The Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party () was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
between 1917 and 1925. The leaders of the party, founded on platforms of
patriotism
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
, Estonian independence, and
social justice
Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
, made a major contribution to the drafting of the first (1920)
Constitution of Estonia
The Constitution of Estonia () is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. The first Constitution was adopted by the free ...
.
History
Social democracy
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
in Estonia was born at the beginning of the 20th century. Estonian social democracy was influenced by western European ideas of social democracy as well as by Russian ideals. During the
Russian Revolution of 1905
The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...
, social democratic ideas spread and Estonian social democrats formed their party in the summer of 1905 in Tartu.
At this time, the party was named the Estonian Social Democratic Workers Unity (''Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Tööliste Ühendus''). The social democrats were the most persecuted party during the czarist era. Their newspapers were closed, their politicians were forced to emigrate (Peeter Speek and
Mihkel Martna) or prosecute in underground (
August Rei
August Rei ( – 29 March 1963) was an Estonian politician. He served as State Elder of Estonia from 1928 to 1929, and as Prime Minister in duties of the President of the Estonian government-in-exile from 1945 to 1963.
Early life and educati ...
).
In 1917, when parties were again allowed, social democrats formed the Estonian Social Democratic Association (''Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Ühendus''). Their views were patriotic and they fought for Estonian independence and
social justice
Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
. In 1919, they changed their name to the Estonian Social Democratic Workers Party (''Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Tööliste Partei'') and won the
Constituent Assembly elections with 41 of the 120 seats. In the
first parliamentary elections, the following year the party was reduced to third place, before emerging as the second-largest party in the
1923 elections.
In 1925, the party merged with the
Estonian Independent Socialist Workers' Party
The Estonian Independent Socialist Workers' Party (, EISTP) was a political party in Estonia.
History
The party was formed in 1919 as a split from the Estonian Socialist Revolutionary Party, and was joined by defectors from the Estonian Social ...
to form the
Estonian Socialist Workers' Party
The Estonian Socialist Workers' Party (, ''ESTP'') was a political party in Estonia.
History
The party was established in 1925 as a merger of the Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party and former members of the Independent Socialist Workers ...
.
[ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p579 ] In 1990, the Estonian Socialist Party's Foreign Association merged into the newly formed
Estonian Social Democratic Party.
References
{{Political parties in Estonia
1905 establishments in the Russian Empire
1917 establishments in Estonia
1925 disestablishments in Europe
Defunct political parties in Estonia
Defunct socialist parties in Europe
Members of the Labour and Socialist International
Political parties disestablished in 1925
Political parties established in 1917
Political parties established in 1905
Political parties of the Russian Revolution
Socialist parties in Estonia