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President of the Republic on the 20th anniversary of the restoration of Estonia’s independence in Toompea, 20 August 2011
20.08.2011
Friends, compatriots,
The story of the way in which Estonia, like the other lands that had been in the grip of the Soviet Union, regained its freedom at the end of the 20th century has more than a little of the fairytale about it, when viewed superficially at least. Because it was the collective will of the nation, its desire to be free, that unpicked the threads of that foreign empire and saw it fall apart at the seams.
There are a lot of heroes in our story of freedom – more than a million of them, who yearned for a free state and who were not afraid to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those in Hirve Park, or at the Song Festival Grounds, or in Pilistvere, or in the Baltic Chain, or on Freedom Square during the putsch in August 1991, or at the TV tower in Tallinn when it was besieged by the tanks of the Pihkva landing division.
Many people whom fate had led from the farthest reaches of the Soviet Union to Estonia came with us – with the Estonian state. Some remained stuck in the past; and it has been our complicated task to lead them from there into the future.
There was the independence-minded Supreme Soviet and the Estonian Congress; the phosphate war and the National Front; the cultural heritage department; the joint body of creative associations and the independent youth forum; the Greens and the Estonian National Independence Party.
They, and many more, laid the foundations for the restoration of Estonia’s independence. Every brick in that wall was of vital importance: had even one been missing, the entire structure may have collapsed.
But the mortar between those bricks was Estonia’s unanimity in terms of its goal. Not even the arguments that arose could weaken the people’s resolve, which was growing and strengthening by the day, culminating in the decision taken by the Supreme Soviet right here, in Toompea Castle, late at night on the 20th of August 1991, to restore our nation’s independence. The Estonian people had reclaimed their state.
To quote a journalist writing about the events of that August: “It was such an enormous victory that people don’t even realise it was one. The greatest victories are those achieved without waging war, which is why they’re so often overlooked.”
Estonia has won much more than it has lost over the last 20 years. As a state, we have done very well for ourselves. As a nation, we have done the very best we can. Estonia has done the very best it can. Our flag flies on masts before the headquarters of the United Nations, the European Union, NATO and a number of other key international organisations. We have retained our language and our culture. More importantly, they have developed and grown: Estonian now enjoys the status of an official language of the European Union.
Today, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the restoration of our independence, we have more reason than ever to be friendly and good-natured towards one another. We deserve to be: we have every reason to be proud of ourselves and our country.
True, tens of thousands of our countrymen have lived through hard times in the last two decades, and that difficulty has not yet fully passed. But as a nation, and as a state, we have coped admirably. We have pushed forward. Grown stronger. And I hope we will become even more mindful and even more caring towards those who need our help.
My fellow Estonians,
Each year for the last four years I have presented a memorial stone – a piece of the barricade that defended Toompea in 1991 – in recognition of and gratitude for the actions of those involved in the events that unfolded. I have presented them to Heinz Valk, renowned for his belief that come what may, the Estonian nation would prevail; to Lagle Parek, one of those who embodied the non-violent resistance put up at the time; to those who defended the TV tower in August 1991; and to Alo Mattiisen and Jüri Leesment, who gifted Estonia with words and music for its singing revolution.
Today it is my honour and my privilege to recognise the 69 members of the Supreme Soviet of Estonia who voted in favour of the restoration of our independence on the 20th of August 1991. Their decision – one made in the maelstrom of the August putsch – was born of agreement and consensus between the Supreme Soviet and the Estonian Committee, and itself paved the way for the rebirth of our state.
I’m holding one of the stones of this foundation in my hand right now. Ülo Nugis, the President of the Supreme Council at the time, said a few days ago that we got the Estonia that we wanted; we got the best Estonia that we could get. Thank you for these words!
I’m pleased to give this stone to those who voted in favour of the restoration of independence in the former Supreme Council.
Marju Lauristin, the Vice President of the Supreme Council 20 years ago, I have the honour.
