Estonia

Words by: Johannes Semper
Music by: Gustav Ernesaks
In use: 1945-1990

After Estonia was incorporated in the Soviet Union, it was given a new anthem. When Estonia broke away from the Soviet Union 50 years later it readopted its old anthem. The lyrics refer to Kaleva, which is a magic land from Karel-Finnish folk stories.

It is interesting to note that while the lyrics of many state anthems of the Soviet Republics contain assurances of friendship and cooperation between Russians and the people of the respective Soviet Republic, this is (intentionally or unintentionally?) missing from the Estonian State anthem.

The version presented here, adopted in 1956, is a slight change from the previous SSR anthem in that the third verse had references to Stalin, which became obsolete after his death.

Special thanks to: Yrjo Makela for some of this information and Pavel Zinovatny for the English translation.

See also: Estonia (1869-1940, 1990-), Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1944-1992).