Mihkel Martna (17 September 1860 Veltsa parish, Paimpere – 23 May 1934

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 ...

) 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 politician and journalist. Martna was born in

Kreis Wiek Wiek County ( or , , ) was one of the four counties of the Russian Empire located in the Governorate of Estonia. It was situated in the western part of the governorate (in the northwestern part of present-day Estonia). Its capital was Haapsalu (' ...

in the

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. It was located in the northern Estonia with some islands in the West Estoni ...

(in present-day

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( or ''Pärnumaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to ...

) and studied in a local village school. Thereafter, he worked as country labourer before going to Tallinn in order to become house painter. At this period, he became acquainted with the European workers' movement,

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

. As he was one of the first Estonians to be active in this field, he came to be called "the father of Estonian social democracy". As a young man, he was also active in Estonian national movement, publishing articles in

Postimees is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 employees. ''P ...

and Sakala and collecting folklore material. Mihkel Martna disseminated socialist ideas in Tallinn, at the end 1880s he lived in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

and tried to influence

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

s there. He later came into conflict with Peeter Speek and other Tartu socialists and moved back to Tallinn. Martna took part in the

1905 Russian revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...

and had to live in exile from 1906 to 1917 (mostly in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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, ...

). At the beginning of 1918, Martna, having become familiar with the life in independent Finland, decided to support and promote Estonia's independence. He soon formed together with fellow thinkers the

Estonian Socialist Workers' Party The Estonian Socialist Workers' Party (, ''ESTP'') was a political party in Estonia. History The party was established in 1925 as a merger of the Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party and former members of the Independent Socialist Workers ...

(''Eesti Sotsiaaldemokraatiline Töölistepartei'') and became later the leader of the party's

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politic ...

. Martna also belonged to Estonia's foreign delegations. Together with

Jaan Tõnisson Jaan Tõnisson ( – 1941?) was an Estonian statesman, serving as the Prime Minister of Estonia twice during 1919 to 1920, as State Elder (head of state and government) from 1927 to 1928 and in 1933, and as Foreign Minister of Estonia from 19 ...

and

Karl Menning Karl Menning (11 May 1874 in Tartu – 5 March 1941 in Tartu) was an Estonian theatre director, critic and diplomat. In 1902, he graduated from University of Tartu's department of religion. In 1906-1914, he was the first theatre director of Vane ...

, Martna formed the board of the foreign delegation and he was the first representative of Estonia in Germany (1919). Martna was member of the Estonian Provincial Assembly, the

Estonian Constituent Assembly The Estonian Constituent Assembly () was elected on 5–7 April 1919, called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the Estonian War of Independence. Estonian Constituent Assembly elections Activity The 120 members of the Constituent ...

and

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (, from Estonian ''riigi-'', "of the state", and ''kogu'', "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chi ...

(I to IV). 1929–1934 Martna was a vice-chairman of

. Martna was one of the central figures in determining the political life of the Republic of Estonia, he was also a leading theoretician of the Estonian Socialist Workers' Party. In 1919, he gained Socialist Workers' International's recognition of Estonia's independence.

Awards and recognitions

*Honorary doctor of 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.

, 1930.

References

1934 deaths 1860 births People from Lääneranna Parish Politicians from Pärnu County People from Kreis Wiek Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party politicians Estonian Socialist Workers' Party politicians Members of the Estonian Provincial Assembly Members of the Estonian Constituent Assembly Members of the Riigikogu, 1920–1923 Members of the Riigikogu, 1923–1926 Members of the Riigikogu, 1926–1929 Members of the Riigikogu, 1929–1932 Members of the Riigikogu, 1932–1934 Estonian journalists Burials at Metsakalmistu Writers from the Russian Empire {{Estonia-1923-Riigikogu-politician-stub