Ronald Liive @ronaldliive
Today 73 years ago the #Soviet occupation forcibly deported more than 20 000 people from #Estonia to #Siberia. In total they deported more than 90 000 people from the three Baltic states, including many children and the elderly. Prime example of a crime against humanity
Mass deportations were used by Soviets many times over the years. The biggest waves took place in June of 1941 and March 1949. So who were targeted? Mainly women, children and elderly. Why? According to the occupiers they were “anti-Soviet elements”
There were no trials that had legally found out that someone was an “anti-Soviet element”. They just went to peoples homes and forcibly shoved them onto trucks and later threw them into railroad cattle cars! 1949 deportation included roughly only 10% of working age men!
The Soviets didn’t look the other way when it came to disabled people, pregnant women, newborns and children separated from their parents. The youngest of them was just one day old Virve Eliste who was deporter from Hiiumaa island and died a year later
Some deportations were based on ethnicity and religion. During the 1941 deportation the main target was the Estonian elite - CINC Johan Laidoner, president Konstantin Päts and the wider political and military leadership (10 ministers out of 11, 68 MP’s out of 120)
Many of the people deported perished and most never returned back home. Outside the bigger waves Soviets continually deported people on smaller scale from 1940-1956
My grandfather Valter Liive belonged to the Omakaitse (militia “home guard” organisation), deserted the Soviet army etc. due all of his actions he was sentenced to 18 years in forced labor. He was also deported to Siberia. I never met my grandfather ("thanks" Soviets)
One of the so-called “anti-Soviet elements” was a 6 month old Kristi. She lived in Siberia for 10 years and managed to return to Estonia. This is the story of our PM @kajakallas 's mother. You can read about her family story here:
kajakallas.ee/postitus/kommunismiohvrite-malestuseks/
“Aegumatu” is a documentary which emphasises there are crimes that do not expire. It starts with a scene of MEP Tunne Kelam telling the story that many people in Europe don’t know nothing about the deportations.
"In the Crosswind" is a movie that’s based on a story of a 27-year old mother that was deported to Siberia. It’s available online and with English subtitles
So this gives you a bit of insight why Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians know all too well what Ukrainians are feeling at the moment and why aren't we keeping quiet nor calling #ukraine to surrender
So bundits before you utter the words that @NATO should of never had expanded eastwards now hopefully some of you realise why #Estonia, #Latvia and #Lithuania wanted to join NATO as soon as possible
Notewhat was being talked about on Russia tv that was mentioned upthread and reported in the Daily Beast
www.thedailybeast.com/russian-state-television-descends-into-screaming-match-over-vladimir-putins-war-failures-in-ukraine?via=twitter_page
To make matters worse, Ukrainians forcefully deported to Russia might end up in places like the Russian island of Sakhalin in the Pacific, with freezing cold temperatures and stark landscapes. After discussing news reports about ongoing relocations, Evgeny Popov helpfully pointed out: “But in Sakhalin, the salaries are the highest in the country!”
My point being that deportations are being talked about in Russia openly.
This follows this in December:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59808624
Russian court orders oldest civil rights group Memorial to shut
Memorial worked to recover the memory of the millions of innocent people executed, imprisoned or persecuted in the Soviet era.
...in court, the prosecutor labelled Memorial a "public threat", accusing the group of being in the pay of the West to focus attention on Soviet crimes instead of highlighting a "glorious past".
and
"Why should we, descendants of the victors, be ashamed and repent, rather than take pride in our glorious past? Memorial is probably paid by someone for that," the prosecutor claimed in court.
and
Just this October, when a crowd gathered at Memorial's Moscow headquarters to watch Mr Jones, a film about the Stalin-era famine that killed millions in Ukraine, a nationalist mob burst in and rushed on stage calling the audience "fascists" and yelling: "Hands off our history".
Its a frightening background story arc thats been developing for some time. Clearly Russian people are fully aware of modern day deportations...