DISINFO: Soviet occupation is a myth; Estonia's successes came in USSR
SUMMARY
The main purpose of all this talk of "occupation" is to construct a nationally-forming model of history.
"But the trouble is that any person who is generally interested in this topic, will immediately run into the absolute falsity of this construction. After all, it was under Soviet rule that the dawn of industry, economy, education, medicine and culture was. Estonia is not present in many spheres of life now," the expert added.
Estonia as a state was founded as a result of the First World War and the Civil War in Russia, so there could be no talk of any achievements: no one, of course, built any luxurious prosperous life, and all the successes of Estonia were already associated with it being a part of the USSR.
It is known that the active fanning of the myth of the "Soviet occupation" began in Estonia after independence in 1991. According to the official version of Tallinn, both the voluntary annexation of Estonia to the USSR in 1940 and the liberation of its territory from the fascist invaders in 1944 should be considered "occupation".
We do not accept the very concept of "Soviet occupation" through which they are trying to interpret the liberation of European peoples from fascist enslavement in a similar vein.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Baltic States. The Soviet occupation is not a myth.
On the 23rd of August, 1939, Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a non-aggression (Molotov-Ribbentrop) pact, whose secret protocols divided the territories belonging to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Romania into Soviet and Nazi spheres of influence.
Shortly after the pact was signed, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany on 1 September and by Soviets on 17 September in 1939. Within a few weeks, the Soviet Union used threats to impose a series of “mutual assistance” treaties on the Baltic states. These treaties allowed USSR to station troops in their territories, laying the groundwork for the Soviet occupation. In June 1940, the Kremlin conducted a forced annexation of the Baltic states, following Soviet military occupation and the forced installation of “people’s governments”. In other words, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which had been independent between the two world wars, were not incorporated into the Soviet Union in a legal way and with the consent of the elected authorities of these states.
After Germany attacked the USSR in June 1941, the Baltic States were occupied by Nazi Germany until 1944 when the region reverted to Soviet control. However, on September 18, acting President-Prime Minister Jüri Uluots appointed Otto Tief`s government into office. The restoration of the governmental organs of the Republic of Estonia during the eventful September of 1944 is important, because it affirmed the juridical continuation of the Republic of Estonia, and it showed that Estonia accepted neither the Soviet occupation nor the 3-year period of German occupation.
This also means that contrary to the claims of the pro-Kremlin media, the re-capturing of the Baltic States did not bring freedom, but Soviet repressions and occupation, which lasted for 50 years.
It has been estimated that as many as 80,000 Estonians were deported between 1945 and 1953. More than 22 000 of them never came home, because they were murdered or died due to inhuman living conditions in imprisonment or in forced banishment. Most of them are buried in graves without names.
The estimated war and occupation deaths are at 90,000 in Estonia, 180,000 in Latvia, and 250,000 in Lithuania. Furthermore, It has been estimated that between 1946 and 1953 deportations and guerrilla deaths reached 95,000 in Estonia, 125,000 in Latvia, and 310,000 in Lithuania.
It should be noted that on 24 December 1989, the Parliament of the USSR, the Congress of the People’s Deputies, adopted a resolution, acknowledging the annexation of the Baltic states as a violation of the USSR's obligations. An English translation of the full text can be found here: The Congress notes that during this period the relations of the USSR with Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were regulated by a system of treaties. Pursuant to the 1920 Peace Treaties and 1926-1933 Non-Aggression Treaties, the signatories were obliged to honour each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability under any circumstances. The Soviet Union had assumed similar obligations to Poland and Finland.
See similar disinformation narratives on this issue - The Baltic states benefited from the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact; The Baltic states are perpetuating the myth of the Soviet occupation and The Baltic states refuse to celebrate the victory over fascism.
The claim about economy and the living standard in Estonia is similar to disinformation narratives about socio-economic degradation in the Baltic States as opposed to their alleged well-being under the USSR. Suffice to say, Estonia’s GDP per capita in 1993 was 5749 dollars, while in 2019 it had increased to 38,811 dollars.