Mart Raud (14 September 1903 – 6 July 1980) 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 poet, playwright and novelist.

Early life and education

Mart Raud was born in Aidu,

Kreis Fellin Viljandi County (; , ) was a historic county in the Governorate of Livonia, and in the Republic of Estonia dissolved during the administrative territorial reform of the Estonian SSR in 1949. It was situated in the northern part of the governora ...

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

today

Viljandi County Viljandi County ( or ''Viljandimaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in southern Estonia bordering Pärnu, Järva, Jõgeva, Tartu and Valga counties as well as Latvia. History Viljandimaa, under the German name of ''Krei ...

. In 1923, he took the high school final exams 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 ...

as an external student. In 1923-1924, he studied violin at the Tartu High School of Music and was an

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

at the Faculty of philosophy in 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.

Career

Raud debuted as a poet in 1919. He was part a collective of friends who were later named " Arbujad" which represented a new direction in Estonian poetry before the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Raud's first verse collections "Kangastused" (revelations), published in 1924 and the following "Äitsmik" in 1925 contain romantic visions of nature and use

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

s. In the collection "Rusemed" (1927), the author's drifting towards more social poetry can be noticed. In the 1920s, in parallel with his poetry, he also started publishing short prose. His novels "Videvikus varvalgeni" (Dusk to dawn) in 1927 won the second prize in the annual Loodus publishing house competition and "Tuulte teedel" (On the roads of the winds) in 1928 won the third prize. On 19 October 1931, Mart Raud was sentenced to three years in prison for forging the signatures on

promissory notes A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...

. He fled to Finland, but was arrested there and was released to Estonian authorities. Following his early release from the prison Raud continued to be published. He was included in the anthology "Arbujad" (1938). After the

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

on 17 June 1940 He quickly joined the Soviet side, volunteering for an extermination battalion on 2 July 1941. Raud earned five

ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are s ...

s a day as a member of his battalion. He had a rifle and he had to write reports about the fight against 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 ...

. In 1941 pro-Soviet cadres, including Raud, were evacuated to the Soviet rear. He worked as a Soviet propagandist, first in Chelyabinsk and Kuibyshev, and later in Moscow and Leningrad. He was loyal to the new regime and distanced himself from his previous literary companions, many of whom were deported to Siberia. Raud returned Estonia with the Red Army in 1944. He established himself in the top of the Soviet Estonian literature and joined the Communist Party in 1945. Writing propaganda pieces such as "Song for Stalin" (1951) and "Great October" He was awarded the honorary title Meritorious Writer of the Estonian SSR in 1946 and People's Writer of the Estonian SSR in 1972.

Family

Raud was married twice. From his first marriage to the educator Lea Raud he had a son, children's writer

Eno Raud Eno Raud (15 February 1928 – 10 July 1996) was an Estonian children's writer. His works are considered classics in Estonia as well as in the other former Soviet countries. Raud was included in International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY ...

. From his second marriage to the translator Valda Raud he had daughter Anu Raud and son Annus Raud. His grandchildren are scholar and author

Rein Raud Rein Raud (born 21 December 1961) is an Estonian academic and author. Early life He was born in 1961 in the family of Eno Raud and Aino Pervik, both children's authors. He is the eldest of three children. His younger brother Mihkel Raud is ...

, musician and journalist

Mihkel Raud Mihkel Raud (born 18 January 1969) is an Estonian writer, music artist, actor, and a former member of the Estonian parliament. He is best known for his book ''Musta pori näkku'' and as a former host of an Estonian talk show on TV3. Person ...

and artist and writer Piret Raud.

References

1903 births 1980 deaths People from Viljandi Parish People from Kreis Fellin Communist Party of the Soviet Union members 20th-century Estonian poets 20th-century Estonian writers 20th-century Estonian male writers Looming (magazine) editors Estonian magazine editors Estonian male poets Estonian male writers Arbujad People's Writers of the Estonian SSR Honoured Writers of the Estonian SSR Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Burials at Metsakalmistu {{estonia-poet-stub