Many Estonians were sent to Siberia… but we have to set the premise in the right here.
Till 1950, for 1000 years, Estonia has been independent 22 years (after WWI and the Soviet revolution). Before Russia, for 1000 years, Germany, Sweden or Denmark owned Estonia.
After WWII, true the Soviets send many people to Siberia, a horrendous amount of people… but it comes with the caveat that Nazi Germany occupied for 4 years before so probably, the intent was to deport “collaborators”, although we know how these things are operated and probably many were completely innocent (in war we know how repugnant neighbors are to each other on reporting innocents.)
Now her mom did come back a decade later and apparently they made a very good life ever since. That is like if in the 1950s I was imprisoned for a decade (rightly or not) and for the next 3 decades I succeeded in the system and lived far better than my peers (and better than the overwhelming majority of Russians!) but I just self the story of 1950s… it is just disingenuous.
Don’t take me wrong, I believe in the preservation and even right of self-determination of people, myself come from one without it, but stop portraying like Estonians or Ukrainians were heavily discriminated by Moscow… they were not. Estonians were not the blacks in the US of 1800s, not even in the 1950s, nor were the Jews in Germany of 1930s but more like the Scots in UK or Basques in Spain. Many people were sent inhumanely and even criminally to Siberia but was proportional to either being suspected of being a collaborator, not for being Estonian or Ukrainian.
I celebrate that Estonia is an independent country and remains to be so for many decades to come, but play your cards right, be vary of Russian’s intentions as of the US’ or Germany; all three would not think it twice before throwing you under the bus the very moment they calculate to use you as a tool for their own gain. Finland in 1950-2010 knew how to operate in that environment; strength your defenses, but reassure you won’t be used by one or the other side; Finland thrived then.
I only left this commentary because for me making a meme with mentioning only her father is kind of manipulation. There is the fact that her family (mother) was oppressed. Technically speaking she doesn’t lie when she is is saying that. The “meme” is trying to portrait it like she is lying by providing only half of information and by ignoring another half. I just do not like it. And it is not against what did you say.
Thanks for the clarification… sorry if it sounded I was going after you, actually I read your comment as you intended.
What I was venting about is about how the media that, today, works as memes only portrayed one side of her story… something like this meme does too. Now, if we are going to be that simplistic, this meme captures far more her experience under the Soviet rule than her moms after WWII.
I agreed about media. The story is much more complex as usual, there was good and there was bad about USSR. I do not like the idea of taking only good or only bad about USSR from the history to aggressively and manipulatively push somthing.
And I do not like when anyone’s family past is used for politival advantage or disadvantage. Like why is it matter where who was born, who was one’s grandpa or something, etc. when we are talking on current days politics? Focus on the present problem.
On using personal narrative for advance I am fine, but has to be more or less genuine to the context. If I say that my neighbor is horrible because once took my lawnmower and never returned it back and leave the part that he bought me later on a better one because he broke mine… I have been completely disingenuous.
Many Estonians were sent to Siberia… but we have to set the premise in the right here. Till 1950, for 1000 years, Estonia has been independent 22 years (after WWI and the Soviet revolution). Before Russia, for 1000 years, Germany, Sweden or Denmark owned Estonia.
After WWII, true the Soviets send many people to Siberia, a horrendous amount of people… but it comes with the caveat that Nazi Germany occupied for 4 years before so probably, the intent was to deport “collaborators”, although we know how these things are operated and probably many were completely innocent (in war we know how repugnant neighbors are to each other on reporting innocents.)
Now her mom did come back a decade later and apparently they made a very good life ever since. That is like if in the 1950s I was imprisoned for a decade (rightly or not) and for the next 3 decades I succeeded in the system and lived far better than my peers (and better than the overwhelming majority of Russians!) but I just self the story of 1950s… it is just disingenuous.
Don’t take me wrong, I believe in the preservation and even right of self-determination of people, myself come from one without it, but stop portraying like Estonians or Ukrainians were heavily discriminated by Moscow… they were not. Estonians were not the blacks in the US of 1800s, not even in the 1950s, nor were the Jews in Germany of 1930s but more like the Scots in UK or Basques in Spain. Many people were sent inhumanely and even criminally to Siberia but was proportional to either being suspected of being a collaborator, not for being Estonian or Ukrainian.
I celebrate that Estonia is an independent country and remains to be so for many decades to come, but play your cards right, be vary of Russian’s intentions as of the US’ or Germany; all three would not think it twice before throwing you under the bus the very moment they calculate to use you as a tool for their own gain. Finland in 1950-2010 knew how to operate in that environment; strength your defenses, but reassure you won’t be used by one or the other side; Finland thrived then.
I only left this commentary because for me making a meme with mentioning only her father is kind of manipulation. There is the fact that her family (mother) was oppressed. Technically speaking she doesn’t lie when she is is saying that. The “meme” is trying to portrait it like she is lying by providing only half of information and by ignoring another half. I just do not like it. And it is not against what did you say.
Thanks for the clarification… sorry if it sounded I was going after you, actually I read your comment as you intended.
What I was venting about is about how the media that, today, works as memes only portrayed one side of her story… something like this meme does too. Now, if we are going to be that simplistic, this meme captures far more her experience under the Soviet rule than her moms after WWII.
I agreed about media. The story is much more complex as usual, there was good and there was bad about USSR. I do not like the idea of taking only good or only bad about USSR from the history to aggressively and manipulatively push somthing.
And I do not like when anyone’s family past is used for politival advantage or disadvantage. Like why is it matter where who was born, who was one’s grandpa or something, etc. when we are talking on current days politics? Focus on the present problem.
So true on the USSR.
On using personal narrative for advance I am fine, but has to be more or less genuine to the context. If I say that my neighbor is horrible because once took my lawnmower and never returned it back and leave the part that he bought me later on a better one because he broke mine… I have been completely disingenuous.