No. 18

Download

Share

Print

The foreign policy activity of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia, 1990–1992

  • Ülo Nugis

    President of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia, 1990–92, Member of the Riigikogu, 1992–2003 and President of the Riigikogu, 1992–95

The writer stresses that the primary framer of the decisions to restore Estonian independence was the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia, elected in March 1990 as the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR, for the first time on democratic grounds, which played a decisive role in shaping the state’s foreign policy and promoting international ties and seeking diplomatic recognition.

A trail was blazed, and it was followed by succeeding elected parliaments. The Supreme Council was at the time the sole governing body whose decisions had international accepted force and ensured restoration of independence. Had it not been for the Supreme Council, the other institutions and popular movements would not have been able to bring Estonia out of the Soviet Union peacefully and without bloodshed. This applies to the Congress of Estonia and the Estonian Committee as well, which had taken themselves out of the game by boycotting the Supreme Council elections. Perhaps the leaders of the Estonian Committee would have been prepared to send their negotiating delegations to Moscow, Washington and Brussels as well, but they were nobodies on the international level. The writer states that the people of the Estonian Committee were not known or respected abroad in the way in which the Supreme Council members were respected, as they lacked a legislative mandate.

Full article in Estonian

Feedback