Travelling Across Europe Through History

Generation’68 in Estonia

Mari-Ell MetsMoonika Põdersalu

Tallinn School no. 21

By Flag_of_Europe.svg: User:Verdy p, User:-xfi-, User:Paddu, User:Nightstallion, User:Funakoshi, User:Jeltz, User:Dbenbenn, User:Zscout370 Estonia_stub.svg: PavelD derivative work: Fry1989 (talk) 22:14, 7 December 2010

(UTC) (Flag_of_Europe.svg Estonia_stub.svg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Estonia today

Intro

Estonia as a former Soviet country has come a long way: it has joined the European Union and NATO, is using Euro as national currency and is continuously moving towards better living standards, more welfare and freedom.

Our today’s politicians were mainly born in the sixties and today we want to talk about how the “golden sixties” affected the views of the so-called “Generation’68” in Estonia.

Photograph from the U. S. Department of State in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.

Nikita Khrushchev

By Albert Truuväärt (Riigikogu Kantselei / Chancellery of the Riigikogu) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Tiit Made (Tiit Made) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Ülo VooglaidPaul-Eerik Rummo

The “Thaw”

The “Khrushchev’s Thaw” refers to the period that started in 1956, when Joseph Stalin’s successor Nikita Khrushchev denounced his legacy and initiated a process of de-Stalinization, and the period ended in the early 1960s. During that period, repression and censorship in the Soviet Union were reversed, the Soviet grip was somewhat loosened, and millions of Soviet political prisoners were released from Gulag labor camps.

The “thaw” period, and the following years until 1968 are known as the optimistic period when the Estonian culture, which had been dwindling since the beginning of the Soviet times, started to recover naturally with intellectuals and writers gaining more freedom of speech.Now we will point out some things that happened in the “inertia of the thaw”.

Song Festival (1960)

Foto: Lembit Michelson/ETA foto

By Rene Seeman (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0-ee (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ee/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

Song Festival

In 1960, the 15th song festival took place in Tallinn, on the newly built stage.

Estonian legendary composer Gustav Ernesaks’s “My Fatherland is My Love” had been taken off the festival’s programme but the choir initiated the singing on their own. The Soviet guards tried to shut the singing down by playing a Soviet march from all the loudspeakers but once everybody both on the stage and in the audience were singing, it couldn’t be stopped.

It was a clear message from the people that they hadn’t forgotten their past and their freedom.

New residential areas

By Guillaume Speurt from Vilnius, Lithuania (Soviet building in Mustamae Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia

Commons

By Dmitry G (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Mustamäe

Source: http://cache.kv.ee/iv2/obj/1_4_29749129.jpg

Merivälja

New residential areas

Estonians gained new possibilities to improve their living standards as new apartment buildings made out of prefabricated concrete elements were built in Mustamäe and private houses in Merivälja. Both of them seemed as symbols of new life, progress, light and hope of freedom.

In addition to the apartments, people were now allowed to own additional land in the countryside, which was given to them free of charge.

Estonian Students’ Working Camp (1964)

Photo from private collection

Estonian Students’ Working Camp (1964)

The Estonian Students’ Working Camp that was founded in 1964 was another chance for active young people to take part in social activities and gain work experience.

The First Jazzfestival (1964)

Autor автор (NORRISS) [Public domain], Wikimedia Commonsi kaudu

First Jazzfestival (1964)

Also, in the same year, the first Jazz Festival was held in Tartu. Jazz was a new rebellious type of music and totally controversial to the Soviet

“mainstream”.

Tallinn-Helsinki seaway opening (1965)

Source: http://vana.err.ee/img/err/16.jpg

Tallinn-Helsinki seaway opening (1965)

In 1965, Tallinn-Helsinki seaway, which was seen as a window to the West, was finally opened. Its importance lays in the fact that it was almost the first connection with the West.

Sovkhozes allowed to self-economize (1967)

Photo from private collection

Sovkhozes were allowed to self-economize

Starting from 1967 sovkhozes were allowed to self-economize.This was another example of the Soviet Union’s loosening grip over the

member states.

Youth interest for Estonian culture and history

Photo from private collection

Youth interest for Estonian culture and history

During the sixties the youth was further developing its interest for Estonian culture and history.

Moreover, poets and writers who made their debut in the sixties are known as the “Cassette-Generation” as they published their works in thin notebooks or so-called cassettes.

The Views of the Youth

kenfkj

by: Vdegroot. Tartu university - foto zelfgemaakt (VdG)

By Ave Maria Mõistlik (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Ave Maria Mõistlik (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL

(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Marju Lauristin Sirje Endre

The Views of the YouthIn the second half of the 1960s Tartu University saw a certain communism-critical youth

society being formed and some of its leaders are still active in Estonia’s politics today.Although the Soviet propaganda had had some victories in the past - like turning the youth

against religion and the United States - it hadn’t succeed on the large scale: the iron curtain wasn’t thick enough and Estonian youth was aware of the outside world, they took interest in their background, Estonian culture and history.

None of the young people actually believed in the Communist Party and took it as an annoying obligatory “state religion”. Young Communist League was seen as a beneficial starting point for active young Estonians giving them an opportunity to express themselves and work their way up to a position where they could make a change - that’s also how many of today’s Estonian politicians gained experience and developed a want to have impact on the society.

The Communist Party concretely promised people free transport, free apartments, free clothes and food, 6-hour working days and “pure happiness”. While a few still fell for that in the beginning of the 60s, it was clear for everyone by the end of that decade that it was pure bluff.

The End of the Optimistic Period

Photo from private collection

The End of the Optimistic Period

The quite optimistic period came to an end in 1968 when Prague Spring was brutally ended by the invasion of the Soviet tanks, and the hope for “socialism with a human face” disappeared.

Estonians felt empathy towards the Czechoslovakians and disapproved the actions of the Soviet Union.

Just as it had been in favor of the Soviet Union when Che Guevara became a “martyr” for the Soviet youth, the Prague Spring victims became “martyrs” for the growing freedom-oriented youth.

Of course, after ending the Prague Spring, the Soviet leaders began to eradicate any further signs of relaxation and “thaw”. The Soviet grip was tightened again.

Conclusion

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/1990_01_12_Gorba%C4%8Diovas%C5%A0iauliuose10.jpg?uselang=etAutor Rimantas Lazdynas (Üleslaadija oma töö) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) või CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-

sa/3.0/)], Wikimedia Commonsi kaudu

Conclusion

Estonian youth in comparison to some others was significantly calmer and quite restrained. Only minor protests by university students took place and dissidence was mainly dealing with nationalism and independence. The protest also took form in writings.

Estonians’ calm nature might have been why Estonia was later spared from repressions and why the singing revolution could happen 20 years later. That generation hadn’t developed such sense of danger, which their parents acquired from the Stalin reign, so they were much braver to protest than their parents were.

Thank you for your attention!

TEST 1

When did Khrushchev start de-Stalinization?

A. 1956B. 1966C. 1996

TEST 2

How was Gustav Ernesaks’s legendary song called?

A. “My Homeland, My Love” B. “My Fatherland is My Home” C. “My Fatherland is My Love”

TEST 3

In which country did theevent take place whichended the optimisticperiod in Estonia?

A. Czechoslovakia B. Czech Republic C. Hungary