ISSN 0204–2061. KNYGOTYRA. 2008. 50

PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES OF IN ST. PETERSBURG BEFORE THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1918–1937)

AILE MÖLDRE, TIIU REIMO

Tallinn University, Institute of Information Studies 25 Narva Road, 10120 , E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

The article treats the development of Estonian-language publishing in St-Petersburg. The analysis of these activities demonstrates the dependence of ethnic minority publishing from the nationalities pol- icy of the Soviet Union. The favourable political atmosphere and the policy of NEP led to the establish- ment of two Estonian publishing units: the Estonian Publishing Community and the publishing house “Külvaja”. The latter produced the majority of Estonian-language books, issued in the Soviet Union (484 titles). The turn in the national policy resulted in the liquidation of national institutions, including “Külvaja”, which was reformed into the Estonian Section of the Publishing Society of Foreign Workers in the USSR. Its production was limited and decreased especially in 1937 when major ethnic cleansing started in St. Petersburg. Key words: publishing in Exile; publishing for ethnic minorities; Estonian-language publishing; publishing in the Soviet Union; exchange of books

Estonian national minority in the main cradle of the Estonian intelligent- was formed as a result of emigration dur- sia at the beginning of the 20th century. ing the second half of the 19th and at the The Bolshevik revolution in 1917 and beginning of the 20th century. The Esto- the following establishment of the Republic nian peasants moved to Russia in the hope of Estonia in 1918 resulted in the situation of obtaining land and becoming free from where a large number of Estonians occurred the oppression of the Baltic German nobil- to be on the other side of the Estonian bor- ity. The nearest big cities, St. Petersburg and der. Although about 40 000 Estonians opt- Riga, offered wider possibilities for finding ed back to Estonia after the conclusion of a job or for studying. The St. Petersburg in- the Peace Treaty in 1920, the majority stitutions of higher education (university, of the Estonian population of Russia stayed academy of arts, conservatoire etc.) acted as at their new homeland. 154 666 Estonians

114 were living in the Soviet Union according to [26], which concentrated on the analysis of the census of 1926. The number of people fiction, discussing its forms, style, content, who declared Estonian to be their mother etc. Richard Antik, who was the head of the tongue was 139 500 [10, 248]. Around 80 Archive Library of the Estonian National per cent of them were farmers, living in the Museum had initiated the inclusion of the Estonian villages. This community was nu- Estonian-language books acquired from the merically the biggest Estonian population Soviet publishing houses in the editions of abroad. Estonians inhabited mainly four the national bibliography, issued by the So- regions: the biggest number of Estonians ciety of Estonian Literature in the journal lived in St. Petersburg region (16 000 in St. “Eesti Kirjandus” (Estonian Literature) to- Petersburg/Leningrad and another 50 000 gether with the publications, issued in Es- in the guberniya), followed by Siberia with tonia. On the basis of the books, which had the centre in Omsk (more than 30 000 peo- been received through exchange or bought ple), the Central region (Nizhni Novgorod) from Soviet Russia, Antik wrote a volu- with about 8500 people and Caucasus with minous analysis of the Estonian-language more than 5000 Estonian inhabitants. In book production in the Soviet Union, pub- the other regions the number of Estonians lished in the journal “Eesti Kirjandus” in was smaller [19, 195–196]. 1939 [2]. This work includes statistical data The national identity − the complex of on the title production and print runs, the values and habits as well as communication characterisation of production representing in Estonian was retained with the help of various types of literature (propaganda pub- Estonian-language education, cultural ac- lications, textbooks, fiction). A notable part tivities and printed matter – books, news- of the article presents a well-written analy- papers and journals − that were published sis of the political and propaganda publica- in Russia up to 1937. tions, which formed the largest share of title production. Antik points out the different Research on Estonian target groups of propaganda and character- Publishing Activities in Russia ises the specific features of the writings by The publishing activities of Estonians in Estonian authors. He closes the article with Russia (Soviet Union) have attracted the at- the conclusion that all the publications is- tention of book researchers during two pe- sued in the Soviet Union were influenced by riods: for the first time the topic was treated the contemporary political events. It should in the 1930s by Oskar Urgart and Richard be mentioned that only part of the publica- Antik. Oskar Urgart opened the treatment tions, issued in the Soviet Union reached of Estonian-language publications in the Estonia and were included in the national Soviet Union with his article published in bibliography, therefore the statistical data the journal “Looming” (Creation) in 1934 presented by Antik was incomplete, which

115 also had impact on the quality of analysis two articles concentrating mainly on issu- and conclusions. ing the journal “Klassivõitlus” (Class Strug- The second wave of research on the topic gle). These articles were issued in the organ occurred during the 1960s–1980s. The study of the Central Committee of the Commu- of this period concentrated mostly on the nist Party of Estonia “Eesti Kommunist” statistical analysis of the Estonian-language (The Estonian Communist) [16; 17]. book production from the Soviet Union on The most notable research works on the the basis of the lists of books, published in topic, which were published during the So- the journal ”Eesti Kirjandus” and card files viet period were the articles by Kyra Robert, of the Estonian Literary Museum and of the whose research concentrated on the history National Library of Estonia. of book and culture. The first of the articles Two student research projects on the treated the Estonian-language publishing topic were completed in the Tallinn Peda- activities in Siberia [20]. The most compre- gogical Institute (at the present time the hensive treatment of the Estonian-language Tallinn University). Ülle Agarmaa’s di- publishing activities in the Soviet Union ploma work written in 1967 was devoted was presented in the article “Estonian-lan- to the activities of the Estonian Publishing guage Printed Word in the Soviet Union in Community (Eesti Kirjastuse Ühisus) and 1918–1940: Book Historical Overview”, the publishing house ’Külvaja’ (The Sower) issued in 1975 [21]. It includes an over- [1]. It is noteworthy that besides the other view of all the publishing bodies, which sources the author had an opportunity to had taken part in publishing the Estonian- interview Villem Reiman who had been the language material as well as statistical data head of “Külvaja” in 1929–1934. L. Ka- on the publications. According to the ideo- pral’s course work included a bibliography logical requirements of the period the pub- of the Estonian-language publications from lishing activities in the Soviet Union were the Soviet Union [9]. treated as the first stage of the Soviet-type In addition to these student works many publishing in the , which articles by scholars were issued in various had paved the way for the following book journals. Philologist Eduard Ertis was the production in the Soviet Estonia. author of an article on the Estonian Section The reason, why this research problem of the Publishing Society of Foreign Work- has occurred once again, lies in the concept ers of the USSR, which included mainly of the previous treatments: neither the lim- the list of titles, issued by this publishing ited range of sources used in the 1930s nor body with short comments [5]. Meelik the ideological tendentiousness of the study Kahu treated the development of Estonian- in the 1960s–1980s allowed the researchers language periodical publishing in the Soviet to reach objective conclusions. The book Union [8]. Historian Vello Niinoja wrote historians from the Tallinn University are

116 preparing for the publication of the his- ed in developing Russia’s ethnic minorities’ tory of the book in Estonia during the 20th cultures on its own socialist terms. Soviet century at the present time. This raises the ethnic cultures were to be “national in form, need to re-examine the publishing activities socialist in content”, as Stalin, Commissar of Estonians in Russia, presenting a treat- of nationalities from 1917–1924 expressed ment, grounded in the archival material it. Supporting cultural production in all So- preserved in the Estonian and Russian ar- viet languages became official policy at the chives and presenting contemporary inter- 12th Communist Party Congress in 1923, pretation of the topic. affirming that the Soviet state would maxi- The present article treats the publish- mally support these “forms” of nationhood ing activity of Estonians in St. Petersburg/ that did not conflict with an unitary central Leningrad – the main publishing centre of state, the forms being national territories, Estonian books in Exile between the two elites, languages and cultures [15, 13]. Thus world wars. It is based on the analysis of political and economic support for ethnic research works, statistical sources, various minority culture became an obligation of articles issued in the newspapers and the the Soviet state and the Communist Party. Estonian-language books issued in St. Pe- Print was the most important means of cir- tersburg. Additional data has been obtained culating the new ideas during the 1920s from archival documents stored in the Esto- and thus the publishing houses were at the nian Cultural History Archive of the Esto- heart of the Soviet cultural production. In nian Literary Museum (Eesti Kirjandusmu- the 1920s and during the first half of the usuemi Eesti Kultuurilooline Arhiiv) as well 1930s the Soviet state favoured ethnic mi- as in the Central State Archive of Literature norities’ publishing as a means of creating and Art of St. Petersburg. The treatment a single Soviet socialist state out of a group concentrates on the development of national of diverse nationalities – thus the task of publishing bodies, setting the goal to follow the publications in national languages was the political and economical conditions of propaganda in the broadest sense of the their establishment and operation as well as word [24, 198, 200]. the persons, involved in their activities. The The direct supervision of the Commu- article also presents the statistical data and nist Party over the Estonian-language book general characterisation of the production of publishing is visible from the first steps of all the publishing units. the party after the revolution, demonstrat- ing that communists understood the impor- Political Background tant role of the printing press in influencing of Publishing Activities and forming the public opinion. The Com- The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 ushered munist Party and Soviet authorities became into power a new regime that was interest- active in publishing because the private

117 publishing houses had been dissolved, but true. When the Estonian Workers’ Com- the new Soviet publishing system had not mune ended its activities in June 1919, the been created yet. The acute need for pub- publishing department continued its work lications to support the Soviet propaganda under the subordination of the Russian Bu- forced them to find a way to continue the reau of the Central Committee of the Esto- publishing activities, which led to the es- nian Communist Party [16, 46]. tablishment of publishing units by the So- viet and Communist Party institutions. The Activities of the Estonian The first publishers of the Estonian lan- Publishing Community (1922–1926) guage books in St. Petersburg were the Es- In spring 1921 the New Economic Policy tonian sections of the Russian Communist (NEP) was introduced in the Soviet Rus- (Bolshevik) Party, who issued the series of sia: small industries were denationalised, seven booklets of political content in 1918 private trade permitted etc. The new possi- [21, 210]. bilities gave birth to two Estonian publish- The Publishing Department of the Di- ing houses in St. Petersburg in 1922 – Eesti rectorate of Culture and Education of the Kirjastuse Ühisus (The Estonian Publishing Estonian Workers’ Commune – the Soviet Community) and “Külvaja” (The Sower). republic that was proclaimed in Narva in These two publishing houses produced November 1918, also produced Estonian more than a half of the total Estonian-lan- language books. The founders of the Com- guage book production issued in the Soviet mune had to withdraw to Russia during Russian territory. the War of Independence. In the situation The Estonian Publishing Community where it was difficult to procure paper and was the leading publishing house of the printing facilities only the indispensable Estonian-language literature in the years publications for propagating the new re- 1922–1925. It was democratic by nature, gime were published: political literature to incorporating institutional members and raise the awareness of the army and text- private persons. In 1923 the number of books to enable Estonian-language educa- members reached 63, during the follow- tion. The publications were drawn together ing year 19 new members were accepted under the thematic series: “The Literature [1, 9]. The publishing house was led by of the Estonian Communist Army” (Eesti the top-ranked Estonian communists: kommunistlise sõjawäe kirjandus), “The Jakob Palvadre (1889–1936), Peeter Pe- Workers’ Literature” (Töörahwa kirjan- terson (1898–1937), Anna Leetsmann dus), etc. The Publishing Department also (1888–1942?), Jaan Ikmelt (1885–1953), planned to publish handbooks for soviet Georg Teiter (1889–1938) and others and party activists and literature on agricul- [21, 212]. Despite of their enthusiasm the tural reforms, but these plans did not come Community had to struggle with economic

118 difficulties: paper supply was unsteady, Fiction was represented by quite a large the manuscripts did not arrive in time, number of titles (37). In addition to Soviet methodological and ideological specifica- authors (A. Blok, M. Gorki) the novels by tions were changed so often that the pre– M. Andersen-Nexø and J. London were press procedures took much more time published. J. Liiv and Fr. Tuglas represented than planned. The publishing house tried the Estonian authors. Special attention was to keep the prices of the publications low also paid to the publications of plays, which and therefore spared on design and materi- included repertoire for the Estonian ama- als, but nevertheless the Community went teur theatre groups. bankrupt in 1926 [1, 23–24]. The publishing house edited the news- During the five years of its activities the paper ’Edasi’ (Forward) and published jour- Estonian Publishing Community issued nals ’Säde’ (Spark), ’Oras’ (Sprouts) and 108 books and booklets in Estonian, the ’Põllumees’ (The Farmer). The newspaper, most productive years were 1924 and 1925 although published on the proposition of with 34 and 41 titles [21, 216]. The analy- the Communist Party, was not profitable, sis of the typological and thematic content as the expenses on editing and printing ex- of the books shows that the main attention ceeded the income from subscription and was devoted to the publications of political advertising by a third [1, 20–21]. literature. It is very hard to prove the out- In addition to publishing the Estonian side influence on the publishing plans, but Publishing Community organised the dis- the protocol of the general meeting, held tribution of books and, together with the at the end of 1924 includes the resolution Department of National Minorities of the to publish more materials on the Estonian Peoples’ Commissariat of Education, pro- Workers’ movement – a special committee vision of Estonian schools with textbooks. was founded for this purpose. The docu- Dissemination of publications was difficult: ment also stresses the need to increase the books were still too expensive and in the publishing of works by Lenin, agricultural time of economic crisis people had to spend literature and textbooks. The meeting of more money on food than on books. The the activists of the ethnic minorities of the schools could order textbooks according Russian Communist Party of the Leningrad to the instalment plan. The situation im- gubernyia in 1925 discussed the issues of proved after the monetary reform in 1924. publishing, pointing out the lack of text- The publishing house even opened its own books and books for peasants in Estonian. bookshop, where in addition to its own It was also mentioned, that the programme production the Estonian-language books and statute of the Young Communist from the Soviet Union and Estonia as well League were not available in the Estonian as Russian-language books and publica- language [1, 24]. tions in foreign languages were sold. After

119 the bankruptcy the bookshop was handed [21, 212]. In 1926 “Külvaja” merged with over to the Central Publishing House of the the Estonian Publishing Community and Nations of the Soviet Union [1, 27]. became practically the only Estonian pub- The fate of the leaders of the publishing lishing house in the Soviet Union [17, 57]. house was severe: Jakob Palvadre became Tsentroizdat (the Central Publishing Or- the first victim of repression in 1936. He ganisation for the Peoples of the USSR) in was accused of espionage as his brother had also issued some publications in formerly been a minister in the Republic the Estonian language. of Estonia [22, 133]. He was also accused Ethnic minorities’ publishing houses of the attempt to murder the were regulated by their own institutions; leaders Jaan Anvelt and Hans Pöögelmann. in case of “Külvaja” this was the Leningrad This led to the discovery of the ”group of Bureau of the Central Committee of the 114 terrorists”, who were sentenced to Estonian Communist Party. The activities death and drowned in Neva river. Peeter Pe- of the publishing house were discussed in terson was accused to be Palvadre’s ally and the bureau meetings where its publishing was killed in 1937. Anna Leetsmann was programme had to be approved [11, 118]. sentenced to a labour camp and the year of In the years 1919–1928 the director of her death is not exactly known [25]. the publishing house was Juhan Lilienbach, a rather well known poet and publisher. The Publishing House “Külvaja” – He had started to issue political literature the Largest Publisher during the revolution of 1905 and had es- of Estonian-language Books tablished the publishing house “Mõte” in The publishing house named “Külvaja” was 1909, being a consistent publisher of Marx- established in 1922, but actually the pub- ist literature. In February 1918 he moved lishing unit, which attributed this name, to Petersburg with the and had existed already since 1918, at first as continued to be active in publishing [12, a department of the Estonian Workers’ 294]. Being a professional editor he was Commune (1918–1919), which was later able to secure high quality of the editorial attached to various other bodies and acted work. After his death Villem Reiman was under the names of the Publishing Depart- appointed to this position. He had gradu- ment of the Russian Bureau of the Estonian ated from the Leningrad department of the Central Committee of the Russian Commu- Communist University for the Western Mi- nist Party (1919–1920), Publishing House norities [1, 29]. of the Central Committee of the Estonian During the period of the new economic Communist Party (1920–1921) and Pub- policy the activities of “Külvaja” were hin- lishing House of the Estonian Section of dered by the typical faults of the Soviet the (1921–1923) publishing industry − the shortage of paper,

120 the small number of printing offices, etc. Estonian language in 1931. But only a cou- The publisher had a wide correspondence ple of years later, in the beginning of 1934 with the suppliers of paper, but this did not it merged with the Publishing Society of alleviate the shortage. Foe example, dur- Foreign Workers of the USSR, which had ing the first nine months of the year 1930 been established in 1931 [28, 2]. the publishing house received five tons less The liquidation of the independent paper than it had been allocated according national publishing house was due to the to the plan [13, 44]. “Külvaja” experienced change in the Soviet nationalities policy. economic hardships till the beginning of Its turning point was marked by the Polit- the 1930s. It was complicated to find print- buro decree from December 14, 1932 on ing offices where typesetters could compose the situation in Ukraine, which initiated text in the Estonian language. The printers the onset of ethnic cleansing among the often prolonged with fulfilling the orders, Soviet Union diaspora nationalities with as the publishing house was unable to pay cross-border ethnic ties to a foreign-nation for their services. The authors did not re- state and abolition of many national insti- ceive royalties till 1924, later the publishers tutions. In St. Petersburg the repressions, attempted to pay the authors small com- targeting among others, diaspora nation- pensation [14, 119]. The management of alities followed Mikhail Kirov’s murder the publishing house asked help from com- in 1934 [15, 311]. Among the victims of munist leader Mikhail Kalinin who had repressions were also the most well-known worked in Tallinn at the beginning of the authors of “Külvaja” Jaan Anvelt and Hans century, to organise subsidies for the pub- Pöögelmann, who were killed correspond- lishing house in 1929. This request received ingly in 1937 and in 1938 [25]. a positive answer and financial help was allocated to “Külvaja” [23, 67]. After the The Book Production policy of NEP came to an end in 1928, the by “Külvaja” property of private entrepreneurs was hand- The production of Külvaja enfolds 484 ti- ed to the state and thus “Külvaja” obtained tles, which forms 46 per cent of all the book a small printing office [1, 38]. The so-called titles issued in the Estonian language [21, socialist offensive in the end of the 1920s 216]. Chart 1 demonstrates the dynamics and in the beginning of the 1930s brought of book title production by “Külvaja”. Dur- along the abolition of market and centrali- ing the first years of its existence the pro- sation. The publishing activities were also duction of the publishing house was rather reformed and the Association of State Pub- modest. Since 1927 the title production in- lishing Houses (OGIZ) was established in creased slightly, but the notable rise arrived 1930. Due to the reorganisation “Külvaja” in 1931 after “Külvaja” became the sole became the only publisher of books in the publisher of Estonian-language books.

121 Chart 1. Title production of the publishing house “Külvaja”

The analysis of the production by sub- the ethnic ties to project influence abroad jects demonstrates the domination of po- [15, 321]. This included the distribution of litical literature, forming 20% of all the propaganda publications. titles. Works by Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin The political publications issued by and about their theories form 11%, 17% “Külvaja” included mostly materials of the of the titles treated agriculture, 10% − fic- Communist Party congresses, conferences tion and another 10% were books on his- and pamphlets for agitation. The publica- tory and on natural sciences. The majority tions by Estonian authors on this subject of the titles were translations from the Rus- largely criticised the living conditions in sian language; still, on every subject a small the independent Republic of Estonia and number of titles by Estonian authors were idealised the situation in the Soviet Union. also issued. This comparison had to demonstrate the The political literature was targeted to Estonian readers in the Soviet Union the the local Estonian-language inhabitants horrors of life in Estonia and convince the but also to the population of Estonia. The readers in Estonia in the prosperous future Soviet Union’s western national minori- after the communist revolution. For exam- ties were meant to serve as attractive com- ple, the book “The Baltic States and the munist examples for their ethnic brethren Preparations of an Anti-Soviet War” (1929) abroad, official policy attempted to exploit contained outrageous lies about the situa-

122 tion in Estonia. Even the cultural society 1925 with the aim to collect and publish Fenno-Ugria was accused in preparing the material on the history of the communist invasion to the Soviet Union. movement in Estonia [4]. One of the most The authors of these books were mainly notable publications from the Historical quite well known figures of revolutionary Board was the collection of memoirs and movement, orthodox communists Hans documents “The Year 1905 in Estonia”, Pöögelmann, Jaan Anvelt etc. They were published in 1926. This book is rich in embittered by their loss in 1918 and espe- facts and data on the events of the revolu- cially by the failure of the communist armed tion, but suffers from the typical feature of revolt on December 1, 1924 with the aim the majority of books, issued in the Soviet to overthrow the Estonian government and Union – one-sidedness of the treatment, to establish the Soviet power. In their books intolerance towards all the other political they also treated the development of the Es- movements and actors than communists. tonian communist movement. Since 1928 “Külvaja” started to publish As the Estonian book researcher and textbooks, which earlier had been published bibliographer Richard Antik wrote in his by the central state publishing houses. article [2, 172], the number of political and These had been unable to produce enough propaganda publications was in fact much books to supply the schools in sufficient larger, because all the Soviet publications quantity. The situation improved since the were saturated with politics. beginning of the 1930s, when the official Three quarters of the publications on ag- publishing policy fostered the publication riculture were published during the period of of textbooks. “Külvaja” issued mostly text- collectivisation in the years 1930–1933 and books for primary schools, but besides that gave instructions for organising the collec- numerous textbooks for adults were also tive farms. In addition to these publications published. The majority of the publications practical handbooks on various branches of on natural sciences (83%) and on linguis- agriculture were published. tics were textbooks. The books on history included the series Typical of the Soviet publishing system “Topics of the Estonian Literary History in were the large print runs of the publica- the Archives of the Russian Autocracy”. tions, the average print-run of Estonian- The series include publications of archival language books exceeded 2000 copies. The sources, prepared for publications by Jaan print-runs of political publications were Depman, professor of history. It was, in even larger, the largest print-runs reaching principle, a valuable series although the 40 000 copies [21, 215]. The publications material was chosen one-sidedly. were distributed in accordance with the The Historical Board of the Estonian orders from schools, education boards, co- Communist Party had been established in operatives, etc. As “Külvaja” did not have

123 its own bookshop, the rest of the print- of their activities. For example, in the letter run was distributed from the publishing addressed to the Society of Estonian Litera- house and temporary kiosks. “Külvaja” ture from April 21, 1924, Lilienbach asked also had contracts with other publishers the society to send him the lists of books who had bookshops. Although promotion with prices as well as samples of books. In his campaigns were organised to increase cir- turn he had attached some books by “Külva- culation, a large share of books remained ja” and the list of “Külvaja’s” publications to unsold in the 1920s. As a result the debt the letter [3, l 2]. of “Külvaja” extended to 15 000 roubles in Jaan Leoke was the first to respond and 1929 [1, 38]. Later the dissemination grew became an active partner of “Külvaja”. But wider, new selling points were established later also “Noor-Eesti” and the Society of and agents recruited in the villages. In 1933 Estonian Literature established contacts “Külvaja” concluded contracts with more with Lilienbach. Due to the changes in the than a hundred collective farms about sup- management, the Society of Estonian Lit- plying their libraries [1, 41]. erature answered Lilienbach only after his following reference in 1926, expressing its The Exchange of Books willingness to start the business contacts with Estonia with “Külvaja” [3, l 8]. This demonstrates The production of “Külvaja” was distribut- Lilienbach’s tenacity in acquiring new pub- ed also in Estonia, which was in accordance lications from Estonia, his wide interest in with the aim to propagate communist ideas its literary development and desire to en- in the other countries. But at the same time rich the repertoire available to the Estonian the publishing house “Külvaja” also bought readers in the Soviet Russia. The books books from Estonia and organised the ex- acquired by “Külvaja” were distributed in change of Estonian-language books be- St. Petersburg, but also in smaller Estonian tween the two countries. This was initiated settlements. Lilienbach was also interested by the head of “Külvaja” Juhan Lilienbach in obtaining books for the archival collec- in 1923–1924. tion of Estonian and Baltic publications of Lilienbach turned to the Estonian pub- the publishing house “Külvaja” [6, 20/90]. lisher “Noor-Eesti”, the Society of Estonian The content of books which were ordered Literature, which was the major publisher of from Estonia was quite varied, including fic- quality books during this period and book- tion, scholarly publications, publications on seller and publisher Jaan Leoke. These insti- agriculture, textbooks of music, dictionaries tutions had been established at the beginning and other reference works, books on Esto- of the 20th century when Lilienbach was in nian grammar, literary journals, etc. But the head of the publishing house “Mõte”. the most popular were the editions of plays, Thus Lilienbach knew them and was aware which were used by amateur theatre groups.

124 Naturally not all the plays published in Es- The Estonian publishers ordered fiction tonia were considered suitable for the Soviet and scholarly works on history, philology as stage. Lilienbach gave instructions for the well as periodical publications. The Society Estonian partners, which kind of content of Estonian Literature was also interested was unsuitable in the Soviet Union: Chris- in Russian-language monographs on writ- tian, nationalist, reactionary, anti-Soviet or ers and history of literature as well as refer- esoteric [6, 20/88–89], books by the French ence works [3, 34, 37]. Jaan Leoke owned author A. France and publications treating a large archival collection of Estonian pub- heredity [18, 12]. Still, it is noteworthy, that lications which he had inherited from his the orders contained some books on history father [7, 12]. Thus he wished, in addition and contemporary developments, which to other orders, to acquire one copy of all were clearly “anti-Soviet” in their nature, for the Estonian-language publications issued example, “Soviet Russia and the Attempts to by “Külvaja” in order to complete his col- Implement Communism in 1917–1934” by lection. Ed. Laamann [3, 28]. This kind of literature The Estonian publishers were also of- was obviously necessary for the “counter- fered the Estonian-language publications propaganda” and served as a source for the issued at the beginning of the 20th century, propaganda writings by the Estonian com- before the in 1917, munists. which were stored in the warehouse of “Külvaja” either bought the books for “Külvaja”. foreign currency or exchanged them page- After the death of Juhan Lilienbach for-page. There were periods, when the in 1928 the most active period in the ex- supply of foreign currency was limited or change of books came to an end. The new lacking, but there were also times, when the head of “Külvaja” Villem Reiman had no orders from “Külvaja” were of great impor- former ties with the Estonian publishing tance for the economic survival of the Esto- circles and he was obviously not interested nian partner. For example, the orders from in contacts with “White” Estonia, repre- “Külvaja” helped Jaan Leoke to overcome senting a more orthodox wing of the Esto- the worst economic hardships for many nian communists. For example, Jaan Leoke times, paying him money in advance (in sent many letters to “Külvaja” after he had the amount of 200 dollars) [7, 32]. “Külva- learned about the death of Juhan Lilienbach ja” ordered fiction, especially plays and from the newspaper “Edasi”, expressing the agricultural literature in quite large quan- wish to continue the exchange of books, tities, reaching 100–200 copies. The plays but received no answer [7, 32, 34–37]. In published by Jaan Leoke were sold quickly the end of the 1920s and in the beginning and additional orders were sent to Estonia of the 1930s there were strong collisions [6, 9/75, 18/83]. between different groups of Estonian com-

125 munists and intelligentsia, living in the So- Thus the Estonian-language publishing viet Russia. Some writers were accused of centres, which acted under different politi- being “nationalist democrats” by the more cal regimes, were not totally isolated. The orthodox authors. They were condemned exchange of books benefited both sides: the for using modern Estonian language, deriv- Estonian diaspora in the Soviet Union was ing from the “White” Republic of Estonia able to follow the renewal of the Estonian and for the ties with Estonian “bourgeois” language (although it was not accepted by literature and writers [27, 8–11]. This at- the orthodox communists) and be in touch mosphere obviously had a negative impact with the development of the Estonian lit- on the book-exchange with Estonia. erature and science, the same applies to the However, the Estonian publishers made publishing and scholarly circles in Estonia. further attempts to restore the contacts in the middle of the 1930s when the publishing The Estonian Section of the house “Külvaja” had already merged with the Publishing Society of Foreign Publishing Society of Foreign Workers of the Workers of the USSR (1934–1937) USSR. The former printing office of “Külvaja” On February 1, 1934 the independent pub- was still operating under the same name and lishing house “Külvaja” became part of the the Society of Estonian Literature and Jaan Leningrad department of the Publishing Leoke approached the enterprise with the Society of Foreign Workers of the USSR. proposition to exchange books in 1935–1936 It was reformed into the Estonian Section [7, 27/101; 3, 22]. Both propositions re- of this department, led by Villem Reiman ceived a positive reaction by the printing office [28, 2]. By that time the favourable attitude “Külvaja” and exchange of books was carried towards the cultural institutions of ethnic out until the repressions of 1937. minorities was replaced by suspicions and But the exchange of books with the accusations, leading to ethnic cleansing and Estonian institutions in the middle of the repressions. 1930s was even wider. The Estonian Sec- The Estonian Section issued political tion of the Publishing Society of Foreign and literary periodical publications, includ- Workers of the USSR exchanged books ing the newspaper “Edasi”. Publishing of with the Estonian National Museum and Estonian-language textbooks became the the Estonian Publishing Community in task of the Publishing House of Textbooks Tallinn [30, 134]. and Pedagogical Literature (Utchpedgiz) In addition to the official contacts be- [28, 16]. tween the publishers of Estonia and the The department of distribution of Soviet Union, the publications treating the “Külvaja” was liquidated and all the book issues of communist movement were trans- production of the Estonian Section was dis- ported to Estonia illegally. tributed through the all union book-selling

126 organisation [28, 21], at the same time the propositions very thoroughly, especially the periodical publications were distributed by future publications of Marxist-Leninist lit- the special all-union system. Due to the reor- erature. For example, the Estonian Section ganisation of the distribution system the larg- was forbidden to issue six collections of ar- est share of the print run of books was sold in ticles by V. I. Lenin and J. Stalin because St. Petersburg and in the surrounding region, no publications with similar composition the other Estonian settlements received only had been published in the some copies of the books [30, 13]. [31, 78]. In addition to periodical publications The section operated with a planned the Estonian Section issued 118 titles of loss and received subsidies from the man- books: in 1934 – 27 titles, in 1935 – 37 agement of the Publishing Society of For- titles, in 1936 – 38 titles and in 1937 – eign Workers of the USSR in the amount 16 titles [21, 216]. The book production of 150 000 roubles and from the sector of included literature on Marxism-Leninism, periodical publications (55 000 roubles) books propagating the Soviet Union as well for issuing the newspaper “Edasi”. Despite as publications on agriculture. Due to the these subsidies the section felt constant eco- deficit of Estonian-language fiction and nomic hardships and was unable to pay its books for children, the Bureau of the Com- partners in time. Therefore additional sub- munist Party Committee of the Leningrad sidies were required from the Leningrad So- District gave the Estonian Section orders to viet of the Deputies of the Working People increase the output of these types of litera- [31, 36–37]. The soviet donated the- sec ture in 1935 [28, 60, 77]. The production tion 50 000 roubles for the year 1936 [31, books for children reached its peak in 1936 38], but the requirement of the additional when nine titles were issued; eight of them subsidy for the next year resulted in a huge were translations from Russian and one – bureaucratic correspondence – neither the “Gulliver in Lilliput” by J. Swift – transla- communist party organs nor the soviet tion from the English language. No books institutions were willing to support the by Estonian authors were published for section. At last the Leningrad Soviet allo- children, but adult fiction included some cated the subsidy in the amount of 65 000 titles by Hans Pöögelmann, Valter Juhkum roubles, but annulled it only shortly after- and others. wards. These circumstances led to conflicts The Estonian Section had to co-ordinate with the printing office “Külvaja”, who was its publishing plans with the management of unwilling to take orders from the section. the Publishing Society of Foreign Workers The debt of the section to the printing of- of the USSR, the work with a manuscript fice reached to 52 461 roubles [31, 38]. could not begin without its corroboration. The Estonian Section found no measures The Moscow officials controlled all the for increasing the income – it was consid-

127 Chart 2. Annual title production of Estonian-language books in St. Petersburg in 1918–1937 ered politically harmful to raise the price of lowing chart, compiled on the basis of data the newspaper “Edasi”, the small number presented in the article by K. Robert [21, of new book titles issued by the section re- 216] demonstrates the dynamics of annual sulted in limited sales. The economic decay production. of the section led to the sequestration of its The presented figures demonstrate fluctu- bank account [31, 39–41]. This coincided ant level of Estonian-language book publish- with the political hostility against the di- ing with certain ascents in 1919 and in 1925 aspora nationalities and their institutions. with the following downfalls. The high spot Thus publishing of all Estonian-language was reached in 1931–1933 when accordingly publications, including the newspaper 114 and 132 titles were issued. Together with “Edasi” came to a halt in the beginning of the liquidation of the independent publish- 1938 [29, 25]. ing house “Külvaja” the annual title produc- The total title production of -Estoni tion decreased considerably. After 1937 only an-language books in St. Petersburg in few Estonian-language publications were 1918–1937 includes 899 titles. The fol- printed in all the Soviet Union.

128 Conclusions The majority of books treated Marxism- Leninism or popularised life in the Soviet The activities of ethnic minorities- de Union. In addition to political books fic- pended on the general political situation in tion, textbooks and practical publications the country, on the national policy, which on agriculture were also published. But moved from favourable disposition in the despite the content of the publications, the 1920s to the notion of the “enemy nation” publishing and distribution of Estonian- in the 1930s. The books in non-Russian language books helped to maintain the languages were used for propagating the national identity of Estonians, living in the Soviet ideology and the publishing activ- Soviet Union. Textbooks in the Estonian ity of diaspora nationalities was allowed as language were inevitable for the existence long as it was considered necessary and use- of the Estonian schools, publications of fic- ful by the Communist Party and the Soviet tion – a precondition for cultural activities, authorities. etc. All these publications enabled the Es- The content and design of the Estonian- tonian minority in the Soviet Union to live language printed matter issued in the So- an active life using their mother tongue, viet Union reflects the political, economical which has helped to preserve the Estonian- and cultural developments in the country. language settlements up to the present day.

REFERENCES 1. AGARMAA, Ülle. Eestikeelse raamatu dis aastail 1934–1937. Keel ja Kirjandus, 1983, väljaandmine NSV Liidus 1922–1934. aastal. nr. 12, lk. 692–694. Eesti Kirjastuse Ühisus ja kirjastus “Külvaja”. Di- 6. H. ja J. Leokese kirjastuse ja raamatu­ plomitöö. Tallinn: Tallinna Pedagoogiline Insti- kaupluse kirjavahetus “Külvaja” kirjastusega (J. tuut, 1967. Lilienbach) 4. 04. 1924–3. 08. 1936. Eesti Kir- 2. ANTIK, Richard. Eestikeelne raamat jandusmuuseum, Eesti Kultuurilooline Arhiiv. Nõukogude Venes. Eesti Kirjandus, 1939, F 224, m 60: 29. nr. 4, lk.166–177; nr. 5, lk. 226–235; nr. 6, 7. H. ja J. Leokese raamatukaupluse kirjava­ lk. 266–275. hetus kirjastusega “Külvaja” 1925–1939. Eesti 3. Eesti Kirjanduse Seltsi ja “Külvaja” kir­ jastuse (J. Lilienbach) Leningradis kirjavahetus Kirjandusmuuseum, Eesti Kultuurilooline Ar- 21.04.1924– 5.6.1936. Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum, hiiv. F 224, m 44: 7. Eesti Kultuurilooline Arhiiv. F 16, m 120: 7. 8. KAHU, Meelik. Eesti ajakirjandusest 4. Eestimaa Kommunistliku Partei Ajaloo NSV Liidus 1917–1937 ja selle kaastöölistest. Komisjon. Eesti Nõukogude Entsüklopeedia, 2. Keel ja Kirjandus, 1977, nr. 11, lk. 671–678. kd. Tallinn: Valgus, 1970, lk.34. 9. KAPRAL, L. Nõukogude Liidus ilmunud 5. ERTIS, Eduard. Välismaatööliste Kirjas- eestikeelne raamat 1918–1937. Kursusetöö. Tal- tusühisuse eesti sektsiooni tegevusest Leningra- linn: Tallinna Pedagoogiline Instituut, 1973.

129 10. KUDDO, Arvo; LAAS, Kaljo. Rahvas- 23. RUDNEV, Daniel. Silmapaistev revo- tik. Eesti Entsüklopeedia. 11. kd. Tallinn: Eesti lutsionäär. M. I. Kalinini 100. sünniaastapäe- Entsüklopeediakirjastus, 2002, lk. 244–265. vaks. Eesti Kommunist, 1975, nr. 11, lk. 61–68. ISBN 9985701151. 24. SHNEER, David. Who Owns the Me- 11. KUULI, Olaf; TOOM, Vello. EKP KK ans of Cultural Production? The Soviet Yiddish Välismaa Büroo (1919–1937). Töid EKP aja­ Publishing Industry of the 1920s. Book History, loo alalt. 4. kd. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1970, 2003, vol. 6, p. 197–226. lk. 107–123. 25. SUURKASK, Heiki. Hea kommunist on 12. Lilienbach, Juhan. Eesti kirjanike leksi­ surnud kommunist. Eesti Päevaleht, 2007, 22. 09. kon. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 2000, lk. 294–295. 26. URGART, Oskar. Eesti kirjandus ISBN 9985-65-271-1. SSSR-is. Looming, 1934, nr. 4, lk. 300–308. 13. LUKIN, August. Meie kirjanduse valmis- 27. Издательское Товарищество Иностранных tamise töökojast. Leegid, 1931, nr. 4, lk. 33–44. Рабочих в СССР. Планы изданий и протоколы 14. MAAMÄGI, Viktor. Uut elu ehitamas. заседании Эстонской секции. Центральный Госу- Eesti vähemusrahvus NSV liidus 1917–1940. дарственный Архив Литературы и Искусства Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 1980. 184 lk. Санкт Петербурга. Фонд 291, опись 1, дело 6. 15. MARTIN, Terry Dean. The affirma­ 28. Издательское Товарищество Иностран- tive action empire: nations and nationalism in ных Рабочих в СССР. Переписка с правлением the Soviet Union, 1923–1939. Ithaca; London: и учреждениями о передаче издательства „Кюлвая“ Cornell University Press, 2001. 496 p. ISBN Ленинградскому Отделению 13.02–15.12.1934. 0801438136. Центральный Государственный Архив Ли- 16. NIINOJA, Vello. Eestikeelne trükisõna тературы и Искусства Санкт Петербурга. NSVLiidus sotsialistliku ülesehitustöö algusaas- Фонд 291, опись 1, дело 63. tatel. Eesti Kommunist, 1981, nr. 7, lk. 45–49. 29. Издательское Товарищество Иностран- 17. NIINOJA, Vello. Kominterni Eesti sekt- ных Рабочих в СССР. Переписка с правлением и siooni kirjastustegevusest Nõukogude Liidus. партийными организациями об издании литерату- Eesti Kommunist, 1984, nr. 6, lk. 56–58. ры на эстонском языке 1934–1937. Ч. 1. Цент- 18. “Noor-Eesti” kirjastuse kirjavahetus “Kül­ ральный Государственный Архив Литерату- vaja” kirjastusega (J. Lilienbach) 2. 03. 1924– ры и Искусства Санкт Петербурга. Фонд 291, 31. 08. 1928. Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum, Eesti опись 1, дело 78. Kultuurilooline Arhiiv. F 92, m 297: 4. 30. Издательское Товарищество Иностранных 19. REIMAN, Hugo. Eestlaste arv Venes. Рабочих в СССР. Переписка с правлением и партий- Eesti Statistika, 1930, nr. 4, lk.193–197. ными организациями об издании литературы на эс- 20. ROBERT, Kyra. Eestikeelne trükis- тонском языке 1934–1937. Ч. 2. Центральный Го- õna Siberis. Keel ja Kirjandus, 1970, nr. 7, сударственный Архив Литературы и Искусства lk. 405–412. Санкт Петербурга. Фонд 291, опись 1, дело 79. 21. ROBERT, Kyra. Eestikeelne trükisõna 31. Издательское Товарищество Иностран- Nõukogude Liidus 1918–1940 : Raamatuajalo- ных Рабочих в СССР. Переписка с правлением и oline ülevaade. Keel ja Kirjandus, 1975, nr. 4, партийными организациями об издании литерату- lk. 208–217; nr. 6, lk. 332–343. ры на эстонском языке 1934–1937. Ч. 3. Цент- 22. ROSENBERG, Tiit. Jakob Palvadre. ральный Государственный Архив Литерату- Eesti ajalugu elulugudes. Tallinn: Olion, 1997, ры и Искусства Санкт Петербурга. Фонд 291, lk. 132–133. ISBN 9985660811. опись 1, дело 80.

130 ESTŲ LEIDYBINĖ VEIKLA SANKT PETERBURGE TARPUKARIO LAIKOTARPIU (1918–1937) AILE MÖLDRE, TIIU REIMO Santrauka 1926 metų visuotinio gyventojų surašymo duo- dybos sistemos trūkumai – popieriaus ir spaus- menimis, Sovietų Sąjungoje gyveno per 150 000 tuvių stygius, bloga medžiagų kokybė, sklaidos estų. Jie sudarė vieną gausiausių šalies mažumų. sunkumai. Leidėjai negalėjo laiku sumokėti au- Dauguma jų gyveno Sankt Peterburge ir aplin- toriams ar spaustuvėms. Subsidijos dažniausiai kiniuose regionuose. Todėl Sankt Peterburgas buvo vienintelis būdas išspręsti problemą. (tuomet – Leningradas) tapo svarbiausiu litera- Ketvirtojo dešimtmečio viduryje sovietų tūros estų kalba leidybos centru Sovietų Rusijo- mažumų politika pasikeitė ir palankų požiū- je. Trečiajame dešimtmetyje komunistų partija rį išstūmė priešiškumas, netgi etninis Sovietų ir sovietų valdžia rėmė kultūros produkciją viso- Sąjungos mažumų diasporų valymas ir nacio- mis sovietų kalbomis. Kartu su NEP’o politika nalinių institucijų draudimas. Dėl to 1934 m. tai sukūrė palankias sąlygas steigti nacionalines buvo likviduota leidykla „Külvaja“. Leidyba estų leidyklas. Estų leidybinė draugija buvo įkurta kalba 1934–1937 m. vyko mažesniu mastu – ja 1922 m. ir veikė kaip svarbiausia knygų leidybos rūpinosi SSRS Užsienio darbininkų leidybinės estų kalba institucija ligi 1925 metų. Jos pro- draugijos Estų sekcija. 1937 m. sekcija buvo dukcija apima daugiausia politinius leidinius, uždaryta dėl naujos represijų bangos. Tarp aukų vadovėlius ir grožinę literatūrą. Dėl ekonominių buvo ir pagrindiniai Estijos komunistų vadovai. sunkumų kompanija bankrutavo 1926 metais. Sovietų Rusijoje leistos knygos estų kalba Po šio bankroto leidykla „Külvaja“, vei- buvo platinamos ir Estijos Respublikoje. Juha- kusi šiuo vardu nuo 1922 m., tapo didžiau- nas Lilienbachas, pirmasis „Külvaja“ vadovas, sia knygų estų kalba leidykla. Jos produkciją inicijavo knygų mainus su įvairiais Estijos leidė- 1922–1934 m. sudarė 484 knygos. Produkcija jais. Jis taip pat pirko knygas iš Estijos, kad pa- tipiška tam laikotarpiui: marksizmo-leninizmo pildytų estų knygų, platinamų per šią leidyklą, ir propagandinė literatūra, grožinė literatūra, asortimentą. Po J. Lilienbacho mirties mainai vadovėliai, praktiniai vadovai ir kt. Būdinga tai, apmirė, bet buvo atgaivinti ketvirtajame dešim- kad sovietinės leidyklos leido knygas dideliais tmetyje, kai „Külvaja“ spaustuvė ir Estų sekcija tiražais. Vidutinis knygų estų kalba tiražas buvo pradėjo bendrauti su Estijos kompanijomis. 2000 egzempliorių. Abiem leidykloms vadovavo Leidybą estų kalba Sovietų Sąjungoje vei- Estijos komunistai – žmonės, kurie pasitraukė kė politinės sąlygos, o jos buvo palankiausios į Rusiją, kai komunistai pralaimėjo nepriklau- politinės literatūros leidybai. Kiti literatūros somybės karą. Tą patį galima pasakyti apie pa- tipai – grožinė literatūra, vadovėliai, praktiniai grindinius autorius ir vertėjus, kurie su jais ben- vadovai – taip pat buvo pažymėti marksistinės- dradarbiavo. Jie palaikė marksizmo-leninizmo lenininės ideologijos ženklu. Tačiau estų mažu- idėjas ir propagavo sovietinį gyvenimo būdą. mai buvo svarbu skaityti knygas gimtąja kalba, Estų leidykloms būdingi bendri sovietinės lei- kuri sudarė nacionalinės kultūros pagrindą.

Įteikta 2008 m. kovo mėn.

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