ESTONIAN SYMPHONIC MUSIC. THE FIRST CENTURY 1896-1996.
The reconstruction of economic and cultural life was directed according to the
interests of the Communist Party of the USSR. Since all the economy suffered and
continued to suffer heavily, more and more colonists were arriving from Russia and
other Soviet republics as labour to fulfil the overstrained plans of production. This was
creating a new demographic situation rich in inner tensions. In 1949 Estonian
agriculture was collectivised, according to Soviet models. As the Estonian farmers were
much richer and more independent than those in Russia, they saw the process as an act
of violence. The Soviets in 1949 deported more than 20,000 people to Siberia to fulfil
1
Reede 8 June 1990.
their plans.1 This number has been disputed; Swedish sources have suggested 80,000
persons based on the asserted data from Soviet Estonia.2
Many prominent writers, artists, composers and other intellectuals were accused