THROUGH THE WARPED LENS OF TIME

THREE IMAGES OF KONSTANTIN PÄTS THROUGHOUT 20TH CENTURY HISTORY

WINT 2015

BALTIC HISTORY Georgia Gilbert

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Table of Contents

Introduction: Who was Päts?..........................................................................................................2

Timeline for Konstantin Päts…………………………………………………………………..…4

Propagandized:

The Misrepresentation of Konstantin Päts in Estonia before Independence………………….….6

Figures of Authority:

The Projected Image of Konstantin Päts during his Regime…………………………….…...….11

The Destruction of History through the Construction of History:

Konstantin Päts in Soviet Historiography…………………………………………………..…....19

Comprehensive Bibliography…………………………………………………………………....24

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Introduction: Who was Päts?

As a history undergraduate I often find myself confronted with the philosophical issues

that come along with studying people – can someone ever truly understand other person enough

to be able to confidently say they know who they are? To be able to write about them? Historians

attempt it, in any case. When we take a step back, however, we are able to see that for the most

part we view not the person as they are but as historians and writers have attempted to portray

him. This is especially true for powerful people throughout history: without asking a person why

they chose to be represented as they did and what we can glean from this we still make

judgments about their actions and character, which is tragic in and of itself. It is especially

horrible when dealing with people in power of little popularity in modern historiography,

because instead of attempting to find the truth for ourselves we often accept what has been

handed to us so that we can move on to topics we deem more interesting – Soviet Russia, Nazi

Germany, and Empire. Konstantin Päts, the dictator of Estonia from 1934 to 1940, is one such

person mostly unknown to the masses whose true character has been lost between the pages of

decaying government documents, photographs, and tragically untouched books.

So who was Konstantin Päts? His contemporaries would tell you that he is a socialist, a

Marxist, a radical reactionary who believes in Bolshevism. Later Estonian historians during the

Soviet occupation would have you believe that he is a radical fascist dictator who led Estonians

in the example of Mussolini and Hitler against the true will of the people and in denial of the true

class struggle. The question of “who is Konstantin Päts really?” has rarely been fully explored in

modern English language historiography – at least not in the sense that is truly independent of

attempted political propagandas. All we really can say is this: in 1874 a man was born in

Tahkuranna Parish in the Pärnu district of the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire

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along the coast of the Baltic Sea. His mother and father, Jakob and Olga, named him Konstantin

and had him baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church in his parish. This child of a low-class

peasant family would later grow up to be one of the most influential leaders of the Estonian

nation, then fall tragically back down with the Soviet occupation of his country that led to his

arrest, imprisonment, and later death. In these essays I hope to show that Konstantin Päts cannot

and should not be placed under the popular labels of socialist or fascist by modern historians, and

that perhaps if we look close enough we can try to place ourselves in his shoes to gain insight as

to his true beliefs and character.

1: Konstantin Päts Statue, First Estonian President Konstantin Päts Statue and Memorial Park, Tahkuranna Parish, Estonia.

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Timeline for Konstantin Päts

23 February 1874 – Konstantin Päts born

1887 – Began attending Riga Clerical Seminar (a Russian Orthodox School) where he learned

the Estonian Language

1892 – Finished schooling at Riga.

1894 – Attended law school at Tartu University.

1898 – Graduated law school.

1899 – Served as an ensign in the Russian army.

1900 – Became a barrister in Tallinn.

1901 – Began editing Teataja (The Gazette) newspaper

1905 – Stopped editing Teataja, served as a member of Tallinn City Council and Assistant

Mayor. Participated in the Russian Revolution of 1905 and was sentenced to death by Russian

court-martial. Fled to Switzerland.

1906 – Left Switzerland to go to Finland.

1909 – Travelled from Finland to St. Petersburg and handed himself over to authorities,

sentenced to 9 months of imprisonment in the “Kresty” prison in St. Petersburg.

1916 – Began Estonian military service in Tallinn.

1917 – Ended Estonian military service. Became the Chairman of the Supreme Committee of the

Estonian Military in Tallinn.

1918 – Prime Minister to the Provisional Government

1919 – End service as Prime Minister. Began service as Chairman of the “Estonian Lloyd”

insurance company

1921 – Elder of the State of the Republic of Estonia

1922 – End service as Elder of the State of the Republic of Estonia

1931 – Elder of the State of the Republic of Estonia

1932 – End service as Elder of the State of the Republic of Estonia. Begin service as Elder of the

State of the Republic of Estonia again.

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1933 – End service as Elder of the State of the Republic of Estonia. Begin service as Elder of the

State of the Republic of Estonia again.

1934 – Coup d’état, and begin service as Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia in the Duties

of the Elder of State.

1937 – Change title to The Protector of the State of the Republic of Estonia

1938 – Change title to President of the Republic of Estonia. Honorary Doctorate of Sciences of

the Tallinn Technical University and the University of Andhra in India. Honorary member of the

Estonian Naturalists’ Society, the Learned Estonian Society, the Estonian Institute of Natural

Resources.

30 July 1940 – Deposed by Soviet Union and deported to prison.

1956 – Died in a mental hospital in Kalinin.

21 October 1990 – Reburied in Tallinn.

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Propagandized:

The Misrepresentation of Konstantin Päts in Estonia before Independence

The fight for independence in the Baltic countries dominated the first part of the 20th

century there, alongside two great world wars that left heavy scars on the population. Upheaval,

violence, and death were everyday sights to many Estonians and Latvians. In these countries as

well as in most places, there are at least two opposing sides to the revolution for the creation of

an independent Baltic state. In Estonia, these two major players were Konstantin Päts (who

became the country’s first dictator in the 1930s) and a right-wing leaning Jaan Tõnisson. At the

cusp of the creation of an autonomous state of Estonia, Konstantin Päts’ nationalistic theories on

an independent Estonia were influenced more by Russian Economism, not socialism or Marxism

as Tõnisson’s newspaper Postimees claimed.

Konstantin Päts, like most people, was probably a man heavily influenced by his

upbringing, education, and memorable events in his life. Päts, born in 1874 to a peasant family in

Estonia, went to a Russian Orthodox seminary school where his brother also attended.1 At this

time, Estonia was not yet an independent nation, but was considered part of the Russian Empire

and subject to heavy policies of Russification that dominated Russian minority politics at the end

of the Empire. Päts was a member of the Orthodox Church through his Russian mother, and the

education provided at the seminary was free including food and lodging.2 As a member of the

lower class, receiving a free education could have instilled a sense of gratitude in Päts towards

the Russian Orthodox Church that provided the opportunity.

1 Pajur. 2 Nodel, 126.

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The seminary school that Päts attended was used in an attempt to russify the Baltic

populous, but instead it helped create the fires of a new Estonian and Latvian intelligentsia for a

multitude of reasons. Firstly, its location in Riga helped provide its Estonian and Latvian

students with a front-row seat to the evolution of the labor movements within one of the most

heavily industrialized cities within the Russian Empire.3 Secondly, it was the only advanced

educational facility to offer its students the opportunity to study Estonian and Latvian languages,

which helped to entice the curiosity about Estonian and Latvian nationalism and history and

persuaded young Estonians and Latvians to reach out and study philosophies and topics related

to their homeland and politics.4 It probably would have been during this period that Päts would

have formed the beginnings of his ideas about an Estonian national identity at this time, as well

as maintaining a certain amount of empathy towards the situation of peasants.

After his seminary education, Päts attended university in Tartu beginning in 1894 where

German sympathies continued to dominate cultural student life despite the fact that the university

was russified.5 Even with the attempts of student oppression on campus for those who did not

agree with German groups, Päts managed to become more radicalized and develop his own

theories by meeting informally with students and professors from other countries within the

empire to discuss the radical ideas and theories that were emerging throughout the Western

world.6 We are able to see the influence of both his seminarian studies at Riga as well as radical

professors and students at Tartu through his founding of the newspaper Teataja, of which he was

the editor between 1901 and 1905 – at the apogee of revolutionary movements within Russia.7

3 Kasekamp, 90. 4 Nodel, 127. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Pajur. 1914 – 1918 Online.

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Päts would have been forced to end the production of Teataja, at least in Estonia, in 1905

because of his role in an Estonian uprising that was connected to the failed 1905 Russian

revolution. He organized a peasant congress in Tallinn alongside Jaan Tõnisson’s National

Liberal Party congress, both of which called for the independence of Estonia from Imperial

Russia.8 Russian officials responded by declaring martial law in Estonia, and the members of

these congresses fled into the country where they burned “bourgeois” manor houses of Baltic

Germans and the upper-class.9 Even though Päts spoke out against the violence taking place in

the countryside, he was sentenced to death and forced to flee Estonia into Switzerland then later

Finland, prompting him to end production of Teataja.10

In Teataja, Päts claimed that, “the slave has no nationality,” and that only economic

improvements to the situation of the people of Estonia might bring that sense of nationality to

them.11 Teataja was known for being one of the more radical newspapers in Estonia during the

time period, with Päts being, “mainly concerned with social and economic questions” while

placing emphasis on the conditions of the lower classes in Estonia.12 It’s not a stretch to suppose

that Päts discussed revolutionary action in Teataja. Speaking for a more moralistic audience (one

that does not necessarily believe in revolution),13 Jaan Tõnisson’s newspaper Postimees

attempted to cast Päts’ idea of economic improvement for the masses as a kind of Russian

socialist/Marxist-inspired doctrine to deter Tõnisson’s own political followers to shy away from

him as a figure of political authority. 14 In fact, the very notion is ridiculous – Päts’ Estonian

political ideologies were no more or less socialist than they are fascist. By labelling him purely

8 Encyclopædia Brittanica., “Estonia.” 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid., “Päts.” 11 Nodel, 129. 12 Raun, Russification, 338. 13 Trotsky, 165. 14 Nodel, 129.

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socialist/Marxist, the Postimees makes the same mistake of later Soviet Estonian historians when

they label Päts as following fascist ideologies – misrepresentation and propaganda as a political

tool. That modern historiography about Päts mistakenly represents him as more fascist in nature

is a tribute to the effectiveness of propaganda. Instead of limiting ourselves to the obvious trends

of socialism/Marxism (or later fascism), we should look towards other less popular political

ideas emerging during that time to form a better understanding of Päts.

Russian Economism was a right-wing political movement that revolves around the idea

of an independent state that creates economic improvement for the entirety of the population,

rather than just the few.15 Russian Economism was a political enemy of Lenin and

socialist/Marxist movements because it did not advocate for the basic principles of

socialism/Marxism: the foundation of a state representative of the people through the creation of

an independent worker’s party, and the socialist/Marxist ideas of class struggle.16 There were

some similarities between Economism and socialism/Marxism – for example, both groups

advocated for political activity with the goal of the overthrow of monarchical oppression;17

economists, however, did not focus their attentions on the use of the urban proletariat to create a

socialist/Marxist society wherein social classes are destroyed. Instead, economists believed that

all forces of labor were equally important within the struggle for independence and that the state

model shouldn’t necessarily follow that of centralized authority with no capitalistic overtures.18

Economism would have been appealing to revolutionaries who might not necessarily agree that

wealth is evil but also felt that some amount of resistance was necessary.

15 Mavor, 161. 16 Hallas, 18-19. 17 Akimov, 246-247. 18 Akimov, 247.

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The nationalistic independence movements within the Baltic were just as varied as a

political system in Europe might appear today. Multiple parties represented variations of general

contemporary ideas and theories that were circulating through the minds and mouths of

intelligentsia who sought the same basic conclusion: the independence and autonomy of their

homelands. In Estonia, political activists and newspaper editors Konstantin Päts and Jaan

Tõnisson held a fierce rivalry that distorted the history of ideas through slander and

misinformation. It is important for us to go back in time to study the influences of a person in an

attempt to truly break away from false histories such as the one proposed by Tõnisson, that Päts

was a socialist and a Marxist, so that we may truly understand the history of the era and the

people who inhabited it.

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Figures of Authority:

The Projected Image of Konstantin Päts during his Regime

The emergence and rise of the nationalistic zeal in the late

19th and early 20th centuries brought new ideas of

leadership to countries all around the world; the downfall

of monarchy in Russia and Germany not only helped to

establish neighboring countries in the Baltics – Estonia,

Latvia, and Lithuania – but for them to gain their

independence and develop a strong sense of nationalism.

As Mussolini in Italy began the movement of fascist rule,

followed by Hitler and Franco, news of their massive

popularity spread all across Europe. This new kind of

government which was anti-democratic, conservative, militaristic, and nationalistic, was very

seductive to traditionally conservative, agrarian politicians in the Baltic countries and served as

influence in which Estonia’s Konstantin Päts and Latvia’s Karlis Ūlmanis built their respective

dictatorships during the 1930s.19 But while Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy served as

inspiration for these rulers, we should not believe that these governments were a perfect

facsimile of fascist ideology just as they similarly weren’t socialist in nature. Studying a

photographed portrait of Konstantin Päts towards the end of his regime may help us to not only

understand more about how Päts wanted to portray himself, but could also help us to understand

more about his Estonian dictatorship.

19 Purs, “The Ulmanis Regime”.

2: Official Portrait of Estonian dictator

Konstatin Päts during his regime, 1934-1940.

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On the initial overview of the image of Päts we may see a stern, almost angry looking

stocky man with white hair and a receding hairline. He is wearing immaculate white-tie evening

wear, a sash underneath his jacket, a collar, and four distinct decorative pins underneath his left

breast pocket following the path of the sash. The quality of the photograph is fairly low for the

time period but without graining or other defects which suggests it was taken by an older model

high quality camera, went through a competent film development process, and was well

preserved. The photograph was officially released by the Estonian government at some point

during Päts’ reign.20 To interpret this image and understand how it represents Päts within the

context of dictatorships around the world we must compare it to those of his dictatorial

contemporaries around Europe that he has been compared to – Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini –

and note likenesses and differences in how they wanted to portray themselves.

2: Adolf Hitler 3: Benito Mussolini 4: Joseph Stalin

Beginning with the obvious, we must admit that Päts’ countenance can hardly be missed:

it is incredibly striking just how cantankerous he makes himself out to be. When comparing his

visage to those of his peers around the world during this time period – we can see similarities to

how fascist dictators portrayed themselves as opposed to the temperament of a communist

20 Estonian National Archives.

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leader, Stalin, who appears much friendlier with the hint of a confident smile on his face. It

would appear that not only were there idealistic differences between conservative and liberal

dictatorships, but also differences in how leaders under each label might have wished to portray

themselves to the public. Socialism and communism are both based on the idea of social equality

of the masses, and that by individual sacrifice to the state social equality can be attained.21 In

these types of governments, leaders would want themselves to be portrayed as equal to the

people rather than having true authority over the people in accordance with their political beliefs.

A smile would go a long way towards showing a figure to be kindly disposed – men of the

people rather than figures of command. This is not to say that there are no pictures of

conservative dictators smiling, but it is much rarer for official pictures as a whole.

Päts, on the other hand, was not a communist nor a socialist despite having believed in

the need for a social revolution that might shrink the gap of social inequality that dominated

societies during this time period.22 Instead of throwing himself into the Estonian Socialist camp,

Päts politically placed himself with the Estonian Farmer’s Union.23 Neither was he truly fascist

in his beliefs, as can be seen by his reaction in regards to the threat of the fascist Estonian League

of Independence War Veterans attempting to take control of the government and implement a

fascist dictatorship – he organized a coup d’état, claiming a state of emergency, and took control

himself.24 Päts instead was an Economist and believed that only economic growth would help to

bring about the positive social changes necessary to instill a nationalistic feeling within the hearts

of the Estonian people.25 In 1939, when this photograph was taken, Hitler and Mussolini would

21 Taylor, 102, 120. 22 Nodel, 129. 23 Kasekamp, 107. 24 Iwaski, 16-17. 25 Nodel, 126.

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have been an inspiration to any economist with how quickly their policies managed to save their

countries from the economic ruination they had faced at the end of WWI and the depression.

Interestingly, the period from 1930 until Päts’ reign witnessed a huge spread of tension

between Estonia and the Soviet Union because of the Soviet’s attempts to bring down the

Estonian government down through espionage. 26 While Soviet espionage receded after Päts took

control, this was more likely to have been caused by his economic ties with Soviet oil companies

and possibly through his Russian mother. 27 We can perhaps understand why Päts would lean

towards fascist dictators’ expressions rather than a socialists’ if he was more interested in being

the figure of authority – the Grandfather of the Estonian Republic – who saved democracy from

Soviet espionage and fascist rule. Päts considered himself Estonian first and foremost and was

mostly interested in the establishment and growth of an independent Estonia, and as such did not

wish to be represented as a man equal to the Estonian citizens that he helped to rescue but wished

to be seen as the man who led Estonia to that independence.

Päts also seems to embrace symbols of authority over symbols of equality in both his

dress and accessories. Most interesting is his use of the early modern style collar; the collar and

one of the medals that Päts is shown to be wearing (specifically the one on the very top closest to

his breast pocket) are national symbols of the Order of the National Coat of Arms. This

Honorific Order and its collar was created on 24 February 1936 by Päts; the collar specifically to

identify him as the president of the Republic of Estonia and the Order medal to be awarded to

Estonian nationals who performed great services for their country.28 The history of Honorific

Orders in Europe began in the mid-16th century with the Order of San Stefano in Tuscany in

26 Forgus, 30. 27 Valge, 459-478. 28 Kalling, 12.

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1561; previously, Orders were chivalric rather than honorific and were tied exclusively to

Christian military groups of Western Europe fighting against non-Christian states in the 11th

century such as the Templars.29 Although Orders as organizations were slowly going extinct by

the 1560s, the long and powerful history of powerful people being part of one Order or another –

be it Fraternal, Votive, Monarchical, or other – meant that the idea of the Order continued to

maintain its association with power, influence, and authority.30 This helped for a resurgence of

new Orders to be created throughout Europe around the time of the Protestant Reformation and

led to the continuation of the idea of Orders being tied to

authority. Some of the most powerful figures of authority

during the early modern period wore collars similar to Päts’ as

symbols of their being part of an honorific Order: Louis XIV

of France and Peter the Great of Russia, for example. The

imitation and creation of Honorific Orders was incredibly

popular amongst dictatorships – even the Soviet Union created

the Order of Lenin despite being an Atheist state.31 When we

look up pictures of Stalin, however, we will not find these

figures wearing collars in the same way that Päts blatantly flaunts his collar of the Order of the

National Coat of Arms and his authority in doing so.

Another Order symbol that Päts can be seen wearing is a medal that is the symbol for the

Order of the White Star (specifically the medal at the very bottom of the picture).32 The medal

for the Order of the White Star “is awarded to both Estonian and foreign nationals for eminent

29 Velde, Heraldica. 30 Velde, Heraldica. 31 Ibid. 32 Kalling, 12.

5: Louis XIV of France (1638-1715)

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public service for the benefit of the Republic of Estonia.”33 And a medal that Päts wears around

his neck appears to be the Estonian Cross of Liberty. This was the first state decoration ever

conceived, on the one year anniversary of the declaration of Estonian Independence in 1918; it is

considered to be incredibly prestigious in Estonia, given only to people who served during the

Estonian War of Independence.34 Being awarded this honor gave the recipient several privileges

in Estonia, including free university education.35 While it is highly doubtful that Päts would

require free university level education as the dictator of Estonia in 1939, or even 20 years earlier

when the award was created, the sheer symbolism invoked just by wearing these medals and

what they would have represented to a contemporary Estonian audience is undeniable. He

wanted to portray himself as a servant to Estonia – a man who might do anything and everything

for his country and whose actions were recognized by other people in authority in Estonia to the

extent that he was rewarded with these honors to distinguish him from his peers. He wanted

others to see that he had Estonia truly in his heart, and would perhaps hope people to believe that

he had saved Estonia not only during the War of Independence but also in 1934 when the fascist

Central League of Veterans of the Estonian War of Independence

(VAPS) would have taken away democracy and thus created

social disorder.36

Differing from Mussolini, Stalin, and Hitler, Päts is

unique in that he chose to represent himself out of military

uniform (as was common for both royalty and dictators during

this time period all around the world) and instead limited his

33 Ibid. 34 Ibid. 35 Ibid. 36 Kasekamp, A History, 109.

6: Konstantin Päts of Estonia

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military ties and symbols of authority to medals like the Estonian Cross of Liberty alone. This

would portray him as not being a military-centric figurehead, but still tying him to the military

with services to the state of Estonia.37 In this image we see him wearing traditional white-tie

formalwear, which was popular amongst the upper classes of Europe and America throughout

the 19th century until just before WWI; during the interwar period – when this photograph was

taken – white-tie formalwear was quickly losing its popularity and was reserved only for very

formal events.38 We can conclude that either Päts was attempting to raise his status by wearing

formal dress, or that the photograph was taken at an important function such as a state dinner.

Most probably it would have been the latter, but all other surviving pictures show Päts wearing

other types of civilian clothing. This appearance out of uniform appears to be unique to the

dictatorships of the Baltic region and implies that they had no delusions of military might and

grandeur but only craved independence and recognition. Päts would have had no illusions that

the Estonian army could fend off the Reds or the Nazis by itself should either one attack, and had

been active in government when Estonia allowed the White army to use their country as a

staging ground for the fight against the Bolshevik Reds in return for recognition as an

independent nation only two decades earlier.39 We must remember too that Päts was hardly a

military general, but an intelligent businessman and lawyer, and wearing suits and formalwear

would have been considered much more honest to his true character.40

In countries around the world for thousands of years it was how you presented yourself

that people might view and understand you. It is important to understand the context of images,

of course, and when you look carefully at the image of Konstantin Päts examined in this paper it

37 Estonia, Official Website of the Office of President. 38 Formal Tradition. 39 Kasekamp, A History, 103. 40 Valge, 460.

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is interesting how he hoped to portray himself in a world full of nationalistic dictatorships all

across the world. First and foremost as an Estonian, but also a statesman, a businessman, a figure

of authority, and a man who has done many wonderful services for his country. We can

understand his Economism and lack of expansionist policies through his clothes and his attempts

to place himself as a figure of authority with his medals and awards and frown. We can see a

strong individual who would like for us to believe that he made the difficult decision of

sacrificing democracy to save his country from the aspects of fascism and socialism that he did

not think were right for Estonia. Mostly, however, we can see a dictator who is unique amongst

dictators around the world and who truly loved his heritage and culture.

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The Destruction of History through the Construction of History:

Konstantin Päts in Soviet Historiography

History has been used as a basic tool for political control by leaders throughout the span

of time, affecting the knowledge and understanding of the past for far longer than the existence

of the kingdoms, empires, and figures they represented. Warping of history through selective use

of sources and blatant falsehoods, and the manipulation of facts through lenses of certain

ideologies is not a new phenomenon in human societies. Konstantin Päts, the dictator of Estonia

from 1934 to 1940, was certainly a victim of Soviet propaganda. Soviet officials were incredibly

cognizant of the importance of using history as the means to legitimize Soviet rule throughout

the Eastern Bloc. Through a pretext of informative modern historiography, the Soviet Union

created a false image of Konstantin Päts as bourgeois Right-Wing political leader turned

radicalized fascist totalitarian dictator to justify Soviet rule in Estonia.

Olaf Kuuli’s book, Six Years of Fascist Dictatorship in Estonia, was published in 1975 in

Tallinn and later translated into English. Kuuli is a prolific Estonian historian and held the

position of head of the Tallinn Pedagogical University History Department from 1971-1976.41

We cannot place much blame on Kuuli for this destruction of history through the lens of Soviet

ideology, however. Official, comprehensive Soviet historiography of Estonia began to be

published in 1950 after the redevelopment of the Historical Institute of the Estonian Academy of

Sciences in 1946-1947.42 All Soviet institutions – history included – were forced to write within

the lines of party ideology; historians such as Kuuli, regardless of their true political beliefs,

would have had follow certain guidelines to writing history on pain of death or exile.43 Most

41 Riigikogu Toimetiste Autorid 42 Rebas 425 43 Rebas, 427.

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important to Soviet historiography in Estonia was the emphasis of escalating Soviet support

during the independence period, showing an increase in Soviet power in Estonia from 1917 –

1919 and 1940 onwards, and to, “emphasize Russo-Estonian friendship and Russian support to

Estonia throughout history…”44 While Khruschev’s “thaw” of the late 1950s to early 1960s

allowed for more accurate historiography within Estonia, Brezhnev’s takeover of the USSR in

1964 led to yet another 18 years of suppression. Kuuli’s history was written during this latter

period, which we must not forget when examining his work; for five decades Konstantin Päts

and other dictators of the Baltic region as well as the Soviet historians who wrote about them

became the victims of forced Soviet censorship and falsification of history so that Soviet

leadership would be justified within the Soviet Bloc.

The image of Päts as a fascist dictator originated during the Stalin era in Estonia and was

completely different than the image that Päts himself hoped to project.45 Unfortunately this

image has continued to attach itself to him in modern Estonian historiography despite being

based on speculation and Soviet propaganda.46 During his reign, Konstantin Päts hoped to show

himself as the grandfather of the nation. He was an economist, placing himself firmly within the

context of agrarian parties, and was closer to the ideologies of socialism and communism than

fascism since he believed in class struggle and the necessity of equality in society.47 Fascism

places little or no emphasis on class struggle and equality, but hopes to create a regulated,

multiclass, totalitarian nation usually under the pretext of racial and ideological superiority.48

Päts and his government claimed that they did not take control of Estonia through a coup d’état

44 Ibid. 45 Ibid., 440. 46 Raun, Estonia, 119. 47 Nodel, 129. 48 Payne, 7.

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because they wanted to instill a totalitarian

fascist dictatorship, but to save Estonia from

being forced into a totalitarian fascist

dictatorship.49 Päts even participated in the

failed Russian Revolution of 1905 that would

have allowed for the socialist takeover of

Russia and served prison time as a result;50

but Soviet officials later would make this part of his past disappear by claiming that he was born

in 1894 instead of 1874 as seen in figure 1, which would have made him much too young to

participate. Despite all of the history and evidence to the contrary, Kuuli’s Soviet history of the

period proposes that Päts was working in tandem with fascist bourgeoisie in Estonia to gain and

keep power and crush the Communist attempts at equalizing society.51

In the beginning of the Soviet history of Konstantin Päts’ rule, Kuuli writes that while

Päts was officially a member of the Farmers’ Assemblies he was actually a fascist bourgeois

reactionary who would possibly have led the Estonian Veteran’s League had there not been

infighting between Estonian fascist circles.52 The Estonian Veteran’s League – also known as

vabadussõjalane, EVL, or VAPS – was a radical nationalist party in Estonia active during

Estonian independence period which embraced many fascist ideals though perhaps was not

completely fascist in nature.53 The Soviet history, however, firmly announces the fascist ideals of

the EVL, “chiefly aimed at the suppression of class struggle.”54 If we assume that this history

49 Metcalf, 338. 50 Encyclopæda Brittanica 51 Kuuli, 23, 25, 27, 32, 34, 52 Ibid, 26. 53 Kasekamp, Estonian Veteran’s League, 268. 54 Kuuli, 18-19.

Figure 3: Image of Konstantin Päts in Soviet custody, 1941.

Cyrillic reads, "Päts Konstantin (?)Yakoegevich, b.1894"

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was written within party lines, we must acquiesce that the party line appears to reject the idea

that there can be shades of grey within the ideologies of similar opposition parties in Estonia.

Instead, separate ideologies were all labelled “bourgeois” and explained away through “strained

relations between bourgeois circles” rather than differing political beliefs.55 Even Päts, a dictator

whose regime can hardly be compared to that of Hitler, Mussolini, or Franco, is placed under a

fascist label through unsubstantiated statements like, “the conflict between [sic] K. Päts’s

dictatorial government and the Vaps was not caused by fundamental differences, but by struggle

for power.”56

Along with Päts’ affinity for fascist regimes, Kuuli’s Soviet history paints a picture of

Päts’ with at least three other purported additional ideological failings.57 Firstly, even though

Päts’ support came from “big farmers” – called kulaks, who were also persecuted within the

Soviet Bloc – and peasantry, he did not defend the interests of farmers because he believed in

“big capital.”58 Secondly, he showed extreme examples of corruption by placing people who

supported his regime into positions of power in elections that only gave the illusion of

democracy to the people.59 Lastly, and possibly the most undermining of Päts and his regime,

was the claim that his rule was repressive of the true will of the people;60 Estonians, according to

official Soviet history of Estonia in 1975, did not want Päts leading them by the end of his rule

and instead called for the creation of a “revolutionary” government to be established as the red

army was entering Estonia in 1939.61

55 Ibid., 22. 56 Ibid., 26. 57 Kuuli, 71-72. 58 Ibid., 73 59 Ibid., 77. 60 Ibid., 85. 61 Ibid., 93.

23

According to Kuuli, the only reason the red army entered Estonia was because the Baltic

countries broke agreements with Soviet Union and so Soviet Union was forced to enter the Baltic

countries to protect their troops that were already present.62 People in Estonia called for the

creation of a “revolutionary” government to be established as the red army was entering Estonia

and for the downfall of “bourgeois” fascist dictator Konstantin Päts.63 “The fact that so many

people signed the memorandums [demanding political change] showed the deep indignation of

the broad masses of the people against the government.”64 Suddenly the Soviet army entered

Estonia: “the workers enthusiastically welcomed the Red Army enforcements in the Baltic

States.”65 The formation of a new government of Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic after the

overthrow of Päts, through a democratic representation of the people of course, allowed the

Soviet government to completely justify their takeover.66

It is no secret that Soviet propaganda dominated basically every aspect of Soviet life. We

must remember that Konstantin Päts, for all his shortcomings, should not be so hastily placed

under a fascist label borrowed from Soviet historiography. Stalin, however, and later Soviet

dictators understood the importance that history could potentially play in as a tool for furthering

Soviet beliefs and ideologies. By painting a false image of Päts as a fascist right-wing dictator

who opposed democracy and the will of the people, Soviets used history as a means to show

themselves officially as the saviors of the masses that they in all honesty brutally repressed.

Through the destruction of history with the creation of history, Soviet historiography justified

their entry and continued tragic presence in Estonia and other Baltic countries for five decades.

62 Ibid., 99. 63 Ibid., 100. 64 Ibid., 96. 65 Ibid., 99. 66 Ibid., 100.

24

Images

Cover:

Fig 1: Konstantin Päts arrives at the Patriotic Union’s Central Committee plenary

meeting in Tallinn. October 14, 1937, photograph, 13 x 17in. From: the Estonian National

Archives Online, accessed March 5, 2015. http://www.ra.ee/fotis/index.php?type=2&id=105724

Introduction:

Fig 1: Pillak, Kristjan. Konstantin Päts Statue. Photograph. From: First Estonian

President Konstantin Päts Statue and Memorial Park, Tahkuranna Parish, Estonia. Available

from: puhkaeestis.ee tourism website, accessed March 8, 2015.

http://www.puhkaeestis.ee/et/multimedia/eesti-esimese-presidendi-konstantin-patsi-ausammas-

ja-malestuspark

Figures of Authority:

Fig 1: Konstantin Päts. 1938-1940, photograph, 75 x 126cm. From: the Estonian National

Archives Online, accessed March 5, 2015. http://www.ra.ee/fotis/index.php?type=2&id=383773

Fig 2: Adolf Hitler. 1933. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. “Adolf Hitler”, accessed

March 05, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/267992/Adolf-Hitler

Fig 3: Benito Mussolini. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. “Benito Mussolini”,

accessed March 05, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/399484/Benito-

Mussolini

Fig 4: Bourke-White, Margaret. Russian leader Joseph Stalin after meeting w. Harry

Hopkins, adviser to Pres. Roosevelt, in his office in the Kremlin. 1941, photograph. From: Life

Magazine March 29, 1943, accessed March 5, 2015. Available at: Getty Images Life Archives.

Fig 5: Rigaud, Hyacinthe. Louis XIV. 1701. Oil on canvas, 277 × 194 cm. The Louvre,

Paris. Available From: The Louvre Collection Digital Archives, http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-

notices/louis-xiv-1638-1715

Caravaggio, The Denial of Saint Peter. Early 15th century. Oil on canvas, 94 x 125.4 cm.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From: The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

http://www.metmuseum.org (accessed September 29, 2009).

Fig 6: Konstantin Päts. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. “Konstatin Päts”, accessed

March 05, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/446786/Konstantin-Pats

The Destruction of History through the Construction of History:

25

Fig 1: Konstantin Pats as Political Prisoner. 1941. Accessed March 05, 2015,

http://www.lapsevanem.ee/?7940

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