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Singing Revolution

Baltic Way, reflecting the peak of the Singing

Revolution

The Singing Revolution is a commonly used name for events between

1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.[1]

[2]

The term was coined by an

Estonian activist and artist, Heinz Valk, in an article published a week

after the June 1011, 1988 spontaneous mass night-singing

demonstrations at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds.[3]

Background

After World War II the Baltic States had been fully incorporated into the USSR after military occupation and

annexation first in 1940 and then again in 1944. Mikhail Gorbachev introduced "glasnost" (openness) and

"perestroika" (restructuring) in 1985, hoping to stimulate the failing Soviet economy and encourage productivity,

particularly in the areas of consumer goods, the liberalisation of co-operative businesses and the service economy.

Glasnost rescinded limitations on political freedoms in the Soviet Union which led to problems within the

non-Russian nations occupied in the build-up to war in the 1940s.

Hitherto unrecognised issues previously kept secret by the Moscow government were admitted to in public, causing

dissatisfaction within the Baltic States. Combined with the war in Afghanistan and Chernobyl, grievances were aired

in a publicly explosive and politically decisive manner. Estonians were concerned about the demographic threat to

their national identity posed by the influx of individuals from foreign ethnic groups to work on such large Soviet

development projects as phosphate mining.[4]

Access to Western emigre communities abroad and, particularly in Estonia, informal relations with Finland and

access to Finnish TV showing the Western lifestyle also contributed to widespread dissatisfaction with the Soviet

system and provoked mass demonstrations as repression on dissidents, nationalists, religious communities and

ordinary consumers eased substantially towards the end of the 1980s.

Massive demonstrations against the Soviet regime began after widespread liberalisation of the regime failed to take

into account national sensitivities. It was hoped by Moscow that the non-Russian nations would remain within the

USSR despite the removal of restrictions on freedom of speech and national icons (such as the local pre-1940 flags).

However the situation deteriorated to such an extent that by 1989 there were campaigns aimed at freeing the nations

from the Soviet Union altogether.

Estonia

From 1987, a cycle of mass demonstrations featuring spontaneous singing eventually collected 300,000 Estonians inTallinn to sing national songs and hymns that were strictly forbidden during the years of the Soviet occupation, as

Estonian rock musicians played.

On 14 May 1988, the first expression of national feeling occurred during the Tartu Pop Music Festival. Five patriotic

songs were first performed during this festival. People linked their hands together and a tradition had begun.

In June the Old Town Festival was held in Tallinn, and after the official part of the festival, the participants moved to

the Song Festival Grounds and similarly started to sing patriotic songs together spontaneously.

On 2628 August 1988, the Rock Summer Festival was held, and patriotic songs, composed by Alo Mattiisen, were

played.

On 11 September 1988, a massive song festival, called "Song of Estonia", was held at the Tallinn Song FestivalArena. This time nearly 300,000 people came together, more than a quarter of all Estonians. On that day political

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leaders were participating actively, and were for the first time insisting on the restoration of independence.

On 16 November 1988, the legislative body of Estonia issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration. In 1990 Estonia

had been the first Soviet republic to defy the Soviet army by offering alternative service to Estonian residents

scheduled to be drafted. Most Estonians, however, simply began avoiding the draft.

The Singing Revolution lasted over four years, with various protests and acts of defiance. In 1991, as Soviet tanks

attempted to stop the progress towards independence, the Estonian Supreme Soviet together with the Congress ofEstonia proclaimed the restoration of the independent state of Estonia and repudiated Soviet legislation. People acted

as human shields to protect radio and TV stations from the Soviet tanks. Through these actions Estonia regained its

independence without any bloodshed.[5]

On 22 August 1991, Iceland became the first nation to recognise the newly restored independence of Estonia. Today,

a plaque commemorating this event is situated on the outside wall of the Foreign Ministry, which itself is situated on

Islandi Vljak 1, or "Iceland Square 1". The plaque reads; "The Republic of Iceland was the first to recognise on 22

August 1991, the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Estonia", in Estonian, Icelandic and English.

Independence was declared on the late evening of August 20, 1991, after an agreement between different political

parties was reached. The next morning Soviet troops, according to Estonian TV, attempted to storm Tallinn TV

Tower but were not successful.[6]

The Communist hardliners' coup attempt failed amid mass pro-democracy

demonstrations in Moscow led by Boris Yeltsin.

Latvia

During the second half of the 1980s as Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost and perestroika in the USSR, which

rolled back restrictions to freedom in the Soviet Union, aversion to the Soviet regime had grown into the third

Latvian National Awakening, which reached its peak in mid-1988. The dissident movement that had been subdued in

the first half of the 1980s revived in 1986.

In 1986, it became widely known to the public that the USSR was planning to build another hydroelectric power

plant on Latvia's largest river Daugava, and that a decision had been made to build a subway in Riga. Both of these

projects planned by Moscow could have led to the destruction of Latvia's landscape and cultural and historical

wealth. In the press journalists urged the public to protest against these decisions. The public reacted immediately,

and in response the Environmental Protection Club was founded on February 28, 1987. During the second half of the

1980s the Environmental Protection Club became one of the most influential mass movements in the region and

began to make demands for the restoration of Latvia's independence.

On June 14, 1987, the anniversary of the 1941 deportations, the human rights group "Helsinki-86", which had been

founded a year earlier, organised people to place flowers at the Freedom Monument (Latvia's symbol of

independence that was erected in 1935). This was an unprecedented event that demonstrated the rebirth of national

self-confidence in Latvia.

On June 1 and 2, 1988, the Writers' Union held a congress during which the democratisation of society, Latvia's

economic sovereignty, the cessation of immigration from the USSR, the transformation of industry and the

protection of Latvian language rights were discussed by delegates. Over the course of this conference, for the first

time in post-war Latvia, the secret protocol of the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact", which had determined Latvia's fate

after 1939, was publicly acknowledged.

The congress of the Writers' Union stirred up public opinion and provided an additional stimulus for the general

process of national revival.

In the summer of 1988, two of the most important organisations of the revival period began to assemble themselves -

the Latvian People's Front (LPF) and the Latvian National Independence Movement (LNIM). Soon afterwards the

more radically inclined Citizens' Congress called for complete non-compliance with the representatives of the Soviet

regime. All of these organisations had a common goal: the restoration of democracy and independence. On October

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world that Lithuania's citizens were prepared to defend national independence.

The international governments recognised Lithuanian independence after the failure of the coup d'tat in August

1991.

Notes and references

[1] *Thomson, Clare (1992). The Singing Revolution: A Political Journey through the Baltic States. London: Joseph. ISBN 0718134591.

[2] Ginkel, John (September 2002). "Identity Construction in Latvia's "Singing Revolution": Why inter-ethnic conflict failed to occur".

Nationalities Papers30 (3): 403433. doi:10.1080/0090599022000011697.

[3] Between Utopia and Disillusionment By Henri Vogt; p 26 (http://books. google. com/books?id=nI73PdnqQlcC& pg) ISBN 1-57181-895-2

[4] Estonia and the Estonians, Toivo U. Raun, Hoover Press, 2001, p. 223

[5] State of World Liberty (http://www.stateofworldliberty. org/report/results.html)

[6] History of ETV (in Estonian) (http://www.etv.ee/index. php?0536408)

External links

A Lithuanian history, including information about Bloody Sunday (http://lietuviu-bendruomene.org/lithuania.

html)

Audio interviews of two leaders of Lithuania's Singing Revolution: Vytautas Landsbergis and Valdas Adamkus,

current President of the Republic of Lithuania (http://talkinghistory.oah.org/arch2000.html)

Tallinn-Life:A Brief Guide to the Estonian Singing Revolution(http://www.tallinn-life. com/tallinn/

estonian-singing-revolution)

The Singing Revolution Estonian Free Press interview to the director (http://www.estonianfreepress.com/2010/

07/the-singing-revolution-should-be-known-by-the-whole-world/)

The Singing Revolution, US documentary film of the Estonian Singing Revolution (http://www.

singingrevolution.com)

http://www.singingrevolution.com/http://www.singingrevolution.com/http://www.estonianfreepress.com/2010/07/the-singing-revolution-should-be-known-by-the-whole-world/http://www.estonianfreepress.com/2010/07/the-singing-revolution-should-be-known-by-the-whole-world/http://www.tallinn-life.com/tallinn/estonian-singing-revolutionhttp://www.tallinn-life.com/tallinn/estonian-singing-revolutionhttp://talkinghistory.oah.org/arch2000.htmlhttp://lietuviu-bendruomene.org/lithuania.htmlhttp://lietuviu-bendruomene.org/lithuania.htmlhttp://www.etv.ee/index.php?0536408http://www.stateofworldliberty.org/report/results.htmlhttp://books.google.com/books?id=nI73PdnqQlcC&pghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1991_Soviet_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt

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Article Sources and Contributors 5

Article Sources and ContributorsSinging Revolution Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=447998044 Contributors: AMuseo, Alexia Death, Altenmann, Ancheta Wis, Andris, Angr, Aranherunar, Ardfern,

Azzurro, BigBrightStars, Brettathus, Briaboru, Bryan Derksen, Caffelice, Dale Arnett, Damczyk, Dave Runger, De Administrando Imperio, Desdemona, Digwuren, DocWatson42,

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