Around The World Without Flying: Tallinn, Estonia - Part 1 - wartime stories, a journey to the old town

When I look back at my time in Tallinn, I am so pleased that not only did we see some extraordinary sights of this historical city, but also we had a very sincere and passionate guide who wanted to be the voice of her people with regard to what their life was like under Soviet occupation. Her stories were heart-felt and very moving, and made you hope and pray that Russia does not get away with any further occupation of other peoples and other lands.

These are not new stories, but when you hear someone who lived with this describe what it was like, you are compelled to confront what happened and what could happen in the future.

The Estonians were not allowed to participate in or attend their Olympic Games or to travel to other countries because the Soviets feared that they would find out that life and living standards were far better elsewhere. In Estonia, factories produced very little because they were so inefficiently run, with old run-down equipment, lack of supplies, etc., despite all the ‘five year plans’ that had been devised by completely incompetent officials. In the end there was barely enough food. People were starving. Only babies under 12 months could be given milk . . .

The Soviet Union was broken and in crisis by the time Estonians fought in earnest for their independence, despite all the intimidation from Russian soldiers driving around the streets in tanks, and the cutting off all their communication channels, making the Estonians wonder if anyone else in the world knew their plight, or cared. Fortunately some nations did know and did care and a lot of work was done in the background to support their cause and help secure their freedom.

But the rest of the story is far worse than that. The Russians rolled in supposedly to ‘liberate’ them from the Nazis. However, the Estonians now have clear proof that it was Russians and not the Germans who bombed so much of two of their neighbouring countries as well as some of their own precious buildings. Moreover, the members of the Estonian parliament and their families were herded into some cattle trucks on trains in dreadful conditions and taken far away. The men who survived that journey were all shot and the surviving women and children were sent to Siberia for 15 years hard labour. They never came back for fear of reprisals on their remaining family members.

Our guide said it took a while for the nation to pick up after living in those conditions for so long. People had to learn to think for themselves, to be creative and innovative, which some found very hard. They were thrown in at the deep end but in the end, through trial and error, have built up their economy. Now Estonia is a thriving nation of proud people with their own parliament, very successful IT and other businesses and wonderful initiatives such as their song festivals. On the day we were there, 30 000 children arrived in the city to perform! What a celebration!

Mind you, it was freezing cold - as though the winds were coming off the Arctic Circle - and raining on and off, but that did not deter the children, or us.

In my next post I will tell more stories of this intriguing city - a concert of medieval music and other fascinating things we did and heard.