The Soviet partisans in Estonia were

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

partisans who attempted to wage

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...

against the German armed forces during the German occupation of Estonia. Partisan activity was singularly unsuccessful in Estonia due to the general resistance of the population to the Soviet regime that the partisans represented. itation neededThe majority of partisans sent in by the Soviets were quickly picked up by the local Estonian militias.

Background

The war between Germany and the Soviet Union broke out after one year of

Soviet occupation in Estonia The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were invaded and occupied in June 1940 by the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Stalin and auspices of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that had been signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet ...

. From July to December 1941, Estonia was cleared of Soviet armed forces by Germans who were assisted by Estonian national partisans. The Germans refrained from looting and excessive murders, but retaliated for armed resistance by burning down villages, amongst other things. The territory of German-occupied Estonia was incorporated into

Reichskommissariat Ostland The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initia ...

. In ''

Generalbezirk Estland Generalbezirk Estland (General District Estonia) was one of the four administrative subdivisions of '' Reichskommissariat Ostland'', the 1941-1945 civilian occupation regime established by Nazi Germany for the administration of the three Baltic co ...

'' there was established a German civilian administration and a German-controlled Estonian police force. Soviet partisans often robbed wealthier peasants and provoked German reprisals. The

Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...

were not very active in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), 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. Lithuania ...

(numbering around 5,000), were even less notable in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

(mainly in the

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

region) and least active in

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, a ...

, where throughout most of the war, by 1944 only 234 partisans were fighting and none were volunteers, all being either

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

personnel. The partisans found it impossible to establish permanent bases in Estonia, one reporting ''"it is dangerous to visit a village where even one Estonian lives"''. In effect, those groups were rather small in Estonia, often consisting of Soviet paratroopers brought from the USSR proper, and never even reaching the degree of pro-Soviet guerrilla warfare in Lithuania (which, in turn, was minor compared with Soviet resistance activities in neighbouring Belarus). 1500 Soviet partisans fought in Estonia in 1941-1944, many of them were killed by Nazi occupants and their local collaborators. More than 500 Soviet partisans who fought in Estonia in 1941-1944 were awarded the

orders, decorations, and medals of the Soviet Union Awards and decorations of the Soviet Union are decorations from the former Soviet Union that recognised achievements and personal accomplishments, both military and civilian. Some of the awards, decorations, and orders were discontinued after the ...

. Two Soviet partisans ( Leen Kulman and Vladimir Fedorov) who fought in Estonia were awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

(posthumously) and five other (Eduard Aartee, Arno Avarsoo, Richard Melts, Roland Valkman and Ilmar Jürisson) were awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

.Э.А. Сыгель. Вечно живые. Таллинн, "Ээсти раамат", 1984. стр.61

References

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Sources

* ''П.А. Ларин.'' Эстонский народ в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 / сокр. пер. с эст. — Таллин: АН ЭССР, 1964. * ''Л.Н. Бычков.'' Партизанское движение в годы Великой Отечественной войны в 1941-1945 (краткий очерк). — Москва: Мысль, 1965. * ''Р.Я. Луми.'' Мстители. Таллин: Ээсти Раамат, 1967. — 263 стр.: илл. * ''Э.Я. Сыгель.'' Дружба, закалённая в огне войны �ер. с эст. — Таллин: Ээсти Раамат, 1975. — 176 с. Military history of Estonia during World War II Estonia Paramilitary organizations based in Estonia Generalbezirk Estland Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic

Background

See also

References

Sources