The Popular Front of Estonia ( et, Eestimaa Rahvarinne; RR), introduced to the public by the Estonian politician

Edgar Savisaar Edgar Savisaar (31 May 1950 – 29 December 2022) was an Estonian politician, one of the founding members of Popular Front of Estonia and the Centre Party. He served as the acting Prime Minister of Estonia, Minister of the Interior, Minister ...

under the short-lived name Popular Front for the Support of Perestroika, was a political organisation 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 ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Edgar Savisaar introduced the idea of popular front during a TV show on 13 April 1988. The idea was developed through the year and finally The Estonian Popular Front was established on 1 October 1988 with a massively crowded congress which turned to a culmination of the first phase of the

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution; lv, dziesmotā revolūcija; lt, dainuojanti revoliucija) was a series of events that led to the restoration of independence of the Baltic states, Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union a ...

. It was to a significant degree the precursor to the current

Estonian Centre Party The Estonian Centre Party ( et, Eesti Keskerakond, EK) is a populist political party in Estonia. It was founded in 1991 as a direct successor of the Popular Front of Estonia, and it is currently led by Jüri Ratas. The party was founded on 12 Oc ...

, although with a much broader base of popularity at the beginning.

History

The Popular Front of Estonia was a major force in the

Estonian independence movement The Singing Revolution; lv, dziesmotā revolūcija; lt, dainuojanti revoliucija) was a series of events that led to the restoration of independence of the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union at the end of th ...

that led to the re-establishment of 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 ...

as a country independent from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. It was similar to the Popular Front of Latvia and the Sąjūdis movement in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and a number of Popular Fronts that were created almost simultaneously in many parts of the USSR. The Baltic States were in a unique category among the constituent parts of the USSR in that they had been European parliamentary democracies in the interbellum and had been annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. The Popular Front of Estonia was founded in 1988 by

Marju Lauristin Marju Lauristin (born 7 April 1940) is an Estonian politician, and former Member of the European Parliament and Minister of Social Affairs. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. Lauristin is cu ...

and

. Savisaar initiated the founding in April 1988 in a live broadcast (''Mõtleme veel'') on Estonian TV, advocating support of Gorbachev’s

perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

.Народный фронт (Rahvarinne)
Popular Front organised series of much-crowded and well-published events and actions which stressed on Estonian national pride but on democratic values as well. Huge amount of prints and newspapers were produced to popularise the PF movement. The top-leaders and sub-leaders of PF were everyday guests in every kind of media to talk about several kind of problems and ideas. Popular Front of Estonia made ideas of independent Estonia acceptable and possible for masses. The idea of independence had become a somewhat impossible and unbelievable dream for the majority of Estonians during decades under the Soviet Union. At one point someway problematic character of Edgar Savisaar created growing opposition against PF among Estonians too. Those people formed their own smaller organisations which grew into important element of politics of independent Estonia next decade. The Popular Front of Estonia together with the Popular Front of Latvia and the Sąjūdis organised the

Baltic Way The Baltic Way ( lt, Baltijos kelias, lv, Baltijas ceļš, et, Balti kett) or Baltic Chain (also "Chain of Freedom") was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to ...

mass "arm-in-arm" manifestation extending through three

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

on 23 August 1989 that marked 50th anniversary of 23 August 1939, when the Soviet Union and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

signed the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

, which resulted in the forcible incorporation of these three states into the Soviet Union and the loss of their independence. The front was opposed by the

Intermovement The Intermovement ''(International Movement of Workers in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic)'' ( et, Interliikumine, russian: Интердвижение, translit. Interdvizhenie) was a political movement and organisation in the Esto ...

that represented the pro-Soviet part of Estonia's population including most of the country's Russian minority and other ethnic groups that had been settled in Estonia during the Soviet era. The Popular Front was a supporter of

, while the Intermovement was seen as opposed to Gorbachev's reforms. As time went by, an ever-greater chasm developed between the initial thrust of the Popular Front, leading members of which at first advocated mere autonomy within a Soviet system that Gorbachev was trying to reform in a cautious way, and the eventual context of the Estonian Popular Front, which came to stand for true independence, an idea supported by the rank and file. Consequently, the Estonian Popular Front changed a great deal over time, until political parties came to replace such movements in Estonia during the early nineties. This rendered the Popular Front of Estonia an anachronism, and Popular Front was dissolved in 1993.

References

The Restoration of Estonian Independence

Nationalism and the Transition to Democracy: The Post-Soviet Experience

- ''Time'' magazine - August 21, 1989 {{Authority control Singing Revolution Defunct political parties in Estonia Political history of Estonia

1988 in the Soviet Union Political parties established in 1988 Popular fronts in the Soviet Union Anti-communism in Estonia 1988 establishments in Estonia 1993 disestablishments in Estonia Dissolution of the Soviet Union Political parties disestablished in 1993

History

See also

References