The Era of Silence (Estonian: vaikiv ajastu) was the period between 1934 and 1938[1] (or 1940[2]) in Estonian history. The period began with the preemptive self-coup of 12 March 1934, which the then Prime Minister of EstoniaKonstantin Päts carried out to avert a feared takeover of the state apparatus by the popular Vaps Movement (a political organization of war veterans).
Newspaper Kaja's caption announcing the beginning of the state of protection led by General Laidoner on March 14, 1934.
In the charged atmosphere that pervaded Europe in 1934, when Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini had become widely admired role models for authoritarian and nationalist movements in many other countries, most of the leaders of the democratic Republic of Estonia also viewed the possible takeover by a similar group, the Vaps Movement as a credible and imminent threat. Claiming the existence of such imminent threat, the then Prime Minister Konstantin Päts, using the authority of the newly adopted Constitution of 1933, proclaimed a nationwide state of emergency on March 12. He then appointed general Johan Laidoner, a popular leader of the War of Independence and a known opponent of the Vaps Movement's leadership, as commander of the armed forces.
Veterans' organisations were shut down, over 400 of the organisations' members were arrested, and all organised political activity in the country was outlawed. All Vaps members were also purged from local governments, the civil service, and the Defence League. These actions were immediately approved by the lame-duck parliament.[citation needed]
However, when Päts decreed postponement of the elections for both State Elder and Parliament, scheduled to be held in spring 1934 according to the new constitution, opposition arose in a special session convened by the existing parliament, since the constitution did not allow postponement of elections by decree. In response, he permanently postponed the session and ruled by decree until a new constitution could be drawn up and adopted. Thus, Päts' takeover of the government was a coup de facto but also de jure, since the entire process was illegal under the constitution in effect in 1934.[citation needed]
Uses of term
The term "Era of Silence" was first introduced by Kaarel Eenpalu, the country's prime minister in 1938–39, and a strong supporter of Päts, the Estonian head of state during that period. However, the term has been used later more often to describe the silencing of opposition to Päts' governing circle. It also reflects an apparent nationwide consensus to go along with the temporary suppression of some civil and political rights in the interests of "order" after years of political turmoil. Päts' rule was never an unduly harsh one: nearly all of those jailed in 1934 were released in 1938, and none of the former heads of state (Ants Piip, Juhan Kukk, Jaan Teemant and Jaan Tõnisson) who issued the critical Four State Elders' Memorandum in a newspaper in neighbouring Finland in October 1936, calling on Päts to immediately end the curtailment of civil and political rights and to reinstitute democratic government, were ever harassed by the Päts' government. When parliamentary elections were held in 1938 under the new constitution of 1937, the opposition candidates won 16 seats (out of 64) in the lower house of parliament.
Berg-Schlosser, Dirk; Jeremy Mitchell, Varrak (2000). "Estonia: Crisis and 'Pre-Emptive Authoritarianism". Conditions of democracy in Europe, 1919–39: systematic case-studies. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 109–128. ISBN0-312-22843-0.
Further reading
Frucht, R. C. (2005). Eastern Europe: An introduction to the people, lands, and culture / edited by Richard Frucht. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. Page 78+
March 12, 2023
silence, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2009, learn,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Era of Silence news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Era of Silence Estonian vaikiv ajastu was the period between 1934 and 1938 1 or 1940 2 in Estonian history The period began with the preemptive self coup of 12 March 1934 which the then Prime Minister of Estonia Konstantin Pats carried out to avert a feared takeover of the state apparatus by the popular Vaps Movement a political organization of war veterans Newspaper Kaja s caption announcing the beginning of the state of protection led by General Laidoner on March 14 1934 Contents 1 Context and events 2 Uses of term 3 References 4 Sources 5 Further readingContext and events EditIn the charged atmosphere that pervaded Europe in 1934 when Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini had become widely admired role models for authoritarian and nationalist movements in many other countries most of the leaders of the democratic Republic of Estonia also viewed the possible takeover by a similar group the Vaps Movement as a credible and imminent threat Claiming the existence of such imminent threat the then Prime Minister Konstantin Pats using the authority of the newly adopted Constitution of 1933 proclaimed a nationwide state of emergency on March 12 He then appointed general Johan Laidoner a popular leader of the War of Independence and a known opponent of the Vaps Movement s leadership as commander of the armed forces Veterans organisations were shut down over 400 of the organisations members were arrested and all organised political activity in the country was outlawed All Vaps members were also purged from local governments the civil service and the Defence League These actions were immediately approved by the lame duck parliament citation needed However when Pats decreed postponement of the elections for both State Elder and Parliament scheduled to be held in spring 1934 according to the new constitution opposition arose in a special session convened by the existing parliament since the constitution did not allow postponement of elections by decree In response he permanently postponed the session and ruled by decree until a new constitution could be drawn up and adopted Thus Pats takeover of the government was a coup de facto but also de jure since the entire process was illegal under the constitution in effect in 1934 citation needed Uses of term EditThe term Era of Silence was first introduced by Kaarel Eenpalu the country s prime minister in 1938 39 and a strong supporter of Pats the Estonian head of state during that period However the term has been used later more often to describe the silencing of opposition to Pats governing circle It also reflects an apparent nationwide consensus to go along with the temporary suppression of some civil and political rights in the interests of order after years of political turmoil Pats rule was never an unduly harsh one nearly all of those jailed in 1934 were released in 1938 and none of the former heads of state Ants Piip Juhan Kukk Jaan Teemant and Jaan Tonisson who issued the critical Four State Elders Memorandum in a newspaper in neighbouring Finland in October 1936 calling on Pats to immediately end the curtailment of civil and political rights and to reinstitute democratic government were ever harassed by the Pats government When parliamentary elections were held in 1938 under the new constitution of 1937 the opposition candidates won 16 seats out of 64 in the lower house of parliament The Era of Silence is usually considered to have ended with either the new Estonian constitution coming into force on 1 January 1938 or with the parliamentary elections held in February 1938 Some sources extend their definition of the era until the Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia in June 1940 clarification needed References Edit Estonica Miljan p 196 Sources EditMiljan Toivo Historical Dictionary of Estonia pp 196 97 Scarecrow Press 2004 ISBN 0 8108 4904 6 Estonica 1918 1940 Republic of Estonia Berg Schlosser Dirk Jeremy Mitchell Varrak 2000 Estonia Crisis and Pre Emptive Authoritarianism Conditions of democracy in Europe 1919 39 systematic case studies Palgrave Macmillan pp 109 128 ISBN 0 312 22843 0 Further reading EditFrucht R C 2005 Eastern Europe An introduction to the people lands and culture edited by Richard Frucht Santa Barbara Calif ABC CLIO Page 78 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Era of Silence amp oldid 1144173924, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
