KEY EVENTS

During the late 1980s, feelings of national sentiment and independence began to gain strength and momentum. The policy of Perestroika meant more liberal reforms were taking place within the Soviet Union. On September 26th, 1987, a proposal for Estonia's economic autonomy within the Soviet Union was published in the Tartu newspaper Edasi (Estonian for forward).

Events known as the Singing Revolution began to unfold during the summer of 1988. In May, Five Patriotic Songs premiered at a music festival in Tartu, and then in June, the Old Town Festival was held in Tallinn. After the official festival, numerous mass singing events occurred at the Tallinn Song Festival Ground, with participants focusing on patriotic songs.

On September 11th, 1988, roughly 300,000 Estonians (almost one-third of the population) came together in Tallinn for the National Song Festival.

Along with the Singing Revolution, the Baltic Chain (also called the Baltic Way) was instrumental in Estonia regaining its independence. On August 23rd, 1989, nearly two million people from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania took to the streets, clasping hands to form a chain of people that extended for 670 kilometers.

The date of the Baltic Chain was chosen to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The actions were hugely successful at gaining attention from around the world and Soviet Moscow in particular.

In 1991, the culmination of events came to a head. The widespread push for restoring Estonia's independence continued. Following the August Coup in Moscow, Estonia declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 20th, 1991, when the Supreme Council of Estonia established de facto independence.

August 20th is now a national holiday known as Restoration of Independence Day.