The Estonian Workers' Commune (, initially '; , or ETK, also Estonian Labour Commune and Commune of the Working People of Estonia) was a government claiming the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

-occupied parts of

Republic of 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 ...

as its territories during the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

and the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. It was recognised as an independent state only by the Russian SFSR, on December 7th, 1918. Flag of the Commune of the Working People of Estonia

Establishment and fall

The Commune was established in

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the 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 forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

on 29 November 1918 with the support of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. It was chaired by Jaan Anvelt for the duration of its existence. Within areas of their control, the Commune closed churches, nationalised industry and the banks and outlawed representatives of the Provisional Government. The Communist offensive was initially successful and eventually reached as far as 34 kilometres from

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. However, a counter-offensive begun on 7 January 1919 by the Estonian People's Force (''Rahvavägi'') under Commander-in-Chief Johan Laidoner eventually drove the Red Army out of Estonia, with international military aid primarily from the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. The Commune was thus rendered defunct, claiming a

government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

, then Luga and finally, from 17 May 1919, in

Staraya Russa Staraya Russa (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist, Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased over ...

International recognition

The

Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

(RSFSR) formally recognised the ETK on 7 December 1918 and remained the only government to do so. At that time, Soviet Russia was itself not internationally recognised. One of the first international treaties recognising Russia's Soviet government as legitimate was the Treaty of Tartu concluding the

in 1920.

Massacres

The regime instituted a reign of terror from November 1918 to January 1919. A considerable number of people were arrested in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

in December 1918 and a number of German estate owners were executed on the frozen river on 9 January 1919. A

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

was also set up near Luga, in January 1919. Just before Tartu was seized, the Bolsheviks carried out the Tartu Credit Center Massacre executing clergymen and other prisoners in the basement of the town's bank, among the victims were Bishop

Platon Platon is a masculine given name and surname which may refer to: Given name * Plato (exarch) (), romanized as Plátōn, Exarch of Ravenna in the Byzantine Empire from 645 to 649 * Platon, obscure ancient Greek writer of uncertain date, whose a ...

, the priest and the pastor . Around 500 people were killed in total.

Members of the Commune

* Jaan Anvelt – Chairman of the council and People's Commissar of Defence * Viktor Kingissepp – People's Commissar of the Interior (actually underground in Estonia, Johannes Käspert acting for him) * Hans Pöögelmann – Commissioner for the National Economy * Artur Vallner – People's Commissar of Culture and Public Education *Johannes Mägi – People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs (from 20 December 1918 Max-Alfred Trakmann) and state control (later Karl Mühlberg) * Rudolf Vakman – Commissioner for Social Insurance (acting Otto Rästas) * Johannes Käspert – Executive Secretary of the council Soviet authorities executed most of the members during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

References

Sources

* Szajkowski, Bogdan. ''The Establishment of Marxist Regimes''. London: Butterworths, 1982. p. 21-22. () * in ''Baltic Defence Review'', No.8, Volume 2/2002.

External links

Eesti Töörahva Kommuun

Jaan Anvelt
at arhiiv.ee.
Jaan Anvelt
at postimees.ee. {{DEFAULTSORT:Commune of the Working People of Estonia Estonia, Commune of the Working People of Estonia, Commune of the Working People of Estonia, Commune of the Working People of

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 ...

History of Narva

Communism in Estonia Revolutionary communes