Savisaar's family to donate his archives to the state
Erki Savisaar, the son of the former leader of the Centre Party, said that the contents of Edgar Savisaar's personal archive, who passed away in December of last year, will likely be donated to the state archives. He added that a Savisaar museum cannot be ruled out.
Erki Savisaar, the eldest son of Edgar Savisaar, told ERR that the documents and correspondence of his father, who has been active in politics since the restoration of Estonian independence, have been studied and are now considered for donation to the national archives.
He said the documents and correspondence of Edgar Savisaar are in danger of being lost due to the poorly organized archive he left behind. "It was more like a working version," he said.
Savisaar said reviewing the material takes considerable effort. "We tried to figure out what is there; what is worth exploring and what is not," he said, adding that there is no reason to offer "all sorts of unnecessary things" to the state archives, such as newspapers, for instance.
"It takes time to get through it." We have spoken about this with several archivists and the national archives, but we have made no headway. Savisaar explained, "It will be a bit of a challenge because my brother and sisters live far away from Estonia and want to take a look before proceeding."
He added that they discussed the archive's fate and future with Edgar Savisaar's long-time friend, history professor Aadu Mata, from whom they received helpful suggestions. "However, when it ends up in an archive, it will most likely end up in the hands of someone who will structure it well and bring it up to modern archive standards," Savisaar said.
When asked about the timeline for the handover Savisaar said, "The archivists have said that it will take them about a year to sort this out and turn it into a proper archive, but I am not sure when it will be in their hands."
Savisaar did not rule out the possibility of establishing an Edgar Savisaar museum, but added that he does not know how to go about it at the time.
"Whether a completely independent museum or part of another one, that's what we need to discuss now. After all, these are important moments in Estonian history; he was at the heart of them and it should be represented in some way," Savisaar said.
Edgar Savisaar, one of the leaders of Estonia's restoration of independence, interim first Prime Minister (30 April 1990 - 30 January 1992), and long-time chair of the Centre Party, died on December 29, 2022.
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Editor: Mait Ots, Kristina kersa
