Estonia will commemorate the 35th anniversary of the restoration of its independence with ceremonies at Toompea, foreign dignitaries and a concert bringing folk traditions into the electronic age.
At 11:03pm on 20 August 1991, Estonia’s Supreme Council voted to restore the country’s national independence. Sixty-nine members supported the resolution, re-establishing the republic first proclaimed on 24 February 1918 after more than five decades of Soviet occupation.
Thirty-five years later, the anniversary will be marked at Toompea in Tallinn with the raising of the national flag, a formal parliamentary sitting and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque. The president of Iceland and the speakers of the Latvian and Lithuanian parliaments will be among the guests.
The celebrations will begin at 7am on 20 August with the raising of the Estonian flag in the Governor’s Garden. The ceremony will be addressed by Lauri Hussar, the speaker of the Estonian parliament; Kristen Michal, the prime minister; and Ants Veetõusme, the president of the 20 August Club, which brings together the former members of the Supreme Council who voted to restore Estonia’s independence in 1991. Archbishop Urmas Viilma will give a blessing.
Toompea Castle and the Tall Hermann Tower in Tallinn, Estonia. The Governor’s Garden is on the right. Photo by Williamson.est, shared under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Flag guards representing academic associations, patriotic organisations and schools will take part, accompanied by five choirs and the Tallinn Police Orchestra.
An ecumenical thanksgiving service will follow at St Mary’s Cathedral at 9am.
Flowers will be laid at the 20 August Memorial Stone at 10am. Memorial bouquets will be presented on behalf of the Estonian president, parliament and government, as well as organisations representing the Latvian and Lithuanian signatories of their countries’ independence declarations.
A stamp for the anniversary
A postage stamp commemorating the anniversary will be presented in the White Hall of Toompea Castle at 11am.
Designed by Jaan Saar, the stamp depicts the historic fall of the gavel, the colours of the Estonian flag and people celebrating the restoration of independence. Its first-day cover evokes the Singing Revolution, while the postmark refers to the Supreme Council’s 1991 resolution.
The stamp will be available from an Omniva tent in front of Toompea Castle from 3pm.
Ülo Nugis, the speaker of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Estonia, proclaims the country independent from the Soviet Union at 23.02 on 20 August 1991, while the deputy speaker, Marju Lauristin, looks on. Photo courtesy of the Estonian National Library.
At noon, the parliament will hold a formal joint sitting with the 20 August Club, whose members include the surviving signatories of the 1991 resolution. The sitting will also be addressed by the Icelandic president, Halla Tómasdóttir, the speaker of the Latvian parliament, Daiga Mieriņa, and her Lithuanian counterpart, Juozas Olekas.
At 1pm, the parliament’s Conference Hall will formally be renamed the 20 August Hall.
Folk traditions meet electronic music
The official programme will give way to music at 3pm, when the free concert “Voice of the Past. Sound of the Future” begins in the Governor’s Garden.
Estonian artists Sadu, Noep, Puuluup, Eik, Duo Ruut and Sander Mölder will perform alongside bagpipe and percussion quartets. The programme will combine runic verse and traditional instruments with drum machines and electronic textures.
The anniversary’s cultural programme will begin a day earlier. At 5pm on 19 August, Hussar will open “Woven from Heritage”, a joint exhibition at Toompea Castle’s art gallery featuring tapestries by Anu Raud, Christi Kütt and students from the Viljandi Culture Academy.
