Chapter 11.1: The Beginning

The changes in Moscow had no real effect in Estonia at first. Karl Vaino and the rest of the leadership believed vehemently that the reform movement would die down soon and everything will continue as it had been. Thus 1985 and 1986 were years that were not any different from all the years prior in terms of the political situation.

In the 1970s there had been surveys and plans to build a phosphorite mine in Lääne-Virumaa. The research that was conducted by the Academy of Science of the ESSR concluded that it would have had a catastrophic effect for the environment, amongst other issues polluting the groundwater in a large region of the country. Due to a need for phosphor to create artificial fertiliser, it was decided in Moscow in 1985 that the plan would go forward and the mines would be built in 1989-1990 along with housing for roughly 20 thousand migrant workers.

Glasnost had provided an avenue to raise environmental concerns and in 1986 the news about the mine spread amongst the Estonian scientific community. No wide action followed however, other than a couple of tepid critiques.

A big change would come on the 25th of February 1987 when the (thus far secret) plans for the mine were presented to the public on a TV show called Panda. What followed was a wide protest letter campaign and a movement of university student protests, which reached their highpoint in Tartu in May 1987. This environmental campaign became known as the “Phosphorite war” (Fosforiidisõda).



The yellow shirts with the words "Phosphorite – no thanks" became a symbol of that movement.



A photo of the 1987 May Day parade in Tartu, where protest slogans can be seen.




The caricature “Sitta kah” from the newspaper “Hammer and Sickle”, published on the 8th of May 1987. Showing a farmer throwing Estonia away to use it as fertiliser for a field.


On the 14th of May the first song of what would later become the singing revolution was first performed at the Pop Music Days in Tartu. It was called “Ei ole üksi ükski maa” (No land is alone), and describes how all other counties band up to stand with Virumaa as a call for unity.

The movement would succeed and the plans for the mines were frozen. It was the first successful anti-government policy movement in occupied Estonia and gave the people a feeling that, collectively, they could push for changes in the system. The wider public was still very much afraid of reprisals from the security organisations though when it came to anything more radical.

The next big event would come on the 23rd of August, then a newfound political group MRP-AEG (The Estonian Publication Group of the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact) organised a protest at Hirvepark in Tallinn. It was demanded that the full contents of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact ought to be published, as the Soviet Union did not acknowledge the existence of its secret protocols, in addition to the release of political prisoners.




A couple of images of the protest. Although it was first planned to hold the protest on the Town Hall Square, they were dispersed from there by security forces. Instead they headed to a park just outside the Old Town.

What the protestors were astonished about was that despite the highly treasonous nature of their event, the militia units stood by and did not break apart the protest. Overall the only consequence was that the protestors were heavily lamented and called names by the press.

At the end of 1987 the first mass organisation based on democratic principles was founded, the Estonian Heritage Society, which set as its goal the truthful depiction of Estonian history. They were put under heavy surveillance by the KGB to scare them off, but no reprisals followed.

Them along with MRP-AEG would organise a celebration of the 68th anniversary of the Peace of Tartu on the 2nd of February 1988. They tried to get official permission for it, but that was declined. It was decided to still go through with it and as the regime anticipated that as well, militia units armed with battens, shields and dogs were sent out.



The militia blocked the way to the building where the peace treaty was signed.

Instead of the planned public meeting, the authorities directed some of the people to a nearby school building and the concert hall of the Vanemuise theatre to ease the tension. In both, about 500 people would listen to historians discuss the treaty. About 10 in the evening the militia units would demand that the people must disperse. As nobody was eager to do so, they attacked the buildings and dispersed the crowds by force. About 25 people were arrested and detained for 1-2 weeks.



On the 24th of February, Independence Day, a public gathering would take place in Tammsaare park in Tallinn. Although the crowd was not dispersed, the organisers of the gathering and planned speech helders were detained. In the meantime the Central Committee of Tallinn held a “spontaneous protest” on Victory Square (now Freedom Square) against “American Imperialism”.

Various other such gatherings took place as well. From March onwards the authorities gave up on trying to stop them.

On the 1st and 2nd of April the Cultural Council of Creative Unions was held, where the leadership of Estonia was heavily criticised and a joint-letter to the Central Committee of the Estonian Communist Party was drawn up.

“In our opinion the main characteristics of the directioning of political life in Estonia have been incompetency and prematurity in decision making, as well as nervousness. Instead of searching, finding and fixing the real reasons behind the deficiencies and tensions, the anti-reform powers have tried to blame the existence of these tensions on foreign propaganda, local mass communication devices or informal groupings. Unfortunately these accusations have been supported in the highest reaches of power.”

A section from the letter.




Philosopher Edgar Savisaar (1950-...) proposed the creation of the “Popular Front for the Support of Perestroika” on the 13th of April on live television. The pro-reform organisation would be founded the same night and would become the opposition to the reactionary Estonian Communist Party.



´The logo of the Popular Front of Estonia. Eestimaa Rahvarinne.




On the 14th-17th of April the Heritage Protection Days were held in Tartu, which became a mass national event where more than 10 thousand people participated. In the picture one can see a procession of people moving towards the historical building of the Estonian University Students Society. On it they saw this:



Three flags: one blue, one black and one white. The organisers used this tactic to avoid getting charged with the illegal display of the Estonian tricolour. This would become a catalyst.