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The era of silence ( et, vaikiv ajastu) was the period between 1934 and 1938 (or 1940Miljan, p. 196.) in Estonian history. The period began with the preemptive
self-coup A self-coup, also called autocoup (from the es, autogolpe), is a form of coup d'état in which a nation's head, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. The leader may dissolve or render powerless ...
of 12 March 1934, which the then
Prime Minister of Estonia The Prime Minister of Estonia (Estonian: ''peaminister'') is the head of government of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed by th ...
Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts (; – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president in 1938–1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades prior ...
carried out to avert a feared takeover of the state apparatus by the popular ''
Vaps The Vaps Movement ( et, Eesti Vabadussõjalaste Keskliit, later ''Eesti Vabadussõjalaste Liit'', ''vabadussõjalased'', or colloquially ''vapsid'', a single member of this movement was called ''vaps'') was an Estonian political organization. Fo ...
'' Movement (a political organization of war veterans).


Context and events

In the charged atmosphere that pervaded Europe in 1934, when
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
and
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...
had become widely admired role models for authoritarian and nationalist movements in many other countries, most of the leaders of the democratic Republic of Estonia also viewed the possible takeover by a similar group, the ''Vaps'' Movement as a credible and imminent threat. Claiming the existence of such imminent threat, the then Prime Minister Konstantin Päts, using the authority of the newly adopted Constitution of 1933, proclaimed a nationwide state of emergency on March 12. He then appointed general Johan Laidoner, a popular leader of the
War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of ...
and a known opponent of the ''Vaps'' Movement's leadership, as commander of the armed forces. Veterans' organisations were shut down, over 400 of the organisations' members were arrested, and all organised political activity in the country was outlawed. All Vaps members were also purged from local governments, the civil service, and the Defence League. These actions were immediately approved by the lame-duck parliament. However, when Päts decreed postponement of the
elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
for both State Elder and
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, scheduled to be held in spring 1934 according to the new constitution, opposition arose in a special session convened by the existing parliament, since the constitution did not allow postponement of elections by decree. In response, he permanently postponed the session and ruled by decree until a new constitution could be drawn up and adopted. Thus, Päts' takeover of the government was a coup ''de facto'' but also ''de jure'', since the entire process was illegal under the constitution in effect in 1934.


Uses of term

The term "era of silence" was first introduced by Kaarel Eenpalu, the country's prime minister in 1938–39, and a strong supporter of Päts, the Estonian head of state during that period. However, the term has been used later more often to describe the silencing of opposition to Päts' governing circle. It also reflects an apparent nationwide consensus to go along with the temporary suppression of some civil and political rights in the interests of "order" after years of political turmoil. Päts' rule was never an unduly harsh one: nearly all of those jailed in 1934 were released in 1938, and none of the former heads of state ( Ants Piip, Juhan Kukk, Jaan Teemant and Jaan Tõnisson) who issued the critical Four State Elders' Memorandum in a newspaper in neighbouring Finland in October 1936, calling on Päts to immediately end the curtailment of civil and political rights and to reinstitute democratic government, were ever harassed by the Päts' government. When
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
were held in 1938 under the new constitution of 1937, the opposition candidates won 16 seats (out of 64) in the lower house of parliament. The "era of silence" is usually considered to have ended with either the new Estonian constitution coming into force on 1 January 1938, or with the
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held in February 1938. Some sources extend their definition of "the era" until the Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia in June 1940.


References


Sources

* Miljan, Toivo. ''Historical Dictionary of Estonia'', pp. 196–97. Scarecrow Press, 2004, *
Estonica ''Estonica'' is a comprehensive encyclopaedia on topics relating to Estonia, particularly the culture and history of Estonia. The project has been developed by Estonian Institute since 2000. It is sponsored by, among others, Tiigrihüpe. Mater ...

1918–1940. Republic of Estonia
*


Further reading

* Frucht, R. C. (2005). Eastern Europe: An introduction to the people, lands, and culture / edited by Richard Frucht. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. Page 78+ {{Estonia topics 1930s in Estonia 1930s coups d'état and coup attempts Interwar Baltic state coups d'état and coup attempts Political history of Estonia Authoritarianism