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The Estonian Citizens' Committees ( et, Eesti Kodanike Komiteed) was a nonpartisan political movement in
The Estonian Citizens' Committees ( et, Eesti Kodanike Komiteed) was a nonpartisan political movement in Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, founded in 1989–1990, which had as its purpose the creation of power structures in order to restore the Republic of Estonia
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
on the basis of legal continuity by
* registration of citizens of the Republic of Estonia,
* carrying out the elections of the Congress of Estonia
The Congress of Estonia ( Estonian: ''Eesti Kongress'') was an innovative grassroots parliament established in Estonia in 1990–1992 as a part of the process of regaining of independence from the Soviet Union. It also challenged the power and au ...
, and
* convening the Congress of Estonia
The Congress of Estonia ( Estonian: ''Eesti Kongress'') was an innovative grassroots parliament established in Estonia in 1990–1992 as a part of the process of regaining of independence from the Soviet Union. It also challenged the power and au ...
as a legislative body representing the citizens.
The first call for setting up these committees was made on February 24, 1989, – the 71st anniversary of the Republic's declaration of independence in 1918 – during a meeting of representatives of the Estonian Heritage Society, the Estonian National Independence Party ERSP, and the Estonian Christian Alliance. Legally, the initiative centered on the prewar constitution of 1938 of independent Estonia, which postulated that the Estonian people were invested with the highest level of power in the country. All legitime citizens, who registered as citizen, got blue card, all who wanted become citizen, got green card, and they got Estonian citizenship without language census. Since the structure of national and local governmental offices had been eliminated during Estonia's occupation by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, they would need to be recreated, starting with the registration of citizens.
The first Estonian Citizens Committee was founded on March 21, 1989, in Kadrina
Kadrina is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Lääne-Viru County, northern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Kadrina Parish. Kadrina is located in the crossing point of Tallinn–Saint Petersburg (Tallinn–Narva) railway, Pärnu– R ...
; the first county to set up such a committee was Kuressaare
Kuressaare () is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276.
Th ...
(10 April 1989). The first county committee was established on May 12, 1989, in Virumaa
Virumaa ( la, Vironia; Low German: ''Wierland''; Old Norse: ''Virland'') is a former independent county in Ancient Estonia. Now it is divided into Ida-Viru County or Eastern Vironia and Lääne-Viru County or Western Vironia. Vironians built ma ...
. Most of the registration effort was undertaken during the summer months.
The Citizen's Committees' movements led to a mass resignation of ethnic Estonians
Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language.
The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to other ...
from the Estonian Communist Party
The Communist Party of Estonia ( et, Eestimaa Kommunistlik Partei, abbreviated EKP) was a subdivision of the Soviet communist party which in 1920-1940 operated illegally in Estonia and, after the 1940 occupation and annexation of Estonia by the ...
in December 1989, continuing until February 1990.
The primary phase of the Citizens Committees' activities came to a close when the Congress of Estonia was elected on February 24, 1990, and convened on March 11, 1990. The committees became defunct soon thereafter; most in the spring of 1990, almost all by the end of 1990. County committees were reorganised as departments of the Estonian Committee, founded by the Congress of Estonia
The Congress of Estonia ( Estonian: ''Eesti Kongress'') was an innovative grassroots parliament established in Estonia in 1990–1992 as a part of the process of regaining of independence from the Soviet Union. It also challenged the power and au ...
, and began issuing identity documents (the so-called Rumessen passports after Vardo Rumessen) to registered citizens.
References
Political organizations based in Estonia 1989 in Estonia 1990 in Estonia {{Europe-law-stub