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The Intermovement (International Movement of Workers in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic) (Template:Lang-et, Template:Lang-ru) was a political movement and organisation in the Estonian SSR. It was founded on 19 July 1988 and claimed by different sources 16,000 - 100,000 members. The original name of the movement was Interfront (International Front of Workers in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic), which was changed to Intermovement in autumn 1988.
The movement was aligned with the conservative wing of Estonian Communist Party, and opposed the Estonian independence movement led by the nationalistic Popular Front of Estonia and the liberal wing of the CPE. The Intermovement was not perceived as an organisation built on nationalist principles, and gained some support of ethnic Estonians. It also included many supporters from ethnic non-Estonians. The main leader of the movement was Jevgeni Kogan (Template:Lang-ru, sometimes transliterated as Evgeny Kogan). Other leaders of the movement included Vladimir Jarovoi (Template:Lang-ru, also transliterated as Vladimir Yarovoi), Arnold Sai, Vladimir Lebedev (Template:Lang-ru) and economist Konstantin Kiknadze
The Intermovement functioned at factories, mainly, at military plants and those factories that had an all-union importance. A large part of Estonian heavy industry was part of the integrated production chain providing their production to the industries in other Soviet regions. These included e.g. the engine factory Dvigatel, Kalinin's and Pöögelmann's electrotechnical plant Tondi Elektroonika, and the (especially but not only phosphorite) mining industry in Northern Estonia. It was feared that Estonian independence would lead to the loss of jobs. In fact, after independence the industries were forced to restructure their production and re-orientate to new markets, which in most of cases drastically reduced production and forced lay off many people, a large number of whom were Soviet-era immigrants, brought into Estonia specifically to work at these industries.
According to critics, the movement's aim was to protect the conservative Soviet values and make everything possible to block the actions of the Popular Front. According to the former KGB general Oleg Kalugin (Template:Lang-ru) it was established in Estonia as also in other parts of the USSR on the initiative of the KGB, as a counterbalance to the Popular Fronts, perceived as nationalist organizations. Despite the stereotyping of the Russophones as a force opposing an Estonian independence movement, the Interfront organizations were never mass movements and their membership was largely confined to members of the Party apparat and plant managers.
In elections for the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union in 1989 pro-Intermovement candidates won 6 seats out of Estonia's 36, against 27 won by the Popular Front.
From 29 August 1990 to 21 August 1991 the Intermovement ran the radiostation Nadezhda (Template:Lang-ru, meaning 'Hope'), which contrary to the ordinary procedure got its license from the central authorities of the Soviet Union without informing local authorities in Estonia. Following an order by the Soviet Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov, the radiostation was installed at the territory of the Soviet military base in Keila, near Tallinn.
In 1993 Estonian state adopted a law on citizenship and residency, based on Jus sanguinis. Under the new law, approximately 500,000 ethnic Russians living in Estonia were to be regarded foreigners, facing possible expulsion from the territory of the new state.
In response to the governments' actions, Juri Mišin and a few other former activists of the Intermovement made demands of regional autonomy for Estonia's Russian minority, seeking autonomy of the ethnic Russian dominated areas in North-East Estonia.
Following plebiscite, considered by the Republic to be unconstitutional, on this matter was held on in Narva region . Central Estonian government ruled out the use of force to prevent the referendum, however it took place on July 16–July 17, 1993. According to the Narva and Sillamäe electoral commissions, 53.2 percent of voters participated, and a total of 98%, and 97.2 in Narva supported the idea of territorial autonomy. However, the central government claimed the majority of the population did not participate, and demanded the Narva city council to disband.
The Internmovement was not built on nationalist principles and had some ethnic Estonian supporters. However, of the 742 delegates attending the first congress on March 5 1989, only 11 were ethnic Estonian. It was supported by Gustav Naan and Vladimir Hütt; Intermovements ranks also included Arnold Sai, Lembit Annus and Valter Toots. Similar organisations existed in Latvia, Lithuania (called 'Yedinstvo' - 'Unity') and Moldavia. They shared orthodox communist views and struggled for preserving the Soviet Union. Being committed to the USSR's territorial integrity, they forged alliances with Russian nationalist organizations. Pyotr Rozhok, a participant of the Intermovement, became a LDPRF politician in 1990s before running as Stalinist Bloc candidate in Russian legislative election, 1999 .
References
- ^ An Annotated Survey of Independent Movements in Eastern Europe, 13 June 1989
- Soviet Union Look Who's Feeling Picked On - Time magazine - September 25, 1989
- Employee Ownership and the Political Debate in Estonia 1987-1994.
- THE ANATOMY OF INDEPENDENCE, Kripta, Tartu, Sankt Petersburg 2004, ISBN 5-98451-007-3
- here
- Suri endine Interrinde liider Jevgeni Kogan, Postimees 29 March 2007
- Estonia - Time magazine - November 28, 1988
- THE ANATOMY OF INDEPENDENCE, Kripta, Tartu, Sankt Petersburg 2004, ISBN 5-98451-007-3
- here
- Estonia: Nation Building And Integration. Political And Legal Aspects - (Google cache); originally Smith, Graham 1996. ‘The Ethnic Democracy Thesis and the Citizenship Question in Estonia and Latvia’. Nationalities Papers, 24, 2, pp. 199-216.
- ELECTIONS AND REFERENDUMS IN ESTONIA 1989-1999 - Elections to the Congress of the USSR People's Deputies 26.03.1989
- Eesti Ekspress August 15, 2006: Raadiohääl Keila tankipolgust Template:Et icon
- Template:Lang-ru, also transliterated as Yury Mishin)
- Aliens in a Land They Call Home - Time magazine - July 19, 1993
- Kansalaisuuskiistojen ei uskota vievän sijoittajia Virosta - Kauppalehti July 9, 1993 Template:Fi icon
- Toivo Miljan, Historical Dictionary of Estonia, Scarecrow Press, 2004, ISBN 0810849046
- The Anatomy of Independence
- http://books.google.com/books?id=a-dbI7B6Vs0C&pg=PA224&dq=intermovement+estonia
- http://rusdrev.narod.ru/R/rojkov.htm
- http://www.igpi.ru/monitoring/1047645476/jan1994/Estoniya0194.htm
- http://www.moles.ee/99/Sep/07/2-3.html
- http://www.panorama.ru/works/vybory/party/stalin2.html