The Left Alliance (), formerly the Estonian United Left Party (, EÜVP) is a left-wing

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, ...

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 ...

. Through the

Estonian Left Party Estonian Left Party (, EVP) was a leftist socialist political party in Estonia. History *1990: Registration of the independent Estonian Communist Party (EKP). *1992: Congress of EKP renamed Estonian Democratic Labour Party (EDTP). *July 1995: E ...

, the party, founded in 2008, is the direct descendant of the

Communist Party of Estonia The Communist Party of Estonia (, abbreviated EKP; in Russian: Коммунистическая партия Эстонии) was a regional branch of the CPSU, Soviet communist party (CPSU) which in 1920–1940 operated illegally in Estonia an ...

, the former ruling party of Estonia during the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic period. Since 2004, through the

, the party is a founding member of the

Party of the European Left The Party of the European Left (PEL), or European Left (EL), is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed ...

. The party started self-reforming in 2023 to be a more youth-oriented "pro-Estonian, modern and Nordic left party", intending to ''de jure'' rebrand as Left-Wingers ('','' , a mirror of the name used by

Parempoolsed Erakond Parempoolsed () is a self-declared economically liberal political party in Estonia. The party has no representation in the parliament. History The party was formed in August 2022, mostly by a group of former members of the Isamaa pa ...

) by early 2024. On 3 February 2024, the party failed to meet the quorum of around half of the members needing to be present to be able to vote on reform proposals in the party congress. Substitute party leader Keijo Lindeberg stated that the party intends to keep the formal name and branding of the Estonian United Left Party while informally using the branding and worldview of Vasakpoolsed. In late 2024, the party announced plans to rebrand as a socially progressive and economically left-wing party with the name Left Alliance (). In June 2025, after purging hundreds of members, the party reached a quorum in the party congress and officially changed the party's name and articles of association. The party is now expected to reach 500 members again or face dissolution.

History

United Left Party era

On 28 June 2008, the

(a party comprising most of the remnants of the post-1990 Communist Party of Estonia) and the Constitution Party (one of two parties representing the Russian minority in Estonia) merged to form the Estonian United Left Party (''Eestimaa Ühendatud Vasakpartei''). Despite the party's professed adherence to a left-wing direction, some observers and journalists noted that the party was perceived to be more interested in catering to Russian minority politics and has been relatively marginal in Estonian politics. In particular, party chairman Mstislav Rusakov made a comment about the party's apparent obscurity for an interview for

Eesti Rahvusringhääling Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) – ''Estonian Public Broadcasting'' – is a publicly funded and owned radio and television organisation created in Estonia on 1 June 2007 to take over the functions of the formerly separate Eesti Raadio ...

: "The problem is to convey this information to people, because, as I already said, go out into the street, ask: "The United Left Party ...?", they will tell you: "What is this?". Meanwhile, in an opinion article for the online Russian-language edition of

Postimees is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 employees. ''P ...

, Valery Saïkovski asserted that the party was primarily relevant for Russian minority politics purposes. In 2018, there were posters in Tallinn allegedly from the EÜVP that endorsed

Pavel Grudinin Pavel Nikolayevich Grudinin (; born 20 October 1960) is a Russian politician and businessman. He served as a municipal deputy of the urban settlement of Vidnoye from 1997 to 2011 and later as chairman of the Council of Deputies from 2017 to 201 ...

, the presidential candidate from the

Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF; ) is a communist political party in Russia that officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist philosophy. It is the second-largest political party in Russia after United Russia. The youth o ...

running in the

2018 Russian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Russia on 18 March 2018. Incumbent president Vladimir Putin was eligible to run. He declared his intent to do so on 6 December 2017 and was expected to win. This came following several months of speculation t ...

. However, the party denied that they were responsible for these posters, and the Russian Embassy in Estonia called them "low quality craft". For the

2023 Estonian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 5 March 2023 to elect all 101 members of the Riigikogu. The officially published election data indicate the victory of the Estonian Reform Party, Reform Party, which won 37 seats in total, while t ...

s, the party ran informally with members of

Together ''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...

who joined the party due to failing to register their own before the registration deadline. The Estonian United Left Party earned a record high of 2.4% votes in the election and thus qualified for state funding for the very first time, shocking many pundits. Most of the votes earned by the party came from voters of Together founder .

Reform and change in leadership

In August 2023, then-party leader Igor Rosenfeld was removed by court order and replaced with barrister Keijo Lindeberg as a substitute member of the board until the next party board elections. In September 2023, the party announced its intention to rebrand as Left-Wingers or the Left () by early 2024, launching a new website and social media presence after being informed by the court that law requires the former to exist for every single party. On 18 December, the party put out a policy statement, in which the party denounced its cooperation with Together in the 2023 parliamentary election, announced that all contacts had been since cut and that the party has no tolerance for pro-Kremlin viewpoints, including spread of Kremlin narratives about the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

or support for

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

's regime, adding that anyone with such views can't be a member of the party. The party reiterated that it agrees with Estonia's existing foreign policy choices, including EU and NATO membership, and expressed support for Ukraine against Russia's aggression. Moreover, the party announced that its main target demographic would be the youth, especially those without a party preference. The party was set to hold a general meeting to elect new leadership on 3 February 2024 but failed to meet the quorum of around half of the members needing to be present to be able to vote on reform proposals in the party congress. The party did not participate in the 2024 European Parliament election in Estonia due to a lack of funds. In late 2024, the party announced plans to rebrand as a socially liberal and economically left-wing party with the name Left Alliance () with the example of the Finnish Left Alliance. In June 2025, after purging hundreds of members, the party reached a quorum in the party congress and officially changed the party's name and articles of association. The party is now expected to reach 500 members again or face dissolution. The party doesn't intend to participate in the 2025 Estonian municipal elections.

Ideology

United Left Party era

Then-party leader Igor Rosenfeld complained about the party having been taken over by "Russian conservatives" between 2018 and 2022. He also referred to Russia as an empire and said the party supports an independent Ukraine as opposed to one under Russia, adding that it should be "more neutral" and "less aggressive towards Russia". He blames the "Russian elite" and "radicals on both sides" for the invasion of Ukraine, saying that the "

banderite A Banderite or Banderovite (; ; ; ) is a name for the members of the OUN-B, a faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The term, used from late 1940 onward, derives from the name of Stepan Bandera (1909–1959), the ultranation ...

" "Ukrainian radicals" took power in 2014 and that the

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia LDPR – Liberal Democratic Party of Russia () is a Russian Ultranationalism, ultranationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist List of political parties in Russia, political party. It succeeded the Liberal Democratic Party of the ...

and Rodina are war parties. He also labelled his own party Eurocommunist. After the 2023 parliamentary election, he referred to the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

as a coup and ruled out further cooperation with

if they are prosecuted, stating that "we will not be able to cooperate with those people who will be recognized as violating the law" and "we do not want to violate the laws of the Republic of Estonia in any way". He also mentioned that the party doesn't support the

Russian world The "Russian world" () is a concept and a political doctrine usually defined as the sphere of military, political and cultural influence of Russia. It is a vague term, mostly used to refer to communities with a historical, cultural, or spirit ...

theory promoted by "radical parts" of Together. He also said that a member of

had been appointed to replace him on the party board by the Harju County Court following the court's move to appoint barrister Keijo Lindeberg as the sole substitute member of the board after his removal. Rosenfeld commented on the move as a "right-wing dictatorship" attack on the party, tying them together with Together and saying that there was an attempt to liquidate the party, adding that there's a "special Baltic order in the EU" that is "

Francoist Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

" and "not a democracy". In mid-2023, he was replaced with Lindeberg who began reforming the party.

Reformation

Lindeberg said that "the party does not question Estonia's current foreign and security policy course", preferring to focus on domestic topics to appeal to the "ordinary worker" and the "less well-off". He added that the party's target voters would be "pro-Estonian" left-wing youth without a party preference as well as voters of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

, Centre Party and the Greens. One of the party's new members, former Social Democrats youth organization vice president Robert Kiisler said that he and "like-minded people are trying to create a pro-Estonian, modern and Nordic left party from the basis of the United Left Party, such as the Left Alliance in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

or the Red-Green Alliance in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Economic policy

The party has announced support for a

progressive income tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. The term ''progressive'' refers to the way the tax rate progresses from low to high, with the result that a taxpayer's average tax rate is less than the ...

, taxation of corporate profits,

inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...

, additional social benefits for the needy, establishing fair wages for teachers, police officers, firefighters, and providing additional social security.

Social policy

On social issues, the party described itself as "neither liberal nor conservative". In 2024, the party announced a restart with the intent to position itself as liberal on social issues.

Foreign policy

The party has stated that it has no tolerance for pro-Kremlin viewpoints, including spreading Kremlin narratives about the

or supporting

's regime, adding that anyone with such views can't be a member of the party. The party agrees with Estonia's existing foreign policy choices when it comes to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Estonia's EU and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

membership, and expressed support for Ukraine against Russian aggression. After the outbreak of the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, the party has released a statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, labelling

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

's government 'ultranationalist', describing

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

as an

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

state, supporting

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

's position in South Africa v. Israel, as well as stating that "Israel has the right to protect its own people, but not to do so at the expense of the security, well-being and territory of the Palestinians" and that "opposition to the

Israeli occupation Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...

and the policies of Netanyahu and other rabid nationalists is not

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, and antisemitism is not excused by solidarity with the occupied peoples of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Election results

Parliamentary elections

European Parliament elections

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2008 establishments in Estonia Democratic socialist parties in Europe Party of the European Left member parties Political parties established in 2008 Pro-European political parties in Estonia Socialist parties in Estonia