Artur Sirk (25 September 1900 – 2 August 1937) was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n political and military figure. A veteran of the country's struggle for independence, Sirk later became a leading figure within the

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

Vaps Movement and an outspoken opponent of the government.

Early years

A native of rural Järvamaa, Sirk came from a humble background, being a farmer's son.Andres Kasekamp, ''The Radical Right in Interwar Estonia'', London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000, p. 26 As a student he was amongst the first to volunteer to fight against the mobilising

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

. Following the war Sirk was demobilised and went to the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

to study law before in 1923 enlisting in the

Estonian Army The Estonian Land Forces (), unofficially referred to as the Estonian Army, is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defense Forces where it has an offensive military formation role. The Estonian Land Forces is currently the ...

where he was allowed to complete his studies. Leaving the army in 1926 he went to work in the legal firm of Theodor Rõuk, who had briefly served as Estonian Minister of the Interior in 1924. Sirk was soon involved in politics too, initially with the Settlers' Party, a vaguely rightist group led by Ilmar Raamot, whom Sirk knew from both his school and army days.

Vaps Movement

Sirk joined ''Eesti Demobiliseeritud Sõjaväelaste Liit'' (Estonian Demobilised Soldiers League) upon its formation in 1921 and its successor movement, ''Eesti Vabadussõjalaste Liit'' (Union of Participants in the Estonian War of Independence), being appointed deputy chairman of the latter group at its inaugural general meeting on 10 October 1926. Both of these groups had little ambition beyond being ex-servicemen's associations however Sirk desired a more centralised structure and to this end he established the ''Eesti Vabadussõjalaste Keskliit'', or Vaps Movement as it became known, in 1929. Whilst the chairman of the new group was General

Ernst Põdder Ernst-Johannes Põdder VR I/1 (10 February 1879 – 24 June 1932) was an Estonian military commander in the 1918–1920 Estonian War of Independence. In 1900, Põdder graduated from the Vilnius Military Academy. In the Russo-Japanese war he a ...

it was Sirk who drafted its statutes, including an enshrined duty of leadership of the country's youth for the movement, and he also secured a seat on the eight member executive chosen at the first Vaps national congress on 26 January 1930 in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. Sirk's speech at their 1932 conference gave the impetus for a change in direction as he called for a party that could take advantage of citizen's initiative to ensure the transfer to

authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester P ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'', p. 361 Vaps adopted an increasingly paramilitary style that mirrored many of the characteristics of the

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

movements growing elsewhere in Europe and Sirk, who was talented orator and charismatic demagogue, was soon recognised as the movement's driving force. The group came close to power in 1933 before being banned by

Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts ( – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president from 1938 to 1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades p ...

the following year. The government had claimed that Andres Larka, Sirk and other leading Vaps figures had been preparing to launch a coup although in this instance there was little evidence that the allegations were true. Nonetheless, Sirk was one of a number of Vaps leaders arrested by the Päts regime but he escaped from prison and fled to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Between 1934 and 1935 he directed Vaps activity from his Finnish base and even became involved in a conspiracy to overthrow the Estonian government with his allies in the

Lapua Movement The Lapua Movement (, ) was a radical Finnish nationalist, fascist, pro- German and anti-communist political movement founded in and named after the town of Lapua. Led by Vihtori Kosola, it turned towards far-right politics after its founding ...

. Plans for an armed rebellion against Päts were put in place but these were discovered in December 1935 by the state security police with the main ringleaders arrested. Sirk however was not amongst those arrested as he was able to escape again and this time settled in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Death

120 years since the birth of Artur Sirk Commemorative stamp Estonia Oma Mark 2020

Sirk died after a fall from a hotel window in

Echternach Echternach (, ; or locally ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg. History The town grew around the Abbey of Echt ...

in circumstances that have remained suspicious for some commentators to this day. Some Estonian historians, including Pusta and Tomingas, have argued that the death was an act of

defenestration Defenestration (from Neo-Latin ) is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window. The term was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the Thirty Years' War. This ...

by agents of Päts, although local police in Luxembourg stated that it was a suicide. Sirk's funeral was held in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

on 9 October. The eulogy was delivered by Elias Simojoki whilst hundreds of members of Simojoki's ''Sinimustat'' youth movement and the Academic Karelia Society were in attendance. August Jääger, an Estonian nationalist in attendance, blamed Sirk's death on the Estonian government, helping to begin the historical debate over the death.Kasekamp, ''The Radical Right in Interwar Estonia'', p. 118

References

External links

About A. Sirk and Vaps Movement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirk, Artur 1900 births 1937 suicides 1937 deaths People from Tapa Parish People from Kreis Jerwen Estonian Lutherans Members of the Vaps Movement 20th-century Estonian lawyers University of Tartu alumni Estonian expatriates in Luxembourg Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Recipients of the Cross of Liberty (Estonia) Estonian politicians who died by suicide Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery