Egor E. Bakalyar

Postgraduate Student of the Department for History and Philosophy

Plekhanov Russian University of Economics

(Moscow, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2024-4-64-75

Abstract. On December 1, 1924, an unsuccessful attempt at an armed seizure of power took place in Estonia, which went down in history as the December Uprising. This event played an important role in the history of Estonia in the 1920s – 1930s. The author analyzes the prerequisites of the December First armed uprising in Tallinn, and also describes the internal political situation in Estonia that developed in 1923 – 1924. The article emphasizes that the local Communists decided to take advantage of the economic difficulties and political instability experienced by the Republic of Estonia in 1923 – 1924 to achieve their goals. The author focuses on the issues of the role of the Comintern and the USSR in the December first armed uprising in Tallinn and the impact of this event on Soviet-Estonian relations. The role of the Comintern and the USSR in these events lies in the fact that Moscow, despite some support, did not provide direct assistance to the Estonian communists, taking into account the previous failures of revolutionary movements in Europe. The failure of the uprising in Tallinn was one of the factors that influenced the change in Soviet foreign policy, which consisted in the fact that the USSR refused to actively support communist movements abroad, switching to the idea of building socialism in a single country. After the defeat of the December Uprising, relations between the Soviet Union and Estonia cooled, which led to an aggravation of bilateral relations and even an economic boycott of Estonian exports by the USSR. These events also contributed to the reanimation of the idea of creating the Baltic Union. When writing the article, the author relied on a variety of historical sources: Soviet-Estonian agreements, periodical materials, correspondence of members of the Central Committee of the KPE, statistical materials.
Keywords: Comintern, Estonia, foreign policy of the USSR, the Communist Party of Estonia, O. Ryastas, K. Piats, J. Laidoner.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Bakalyar, EE 2024, ‘December First Armed Uprising in Tallinn’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 4 (20), pp. 64–75, http://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2024-4-64-75 (in Russ.)

References

1. Arumyae, HT 1966, Za kulisami «Baltiyskogo soyuza» (iz istorii vneshney politiki burzhuaznoy Estonii v 1920 – 1925 gg.) (Behind the scenes of the "Baltic Union" (from the history of the foreign policy of bourgeois Estonia in 1920 – 1925), Eestiraamat Publ, Tallin. (In Russ.)
2. Valge, Ya 2015, ‘Podgotovka Sovetskim Soyuzom gosudarstvennogo perevorota v Estonii v 1924 g.’ (Preparation by the Soviet Union of a coup d’état in Estonia in 1924), Peterburgskiy istoricheskiy zhurnal (St. Petersburg Historical Journal), no 1, pp 183–201. (In Russ.)
3. Dokumenty vneshney politiki SSSR 1958. T. II. 1 yanvarya 1919 g.–30 iyunya 1920 g. (Documents of the Foreign policy of the USSR. Vol. II. January 1, 1919 – June 30, 1920), Gospolitizdat publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
4. Dokumenty vneshney politiki SSSR 1963. T. VIII. 1 yanvarya – 31 dekabrya 1925 g. (Documents of the foreign policy of the USSR. Vol. VIII. January 1 – December 31, 1925), Gospolitizdat publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
5. Zetterberg, S. 2013. Istoriya Estonskoy respubliki (History of the Republic of Estonia), KPD publ, Tallin. (In Russ.)
6. Doklad G. V. ‘Chicherina na III Sessii CIK SSSR v Tiflise’ (Report of G. V. Chicherin at the III Session of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR in Tiflis), Izvestiya, 1925, 6 March. (In Russ.)
7. Ken, O & Rupasov, A 2002, Moskva i strany Baltii: Opyt vzaimootnosheniy, 1917 – 1939 (Moscow and the Baltic States: The experience of relations, 1917 – 1939), Strany Baltii i Rossiya: Obshchestvo i gosudarstvo (The Baltic States and Russia: Society and the State), Referendum publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
8. Kiiremees (Tummel'tau, Н) 1931, ‘Revel'skoye vosstaniye 1924 g.’ (Revel uprising of 1924), Ocherki po istorii vooruzhyonnykh vosstaniy (Essays on the history of armed uprisings), Gosudarstvennoe social'no-ekonomicheskoe izdatel'stvo publ, Moscow, Leningrad. (In Russ.)
9. Mil'tyuhov, MI 2015, Pribaltiyskiy platsdarm v mezhdunarodnoy politike Moskvy (1918 – 1939 gg.) (The Baltic springboard in Moscow's international politics (1918 – 1939). Algoritm publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
10. Mihaylova, Yu & Roginskiy, V 2013, ‘Mirovaya revolyutsiya ostanovlena v Talline? 1 dekabrya 1924 goda’ (Has the world revolution been stopped in Tallinn? December 1, 1924), Rossiya I Pribaltiyskiy region v XIX – XX vv.: Problemy vzaimootnosheniy v menyayushchemsya mire (Russia and the Baltic Region in the 19th – 20th centuries: Problems of mutual relations in a changing world), Moscow. (In Russ.)
11. Notovich–Kantorovichu, 10.12.1924, Arkhiv vneshney politiki Rossiyskoy Federatsii (Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation), fund 04, p. 47, inventory 293, file 54221, sheet 153. (In Russ.)
12. Politbyuro TsK RKP(b)–VKP(b) i Evropa. Resheniya «osoboy papki». 1923 – 1939 (The Politburo of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)– All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and Europe. Solutions of the "special file". 1923 – 1939) 2001, Federalnaya arkhivnaya sluzhba Rossii, Rossiyskiy gosudarstvenyy arkhiv sotsialnopoliticheskoy istorii, Fond Dzhandzhakomo Fel'trinelli, In-t vseobshchey istorii RAN (Feder. archival service of Russia, Russian State Archive of social and political history, Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation, Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences). ROSSPEN publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
13. Adibekov, GM (ed) 2004, Politbyuro TsK RKP(b) – VKP(b) i Komintern. 1919 – 1943 gg.: Dokumenty (Politburo of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) – All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Comintern. 1919 – 1943: Documents), Federalnaya arkhivnaya sluzhba Rossii, Rossiyskiy gosudarstvenyy arkhiv sotsialno-politicheskoy istorii (Feder. archival service of Russia, Russian State Archive of social and political history). ROSSPEN publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
14. Rossiyskiy gosudarstvennyy arkhiv sotsial'no-politicheskoy istorii (RGASPI) (The Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History), fund 17, inventory 3, file 476, sheet 1. (In Russ.)
15. Sunila, AA 1982, Vosstaniye 1 dekabrya 1924 goda (Opyt Kommunisticheskoy partii Estonii v podgotovke i provedenii vooruzhennogo vosstaniya estonskogo proletariata 1924 goda i ego istoricheskoye znacheniye) (The uprising of December 1, 1924 (The experience of the Communist Party of Estonia in the preparation and conduct of the armed uprising of the Estonian proletariat in 1924 and its historical significance), Eesti raamat publ, Tallin. (In Russ.)
16. II Riigi kogu valimised: 5.–7. mail 1923, Riigi Statistika Keskbüroo = Élections au parlement: de 5.–7. mai 1923, Bureau Central de Statistique de l'Estonie. Riigi Statistika Keskbüroo, Tallinn 1923. 78 l. (In Estonian)
17. Eesti komisjoni istungi protokoll, 03.09.1924. ERAF (Eesti Riigi arhiivi filial). 24–1–72a, 100. (In Estonian)
18. Eesti komisjoni istungi protokoll, 24.09.1924. ERAF. 24–1–272a, 135. (In Estonian)
19. Eesti komisjoni protokoll, 10.11.1924. ERAF. 24–1–272a, 92. (In Estonian)
20. EKP Keskkomitee VKP(b) Keskkomiteele, 12.08.1924. ERAF. 24–1–272a, 1–2. (In Estonian)
21. OGPU välismaa osakonnaõi end Eestikohta. Novembriteine pool 1924. Dateeritud sisu järgi. ERAF. 138SM–1–22, 301–334. (In Estonian)
22. Pihkva kubermangu OGPU välisagentuuri voliniku õiend. 30.10.1924. ERAF. 138–1–22, 148. (In Estonian)
23. Rästas Vakmannile, 28.08.1924. ERAF. 24–1–298, 127. (In Estonian)
24. Rästas Vakmannile ja Pöögelmannile, 25.08.1924. ERAF. 24–1–298, 126. (In Estonian)
25. Rästas Pöögelmannile, 23.11.1924. ERAF. 24–5–10, 85. (In Estonian)
26. Seisukord, 01.12.1924. ERAF. 24–1–322, 42. (In Estonian)
27. Tallinnast EKP Venemaabüroole, 26.03.1924. ERAF. 25–1–106, 6. (In Estonian)
28. Teppich-Kasemets W. Põrandaaluste juhi paljastusi. Päevaleht. 1933. 15 veebruar. (Saar J. 1. detsember 1924 Tallinnas. Lk. 9). (In Estonian)
29. Värbamiskiri Nõukogude Liidus elavale eestlasest kommunistile, 09.11.1924. ERAF. 24–5–10, 216. (In Estonian)