Hendrik Allik (15 March 1901 – 8 May 1989) was an Estonian

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

politician and a long-term member of 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 ...

Early life

Hendrik Allik worked for the Baltic Cotton Factory ( et, Balti Puuvillavabrik) in 1916–1922 and as a contributing editor for magazines and newspapers. During the 1920's, Allik became politically active. He was elected to the Estonian Parliament and, in November 1924, sentenced to life imprisonment in the

Trial of the 149 ''Trial of the 149'' () is the name given to the legal proceedings against 149 Estonian Communist Party, communists in Estonia that lasted from 10 to 27 November 1924. Many defendants were accused of high treason. One of them – Jaan Tomp – was ...

due to the illegal nature of the Estonian Communist Party.Romuald J. Misiunas, Rein Taagepera: ”Postwar Stalinism: 1945-1953”, ''The Baltic States, Years of Dependence, 1940-1980'', s. 80. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1983. In prison Allik continued to edit illegal communist newspapers, such as the ''Vangimaja Kiir''. However his imprisonment lasted only until 1938, when the president of Estonia, Konstantin Päts,

pardoned A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

the communists subsequently allowing for Allik's release. Following this Allik and other communists set up an underground organization from 1938 onwards.

The Great Patriotic War

Since the communists saw president Päts as a dictator, they planned to overthrow the government. With the outbreak of World War II, Estonia was becoming a mere puppet state for the Soviet Union. On 21 June 1940 a coup d'état known as the "June Coup" ( et, Juunipööre) was organized and acted on, giving rise to the Estonian Communist Party. After the coup d'état the

Estonian SSR The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

was founded and Allik was elected as the People's Commissariat of Trade and Industry, which he held until June 1941. When the German invasion of Soviet Union occurred in the summer of 1941, Allik moved to Russia. In 1942 he was appointed additional roles in Estonia and became the political commissar of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps, taking part in hostilities near

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-П ...

, Nevel, and Novosokolniki. He also defended the

3rd Baltic Front The 3rd Baltic Front (russian: 3-й Прибалтийский фронт) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted ...

, and advanced from

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

Activities in post-war Estonian SSR

As Joseph Stalin had been dissatisfied with the actions of

Nikolai Karotamm Nikolai Karotamm (October 23, 1901 – September 21, 1969) was an Estonian communist politician. He was a member of the Communist Party of Estonia. In 1925, he emigrated to the Netherlands, where in 1926, he joined the Communist Party of the Net ...

, the de facto leader of the Estonian SSR, he was dismissed of his prestigious positions in March 1950. Allik, a close associate of Karotamm, was likewise stripped of his positions, sentenced to 25 years in prison, and sent to Siberia, despite receiving the Order of Lenin just months prior for his duty during the war. Allik was released during the

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...

and was allowed to return to Estonia in 1955. Allik spent 20 years in prison, 15 in Estonia and five in the Soviet Union. Allik was reinstated to his position as Deputy Chairman of the Estonian SSR Council of Ministers in 1965 and kept this position until 1973. He received awards for his duty in the Second World War and for his promotion of the culture of the Estonian SSR and its communist beliefs.

Personal life

Allik married Olga Lauristin after the war and they had a son Jaak Allik (1946–), who also became a prominent member of the Estonian Communist Party. He died on 8 May 1989 in Tallinn.

Awards

* Order of the Red Banner (1943) * Order of Lenin (1950, 1965) * Order of the October Revolution (1971) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

(1981) * Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class (1985)

References

External links

Eestlased Vene sõjaväes 1940-1945
(Estonians in Russian armed forces in 1940-1945) by the Estonian Memento Union, 2008
Haudi - kalmistute register
about Hendrik Allik and Olga Lauristin {{DEFAULTSORT:Allik, Hendrik 1901 births 1989 deaths People from Mulgi Parish People from Kreis Pernau Workers' United Front politicians Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia People's commissars and ministers of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Members of the Riigikogu, 1923–1926 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1947–1951 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1959–1963 Tallinn University of Technology alumni Estonian people of World War II Prisoners and detainees of Estonia Gulag detainees Soviet rehabilitations Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples