Congress of Estonia
Encyclopedia
The Congress of Estonia was an innovative grassroots parliament
established in Estonia
as a part of the process of regaining of independence from the Soviet Union
. It also challenged the power and authority of the pre-existing quasi-parliament in the country, called the Supreme Soviet
of the Estonian SSR, which had been imposed on Estonia after Moscow's illegal annexation in 1940. The Congress of Estonia declared that it represented the highest authority on questions of Estonian statehood and citizenship, deriving this authority from the consent and initiative of the citizens of Estonia. The aim of the Congress was to restore Estonian independence based on the principle of legal continuity, with the pre-1940 republic of Estonia, which had been established in 1918, as the foundation.
principle, i.e., persons who held Estonian citizenship in June 1940 (at which point Estonia's de facto
structures of state were systematically dismantled and reorganized, after the country had been occupied by the Soviet Union), and their descendants. People who did not satisfy these criteria were invited to file applications for citizenship. By February 1990, 790,000 citizens and about 60,000 applicants had been registered.
In February 1990, the election of a body of representatives of these citizens - the Congress of Estonia - was conducted by those who had been registered. The Congress had 499 delegates from 31 political parties. The Estonian National Independence Party won the most seats. Other parties represented included the Popular Front of Estonia, the Heritage Society and the Communist Party of Estonia
. The permanent standing committee of the Congress of Estonia - the Committee of Estonia - was chaired by Mr. Tunne Kelam
.
In September 1991, a Constitutional Assembly
was formed of equal numbers of members of the Supreme Soviet and the Congress of Estonia to work out a new Constitution for the Republic. The new constitution
was approved by referendum in June 1992, using the constitution replacement process specified in the 1938 constitution as a matter of legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia. Both the Congress of Estonia and the Supreme Soviet dissolved themselves in October 1992, with the swearing-in of the first parliament (Riigikogu
) elected under the new constitution in September 1992.
of the Estonian Supreme Soviet
, the first multi-party national elections in the Estonian SSR. Unlike the previous Soviet, which consisting largely of members of the Communist Party of Estonia
, the new Supreme Council, as it had now begun to call itself, was dominated by the Estonian Popular Front.
The main distinctions between the political ideas of the Congress of Estonia and the Supreme Soviet were:
Opposition on issues of substance between the Congress of Estonia and the Supreme Soviet over the first point was the primary reason that the Supreme Soviet did not "proclaim" or "establish" Estonia's independence during the 1991 August Putsch in Russia, but instead, as a compromise, decided to reaffirm it instead.
In later discussions, the Congress of Estonia prevailed regarding the aforementioned points.
On 24 May 1991, Heinrich Mark
, responding to a call made by the Congress, gave Estonian citizenship to all non-citizen applicants who had been registered as such by the Citizens Committees of Estonia.
A small number of the members of the Congress of Estonia were Estonians who had gone into exile during World War II, or children of such refugees. Some of the delegates from the United States commented on the similarity of the Citizens Committees of Estonia and Latvia (in the nineties, the Latvians had an movement analogous to the Estonian committees) to the American Committees of Correspondence, which were shadow governments organized by the patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of the American Revolution. The American Committees of Correspondence played an important role in the events that led to the formation of the United States of America.
, Estonian history, and the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia in order to be naturalised. Alternatively, Russia being a successor state to the Soviet Union
, all former USSR citizens qualified for natural-born citizenship of the Russian Federation, available upon request, as provided by the law “On the RSFSR Citizenship” in force up to 2000.
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
established in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
as a part of the process of regaining of independence from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. It also challenged the power and authority of the pre-existing quasi-parliament in the country, called the Supreme Soviet
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...
of the Estonian SSR, which had been imposed on Estonia after Moscow's illegal annexation in 1940. The Congress of Estonia declared that it represented the highest authority on questions of Estonian statehood and citizenship, deriving this authority from the consent and initiative of the citizens of Estonia. The aim of the Congress was to restore Estonian independence based on the principle of legal continuity, with the pre-1940 republic of Estonia, which had been established in 1918, as the foundation.
Activity
In 1989, independence activists formed a mass movement called the Estonian Citizens' Committees and started registering persons who were Estonian citizens by birth according to the jus sanguinisJus sanguinis
Ius sanguinis is a social policy by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but by having a parent who are citizens of the nation...
principle, i.e., persons who held Estonian citizenship in June 1940 (at which point Estonia's de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
structures of state were systematically dismantled and reorganized, after the country had been occupied by the Soviet Union), and their descendants. People who did not satisfy these criteria were invited to file applications for citizenship. By February 1990, 790,000 citizens and about 60,000 applicants had been registered.
In February 1990, the election of a body of representatives of these citizens - the Congress of Estonia - was conducted by those who had been registered. The Congress had 499 delegates from 31 political parties. The Estonian National Independence Party won the most seats. Other parties represented included the Popular Front of Estonia, the Heritage Society and the Communist Party of Estonia
Communist Party of Estonia
Communist Party of Estonia was a political party in Estonia.EKP was formed November 5, 1920, as the Central Committee of the Estonian Sections of the Russian Communist Party was separated from its mother party. During the first half of 1920s the hopes to an immediate world revolution were still...
. The permanent standing committee of the Congress of Estonia - the Committee of Estonia - was chaired by Mr. Tunne Kelam
Tunne Kelam
Tunne-Väldo Kelam MEP is an Estonian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Pro Patria Union , part of the European People's Party....
.
In September 1991, a Constitutional Assembly
Constitutional Assembly
The Constitutional Assembly was a body elected in 1955 to draw up a permanent constitution for the Republic of Indonesia. It sat between November 10, 1956 and July 2, 1959...
was formed of equal numbers of members of the Supreme Soviet and the Congress of Estonia to work out a new Constitution for the Republic. The new constitution
Constitution of Estonia
The Constitution of Estonia is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. It was adopted in a freely elected Estonian Constituent Assembly on 15 June 1920 and came into force on...
was approved by referendum in June 1992, using the constitution replacement process specified in the 1938 constitution as a matter of legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia. Both the Congress of Estonia and the Supreme Soviet dissolved themselves in October 1992, with the swearing-in of the first parliament (Riigikogu
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. All important state-related questions pass through the Riigikogu...
) elected under the new constitution in September 1992.
Politics
March 1990 also saw the electionEstonian Supreme Soviet election, 1990
Legislative elections were held in the Estonian SSR on March 18, 1990. It was the first free parliamentary election in Estonia since 1930s. A total of 105 deputies were elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR, of which 4 were from military districts. Altogether 392 candidates competed for...
of the Estonian Supreme Soviet
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...
, the first multi-party national elections in the Estonian SSR. Unlike the previous Soviet, which consisting largely of members of the Communist Party of Estonia
Communist Party of Estonia
Communist Party of Estonia was a political party in Estonia.EKP was formed November 5, 1920, as the Central Committee of the Estonian Sections of the Russian Communist Party was separated from its mother party. During the first half of 1920s the hopes to an immediate world revolution were still...
, the new Supreme Council, as it had now begun to call itself, was dominated by the Estonian Popular Front.
The main distinctions between the political ideas of the Congress of Estonia and the Supreme Soviet were:
- The Congress of Estonia stood for the principle of legal continuity of the Republic, in contrast to the "Third Republic" concept (after the First Republic of 1918-1940 and the Soviet Republic of 1940-1991), which was the Supreme Soviet's dominant position;
- The Congress of Estonia, as the Citizens Committees before it, supported continuity in citizenship, as opposed to extending citizenship to all people with residential registrations (called propiskaPropiskaPropiska was both a residence permit and migration recording tool in the Russian Empire before 1917 and from 1930s in the Soviet Union. It was documented in local police registers and certified with a stamp in internal passports....
in Russian) in Estonia in 1990 (sometimes called the 'zero option citizenship' or 'clean state citizenship'), including more than 300,000 occupation-era migrants from the neighboring Soviet Union.
Opposition on issues of substance between the Congress of Estonia and the Supreme Soviet over the first point was the primary reason that the Supreme Soviet did not "proclaim" or "establish" Estonia's independence during the 1991 August Putsch in Russia, but instead, as a compromise, decided to reaffirm it instead.
In later discussions, the Congress of Estonia prevailed regarding the aforementioned points.
On 24 May 1991, Heinrich Mark
Heinrich Mark
Heinrich Mark was born on October 1, 1911, in Krootuse, Kõlleste Parish, now in Põlva County, Estonia. He died on August 2, 2004, in Stockholm, Sweden....
, responding to a call made by the Congress, gave Estonian citizenship to all non-citizen applicants who had been registered as such by the Citizens Committees of Estonia.
A small number of the members of the Congress of Estonia were Estonians who had gone into exile during World War II, or children of such refugees. Some of the delegates from the United States commented on the similarity of the Citizens Committees of Estonia and Latvia (in the nineties, the Latvians had an movement analogous to the Estonian committees) to the American Committees of Correspondence, which were shadow governments organized by the patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of the American Revolution. The American Committees of Correspondence played an important role in the events that led to the formation of the United States of America.
Citizenship
After the adoption of the new Constitution in 1992, a new Citizenship Law recognised the citizenship registrations of the Citizens' Committees as the initial legal registry of Estonian citizens. Citizens of the Soviet Union who had filed applications with the Citizens Committees were enabled to be naturalised on the basis of a simplified procedure. By 1996, a total of 23,326 people - over 38% of those who filed a Citizenship Committee application card - had been naturalised by this procedure. Other noncitizens had to pass exams pertaining to the Estonian languageEstonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
, Estonian history, and the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia in order to be naturalised. Alternatively, Russia being a successor state to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, all former USSR citizens qualified for natural-born citizenship of the Russian Federation, available upon request, as provided by the law “On the RSFSR Citizenship” in force up to 2000.
Later developments
Over the years, the conditions of naturalisation were variously changed. , a naturalisation applicant does not need to pass an exam in Estonian history anymore, but has to show preceding legal residence in Estonian territory (at least 8 years, of which last 5 years must be "continuous", defined as spending at least 183 days of every of these years on Estonian soil) and stable legal income.List of notable members
- Jüri Estam
- Tunne KelamTunne KelamTunne-Väldo Kelam MEP is an Estonian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Pro Patria Union , part of the European People's Party....
- Alfred KäärmannAlfred KäärmannAlfred Käärmann was born on September 14, 1922 in Hargla, a village in southern Estonia, and died on February 4, 2010 aged 87. He was an Estonian resistance fighter, or Forest brother, as the Estonians call their guerrillas, and author. In 2007 he was decorated with a military honour in...
- Lennart MeriLennart MeriLennart Georg Meri was a writer, film director and statesman who served as the second President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Meri was a leader of the Estonian independence movement.-Early life:...
- Linnart MällLinnart MällLinnart Mäll was an Estonian historian, orientalist, translator and politician.- Biography :Born in Tallinn, Estonia, Mäll graduated from the University of Tartu in 1962 with a major in general history...
- Ahti Mänd
- Mart-Olav Niklus
- Kalev Ots
- Ilmar Palias
- Lagle ParekLagle ParekLagle Parek is an Estonian stateswoman. She served as the Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs in the first post-Soviet occupation government, led by the prime minister Mart Laar.-Pullapää crisis:...
- Hain Rebas
- Vardo RumessenVardo RumessenVardo Rumessen is an Estonian pianist, musicologist and politician for Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica best known for his work on Eduard Tubin's music.-References:* Association of Estonian Professional Musicians.-External links:*...
- Ain SaarAin SaarAin Saar is a Võro punk rocker, and freedom fighter, the leader of the group Vaba-Sõltumatu Noorte Kolonn Nr.1 of December 20, 1987, which struggled against the Soviet rule...
- Edgar SavisaarEdgar SavisaarEdgar Savisaar , is an Estonian politician, one of the founding members of Popular Front of Estonia and the leader of the Centre Party. He has served as the acting Prime Minister of Estonia, Minister of Internal affairs and Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications...
- Enn TartoEnn TartoEnn Tarto is an Estonian politician who was a leading dissident during the Soviet occupation of Estonia. He was imprisoned from 1956 to 1960, 1962 to 1967, and again from 1983 to 1988 for anti-Soviet activity....
- Jüri Toomepuu
- Trivimi VellisteTrivimi VellisteTrivimi Velliste is an Estonian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1994 and as the Estonian Ambassador to the United Nations from 1994 to 1998...