Anthem of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic


The "State Anthem of the Estonian SSR" was the regional anthem of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1945 to 1990.
During the decades of the Soviet occupation of Estonia, the official Estonian anthem was strictly forbidden. Throughout the years of prohibition, Lydia Koidula's poem, Mu isamaa on minu arm, with a melody by Gustav Ernesaks served as means of expressing national feelings, and was regarded as an unofficial anthem of Estonia. With the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991, the official national anthem from 1920 by Fredrik Pacius with lyrics by Johann Voldemar Jannsen was restored.

Background

The anthem was presented to the government of the USSR on May 1944, three months after the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on February 3, 1944, "On the State Anthems of the Soviet Republics."
The music of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic's anthem was composed by Gustav Ernesaks, and the lyrics were written by Johannes Semper. It, the anthem of the Karelo-Finnish SSR, and the anthem of the Georgian SSR were the only ones not to mention the Russian people. When Stalin died in 1953, during the De-Stalinization, the State Anthems were muted by Nikita Khrushchev alongside with the ESSR Anthem. On July 21, 1956, the third stanza of the lyrics was changed to remove mentions of Joseph Stalin.

Lyrics