Tiit Madisson (4 June 1950 – 21 June 2021) was an

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 ...

n activist, writer, and politician. In the press (especially while living in Sweden), he used the pseudonym Silver Ronk. He was a political

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established Political system, political or Organized religion, religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and ...

and prisoner of 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 ...

Career

Madisson was born in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. He was one of the organizers of the Estonian

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

movement in the mid-1970s. Madisson was a political prisoner of the Soviet Union from 1980 to 1986. In 1983 he smuggled an open letter from prison in Siberia to the Madrid Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, calling for the Soviet Union to stand by the humanitarianism clauses of the Helsinki Agreement - for which he was put into solitary confinement. He spent four years in political prison camps VS-389/37 and VS-389/36 in the

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

region, and then settled in East Yakutia (

Kolyma Kolyma (russian: Колыма́, ) is a region located in the Russian Far East. It is bounded to the north by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and by the Sea of Okhotsk to the south. The region gets its name from the Kolyma River an ...

). After his release on 15 August 1987 he founded the MRP-AEG group. After a Deer park rally, of which he was one of the leaders, he was expelled from the Soviet Union in September 1987. Madisson lived in Sweden from 1987 to 1990. He contributed to

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

and participated in the activities of the Estonian Imprisoned Freedom Fighters Assistance Center. In 1990, he returned to Estonia, where he participated in politics and was a member 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 the first edition of the Estonian Committee. In 1995, Madisson worked at EMEX. He was sentenced to one year's suspended imprisonment with a two-year probation period and compensation for financial damage (210,280 kroons) to the company. An appeal set aside the damages, but otherwise upheld the original judgment. In 1996, the court convicted Madisson "of being dissatisfied with the situation in Estonia in May 1996, as a member of the Defence League, to prepare for a military coup" and "sought accomplices to implement his plans and ideas". Madisson was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment, plus two more months, because the new offense had been committed while on probation. He was released early on the basis of the

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

law passed by the

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Jus ...

on 13 November 1997. From 2002 to 2005, he served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Lihula Lihula is a town in Lääneranna Parish, Pärnu County, Estonia. Lihula castle The castle of Lihula (german: Leal) was first mentioned in 1211, but it appears the site was used as a fortress since the Iron Age. In 1220, a Swedish army starte ...

. On his initiative, a monument "60 Years of Estonian Defense Battles" was erected on 20 August 2004. It was moved on 2 September by order of the

Estonian government , image = , date = 24 February 1918 , state = Republic of Estonia , address = Rahukohtu 3, 15161 Tallinn, Estonia , appointed = President of Estonia , leader_title = Prime Minister of Estonia , ...

led by

Juhan Parts Juhan Parts (born 27 August 1966) is an Estonian politician who was Prime Minister of Estonia from 2003 to 2005 and Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications from 2007 to 2014. Juhan Parts is a member of Isamaa party. Education Born in Ta ...

. In September 2010, Madisson and his wife moved to Spain. He returned to Estonia in August 2016. In 2020, MTÜ Eesti Leegioni Sõprade Klubi awarded him the Estonian People's Thanks Medal no. 2 (No. 1 went to

Harald Nugiseks Harald Nugiseks (22 October 1921 – 2 January 2014) was an Waffen-Oberscharführer (Sergeant) in World War II, who served in the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) of the ''Waffen-SS''. Nugiseks is also one of the four E ...

References

External links

*
About Tiit Madisson

Tiit Madisson on Dissident.eu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madisson, Tiite 1950 births 2021 deaths Politicians from Tallinn Pro Patria Union MEPs Soviet dissidents Estonian dissidents Estonian National Independence Party politicians Mayors of places in Estonia 20th-century Estonian politicians 21st-century Estonian politicians