August Sabbe (1 September 1909 – 27 or 28 September 1978) was one of the last surviving

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

members of the

Forest Brothers The guerrilla war in the Baltic states was an insurgency waged by Baltic states, Baltic (Latvian partisans, Latvian, Lithuanian partisans, Lithuanian and Estonian partisans, Estonian) partisans against the Soviet Union from 1944 to 1956. Known ...

, a group of citizens of

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 ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

who resisted and fought against the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

occupation of their three nations. Sabbe hid in the forests of Estonia, living off of the land like other Forest Brethren. In 1978, at the age of 69, Sabbe was found near his birthplace of Paidra,

Lasva Parish Lasva Parish () was a rural municipality in southeastern Estonia. It was a part of Võru County. The municipality had a population of 1,811 (as of 1 October 2007) and covered an area of 172.14 km2, giving it a population density of 10.52 inh ...

in southeastern Estonia by two

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

agents posing as fishermen. When they attempted to arrest him, he leaped into the

Võhandu The Võhandu () is the longest river entirely in Estonia. It is long and drains . The river begins near the village of Saverna in Põlva County and empties into Lake Lämmi, a part of Lake Peipus. In 1964, a protected area Protected ar ...

River and either drowned accidentally or deliberately wedged himself under a submerged log. The KGB, which took photographs before and after the attempted arrest, maintained that Sabbe drowned while attempting to escape. But someMart Laar, ''Metsvennad'', Tallinn 1993 have observed that the river is narrow, sluggish and shallow at that point, an unlikely place for an accidental drowning, and that the open field on the opposite bank and the river's lazy loops gave an elderly man no place to flee from two young, physically fit pursuers. The Forest Brethren's code of conduct and the quickness of Sabbe's reaction suggest that Sabbe was prepared not to be taken alive. August Sabbe memorial monument

A stone monument to Sabbe stands in a pine grove overlooking the site of his death. It is located just west of Route 65 between Leevi and Tsolgo, almost exactly on the boundary between

Põlva Põlva (; ) is a town in southeastern Estonia, the county seat of Põlva County, and the centre of Põlva Parish. Põlva is home for the Intsikurmu Music Festival Grounds, which regularly hosts concerts and summer activities, situated in a sm ...

and

Võru Võru (; ; ) is a town and a municipality in south-eastern Estonia. It is the capital of Võru County and the centre of Võru Parish. History Võru was founded on 21 August 1784, at the request of the Empress Catherine II of Russia, by the o ...

counties.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabbe, August 1909 births 1978 suicides People from Võru Parish People from Kreis Werro Estonian anti-communists Estonian independence activists Soviet dissidents Forest Brothers Suicides by drowning Suicides in the Soviet Union Military personnel who died by suicide Burials at Raadi cemetery Restoration of the independence of the Baltic states