Johannes Lauristin (pseudonym: Juhan Madarik; 29 October 1899 – 28 August 1941) was an

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

communist politician, activist, writer and statesman who served as the first Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the

Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit (Republics of the Soviet Union, union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the Occupation o ...

. Hs wife was communist politician Olga Lauristin and his daughter was politician

Marju Lauristin Marju Lauristin (born 7 April 1940) is an Estonian politician, and former Member of the European Parliament and Minister of Social Affairs. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists. Lauristin is ...

Biography

Lauristin was born in to a family of industrial workers. After the revolutionary events of 1917, he quit his work and joined the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks) The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

. In 1919, he was enrolled in the Army of the Republic of Estonia and participated in the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

. After independence, Lauristin became a member of the illegal Estonian Communist Youth Union and worked as an editor in various underground newspapers and magazines. In the same year, he joined the

Communist Party of Estonia The Communist Party of Estonia (, abbreviated EKP; in Russian: Коммунистическая партия Эстонии) was a regional branch of the CPSU, Soviet communist party (CPSU) which in 1920–1940 operated illegally in Estonia an ...

and became a member of the Central Council of the Estonian Workers' General Union. He was a member of the

II Riigikogu II Riigikogu was the second legislature of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu). The legislature was elected after 1923 elections (held on 5–7 May 1923). It sat between 31 May 1923 and 14 June 1926, before the next round of elections were held. ...

, having been a member since 7 June 1923, replacing Aleksander Mahlberg. On 27 June 1923, he resigned his position and was replaced by

Aleksander Janson Aleksander Janson (also Aleksander Alumäe; 15 May 1881 – 26 June 1939 Tartu) was an Estonian politician. He was a member of Estonian Constituent Assembly The Estonian Constituent Assembly () was elected on 5–7 April 1919, called by the Esto ...

. After the banning of the Communist Party of Estonia, Lauristin was arrested and was one the defendants involved with the trial of the 149 and was sentenced to six years of forced labor. He was released, however, after an amnesty and remained in Estonia alongside other activists and once again engaged in underground activities. Johannes and Olga Lauristin 24

Upon the June Coup which established Soviet power in Estonia, Johannes Lauristin was the secretary of the Communist Party of Estonia from June to July 1940 . From August 25, 1940, until the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Estonia in the summer of 1941, he was the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Estonian SSR, as well as the secretary of the Central Committee of the ECP and a representative to the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the So ...

. After the start of the

German-Soviet War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

in the summer of 1941, Lauristin was appointed deputy chairman of the Republican Defense Committee of the Estonian SSR. Johannes Lauristin died during the

Soviet evacuation of Tallinn The Soviet evacuation of Tallinn, also called Juminda mine battle, Tallinn disaster or Russian Dunkirk, was a Soviet operation to evacuate the 190 ships of the Baltic Fleet, units of the Red Army, and Soviet civilians from the fleet's encircled ...

; however, the circumstances of his death are unclear. According to the official Soviet version, he died on the Yakov Sverdlov destroyer after it was struck by a mine. According to the historian Mati Õun, he was executed by fellow communist officials for disobeying

Stalin's Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1922 to 1 ...

war orders; however, this version is also contested. Lauristin was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

posthumously in 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauristin, Johannes 1899 births 1941 deaths Politicians from Tallinn People from Kreis Harrien Old Bolsheviks Workers' United Front politicians Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia Heads of government of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Members of the Riigikogu, 1923–1926 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1940–1947 First convocation members of the Soviet of the Union 20th-century Estonian writers Prisoners and detainees of Estonia Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Recipients of the Order of Lenin Civilians killed in World War II