Estonian Independence Day. To the tune of the Americans: Independence centenary parade took place in Tallinn Estonian Independence Day

In 1918, the Salvation Committee proclaimed the sovereignty of Estonia as a separate state. Now the country's Independence Day is celebrated annually.

After the First World War and the bloody confrontation in the name of freedom in the period 1918-1920, a declaration was adopted in Tallinn recognizing the independence of Estonia as a state.
In 1940 the country became part of the USSR. The movement for the restoration of the sovereignty of the republic stopped again for a long time and continued only in the 80s, but people still celebrated the famous date. In 1988, a declaration of Estonian sovereignty was issued, meaning that the laws of the state would now take precedence over the legislation of the USSR. The Soviet Union itself recognized the independence of the country only in 1991. In 1994, the country was first recognized as an independent state at the diplomatic level; The Icelandic government has been a pioneer in this field.

Other observable dates related to independence

In addition to the generally recognized date of February 24, in connection with historical events associated with a long struggle for independence, residents of the state often celebrate other significant days:
- November 28 (appearance of an authority in the Estland province in 1918);
- February 23 (the date of the publication of the manifesto, which became a prerequisite for the recognition of autonomy);
- June 23 (in 1919, during the War of Independence, during the battle of Vynnu, the Estonian army defeated a division of German troops);
- February 2 (signing in 1920 of the Tartu Peace Treaty with the Soviet government, which recognized the sovereignty of Estonia);
- May 8 (the adoption of the first six paragraphs of the Constitution during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the adoption of the three state colors: black, blue and white);
- August 20 (People's Front rally and adoption by the Supreme Council of the agreed decision "On Independence" in 1991).

Despite the presence of a large number of dates associated with the struggle for freedom, Estonians officially celebrate only February 24th. For the citizens of Estonia, this day is a symbol of hope and a reminder that the independence of their state was obtained at a very high price.

24.2.1918. – Estonian Independence Day

"It would be unforgivable stupidity on the part of the Estonian people..."

The national holiday of Estonia is the day of the declaration of independence of the Republic of Estonia on February 24, 1918.

Every person who has national self-consciousness and loves his people respects the same national feeling and spiritual values ​​of another people, especially the neighboring Christian one. If some nations want independence, we must respect their free will. However, strong Christian fraternal relations with other nations can only be based on historical truth and justice, and in the case of Christians, also on the striving for the same moral principles and a common spiritual ideal. Unfortunately, we do not observe anything of the kind in this case. Therefore, we consider it necessary to recall the history of our relations.

Under this peace treaty, the Swedish king conceded: “... for himself and his descendants and heirs to the throne of Svei and the kingdom of Svei to His Royal Majesty and His descendants and heirs of the Russian state into perfect and unquestionable eternal possession and ownership in this war, through His Royal Majesty, the conquered provinces of Livonia, Estland, Ingermanland and part of Karelia with the Vyborg fief district, which is indicated below in the article of demarcation, are described with cities and fortresses: Riga, Dunamind, Pernavoy, Revel , Derpt, Narva, Vyborg, Kexholm, and all others to the mentioned provinces by the proper cities, fortresses, harbors, places, districts, coasts with islands: Ezel, Dago and Menom and all others from the Courland border along the Livonian, Estland and Ingermanland coasts and on on the side of the ost from Reval in the fairway and Vyborg on the side of the south and the remaining islands with all the islands, as in the above-mentioned provinces, cities and places, acquiring residents and settlements ... "(Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire, vol. VI. St. Petersburg, 1830, p. 423).

So, Estonians and Latvians did not have their own statehood in 1721, when these territories became part of the Russian Empire through their purchase (!) from Sweden for 2 million efimki according to the Nystadt peace treaty. Then the local education system and administration used mainly German, there was no national elite. Germans made up about 50% of the townspeople, about 30% were Swedes and only 20% Estonians. Only after being included in the Russian Empire, these Baltic tribes could develop their national culture and were spared the fate of the Germanized Prussian tribe, from which only the name has long remained. No attempts at Russification or exploitation were made after the inclusion of the Baltic peoples in our Empire. Suffice it to note that the abolition of serfdom introduced by the Germans in 1816-1819. in Estonia happened at the behest of the royal power (and even earlier than in the German lands).

The Nystadt international treaty was never later legally repealed, nor was its financial component. For the first time, Estonia and Latvia received their statehood in an illegitimate way, as a result of collusion with the criminal atheist power of the Bolsheviks, which at that moment had not yet been recognized by any state in the world.

By the summer of 1919, the White armies were closer than ever to victory. But this victory was prevented not only by military, but also by "diplomatic" circumstances. In August 1919, a British emissary appointed the North-Western Government, according to a pre-compiled list, demanding that all members sign a sheet on which was “It is written in illiterate Russian... the recognition of Estonian independence”, otherwise the Entente would have stopped helping, - recalled the Freemason M. Margulies, who participated in the compilation of this Masonic "government" as the Minister of Trade (Margulies M. Year of intervention. Berlin. 1923. Book 2. S. 204-214).

However, the promised help from the Entente still did not follow even in the days of Yudenich's promising offensive against Petrograd. Independent Estonians, in response to his request for help, frankly stated, "it would be unforgivable stupidity on the part of the Estonian people if he did this". After Yudenich's departure from Petrograd, the "Estonian people", at the request of Trotsky, disarmed the White Army and imprisoned them behind barbed wire in the winter. All her property was confiscated by the Estonians; tens of thousands of white soldiers and members of their families died behind barbed wire in the open air in Narva and other camps: Ievva, Isenhof, Asserin, Kopli and Pääsküla near Reval ... Sometimes whites fell under the crossfire of two sides: the Bolshevik and Estonian - so died The Talabsky regiment of Yudenich's army: its fighters were driven into the water and machine-gunned from both sides. “The corpses of the Northwestern Army served as fertilizer for Estonian independence,” wrote an eyewitness (G. Grossen. Agony of the Northwestern Army. From painful memories. Berlin, 1924) ... The surviving White Guards were later used as slave labor for hard work .

Badge "Estonian Red Rifleman", 1918-1920

This betrayal was formalized by a peace treaty between the Estonians and the Bolsheviks (2/2/1920), signed in the ancient Russian city of Yuryev (founded in 1031 on the Pskov land, under the Teutonic Knights it became known as Dorpat, now Tartu). In gratitude, the Estonians received about 1000 square meters from the Jewish Bolshevik invaders of Russia. km of Pskov and Narva lands with a population of 60,000 people, and the Bolsheviks received an important opportunity for survival to export valuables and gold (masking its Russian affiliation) to other countries through the port. There was also armed assistance to the Bolsheviks in their war of occupation against the Russian people - the "Red Estonian Riflemen" (8 regiments), which, together with the Red Latvian divisions and other international units, were used primarily for punitive purposes in suppressing many peasant uprisings.

Estonian statehood, declared then for the first time in history, lasted until 1940, when, as a result of the signing, Estonia was returned to the empire occupied by the Bolsheviks - but not the Russian, but the Soviet empire. It turned out according to the proverb: "do not dig a hole for another ...". Short-term inclusion of Estonians in the USSR in 1940-1941. with mass purges and terror only aroused anti-Russian sentiments in the local population, which have not disappeared to this day. This explains the then support of the Balts - the Germans for them were a lesser evil than the Bolsheviks.

The "liberation" of the Baltic states by the theomachic Red Army was welcomed by Jews and communists, but it was difficult to expect sympathy for the "Russian liberators" among the local population. In addition, the Cold War began, in which the United States relied on encouraging anti-Russian separatism (). For these purposes, the communist occupation of all peoples, starting with the most resisted and betrayed by all Russians, began to be falsely called "Russian".

Most Western democratic countries declared illegal only the annexation of Estonia by the Bolsheviks, but the revolutionary proclamation of the statehood of the newly formed Baltic states through their treacherous collusion with the same Bolsheviks continued to be considered "legitimate". Western democracies maintained diplomatic relations with representatives of independent Estonia and "de jure" did not recognize the entry of the Estonian SSR into the Soviet Union. Some countries recognized the government of the Estonian SSR only "de facto".

The current successors of the Bolsheviks, while hushing up Soviet crimes, prefer not to remember the enduring international significance of the Peace of Nishtad. And their illegitimate treaties of the 1920s. about "independence" with their anti-Russian borders is not questioned ...

However, is it possible to build good neighborly relations on the legalization of lawlessness? Finally, a few paragraphs from:

“We are also morally obligated to review all Bolshevik borders by the introduction of an apartheid system in relation to Russians in Latvia: out of 2.4 million inhabitants, 700,000 Russians are declared “non-citizens” and “occupiers” (despite the fact that some of them live on historical Russian lands ), they do not have political and social rights; many professions are closed to them, the use of the Russian language in local governments is prohibited; schooling in Russian is prohibited. The whole history is distorted (Peter I, who freed them from the true occupation, is included among the "occupiers").

In Estonia, 220,000 Russians are in the same situation. In addition, the authorities seized almost all the churches from the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (this is 90% of all Orthodox in Estonia) and transferred them to the newly formed Estonian church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. This is justified by the fact that in the pre-war period of the self-proclaimed independence of Estonia, only Constantinople jurisdiction was legalized in it, although all the seized churches were built before the revolution and were the property of the Russian Church.

The economy of the Baltic states depends on trade with Russia, on Russian energy resources, export transit, and so on. Taking advantage of this, as well as financially helping the self-organization of the Russian-speaking population, the Russian Federation could improve its position, increase its influence on the formation of elected authorities and through them raise the issue of the current illegitimate borders.

At the same time, Russia should take advantage of the fact that Latvia and Estonia themselves put forward territorial claims against the Russian Federation for parts of the Pskov and St. Petersburg regions. This gives us a reason to draw the attention of Europe to the fact that the admission of the Baltic republics to NATO violates the condition that those who are accepted should not have territorial disputes with their neighbors.

In the presence of proper Russian power, all disputes with the Baltic states could be resolved by us peacefully in a Christian way in mutual interests on the basis of indisputable principles of legitimacy and historical justice. Unfortunately, all this is just good wishes under the current government of the Russian Federation, which is firmly cultivating its succession from the criminal communist government, celebrating its "victories" and thereby fueling the neighbors' hatred of Russia and the Russian people in every possible way.

2. Estonia gained "independence" without any elections, referendums, without any legal basis, any "great struggle", about which there are so many pseudo-historical myths now. (After the 1st World War, when the small newly formed states did not even think to ask permission from the treacherously blown up Empire). The chaos was unimaginable. The whole map of Europe was redrawn in one moment.

3. Nevertheless, the Russian population of the Republic of Estonia on their historical Russian lands considers it illegal for the Estonian authorities to steal from them political and, in many respects, economic rights, demanding the immediate elimination of the institution of statelessness and the immediate settlement of everyday tensions between ordinary people and the elimination of their basis in the person of Yaytseliit , which is a mirror of the criminal Omakaitse banned by the International Nuremberg Tribunal. But this real struggle for their most vital human rights finds no response anywhere. And above all in Russia itself. Since, apparently, (following the example of PMC Wagner) "#no Russians in Estonia are on the net."

4. The country is rapidly militarizing and being flooded with all sorts of military junk from the Swedish BMP "Combat Vehicle 90" (Swedish marking - "Stridsfordon 90") to bomber aircraft, the flight time of which to St. Petersburg is 3 minutes.

It is sad that post-Bolshevik Russia suffers from remnants of Bolshevism and therefore does not pay attention to Russians in the Baltics. Will Russia get rid of these vestiges, and soon?

10:37 — REGNUM Today, February 24, Estonia celebrates a public holiday - Independence Day (Iseseisvuspaev). About it IA REGNUM reported in the Estonian public and legal television and radio corporation ERR, noting that, according to a long tradition, official celebrations are held on this day, including the raising of the national flag on the tower "Long German" in Tallinn, a service in the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, the laying of wreaths at the monuments in honor of state figures or participants in the War of Independence (1918-1920), a military parade and a presidential reception followed by a concert. All these events are shown live on Estonian state television.

On February 23, on the eve of the holiday, the solemn presentation of Estonian state awards takes place. National flags are hung on the buildings of the country, numerous official events are held in various cities and counties of Estonia. Heads of many states and monarchical persons, including the Queen of Great Britain, sent their congratulations to Estonia on the occasion of the national holiday Elizabeth the Second and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Nevertheless, the date celebrated today, February 24, with all the variety of official “ceremonial” events held in Estonia, is considered one of the strangest and most controversial among Estonian historians and journalists.

The reason: the conditions and circumstances under which the independence of the Republic of Estonia was declared clearly not corresponding to the meaning of the concept of “independence”. It was declared, and not implemented, because in fact “independent” Estonia ceased to be considered such the very next day, on February 25, 1918, due to the occupation of the country by the troops of Kaiser Germany. That is why the history “real and imaginary” and the mythology of the February 24 cult created around it are skeptically assessed by many intellectuals in Estonia and accepted as “inevitability” in the formation of a positive image of the young state.

The main Internet encyclopedia about Estonia Estonica in the chapter “1914−1920. World War I and Estonian Independence” recognizes that on February 24, 1918, the Salvation Committee adopted the “Manifesto of Independence” and announced the establishment of the Republic of Estonia, taking advantage of a unique position. "Russian troops" (detachments of Estonian Bolsheviks and groups of Red Guards from among the former tsarist military personnel, the Red Army has not yet been formed - ed.) IA REGNUM) were leaving Estonia, and the advancing German troops had not yet occupied the entire territory of the country. On February 24, in the strictest secrecy and under the protection of one of the detachments of the nascent Estonian army in Reval (now Tallinn), the Provisional Government of Estonia was formed, which remained "active" ... until the evening of February 25, when German troops entered Tallinn and in Estonia until November 1918, the German occupation order was established. Members of the Provisional Government in the “independent” country they declared during this period (February-November 1918) either fled the country and hid at home, or cooperated with the occupying forces as representatives of the local (not state) administration, or were arrested by the Germans .

It is no coincidence that the main information site for foreign tourists Visitestonia in the chapter “Estonian Independence Day” manages not to mention the events of February 24, 1918 at all, focusing all the attention of the historical background on ... February 23, 1918, when the text of this declaration was first read out and this happened not in Reval (now Tallinn).

In addition, Estonian historians admit that not all Estonians and residents of the country enthusiastically accepted the independence of the Republic of Estonia. According to the historian Ago Payur in its study “The Birth of the Estonian Independence Manifesto”, for a long time the self-proclaimed Salvation Committee was afraid to voice this document in Tallinn due to the “clear preponderance of the Bolsheviks”, an attempt to proclaim it in Haapsalu (western Estonia, 100 km from Tallinn) at the location of the 1st Estonian regiment On February 21, 1918, it also failed, as German units entered the city. In an atmosphere of the strictest secrecy, the participants in the epic declaration of independence passed through a messenger - the clerk of the Zemstvo Council Jaana Soopa- the text of this manifesto to the commanders of the Second Estonian Regiment, who took control of the center of the city of Pärnu (western Estonia) after the “Reds” left it and in the absence of the advancing Germans. This manifesto was read for the first time from the balcony of the local theater "Endla" on the evening of February 23, which can be considered the official date of the proclamation of "independence" of Estonia. However, the official historiography of Estonia moved this date to February 24, since on this day this text was first announced in Tallinn. Prior to this, at four o'clock in the afternoon on February 24, the text of the manifesto was read out in Viljandi and Paide (central Estonia).

As the historian Ago Payur notes, the declaration of independence of the Republic of Estonia in Tallinn became possible thanks to ... Bolshevik Russia. On the night of February 24, 1918, the Estonian "Bolsheviks" received an official message from the Soviet government about the transfer of Estonia to the German troops following the results of negotiations in Brest, and their hasty evacuation from Revel began. The Salvation Committee decided to take advantage of the period of anarchy. At the same time, the proclamation of the manifesto in Tallinn on the afternoon of February 24 at the Town Hall Square was almost backstage in nature “for their own”.

According to the historian, the first public proclamation of the Manifesto in Tallinn took place ... on the morning of February 25, 1918, exclusively in Estonian gymnasiums and "Estonian" churches. It is known that the German community of Revel refused to read the manifesto, citing the lack of a translation into German. At noon, in honor of independence, an impromptu military parade was held in the center of Reval from units of the third Estonian regiment. Here, on the porch of the Real School, appointed by the Rescue Committee as Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of Estonia Konstantin Päts for the first time, on behalf of the central government of the country, he publicly read a manifesto to the audience. A few hours later, German units entered the capital of Estonia, and Estonia's "independence" ended.

The ideological contradictions on the issue of Estonian independence among the Estonians themselves are eloquently evidenced by the fact that the workers of the Paevaleht printing house in Tallinn refused to print the text of the manifesto on independence, as the historian Payur notes, “the matter, apparently, was in ideological contradictions,” so they were forced to do it under firearm threat.

And the historian spoke about the very specifics of “independent” Estonia Mati Graf in his book Estonia and Russia 1917-1991: Anatomy of a Breakup. According to his calculations, at least three times in 1918 the government of the Republic of Estonia asked Great Britain to occupy its territories in order to protect itself from the Bolsheviks and the Germans.

Estonia celebrates the strangest Independence Day in the world

On February 24, Estonia celebrates a public holiday - Independence Day (Iseseisvuspaev). This was reported to IA REGNUM today, February 22, by the Estonian public and legal television and radio corporation ERR, noting that, according to a long tradition, official solemn events are held on this day, including the raising of the national flag on the tower "Long German" in Tallinn, services in the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran churches, laying wreaths at monuments in honor of statesmen or participants in the War of Independence (1918-1920), a military parade and a presidential reception followed by a concert. All these events are shown live on Estonian state television. National flags are hung on the buildings of the country, numerous official and public events and actions are held in various cities and counties of Estonia. In 2013, the 95th anniversary of the independence of Estonia on February 24, 1918 gives additional scale to the holiday.

T Nevertheless, the date celebrated on February 24, with all the variety of official "ceremonial" events held in Estonia, is considered among Estonian historians and journalists as one of the strangest and most controversial. The reason is the conditions and circumstances under which the independence of the Republic of Estonia was declared that clearly do not correspond to the meaning of the concept of "independence". It was declared, and not implemented, because in fact "independent" Estonia ceased to be considered as such the very next day, February 25, 1918. That is why the history "real and imaginary" and the mythology created around it are skeptically assessed by many intellectuals in Estonia and accepted as "inevitability" in the formation of a positive image of the young state.

Estonica, the main online encyclopedia about Estonia, in the chapter "1914-1920. The First World War and Estonia's Independence" admits that on February 24, 1918, the Salvation Committee adopted the "Manifesto of Independence" and announced the establishment of the Republic of Estonia, taking advantage of the unique situation. "Russian troops" (detachments of Estonian Bolsheviks and groups of Red Guards from among the former tsarist military personnel, the Red Army had not yet been formed - approx. IA REGNUM) were leaving Estonia, and the advancing German troops had not yet occupied the entire territory of the country. On February 24, in the strictest secrecy and under the protection of one of the detachments of the nascent Estonian army in Reval (now Tallinn), the Provisional Government of Estonia was formed, which remained "active" ... until the evening of February 25, when German troops entered Tallinn, and in Until November 1918, the German occupation order was established in Estonia. Members of the Provisional Government in the "independent" country they declared during this period (February-November 1918) either fled the country and hid at home, or cooperated with the occupying forces as representatives of the local (not state) administration, or were arrested by the Germans .

It is no coincidence that the main information site for foreign tourists Visitestonia, in the chapter "History of Estonia: a chronicle of key events" immediately after the 1905 revolution in Estonia, names the events in this order, ignoring the date of February 24:

*1905:* the first Russian revolution.

*February 1918:* Occupation of Estonia by Germany.

*February 1920*: Tartu Peace Treaty concluded between the RSFSR and Estonia, with the recognition of the independence of the latter.

In addition, Estonian historians acknowledge that not all Estonians and residents of the country enthusiastically accepted the independence of the Republic of Estonia, and the first declaration of independence of Estonia took place at all ... on February 23 in Pärnu. As the historian Ago Payur reports in his study "The Birth of the Estonian Independence Manifesto", for a long time the self-proclaimed Salvation Committee was afraid to voice this document in Tallinn because of the "clear preponderance of the Bolsheviks", an attempt to proclaim it in Haapsalu (western Estonia, 100 km from Tallinn) in the location of the 1st Estonian regiment on February 21, 1918, it also failed, as German units entered the city. In an atmosphere of the strictest secrecy, the participants in the epic declaration of independence handed over the text of this manifesto to the commanders of the Second Estonian Regiment, who took control of the center of the city of Pärnu (western Estonia) through the liaison - the clerk of the Zemstvo Council Jaan Soop, through the messenger - the clerk of the Zemstvo Council, who took control of the center of the city of Pärnu (western Estonia) after the "Reds" left it and in the absence of the advancing Germans. This manifesto was read for the first time from the balcony of the local theater "Endla" on the evening of February 23, which can be considered the official date of the proclamation of "independence" of Estonia. However, the official historiography of Estonia moved this date to February 24, since on this day this text was first announced in Reval. Prior to this, at four o'clock in the afternoon on February 24, the text of the manifesto was read out in Viljandi and Paide (central Estonia).

As the historian Payur notes, on the night of February 24, 1918, the Estonian "Bolsheviks" received an official message from the Soviet government about the transfer of Estonia to German troops under the terms of the Brest Peace Treaty, and their hasty evacuation from Revel began. The Salvation Committee decided to take advantage of the period of anarchy. At noon on February 24, 1918, in honor of independence, an impromptu military parade was held in the center of Reval from units of the 3rd Estonian Regiment. Here, on the porch of the Real School, Konstantin Päts, appointed by the Rescue Committee as Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of Estonia, publicly read the manifesto to the audience for the first time on behalf of the country's central authorities. A few hours later, German units entered the Estonian capital, and Estonia's "independence" ended. According to the historian, the first public proclamation of the Manifesto in Tallinn did take place ... on the morning of February 25, 1918, exclusively in Estonian gymnasiums and "Estonian" churches. It is known that the German community of Revel refused to read the manifesto, citing the lack of a translation into German.

The ideological contradictions on the issue of Estonian independence among the Estonians of that time are eloquently evidenced by the fact that the workers of the Paevaleht printing house in Tallinn refused to print the text of the independence manifesto. As the historian Payur notes, "the matter, apparently, was in ideological contradictions," so they were forced to do it with the help of firearms. It turns out that the "sacred" decree on the independence of the Republic of Estonia was published with the use of violence and threats.
14:46 22.02.2013