''The Singing Revolution'' is a 2006 documentary film created by Americans James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty about the

nonviolent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by a ...

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 ...

in which hundreds of thousands of

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people () are a Finnic ethnic group native to the Baltic Sea region in Northern Europe, primarily their nation state of Estonia. Estonians primarily speak the Estonian language, a language closely related to other Finni ...

gathered publicly between 1986 and 1991, in an effort to end decades of

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

occupation. The revolutionary songs they created anchored Estonia’s non-violent struggle for freedom.

Purpose

Drawn by James' Estonian heritage, filmmakers James and Maureen Tusty traveled to

in 1999 to teach filmmaking courses. During their stay, they became increasingly interested in the stories they heard about the Estonian Singing Revolution; they found the story of how Estonia was able to break free from one of the most oppressive regimes the world has ever known by way of nonviolent resistance alone, to be "one of the most amazing stories" they had ever heard, and were astounded by the fact that "virtually no one outside the Baltics" knew of it. Film Critic Jessica Reaves says that in terms of the film's sheer entertainment value, that for the viewer, this general "lack of familiarity with Estonia's recent history actually works in the film's favor", in that "suspense born of ignorance lends the unfolding drama the urgency of a political thriller."

Film content

Historical background

Caught in the middle between two aggressively

expansionist Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who ...

superpowers,

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and the USSR under Stalin, and pledged to the Soviet Union by the secret clauses in the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

between the Nazis and the Soviets, Russian forces invaded and annexed the three Baltic countries,

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

in 1940, after the beginning of

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 ...

. As was the case in Latvia and Lithuania, by the end of the war more than a quarter of the Estonian population had been deported, executed, or had fled the country. During the turbulent decades that followed, music became a powerful unifying force in the occupied

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

- a means of preserving each country’s national identity, as well as a tool for political resistance in the face of cultural genocide.

The power of a peaceful resistance

Between 1986 and 1991, while there was violent turmoil and struggle for independence from the Soviet Union in the other Baltic states,

courageously and peacefully demanded that the Soviets recognize their nation’s right to self-determination and independent statehood. The revolutionary songs they created anchored Estonia’s struggle for freedom, which was ultimately accomplished in 1991 without the loss of a single life. The Estonian activist Heinz Valk, who first dubbed Estonia's resistance the "Singing Revolution", said proudly of his countrymen, "Until now, revolutions have been filled with destruction, burning, killing, and hate, but we started our revolution with a smile and a song." Singing fueled the non-violent revolution that defeated a very violent occupation. Combining interviews of movement leaders and Estonian citizens with rare archival footage from the period of Soviet occupation, ''The Singing Revolution'' accounts one small nation’s dramatic rebirth alongside its neighbors

and

where similar events took place.

Reception

The film received largely positive critical acclaim, winning several awards at the film festivals at which it was shown, including "Best Documentary" (co-winner) and the "Diane Passage Jury Prize" at the 2007 Savannah Film Festival, and "Most Inspirational Film" at the Boulder International Film Festival in 2008. Film critic Robert W. Butler said of the film, "If ''The Singing Revolution'' were a fictional film, it would be dismissed as a pie-in-the-sky fantasy. But it's all true."

References

External links

* *
Film Review, The Baltic Times

Film Review, Connect Savannah
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"The Singing Revolution" Celebrates Freedom

"The Singing Revolution" Celebrates Freedom
by Brent Bozell, November 2, 2007
Boulder International Film Festival 2008 awards
"The Singing Revolution" wins "Most Inspirational Film" award
''Estonia: Banned choral singing became a Singing Revolution''
Films Section, Freemuse: Freedom of Musical Expression, October 24, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Singing Revolution, The 2006 films Films about Soviet repression 2006 documentary films Singing Revolution 2000s English-language films American documentary films Anti-war films English-language documentary films Restoration of the independence of the Baltic states