Winifred
03-15-2006, 01:13 AM
musi, I'm getting very curious about Estonia, both from your posts, and this. I never heard of Lennart Meri, but he sounds really amazing. Anyone who can lead a revolution by singing has my vote for a person to be remembered worldwide.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/03/15/013.html
Wednesday, March 15, 2006. Issue 3371. Page 3. http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/MrsBucket/estonia_21.jpg
Former Estonian Leader Dead at 76
By Jari Tanner
The Associated Press
TALLINN, Estonia -- Former Estonian President Lennart Meri, whose relentless struggle against communist oppression helped the Baltic nation break free from the Soviet Union in 1991, has died, the presidential office said Tuesday. He was 76.
A survivor of a Soviet labor camp in Siberia, Meri became Estonia's first president after the country regained independence, serving from 1992 to 2001. He died overnight at a Tallinn hospital after a long illness, the presidential office said.
"A politician and a visionary has left us," President Arnold Ruutel, Meri's successor, said in a statement.
Among ordinary Estonians, Meri, also a writer and film director, was a beloved, charismatic father figure, whose dry humor and razor-sharp wit only added to his charm. Government officials, however, were often wary of him because of his scathing attacks on unethical practices and corrupt civil servants.
Internationally, he was a respected statesman who had close ties with several world leaders including former U.S. President Bill Clinton and the late Pope John Paul II. Meri was widely credited for remaining tough with President Boris Yeltsin in negotiations on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonia in 1994.
The government declared Wednesday a day of mourning. A state funeral was planned for March 26, at the Kaarli Church in the Estonian capital.
Born in Tallinn on March 29, 1929, Meri and his family were deported to Siberia after Soviet troops invaded Estonia during World War II -- a fate shared by tens of thousands of people in Estonia and Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania. The family survived and returned to Estonia, where Meri studied history at the University of Tartu, worked as a theater dramatist and, later, as a producer of radio plays and films.
Among his best-known films is the 1977 documentary "The Winds of the Milky Way," describing the lives of Finno-Ugric people, which won a silver medal at the New York Film Festival but was banned in the Soviet Union for its culturally sensitive content.
Meri was one of the leaders of the Estonian independence movement, known as the "singing revolution." In the late 1980s and early '90s, thousands of Estonians protested against Soviet rule by singing nationalistic songs at music festivals. Meri often urged the crowds to peacefully resist Moscow's rule.
In March 1990, Estonia officially declared it was on the path toward independence and held its first noncommunist elections, after which Meri was appointed foreign minister. After a brief period as ambassador to Finland, Meri was elected president in October 1992 and was reelected in 1996.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/03/15/013.html
Wednesday, March 15, 2006. Issue 3371. Page 3. http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/MrsBucket/estonia_21.jpg
Former Estonian Leader Dead at 76
By Jari Tanner
The Associated Press
TALLINN, Estonia -- Former Estonian President Lennart Meri, whose relentless struggle against communist oppression helped the Baltic nation break free from the Soviet Union in 1991, has died, the presidential office said Tuesday. He was 76.
A survivor of a Soviet labor camp in Siberia, Meri became Estonia's first president after the country regained independence, serving from 1992 to 2001. He died overnight at a Tallinn hospital after a long illness, the presidential office said.
"A politician and a visionary has left us," President Arnold Ruutel, Meri's successor, said in a statement.
Among ordinary Estonians, Meri, also a writer and film director, was a beloved, charismatic father figure, whose dry humor and razor-sharp wit only added to his charm. Government officials, however, were often wary of him because of his scathing attacks on unethical practices and corrupt civil servants.
Internationally, he was a respected statesman who had close ties with several world leaders including former U.S. President Bill Clinton and the late Pope John Paul II. Meri was widely credited for remaining tough with President Boris Yeltsin in negotiations on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonia in 1994.
The government declared Wednesday a day of mourning. A state funeral was planned for March 26, at the Kaarli Church in the Estonian capital.
Born in Tallinn on March 29, 1929, Meri and his family were deported to Siberia after Soviet troops invaded Estonia during World War II -- a fate shared by tens of thousands of people in Estonia and Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania. The family survived and returned to Estonia, where Meri studied history at the University of Tartu, worked as a theater dramatist and, later, as a producer of radio plays and films.
Among his best-known films is the 1977 documentary "The Winds of the Milky Way," describing the lives of Finno-Ugric people, which won a silver medal at the New York Film Festival but was banned in the Soviet Union for its culturally sensitive content.
Meri was one of the leaders of the Estonian independence movement, known as the "singing revolution." In the late 1980s and early '90s, thousands of Estonians protested against Soviet rule by singing nationalistic songs at music festivals. Meri often urged the crowds to peacefully resist Moscow's rule.
In March 1990, Estonia officially declared it was on the path toward independence and held its first noncommunist elections, after which Meri was appointed foreign minister. After a brief period as ambassador to Finland, Meri was elected president in October 1992 and was reelected in 1996.