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Celebrating the Dark Side of Victory
May 9th has been a somber day for many Estonians, a far cry from the jubilant atmosphere it holds for Russians, who celebrate it as a victory over fascism. Yet, the Estonian perspective is vastly different.
Eight decades have passed since the events that unfolded, but the wound of the Soviet occupation still feels fresh. For Estonians, May 9th represents the regrettable return of Soviet rule, a gloomy period marked by forced collectivization, political repression, and cultural Russification.
In 1944, after the retreat of Nazi Germany, the Soviet forces reclaimed Estonia. This reinstatement of Soviet rule led to the deportation, execution, and oppression of countless Estonians. Between 1940 and 1953, Estonia lost nearly 60,000 people due to Soviet atrocities.
The narrative surrounding May 9th varies greatly between the Soviet Union (and later Russia) and Estonia. While the Soviets celebrate this day as the defeat of Nazism, Estonians remember it as the beginning of renewed Soviet oppression. Soviet reinstatement led to cultural suppression, forced assimilation, and the eradication of Estonian nationalist movements.
Anti-Soviet guerrilla groups, like the Forest Brothers, resisted the Soviet oppression until the 1950s. In the modern era, Estonia commemorates its independence restoration on August 20th. May 9th remains a contentious issue, with Russian-speaking communities emphasizing WWII victory, while ethnic Estonians reflect on the debilitating trauma of the Soviet occupation.
Recent Russian narratives, such as equating EU countries with the "Hitlerite coalition," have further politicized this date. The decades-long legacy of May 9th underscores Estonia’s experience of WWII as a dual occupation (Nazi and Soviet), with May 9th symbolizing the distressing endurance of Soviet rule.
| Aspect | Soviet/Russian Perspective | Estonian Perspective ||--------|-----------------------------|-----------------------|| May 9 | Victory over fascism | Soviet occupation anniversary || WWII Legacy | Heroic sacrifice | Foreign occupation cycles || Commemoration | Military parades | Reflection on repression |
- The Estonians, however, see May 9th as a reminder of their nation's struggling years under Soviet occupation, marked by destruction and cultural Russification.
- General news often highlight the different narratives between Estonians and Russians regarding May 9th, a day commemorated as victory by Russians but remembered as the start of a long period of conflict and repression by Estonians.
- Makarov, one of the well-known figures in the resistance against Soviet rule, led Estonia's anti-Soviet guerrilla group, the Forest Brothers, during the latter years of the Soviet occupation.
- Politics play a significant role in the interpretation of May 9th as recent Russian narratives seem to equate modern-day EU countries with the "Hitlerite coalition," reigniting controversy and controversy surrounding this war-and-conflicts-centered date.
