Vaino Väljas (28 March 1931 – 16 January 2024) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Estonian diplomat and politician. Väljas was leader of the Communist party in Soviet Estonia in 1988–1991, and the leader of Democratic Estonian Workers Party in 1992–1995 in independent Estonia.

Biography

Vaino Väljas was born on 28 March 1931 on the island of

Hiiumaa Hiiumaa ( , ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within ...

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 ...

. After Estonia had been occupied and annexed in 1940, and invaded and reoccupied in 1944 by the Soviet Union under Stalin's leadership, Väljas became a member of the Soviet Communist Party in 1952. In 1955, he graduated from

Tartu State University The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

. From 1955 to 1961 he held the office of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Leninist Young Communist League of Estonia. From 1961 to 1971, Väljas was First Secretary of the Tallinn City Committee 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 ...

. He was the Chairman of the 6th Supreme Soviet of the

Estonian SSR The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

in 1963–1967. From 1971 to 1980, he was Secretary of the Central Committee of the Estonian communist party. Since Väljas was considered to have Estonian "

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

inclinations", he was removed from Estonia by the then communist party leadership in Moscow, and instead appointed by the Soviet central government as the

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of the Soviet Union to

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

in 1980, and to

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

in 1986. As the

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by a ...

along with the Estonian independence movement both gained momentum in 1988, the relatively "liberal communist" Väljas was recalled by the Soviet leadership from Nicaragua and appointed by Gorbachev as leader of the communist party in the Soviet-occupied Estonia. Formally, he was first secretary of the Communist Party of the Estonian SSR from 16 June 1988 to April 1990, and its chairman from April 1990 to August 1991. The Communist party lost its monopoly of power in February 1990. Väljas later voted for the Estonian Restoration of Independence in August 1991. Väljas died on 16 January 2024, at the age of 92.

Awards

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(1965) * 3 Orders of the Red Banner of Labour (1958, 1971, and 1973) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(1981) *

Order of the National Coat of Arms The Order of the National Coat of Arms (, ) was instituted by Konstantin Päts on 7 October 1936 to commemorate 24 February 1918, the day on which Estonian independence was declared. The Order of the National Coat of Arms is bestowed only on Est ...

(2002) *

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

(2006) * Aadu Luukas Mission Award (2017) * (2021) * Order of the Liberator (

, 1986)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valjas, Vaino 1931 births 2024 deaths People from Hiiumaa Parish Heads of the Communist Party of Estonia Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1971–1975 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1975–1980 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1980–1985 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1985–1990 Resigned Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Voters of the Estonian restoration of Independence Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Nicaragua Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Venezuela University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 2nd Class