It was with great sadness I learned that one of the most courageous Estonian freedom fighters Tiit Madisson had died on June 21. He left the Earth on the longest day of the year, Summer Solstice.
It was even more disturbing that the Estonian media or government did not feel the need to issue any statement regarding this in English for the Estonian diaspora. Typically ERR (Eesti Rahvusringhääling) publishes articles in both languages about important events. Then again – it is not surprising; keeping in mind how Tiit Madisson has been ignored for most of his life by the powers that be.
It is also sad, that so many väliseestlased (Estonians living abroad) seem to have lost interest in keeping up with Estonian politics after 1991. Perhaps they consider their job done. All the protests and ESTOs demanding Estonia´s independence seem to have served their purpose and Estonia is now “free”. The turmoil that followed, false promises and political corruption have mainly gone unnoticed.
I will spare you a lengthy political analysis of the systematic extermination of rural life in Estonia or how most Estonians really feel about forced to become a periphery of the European Union or the ensuing highest prices and lowest standard of living. It is easy to be lulled by the lofty PR pieces on “the most digitally advanced country in the world”. To get an accurate picture one might ask friends and family still living in Estonia how they manage on 190 euros pension or why almost a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line, many of those being families with young children.
The fairytale of the Singing Revolution will always tug on our heart strings but the harsh reality of many kodueestlased (Estonians living in Estonia) makes one shed a tear more often than just every few years at Laulupidu.
I will also omit the biography and CV of Tiit Madisson. We all know it. If not – it is easily researchable. Along with the other forgotten heroes like Jüri Kukk, Mart Niklus, Lagle Parek etc. Mart Niklus, for example, has been nominated to be the honorary citizen (aukodanik) of Tartu over fifteen times! To no avail. For a while he even had to endure the indignity of battling for the right to remain in his own home. THIS is how much the current Republic of Estonia honors its heroes. The few and the proud who sacrificed everything – their health, their freedom and in Jüri Kukk´s case even their life; to fight for Estonia´s independence after the illegal Soviet annexation.
Tiit Madisson was a man of principal. Never to cow down or change his tune like so many other “patriots”. He was a dissident and a political prisoner of the Soviet Union from 1980 to 1986 and spent four years in Perm prison camps and then forced exile in Eastern Yakutia. He was one of the organizers of the legendary Hirvepark Meeting – the grassroots gathering in 1987 that heralded the dawn of the Estonian independence movement. In 1988, Andrus Ansip (who was later to become Estonian prime minister and the biggest proponent of joining the EU; promising that joining the EU would not raise prices and that Estonia would become one of the five richest EU countries) sent police dogs and Soviet Estonian militia (the name for teh Soviet police force) onto peaceful students commemorating the Tartu Peace Treaty.
Dogs and police in riot gear were summoned against peaceful fellow Estonians as recently as April of this year. Ironically and quite poignantly – it was a gathering against government over-reach and medical tyranny brought on by covid restrictions.
Tiit Madisson was only 71 but sounded exhausted and out of breath during his last television interview. His earthly remains were cremated quickly and no official memorial service has been announced.
Madisson has never received any medals, acknowledgement or gratitute for his contributions from the Estonian government. He was however convicted by the court of the Estonian Republic in 1996 “of being dissatisfied with the situation in Estonia in May 1996, as a member of the Defense League, to prepare for a military coup” and “sought accomplices to implement his plans and ideas”. Madisson was sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment, plus two more months, because the offense had been committed while on probation. He was released early on the basis of the amnesty law passed by the Riigikogu on November 13, 1997.
The only official award Tiit Madisson ever received was the Estonian People’s Gratitude Medal from the Estonian Legion Supporters Club in 2020 (Eesti Leegioni Sõprade Klubi, a non-profit organization).
All the more reason for all real Estonian patriots to honour his legacy and pause to ponder the true state of affairs of our homeland.
Ave Maria Blithe
