Helmut(h) Tarand (until 1935; Helmuth Takenberg; 8 October 1911 – 1 November 1987) 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, and t ...

n poet, philologist, philosopher and cultural figure. He used also pseudonyms Annus Rävälä and Aili Helm (with Hilja Rüütli). From 1929 to 1936 he attended

Tartu University The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

, studying philosophy. He was a member of student society

Veljesto Veljesto (or EYS "Veljesto", EYS Veljesto) is an association of Estonian university students, founded 24 February 1920 at Tartu in Estonia. History The society was founded by students who left the Estonian Students' Society. Among its more famou ...

. In 1945 he was arrested because of his anti-Soviet activities during WW II. He was sent to

Vorkuta Vorkuta (russian: Воркута́; kv, Вӧркута, ''Vörkuta''; Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin ...

coal mines. In 1956 he moved back to Estonia. His son is climatologist and politician

Andres Tarand Andres Tarand (born 11 January 1940) is an Estonian geographer, climatologist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1994 to 1995. He was also a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Social Democratic Party, pa ...

and his grandchildren include politician Indrek Tarand and journalist Kaarel Tarand. His nephew is poet, humorist and politician

Priit Aimla Priit Aimla (born 19 April 1941 in Võru) is an Estonian writer, poet, humorist and politician known for several stage plays and books. During 1992 to 1995, he belonged to Riigikogu, having been elected as a member of the Independent Royal ...

Pseudonym Aili Helm

With Hilja Rüütli they used pseudonym "Aili Helm". Hilja was a nurse and writer who also was sent to Vorkuta camps. Under the pseudonym "Aili Helm", they published five-part sequence of documentary novels about the Soviet prison system.

Selected works

* 1981: poetry collection "Vorkuta värsse" ('The Vorkuta Verses') * 1990: poetry collection "Epitaaf" (published posthumously) * 2011: poetry collection "Ürglohutus" (published posthumously)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarand, Helmut 1911 births 1987 deaths Estonian male poets 20th-century Estonian poets Estonian philologists 20th-century Estonian philosophers Gulag detainees Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union University of Tartu alumni Writers from Tallinn People from Tallinn 20th-century philologists Soviet poets