Jaan Soots ( – 6 February 1942) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

n military commander during the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...

and politician. Jaan Soots was born in Küti farmstead, Linna village, Helme Parish, Viljandi County (now in Tõrva Parish, Valga County), Governorate of Livonia,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

. He joined the army voluntarily in 1900, studied between 1901 and 1904 at Vilnius Military Academy, participated in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

and from 1910 to 1913 studied at the Imperial Nicholas Military Academy. At the beginning of the Estonian War of Independence, Soots was Chief of Operative Staff; in February 1919 he became Chief of Staff of the Commander-in-Chief. In 1919, Soots also achieved the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. Soots also participated in the Tartu peace conference and retired in 1920. Later, he was twice a Minister of War, member of the State Assembly, Mayor and Lord Mayor (''ülemlinnapea'') of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

. In 1938, he received

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

, who, as an honorary citizen of Tallinn, visited Estonia. In 1940,

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

occupation authorities arrested Soots and in 1942 he died in

Ussollag Usollag, full name: Usolye Corrective Labor Camp (russian: Усольлаг, Усольский исправительно-трудовой лагерь (Усольский ИТЛ) ) was a Gulag forced labor camp established on February 5, 1938 an ...

prison camp in

Usolye Usolye (russian: Усо́лье) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. The name is an archaic Russian term for a salt-producing locality. ;Urban localities *Usolye, Usolsky District, Perm Krai, a town in Usolsky District of Perm ...

, Perm Oblast. Soots is recipient of the Estonian

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Balti ...

, 1st class, and the Latvian military Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class.

References

Jaan Soots
* Ülo Kaevats et al. 2000. ''Eesti Entsüklopeedia 14''. Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus,

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soots, Jaan 1880 births 1942 deaths People from Tõrva Parish People from Kreis Fellin Farmers' Assemblies politicians Defence Ministers of Estonia Members of the Riigikogu, 1920–1923 Members of the Riigikogu, 1923–1926 Members of the Riigikogu, 1926–1929 Members of the Riigikogu, 1929–1932 Members of the Riigikogu, 1932–1934 Members of the Estonian National Assembly Members of the Riiginõukogu Mayors of Tallinn Estonian major generals Imperial Russian Army officers Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Cross of Liberty (Estonia) Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars Estonian people who died in prison custody People who died in the Gulag Estonian people who died in Soviet detention

See also

References

External links