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Estonia during the Soviet rule 1940-1991. Mai-Liis Niit. Location. History.
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Estonia during the Soviet rule 1940-1991 Mai-Liis Niit
History • The events of the summer of 1940 interrupted everything that had been achieved: in June 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, signed on August 23, 1939, Soviet Army occupied Estonia and in August the country was incorporated into the Soviet Union.
History2 • On June 14 and July 1, 1941, more than one thousand people from Saaremaa were deported to Siberia. In the middle of September German troops landed on the island of Muhu. By the beginning of October Saaremaa was occupied, remaining under German rule for three years.
History3 • In 1944, before Soviet Army reached Saaremaa, many islanders fled Estonia and took refuge in Western countries, mainly in Sweden. 2000-3000 residents of Sõrve peninsula were deported to Germany; less than half of them could returned years later.
History4 • During the postwar period the fate of Saaremaa was strongly influenced by the fact that the island lay on the western border of a huge totalitarian state - the U.S.S.R. Saaremaa was restricted zone and therefore strict limitations were put on navigation and liberty to move on the island even for the ordinary Estonians, not to speak of foreigners.
History5 • On November 16, 1988, the Declaration of the Sovereignty of Estonian SSR was passed, which marked the beginning of peaceful struggle to regain the country's independence. On August 20, 1991, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia declared the state an independent Republic.