurent de telles mesures. L’article analyse cette vague répressive qui, à l’origine, visait ceux qui avaient « collaboré avec les Allemands » mais s’étendit par la suite aux « nationalistes bourgeois ». En marge des persécutions, se constituait un appareil bureaucratique rassemblant des informations sur un quart de la population. L’on peut néanmoins déceler les éléments d’une politique de compromis. Stalin procéda à des amnisties et des légalisations afin d’affaiblir la résistance et de s’attacher les habitants de ces territoires nouvellement conquis dont un grand nombre, y compris des criminels de guerre, échappa à la répression. Le régime ayant besoin d’Estoniens qualifiés pour diriger la RSS d’Estonie, il fit preuve d’une relative tolérance à l’égard de « déviances ». La combinaison de répression et de compromis faisait partie intégrante de la politique stalinienne.AbstractIn 1944, the Red Army recaptured Estonia and a large-scale cleansing campaign began. In barely 15 months, more than one third of all political arrests during Stalinist rule took place, and cleansing was the Soviet Union’s top priority policy in Estonia. Similar measures were taken all over formerly German occupied territory. Preparations for those actions had already been started in the Soviet rear since 1941. The paper analyses this wave of cleansing initially aimed at “collaborators with the Germans” and later mainly targeted at “bourgeois nationalists.” Behind the persecution was a bureaucratic apparatus which, through time, collected information about a quarter of the population. Apart from persecution, elements of a policy of compromise are also visible. Stalin used amnesties and legalization to weaken resistance and win over the population in newly acquired territories. Many people, including some war criminals, evaded persecution. Because the regime needed qualified ethnic Estonians to run the Estonian SSR, it practiced some toleration of “deviation.” The combination of cleansing and compromise was part and parcel of Stalinist policy

Eesti halduse ja institutsioonide ajalugu

BeSt programmi toetusel valminud kursusel käsitletakse Eesti ala haldusliku korralduse ajalugu, institutsioonide arenguid valitud teemade ning rühmade lõikes. Kursusel omandatav teadmine aitab kiiremini orienteeruda arhiivifondide materjalides ning üles leida vajalikke dokumente

Poliitiline vägivald Eestis 1905–1960

Kursus võtab vaatluse alla poliitilise surve ning sellega kaasnenud vägivalla kasutamisega enim seonduvad sündmused ja perioodid alates 1905. a revolut¬si¬oo-nist kuni inimeste vabanemiseni Nõukogude vangilaagritest ja sundasumiselt. Kursuse põhirõhk on erineva isikuloolise materjali (mälestused, kirjad, päevikud, intervjuud jm) kaudu tutvustada ja teadvustada materjalis avalduvaid eripalgelisi kogemusi ning sündmuste mäletamise viise. Seeläbi testib kursus ühtlasi meie tänaseid teadmisi lähiminevikus toimunu kohta

Stalinist Repression in Estonia: State of the Research and Open Questions

This article focuses on the research of Stalinist repression in Estonia, observing the work done within the past 25 years. Understandably, many studies have concentrated on victims and repressive institutions. The public concern for the topics in the 1990s has considerably declined in recent years. Although by today we have an excellent overview of committed acts of violence, there are numerous aspects that require in-depth research. It is necessary to notice not only the victims and perpetrators, but also common citizens’ forms of action both in crucial and everyday situations. The engagement of fellow-citizens in various punishment operations, staging “guilt” and confrontation, and other similar maneuvers caused tensions in the population and as such facilitated the established control over society. Mapping various measures taken by the state and the experiences gained by different social groups is an essential stage in interpretation of tough times. This work needs to be continued