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Social Democracy & State Foundation: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

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Social Democracy & State Foundation: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania Social Democracy & State Foundation Estonia Latvia Lithuania SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND STATE FOUNDATION ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA Table of content Foreword: Social Democracy and the Founding of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Tobias Mörschel . 2 Authors . .. 4 The Inception of Social Democracy and Statehood in Estonia Tõnu Ints / Kristjan Saharov . .5 1 | Social Democracy prior to Independence . 7 2 | The Road to Independence . 15 3 | Building the New State . 27 4 | The Subsequent Role of the Social Democrats . 39 5 | A Look Back at the Achievements of the Social Democrats . 48 Literature . 51 Latvian Statehood and Social Democracy Ivars Ījabs . 53 1 | The New Agenda: Socialism and Latvian National Movement . .. 57 2 | Social Democracy and Statehood . 73 3 | Social Democracy and 18 November . 85 4 | The LSDSP and the Independent State . .. 93 5 | The Demise and Legacy of the LSDSP . 107 6 | Conclusion . 113 Literature . 118 Social Democracy in the Formation of the Modern Lithuanian State Gintaras Mitrulevičius . 119 1 | Historical Context of Lithuanian Social Democracy and Ideological-Programmatic Assumptions and Political Aspirations . .. 121 2 | Role of the Social Democrats in the (Re)Construction of the Lithuanian State (1914–1919) . 139 3 | Social Democracy in the Consolidation of Lithuanian Statehood (1920–1922) . 153 Literature . 163 Summaries of the country studies . 165 1 SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND STATE FOUNDATION Foreword Social Democracy and the Founding of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Nineteen eighteen was a pivotal year in the history of the Baltic states . Estonia and Latvia achieved statehood and independence for the first time and Lithuania regained them after a long interruption . The proclamation and founding of the three republics occurred at the end of the First World War when the map of Europe was being reshaped and democratisation was surging across the board . The large multi-ethnic states, such as the Habsburg Monarchy, the Russian Tsardom and the Ottoman Empire collapsed and numerous states in northern, central and eastern Europe achieved (nation) state- hood for the first time or regained it (after a long time). The social democratic parties were among the main driving forces of this broad-based Europe-wide democratisation of state and society, as well as of state formation . This applies in particular to the Baltic states . Even though in many cases this newly acquired sovereignty was very short-lived or for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania lasted only until the early 1940s, when the map of Europe was redrawn in the wake of the Hitler-Stalin Pact and the Second World War the state foundations of 1918 were key events in terms of these countries’ historical and contemporary identities . Furthermore, they served as important points of reference in the creation of a new European order of states after the Cold War had ended . In keep- ing with this, large-scale centenary celebrations were planned to mark the founding of all three Baltic states in 1918 . 2 ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA The present publication is the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s contribution to this special celebration . With the three country studies we would like to shed light on the contri- bution of the social democratic parties to the emergence and formation processes of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. We would like to inquire into the role and significance of the social democratic parties in the formation of these states . What social democratic values and ideas found their way into the constitutional systems of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania? How successful were social democrats in elections and, as the case may be, in government? What kinds of exchange took place with the social democratic parties of other countries? And finally, is there anything from that time that still remains today? In order to provide some orientation in a wider international historical and geo- graphical context brief summaries of other country studies may be found at the end of the publication concerning states also founded at that time . The states examined range from Iceland to Georgia and include, besides the Baltic states, Finland, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Austria and Belarus . In this way we would like to provide a broad panorama of the multifarious ways, detours and sometimes false paths taken in the process of state formation 100 years ago, as well as the contribution of social democracy 1. Comparing the three Baltic states reveals quite a few similarities but also many differences. We very much hope that with these three country studies we can restore to historical memory much that had been forgotten, thus making it possible to carry out a more comprehensive assess- ment of that time, not least as regards its importance for the present . Tobias Mörschel Director, FES Baltic States 1 . All 14 country studies are being published in book form in 2019: Tobias Mörschel (ed ):. Social Democracy and State Foundation. The emergence of a new European state landscape after the First World War, Bonn 2019 . 3 SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND STATE FOUNDATION Authors Ivars Ījabs is a Latvian political scientist and commentator, an associate Professor at the University of Latvia . His research interests include the history of political ideas, nationalism, as well as interethnic relations in Central and Eastern Europe . He is the au- thor of several books on political theory and Latvian politics, as well as many scholarly articles . Ijabs has studied philosophy and political science in Latvia, Germany an Ice- land . He is one of the most well-known political and cultural commentators in Latvia . Tõnu Ints studied history at the University of Tartu 1987–1990 . Since 2000 Tõnu Ints has been head of the Johannes Mihkelson Centre in Tartu . In 1990 Tõnu Ints was one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party of Estona (SDE) and is still a member of the party executive . In 2005–2017 he was a member and chair of the Social Democratic group in Tartu city council . Tõnu Ints has also reseached and published on the history of the SDE . Gintaras Mitrulevičius is a historian and lecturer in history and political science . He has done scientific research in the field of the history of left ideology and left move- ments in Lithuania and Europe and written a monograph on the ideological-political development of Lithuanian social democracy 1914-1919 (Vilnius, 2017) and is the au- thor of numerous other scientific and popular publications. Kristjan Saharov studied modern history at the University of Tartu . His research inte- rests include the stance of the Estonian Socialist Revolutionary Party on the question of state independence 1914–1918, as well as the attitude of the foreign wing of the Estonian Socialist Party towards the Soviet Union after the Second World War . Saharov is currently working as Collections Manager at the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallinn . 4 ESTONIA Session of the Estonian Constituent Assembly in 1919. Estonia. The speaker is the chairman of Estonian Constituent Assembly, August Rei. Photo: Rahvusarhiiv. 5 SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND STATE FOUNDATION The editorial board of Teataja and the family of Mihkel Martna in 1903. Estonia’s left-wing thinkers at this time could still all be fitted into one picture. Seated: first on the left Ants Laikmaa and on the right the last editor of the newspaper, Konstantin Päts. At the back, Hans Pöögelmann (with full beard) and Eduard Vilde (with cigarette) are standing next to each other, next to him, Johannes Voldemar Veski and Mihkel Martna are leaning against the sofa. Photo: Rahvusarhiiv. 6 ESTONIA 1 | SOCIAL DEMOCRACY PRIOR TO INDEPENDENCE 7 SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND STATE FOUNDATION 1.1 Beginnings of the Social Democratic Movement Estonia has a complex and colourful history . After the German-Danish expansion in the thirteenth century, Estonia was also ruled by Sweden and Poland . Starting in 1710, Estonia and most of modern-day Latvia were part of the Russian Empire . The latter half of the nineteenth century saw a national and cultural awakening, although Estonia remained predominantly a peasant society . Social democratic ideas reached Estonia in the late nineteenth century from Russia and Germany . The best known disseminator of these ideas was Mihkel Martna, origi- nally a painter from Tartu . Martna’s views proceeded mainly from German social dem- ocratic models. Different kinds of organisation were used to spread the ideas, many at first glance having no links with politics; in Tartu, for example, one such association was the Taara bicycling society . In Tallinn, activity revolved around the recently founded newspaper Teataja . Clearly, party-like organisations also emerged, mainly part of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) . In 1903, a schism developed in the leadership of the RSDLP, resulting in two wings, the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks, leading to ideological strife and organisational division . In Estonia, the rift in the party was not particularly significant. The 1905 split into federalists and centrists was more important . Federalists envisioned the RSDLP as a federation of national parties, with Russia becoming a federal republic in future, with Estonia as one of its constituent states . The centralists considered the correct course to be to remain part of the RSDLP and preservation of the centralised party structure . The best known centralists were Aleksander Kesküla, Mihkel Martna, Hans Pöögelmann, Karl Ast and August Rei . The same year, federalists also formed, besides the RSDLP organisations, the Estonian Social Democratic Workers Unity (ESDWU), which raised the national question and brought up the issue of the special social and economic char- acter of the Baltic states. The leading figures in this camp were the writer Eduard Vilde, Peeter Speek and Gottlieb Ast . 8 ESTONIA MIHKEL MARTNA (1860–1934) Mihkel Martna, often called the father of Estonian social de- mocracy, was born in Lääne county in 1860. In 1878 he moved to Tallinn and learned to paint under the German master Cayé.
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