Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic

Origins

The Soviet Union occupied the Republic of Estonia in June 1940 under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. After rigged elections, a puppet parliament asked to join the Soviet Union, and Estonia was annexed in August 1940. German occupation followed in 1941-1944, and Soviet rule returned in 1944.

Rule and society

Soviet rule brought nationalisation, collectivisation and mass deportations, especially in June 1941 and March 1949, when over 20,000 people were sent to Siberia. Large-scale Russian-speaking immigration changed the population, and oil shale industry developed in the north-east. Johannes Käbin led the Communist Party from 1950 to 1978. Estonia's access to Finnish television made it unusually open to Western influence.

Decline and legacy

In the late 1980s the Singing Revolution mobilised mass protest. The Supreme Soviet declared Estonian sovereignty in 1988, and during the failed Moscow coup Estonia declared full independence on 20 August 1991, restoring the Republic of Estonia.