Book about March 1949 deportation published
The Estonian Institute of Historical Memory (Eesti Mälu Instituut) has published a book called "Toimik Priboi", which includes articles and documents covering the March 1949 deportation of Estonians by Soviet authorities.
The materials of the Soviet security ministry's secret file "Priboi" are also to be published in the book. These files will reflect the procedure of the deportations in detail, ETV current affairs show "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported Sunday night.
As well as the documents, there will be seven original articles covering different asptects of the deportation in March 1949, including life in Siberia and commemoration of the deportation through time.
The book's editor, Meelis Saueauk, said the information contained helps to supplement the current picture of the deportations.
"Whereas until now we have had the impression that the deportation was this chaotic, important, local class struggle, these documents show how it was done, which tasks people had, who was leading the operation. This is largely new information," Saueauk said.
"The first thing to point out is how much in detail, or even how bureaucratically, the operation was planned, how precise the reporting of the operation was. This is what stands out immediately. There are massive tables and sequences of numbers - this all was meant to help with the execution of the plan," he added.
The March 1949 deportations saw over 20,000 Estonians exiled to Siberia. The earlier June 1941 deportations involved around 10,000 Estonians, and the 79th anniversary of these was marked on Sunday.
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Editor: Roberta Vaino