Preparations

The Estonian Communist Party (EKP), which operated in exile in Leningrad and Moscow, sent a written communication to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on August 12, 1924. The letter stated that the EKP leadership "has assessed the situation in Estonia and decided to organize an uprising."

The matter of Estonia was discussed by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU on August 21 and November 14 of the same year. To support the "uprising," a permanent commission was established in the Soviet Union, which included key figures such as Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky and Mikhail Frunze.

The EKP was confident that the "uprising" would succeed, and the Politburo of the CPSU decided to fully support the EKP's plan for an "armed uprising" in Estonia. The leader of the coup d'etat attempt in Estonia was Jaan Anvelt.

The Estonian police and General Staff were aware of a potential coup attempt, although the exact date was unknown. Initially, May 1, 1924 was suspected as the target date. A police operation on January 21, 1924 preemptively disrupted the plan by shutting down 185 of the estimated 300 communist cells and arresting more than 200 communist leaders.

Later that year, on November 27, 1924, 149 individuals stood trial. One defendant was sentenced to death, 39 to life in forced labor and 30 received 15-year forced labor sentences. The remaining defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to ten years, while seven were acquitted.

The uprising

In late November 1924, about the time the trial concluded, Moscow decided to launch the uprising on December 1. On the evening of November 30, 1924, the men preparing the attack on the Tondi Military Officer Candidate School were to gather at the Reimann House about one kilometer from the college. There were supposed to be 140 men present, but only 56 turned up.

The communists were armed with one light machine gun, four rifles, some pistols and hand grenades. Three messengers were appointed to keep in touch with other groups and the headquarters. Other units, which were sent to various locations, had between seven and ten members. The plan was to, in cooperation with local communists, occupy Tallinn's strategic locations, government institutions, military facilities, as well as communications networks, and then to ask for help from the Soviet Union.

The coup organizers and the insurgents believed that the Estonian working class would join them in the coup. This was a gross miscalculation, since revolutionary conditions had not developed in Estonia and the majority of the population was proud of their recently won independence.

The communist insurgents launched their attack on December 1, 1924, at 5:00 a.m. At the time, 450 cadets, non-commissioned officers and officers were present at the military college. Lt. Joosep Lääne was the officer on duty, assisted by a cadet. A three-member guard patrol had just returned to the building.

When the insurgents arrived, they targeted the cadets' dormitory, throwing hand grenades through the windows and shooting at cadets sleeping on the ground floor. Three guardsmen, supported by four artillery cadets who had retrieved 9mm semi-automatic pistols from the armory, blocked the attackers' advance to the first floor and opened fire. This allowed the cadets on the first floor to arm themselves and launch a counterattack, eventually forcing the attackers to retreat. Meanwhile, a smaller group of insurgents attacked the cadets' mess hall, which was empty because the officer on duty and his assistant were absent.

A cadet patrol stopped a car approaching from the city. Upon seeing the armed cadets, the driver attempted to flee but was captured along with his companions. Two of the passengers were identified as brothers of insurgent Rudolf Vakmann, who had been dispatched to procure weapons from the academy. A court-martial of three officers quickly convened, and after a brief investigation, sentenced all seven detainees to death. The sentence was carried out later that night.

During the uprising, nine cadets were wounded and four killed.

Another team of communist insurgents attacked Toompea Castle, which housed the offices of the state elder, Riigikogu and the government. Simultaneously, a third group stormed the apartment of State Elder Friedrich Akel, located behind the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Akel managed to escape through the back door, narrowly evading capture.

The communists succeeded in taking control of the military airfield and air division barracks in Lasnamäe, where some soldiers joined their cause. However, reinforcements soon arrived, forcing the attackers to retreat. Two air force lieutenants who collaborated with the insurgents were court-martialed and sentenced to death. In an attempt to escape, the insurgents hijacked two military aircraft. One plane was forced to land near Narva, while the other successfully crossed the border into the Soviet Union.

In the motorized division, the insurgents gained the assistance of a non-commissioned officer, allowing them to seize the tank garage and disable several tanks. However, after Rudolf Kaptein, another non-commissioned officer, shot and killed their collaborator, Loorents, the attackers fled the scene.

Another group of insurgents seized control of the main railway station, detaining the officer on duty and killing several police officers. They halted all passenger train traffic. Minister of Roads Karl Kark personally went to assess the situation but was shot and fatally wounded on the station's steps.

An exchange of fire occurred near the Main Post Office, located at the corner of Vene and Apteegi streets. Gen. Ernst Põdder, chief of the Tartu garrison, happened to be in Tallinn and was dining with friends nearby when the fighting broke out. Põdder and his companions immediately joined the skirmish, engaging the insurgents.

By 10:00 a.m., government forces had regained control of all buildings occupied by the rebels, effectively quelling the uprising.

Aftermath

Although the attempted coup was over in five hours, the manhunt for participants continued for several days.

On December 5, 1924, a battle took place in Iru, near Tallinn, where police officers shot three prominent communists. On December 7, the police raided a house at Vilmsi tänav 50 and shot another three communists.

Some of the main organizers, including Jaan Anvelt and Rudolf Vakmann, managed to escape to the Soviet Union. Later, they were arrested and executed by Soviet authorities during the Great Purge.

A monument, designed by Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson, to the cadets who died during the coup attempt (also known as the Tondi Boys Statue) was unveiled in 1928 at Tondi tänav 55/57. Destroyed by the Soviets in 1941, it was rebuilt by sculptor Jaak Soans and unveiled at the original location on Tallinn Day, May 15, 2009.

Estonia was eventually invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union during and after World War II until the restoration of the country's independence in 1991. During the 1944-1991 Soviet occupation of Estonia, the 1924 communist coup attempt was referred to by the authorities as the Tallinn Uprising of December 1, 1924 and described as part of the Marxist world revolution.

In 1974, a monument to the rebels was opened across the road from the Baltic Station (Balti Jaam) main train station. It was demolished in the beginning of the 1990s. People used to joke that it was the only monument in the world that managed to portray all the participants of a coup attempt (there were four figures presented).

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