Android – Open site URL, tap menu button and add to homescreen. Jump to navigation Jump to search This article estonia lithuania relations about the revolution in the Baltic states in the late 1980s. This article needs additional citations for verification. The Baltic Way human chain in 1989.
The Singing Revolution is a commonly used name for events between 1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Hitherto unrecognised issues previously kept secret by the Moscow government were admitted to in public, causing dissatisfaction within the Baltic states. Combined with the war in Afghanistan and the nuclear fallout in Chernobyl, grievances were aired in a publicly explosive and politically decisive manner. Access to Western émigré communities abroad and, particularly in Estonia, informal relations with Finland and access to Finnish TV showing the Western lifestyle also contributed to widespread dissatisfaction with the Soviet system and provoked mass demonstrations as repression on dissidents, nationalists, religious communities and ordinary consumers eased substantially towards the end of the 1980s. Massive demonstrations against the Soviet regime began after widespread liberalisation of the regime failed to take into account national sensitivities.
The Soviet government’s plan to excavate phosphorite in the Lääne-Viru County with potentially catastrophic consequences for the environment and society was revealed in February 1987. The “Five Patriotic Songs” series by Alo Mattiisen premiered at the Tartu Pop Festival in May 1988. The Singing Revolution lasted over four years, with various protests and acts of defiance. Independence was declared on the late evening of 20 August 1991, after an agreement between different political parties was reached. The next morning Soviet troops, according to Estonian TV, attempted to storm Tallinn TV Tower but were unsuccessful. On 22 August 1991, Iceland became the first nation to recognise the newly restored independence of Estonia.
Today, a plaque commemorating this event is situated on the outside wall of the Foreign Ministry, which itself is situated on Islandi väljak 1, or “Iceland Square 1”. In 1986, it became widely known to the public that the USSR was planning to build another hydroelectric power plant on Latvia’s largest river Daugava, and that a decision had been made to build a metro in Riga. On 1 and 2 June 1988, the Writers’ Union held a congress during which the democratisation of society, Latvia’s economic sovereignty, the cessation of immigration from the USSR, the transformation of industry and the protection of Latvian language rights were discussed by delegates. The congress of the Writers’ Union stirred up public opinion and provided an additional stimulus for the general process of national revival. Ribbentrop Pact, the People’s Fronts of all three Baltic countries held a huge demonstration of unity—the “Baltic Way”. Tallinn through Riga to Vilnius was assembled.
This was a symbolic demonstration of the people’s call for independence from the Soviet Union. New elections to the Supreme Soviet took place on 18 March 1990, in which the supporters of independence gained a victory. In January 1991, however, pro-communist political forces attempted to restore Soviet power. With the use of force, attempts were made to overthrow the new assembly. Latvian demonstrators managed to stop the Soviet troops from re-occupying strategic positions, and these events are known as the “Days of the Barricades”. On 19 August 1991, an unsuccessful attempt at a coup d’état took place in Moscow when a small group of prominent Soviet functionaries failed to regain power due to large pro-democracy demonstrations in Russia.
