20 of August - Independence Day

Hello and Happy Independence Day for all Estonians!

I remember that day. I remember that my mother was very nerveous, because my uncle was sent to Tallinn to protect TV tower. I didn’t understand clearly what is going on but I felt emotions around me and I remember that all my family and relatives went to my granny’s house. Grandmother was crying. We were scared.

On the evening of 20 August 1991, Estonian politicians declared the nation’s independence – even as Soviet tanks were rolling through the countryside, and the Soviet paratroopers were taking charge of the Tallinn’s TV tower to prepare to cut off the communication channels.

Estonian volunteers surrounded the TV tower and wouldn’t let themselves to be intimidated by the Soviet troops. Members of the Estonian Defence League – the unified paramilitary armed forces of Estonia – were ready to protect the strategically important buildings, such as the Toompea and the Estonian Public Broadcasting’s facilities.

Luckily for Estonia, the attempted coup d’état in Moscow („August punch“) failed and the more liberal forces, led by the chairman of the Russian SFSR Supreme Soviet, Boris Yeltsin, prevailed – thus starting the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
Estonia was free again.

The first country to diplomatically recognise Estonia’s reclaimed independence was Iceland, on 22 August.

The Soviet Union finally recognised the independence of Estonia on 6 September 1991.

There is written a ot of books and made some movies about that day. Theories are different and a lot is just a myth.

My uncle came back as a different man.

Happy Independence Day and love each other!

Images from Archive of Estonian National Library