Communist Party of Estonia

The Communist Party of Estonia (Eestimaa Kommunistlik Partei, abbreviated EKP) was a political party in Estonia. The party was founded in 1920, functioned as the republican-level organization of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the Estonian SSR 1940–1990. The predecessor of EKP was formed on 5 November 1920, when the Central Committee of the Estonian Sections of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was separated from its mother party. During the first half of the 1920s the Bolsheviks' hopes for an immediate world revolution were still high, and Estonian communists had their own hopes of restoring their power. Widespread economic and social crisis supported their hopes. Activists of the party had not only to support the agenda, but also to be ready to participate in the illegal actions, such as organising conspirative apartments, transporting weapons and communist propaganda material, hide undercover activists and collect information for the revolutionaries. It resulted in a standing conflict situation with the Estonian government and authorities. As EKP was not oriented towards official political action within the established political system, the organisation never tried to legalise itself in the independent Republic of Estonia in 1920-1940, nor did it ever abandon calls for an armed uprising to unite Estonia with the USSR. Although by early 1920s EKP had dropped much below from its 1917 level of popularity, it still had significant support amongst the industrial proletariat and it held a strong position in the Estonian trade union movement. In the parliamentary elections EKP's front organisations took always more than 5% of the vote. However, following the 1 December 1924 failed coup attempt by the Estonian communists, the party rapidly lost support, its membership fell to around 70–200 people and remained low until 1940. According to the EKP's own records, there were only 150 party members remaining by the time of the Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia in June 1940.