A Nation State Doomed to Fall. Soviet Historiography, Narrative Identity and the Republic of Estonia (1918–1940)




Pertti Grönholm

Priit Raudkivi, Mart Seppel

Tallinn

2009

Sõnasse püütud minevik. In honorem Enn Tarvel

363

387

978-9949-438-60-0



In this article I attempt to present and analyze some of the most essential Soviet narrative themes and argumentative techniques which were guiding the Soviet Estonian historians in their efforts to write coherent Marxist-Leninist popular texts on the contemporary history of estonia. The focus of the article is on the Soviet  narratives on the Republic of Estonia (1918-40). The official Soviet narratives were introduced in three major Soviet Estonian popular history textbooks, published in 1952, 1957 and 1955-71. 

I shall surface some recurring narrative topics and themes. In addition, I shall contextualize and analyze the most important ideological, rhetorical and methodological changes regarding the Marxist-Leninist narratives on the history of the interwar Estonia. In the latter part of the article, I shall pinpoint the Soviet argument on the claimed artificiality, instability and inviability of the Republic of Estonia, which constituted the argumentative backbone of the Soviet historiography on Estonia.




Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 15:19