COMMUNIST ACTIVITY, MORALE, AND RESISTANCE IN ESTONIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R009400580010-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 3, 2011
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: August 8, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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771 I (' ) 29
:,~ ......
FEB_ 1952
CLASS I F I CATION SECT/CONTROL-US OFFICIALS ONLY
SECURITY INFORMATION
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT
CD NO.
COUNTRY USSR (Estonian SSR)
SUBJECT Communist Activity, Morale, and Resistance
DATE OF
INFO.
in Estonia
PLACE
ACQUIRED
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
DFTHE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE 18, SECTIONS 793
AND 794, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVE-
LATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
PROHIBITED BY LAW. THEREPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
jt(MAgandq
to The stream of propaganda in the press and on the air in Estonia is contin-
uous" pictures of Stalin and other leading Communist figures are displayed
everywhere, in the streets, offices, shops, xai.lway stations, etc. The
pictures of Estonian Communists, such as Nikolai Georgevich Karotammq
Eduard Nikolayevich Pall, and Arnold Veiimer, 'were all removed after the purge
of 1950 and have not been replaced by those of their successors, such as Ivan
Kaabi.n and August Jakobson,
2. After working hours, frequent meetings are held in all establishments, face-
tories, conmieraial undertakings, etc,,at which the speeches are always full
of communist propaganda. Attendance at these meetings is obligatory and ,
the meetings arouse little enthusiasm... People try to avoid them or to leave
before they end. In all speeches., articles, and broadcasts, the name of
Stalin is featured and so often repeated that the greater part of listeners
and readers are surfeited.
3. During tae past year, very little Estonian and classical music has survived
in the programs of the Tallinn broadcasting station. I *e music and songs
now being broadcast are those of Soviet Russia, or of Uzbek, Georgia, Tatars
and other Estonian "brother republio&1,
%Le
break of war, which appears to them as the only w e from the 50X1-HUM
CLASSIFICATION SECCONTROL.US OFFICIALS 0 ~mmast ---------------
The mood of the majority of Estonians in the towans", as well as in the.
country districts, is one of depression There is a constant feeling of liv-
ing under a steadily increasing pressure. People are waiting for the out-
TATE NAVY IX I NSRB
DISTRIBUTION
ARNY AIR X FBI
3. .
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
DATE DISTR. 8 Aug. 1952
NO. OF PAGES 3
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
50X1-H U
. , a 9116 aka y-
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vi !I u
t r r,,y r r" R +' Y
present situation; It is well known that the weapons of the future (atomic
and hydrogen bombs and bacteriological warfare) are extremely powerful., for
which reason destruction will be on a vast scale,, Yet whoever survives it
will be freed from the nightmare of Communism. There is owing impatience
and anxiety as to why the war has not yet begun, why the Western Powers and
the USA delay so longs, and whether preparations really take such a long time.
It is feared that, if the present situation continues for very much longer,
the Estonian national potential will be reduced to insignificance.
Psychological Resistance,,
5. The potential strength of the psychological resistance at the present time,
as compared with 1944 when the German. and Estonian troops who had been fight-
ing the Soviet Forces retreated from Estonia, has decreased to some extent for
the following reasons.
a. A great many people have been arrested and deported, thus removing an
important proportion of Estonians from Estonianierritory.
b. The delay in the liberation of Estonia causes a feeling of despair among
the Estonians, who feel that they have been abandoned.
c. A section of Estonians have become fellow travelers, and a part of them
with the tendency to stay Communist. Their percentage., however, is not
large and therefore they may not be of great importance. .
Practical Resistance
6. Practical opposition to the Communist regime manifests itself in many ways:
in industry and trade by stoppages, failure to supply goods on time, pilfer-
age from warehouses, and confusion in the administration; in agriculture by
lack of cooperation in the work bn the collective farms, which permits crops
to go to waste and disrupts the economy. For example, during the winter of
1950-51, large quantities of potatoes were not harvested and went to waste,
grain stacks remained uncovered in the fields throughout the winter, and so
on, These are not single instances:, but cases occurring all over Estonia,,
which are not planned sabotag but evidence of sullenness caused-by lack
of personal interest combinedwaith dislike of the regime. The Soviet authori-
ties find it very difficult to combat these trends, and local minor Communist
officials cannot do much to alter the situation.
Communistr Holiday Demonstration,
The number of people taking part in the May Day and other Communist anniversary
demonstrations has increased with the years. The reason for this is that all
workers and employees must now report at assembly points early on the day of
be demonstrations (most people arrive late), When the parade has assembled,
a check is carried out by an official from every enterprise and establishment
to see if everybo is there. Formerly, there was no check; but,fearing
trouble later because of this control, more people are now taking part.
Marching starts about two hours after the time fixed for assembling the parade,
when the pictures of prominent Soviet. officials, the banners, and the slogans,
have bL*en distributed for carrying. Since May Day of last year (1950), the
pictures of,high-ranking Estonians that were formerly carried at these demon-
strations have all disappeared, and they are now replaced by pictures of Polish,
Chinese,
ersonalities.
Rumanians, e tc.9 p
Sculer
~b'`,
-om Square) past ng base kin of the former Gloria movie theater),
and past the'building of'the Bank of Estonia to the Estonia Theater, where
they disperse, When the marchers are assembled, however., and later, on the march,
they start "getting lost" one or more at a time, po that the ranks grow thinner
and. thinner the nearer they get to the Vabaduse Valjak. Meanwhile, the route
SECRET/CONTROL-US OFFICIALS ONLY
50X1-HUM
k (Free-
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of the parade is lined with spectators, whose numbers are constantly increased
by those who have "fallen out" of the parade, so that in the end it is hard
to say whether the spectators-or the marchers are the more numerous. Of course,
anyone who has a picture or slogan to carry cannot "get lost" so easily.
People say it is only the fools who take something to carry during the march,
and if the bearer says, "Hold this for a moments please, I want to tie my-
shoe laces", then qnwt. may be certain t hat he will vanish somewhere on the
side and not return,
9. Many drunken persons. are to be seen among the demonstrators, especially on
May Days when they drink during the march, and consequently there have been
many cases of people's "passing out". Estonians generally march along and
pass the tribune of the saluting base rather quietly, but a great deal of
noise is made by the Russians, many of whom carry their accordions, and the
streets are filled with Russian shouting. As soon as the obligatory marching.
is over, there is a general scramble to get home as quickly as possible to
have something to eat and then enjoy the remaining leisure.
10. As a rule, the building of the tribune is started in great haste some days
before the parade; and,as soon as the first boards are put up, armed MV])
sentries are placed on guard. The guards are stationed there night and day,
and no one is allowed to stop near the building; every passerby is told to
move along. There are generally three sentries, one in the middle and one
at each end of the tribune.
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