Soviet deportations in Estonia: the June 1941 tragedy
On 14 June 1941, the Soviet Union deported more than 10,000 people from Estonia to Siberia, in one of the darkest chapters of the country’s history – among them were over 7,000 women, children and the elderly; the date is now marked annually as a national day of mourning.*
In the summer of 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as a result of the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on 23 August 1939. As a result of the Second World War, Estonia lost about 17.5% of its population.
The Soviet occupation ushered in an event previously known only from the pages of history books – an event that became one of the most harrowing memories of the past centuries: the mass deportations, which affected people of all nationalities living in Estonia.
Continue reading Soviet deportations in Estonia: the June 1941 tragedy at Estonian World.
6/13/2026 10:33:00 AM