The Day Estonia Stood Still

August 23 marks two of the most decisive moments in my nation’s history. August 23, 1939 is remembered as the day that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact divided Europe between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. In my home of Estonia, this day also marks a moment of hope in 1989 as we stood united with Latvia and Lithuania in defiance of our Soviet oppressors and in remembrance of the dual tragedies of communism and fascism.  

Officially, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a secret non-aggression treaty to ensure “peace” in Europe. Unfortunately for the nations caught between these two totalitarian regimes, it ensured the exact opposite. As the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany agreed upon terms, the map of Europe was split in two. War, occupation, and decades of oppression soon followed.  

Estonia would not regain its independence from the Soviet Union until 1991. It’s difficult to say precisely when this freedom movement began but one of the key moments was the Baltic Way, or the Baltic Chain as it’s called in Estonia. On August 23, 1989, almost two million people from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania joined hands. This human chain, linking one-fourth of the Baltic population across the capitals of Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius, formed in protest of Soviet occupation on the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.  

I vividly remember learning about the Baltic Way as a child. Especially in August, people would recount where they stood, how they got there, who they met, and describe the feeling of that day. I was even a little jealous because something so big and important happened before my time. For a child, it seemed like fun times of coming together, singing, and enjoying the weather on a nice day in August.  

It would not be until later in my schooling that I learned the real meaning behind the Baltic Way and my country’s fight for freedom.   
 
50 years separated these two events on August 23. 50 years of occupation, oppression, and communism. Estonia has since thrown off the yoke of the Soviet Union. And now, 35 years later, we celebrate August 23 as the day that Estonia stood united against totalitarianism and embraced freedom.

Mariliis Tõitoja is a Baltic American Research Fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

Photo: Balti kett 22 (In Estonia) under BY-SA 4.0