I understand despising the Russian Empire, but Bolsheviks really were the best Europe had to offer. Estonians had the right to an education in Estonian, had political representation of their own, Estonia was industrialised more than the rest of the Soviet block as a purposeful policy of development of minority ethnicities, Estonia had better salaries and working positions (hence many Russians migrating there during Soviet times)…
What would have been of Estonia were it not for the Bolsheviks? What would have happened under the rule of Nazism? Would you be able to talk Estonian today? Would you even be alive? Finno-Ugric peoples were certainly not as demonized as Slavs by the Nazi racial theories, but still they didn’t want you to be equal to them, unlike it can be said of Soviets.
Estonians had the right to an education in Estonian before the occupation as well. Before Stalin and Hitler carved up Europe.
What would have happened under the rule of Nazism
Unspeakable things. Which is why I’m not a fan of the fact that the nazis and soviets literally divided up Europe to be shared among themselves. The soviets actually enabled nazis initially. They only later fought the nazis out of self-preservation, not principle, when Hitler’s paranoia made him make the first move against the soviets.
Non-Russians weren’t equal in the soviet empire either. It was a bit less racial than national there though - the people living in the core of the empire had more privileges, it just wasn’t official policy.
As you may understand, I’m not against the principles of socialism. It’s just that for anyone living in Eastern Europe, history with the soviet union has soured things.
I understand despising the Russian Empire, but Bolsheviks really were the best Europe had to offer. Estonians had the right to an education in Estonian, had political representation of their own, Estonia was industrialised more than the rest of the Soviet block as a purposeful policy of development of minority ethnicities, Estonia had better salaries and working positions (hence many Russians migrating there during Soviet times)…
What would have been of Estonia were it not for the Bolsheviks? What would have happened under the rule of Nazism? Would you be able to talk Estonian today? Would you even be alive? Finno-Ugric peoples were certainly not as demonized as Slavs by the Nazi racial theories, but still they didn’t want you to be equal to them, unlike it can be said of Soviets.
Estonians had the right to an education in Estonian before the occupation as well. Before Stalin and Hitler carved up Europe.
Unspeakable things. Which is why I’m not a fan of the fact that the nazis and soviets literally divided up Europe to be shared among themselves. The soviets actually enabled nazis initially. They only later fought the nazis out of self-preservation, not principle, when Hitler’s paranoia made him make the first move against the soviets.
Non-Russians weren’t equal in the soviet empire either. It was a bit less racial than national there though - the people living in the core of the empire had more privileges, it just wasn’t official policy.
As you may understand, I’m not against the principles of socialism. It’s just that for anyone living in Eastern Europe, history with the soviet union has soured things.