It’s clear that the leadership and day-to-day management of VEKSA was entrusted to veteran KGB officers, some with foreign intelligence experience. How specific were the directions developed by the Communist Party/KBG in establishing VEKSA’s pursuits?
KGB officer Paul (Pavel) Toom, head of the 1st chief directorate of the Estonian KGB (foreign intelligence) compiled a top secret analysis of needs and operational priorities, which were widely distributed among other KGB branches in the USSR. This document was drawn up after the famous 27th party congress in 1986 had been held, where Mihkail Gorbachev had made radical proposals with regards to liberalization, perestroika and glasnost.
(Amongst other proposals, Toom suggested that ESTO 1996 should be held in Tallinn, under the strict control of the party and KBG. Ironically the 1996 Stockholm-Tallinn ESTO was successfully organized, but within a democratic, independent Estonia.)
The following is a summary (by LL) of Toom’s analysis and proposals in the ‘top secret, eyes only’ report, “Working with Estonian ‘emigrants’ through perestroika”:
Independence internationally means we no longer pursue confrontation with other count-ries, but rather dialogue and mutual understanding. This in-cludes activities with Estonian emigrants. The anti-Soviet efforts of ‘emigrant’ organizations has been conducted in co-operation with western clandestine services. For this reason we have directed our operations toward gaining information about this partnership and applying counter-measures.
Specifically this meant: pla-cing agents within ‘emigrant’ centres to learn their operational methods; exposing their ties with western clandestine services; controlling communications channels; compromising their leadership and using other covert tactics. The KGB itself has targeted the anti-Soviet organizations and their personnel, which number a few hundered. VEKSA has been able to form relationships with the more progressive ‘emigrants’, who are about one hundred, not organized and have not had any impact on the rest of the ‘emigrant’ community. Tens of thousands of others have been totally ignored by us.
During the last decade the ‘Baltic question’ has been on the agenda of many western countries and plays a role in forming their foreign policy. Our attempts to neutralize this have not been successful. It seems we need a new ap-proach both for the ‘emigrants’ and our tactics. ‘Emigrants’ have scored successes at international forums, ‘tribu-nals’, ‘freedom cruises’, in lobbying their politicians, etc. Because the ‘emigrants’ firmly support the justification for the ’non recognition’ policy, the USA gains benefits from the recognition of the pre-war republics as legitimate entities de jure.
To counter this we must use the same methods, to fight for the consciousness, for the hearts an minds of the public. Currently we are infiltrating specific organizations, while the opposition is winning the war of opinions and attitudes. Individual ‘professionals’ such as Ants Kippar, Ülo Ignats, Andres Küng, Aleks Miilits (all in Sweden and now de-ceased) and others have taken the anti-Soviet fight over from the traditional organizations – Estonian Central Council in Canada, Estonian World Coucil, Estonian Natio-nal Fund, Estonian Repre-sentation in Sweden, etc. (This is Toom’s perspective – LL) ESTO-s, Estivals, Tribunals and other events are the main thrust of their fight. The people involved are more driven by personal ambition or individual agreements with western clandestine services, than they are by belonging to an organization. Perestroika has had a profound effect on their perception of their homeland and the existing Soviet system.
With regards to ESTO-s: Let’s grab the initiative and declare that we want to parti-cipate, especially with music by Estonian National Men’s Choir, Tõnu Kaljuste’s chamber choir, Ellerhein’s children’s choir, two-tree rock groups. Music isn’t considered to be anti-Soviet and it’ll help neut-ralize the ‘feedom-fighting’ political importance of ESTO’s. We won’t be able to mobilize for the 1988 ESTO, but for 1992, 1996 and 2000 ESTO – they could all be organized in Tallinn. (It should be noted that for the first time prominent Estonian cultural figures, V. Rumessen, M. Laar, L. Meri, P.-E. Rummo, A. Valton and others were allowed by Soviet Estonian authorities to participate in the 1988 ESTO at Melbourne. Most of them were widely recognized as Estonian nationa-list and known not to be party favourites. The KGB/VEKSA combination no longer cont-rolled this participation –LL).
We should nurture the ties the pre-war ‘emigrant’ graduates of various schools and educational institutions al-ready have and facilitate their reunions and gatherings. We can boost relationships between country organizations in the emigrant community and their local counties in Soviet Estonia to get a lively reciprocity in activities.
We should facilitate contacts and relationships beween unions of writers, composers, artists, theatre professionals, etc. We should help in organizing exhibits, concerts, plays of emigrant artists, the publishing of their books, the promotion of their works in gene-ral. These ideas have been discussed within the leadership of the Central Committee of the party. These types of co-operative efforts should also be implemented between groups of engineeers, physicians, teachers, etc. While practical benefits accrue from western experience and knowledge, it also gives good cover for intelligence operations.
Toom named other sectors, including fund-raising and the disbursements of wills and testaments, where co-operation rather than confrontation should dominate. He stressed that the ‘professional’ cold war types can currently speak on behalf of tens of thousands of ‘emigrant’ Estonians because no concerted efforts had been made to win over the loyalty of ‘neutral’ Estonians. By winning ove the cultural elite, one can discredit the reactionary anti-Soviet leaders who have, without any rivals, been represen-ting the total community of ‘emigrants’. These were Toom’s analyses and propo-sals.
Laas Leivat
“Eesti Elu” (Estonian Life) #42, 19. okt. 20012
