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Singing revolution is the common title for events in 1988 - 1990 that led to the renewal of independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Estonia
Night after night, a cycle of singing mass demonstrations eventually collected 300,000 Estonians (more than one-fifth of the population) in Tallinn to sing national songs and hymns, which had been strictly forbidden during the years of Soviet occupation, as rock musicians played.A Week before them played three musicians 1987. The Singing Revolution lasted over five years with various protests and acts of defiance. In 1991, as Soviet tanks were rolling throughout the countryside in an attempt to quell the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Soviet (Legislature) together with the Congress of Estonia proclaimed the restoration of the independent State of Estonia and repudiated Soviet legislation. Estonians stood as human shields to protect radio and TV stations from the tanks. As a result of the revolution, Estonia won its independence without any bloodshed.
Latvia
By the time Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost and perestroika in the USSR, which rolled-back restrictions to freedom in the Soviet Union, aversion to the Soviet regime had grown into the Third Latvian National Awakening. It reached its peak in summer 1988.
Lithuania
See History of Lithuania 1988-1990
See also
External links
- Wealth Bondage: "Estonia's Singing Revolution" – about the movie Estonia's Singing Revolution
- The U.S.-Baltic Foundation: Estonia's Singing Revolution
- Tallinn-Life: A Brief Guide to the Estonian Singing Revolution
Revolutions | 1988 | History of Estonia | Estonian music | History of Latvia | History of Lithuania | Non-violent revolutions
"Singing Revolution"