Ajalooline Ajakiri. The Estonian Historical Journal

Toetus enamlusele Eestis novembrist 1917 jaanuarini 1918

Mark Gortfelder — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract: Support for Bolshevism in Estonia from November of 1917 to January of 1918

Only a few weeks after the Bolsheviks stormed to power, elections for the All-Russian Constituent Assembly were held. They were also held in the Estonian province of the Russian state. The Bolsheviks claimed a clear victory in Estonia with two-fifths of the votes cast in their favour. At the end of January 1918, elections were held for the Estonian Constituent Assembly to determine the political organisation of Estonia. This offers a unique opportunity to study the electoral impact of experiencing really existing Communism during the first months after the October Revolution. The Estonian Assembly elections, however, were not fully completed since the Bolsheviks abruptly stopped the proceedings before approximately a third of the municipalities were able to cast their votes. Still, as reported by previous authors, the partial election results show that during this short period, the Bolsheviks saw their support decrease by a few percentage points.

Eduard Laaman and Joosep Saat, both contemporaries of that time, have completed the most thorough analyses of the first few months of Bolshevik rule in Estonia, with the former representing the non-Communist viewpoint, and the latter adhering to the Communist line. Other authors have largely followed their arguments. Both Laaman and Saat agree that the agrarian policies of the Estonian Bolsheviks, which were more hard-line than those of their Russian comrades in aiming for immediate agricultural collectivisation, was one of the main reasons why the Bolsheviks saw their support dwindle, since most (semi-)landless folk wanted land of their own. Laaman also lambasted the urban economic policies of socialisation of the enterprises, which saw the plight of industrial workers in the urban areas worsen during the ‘reign of the proletariat’. Both agree that the occasionally violent seizure of power in the municipalities could also have been a detriment since the previous local governments had democratic legitimacy. Finally, an important change was that by the time the Estonian Assembly elections were held, all other political parties had begun supporting and campaigning for the independence of Estonia. The Bolsheviks and the bolshevised Russian troops stationed in Estonia were alone in opposing this.

This article has four aims. First, it seeks to check and correct the election results as computed by previous (Soviet) historians. Second, it intends to map the results from both elections by municipalities, which has not been done before, in order to gain a precise understanding of spatial variations in the support for Bolshevism. Third, it aspires to arrive at an exact comparison of the election results by comparing only those municipalities (N = 219) in which both elections were held and where the results were published, which has not been done by previous authors. Fourth, using the results from these municipalities, it seeks to explain the changes in the support for Bolshevism during this short but dynamic period.

The article’s main sources are the official county and voting station protocols for both elections. Additionally, results published in contemporary newspapers are also used in some cases. For the most part, both elections were held on the same principles and procedures, which fully justifies their comparison. It is important to note that at that time, the Bolsheviks did not actively and unequivocally tamper with the election results nor did they engage in voter intimidation or sabotage the campaigns of other political parties, as was the rule later on.

The main results are as follows. First, the article proved that for some municipalities, the calculations of previous authors are incorrect. Here, it is estimated that the Bolsheviks got 40.2% of the vote in the elections for the Russian Constituent Assembly. In the unfinished elections for the Estonian Constituent Assembly, the Bolsheviks gained 36.9% of the vote.

Second, an exact comparison was arrived at by comparing only the municipalities for which we have results from both elections. With this limitation, the Bolshevik vote decreased from 41.8 to 36.9%, which in relative terms means a drop of 12%. Still, the relative vote share of other leftist political parties (the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Social Democrats) decreased even more, meaning that the Bolsheviks became more dominant on the left wing of the political spectrum. The vote share of the centrist Labour Party and the right-wing political parties increased in relative terms by a quarter and a third, respectively.

Third, looking at the spatial distribution of Bolshevik support in the elections for the Russian Assembly, greater Bolshevik support stands out in urban centres, in the north and the southeast of the country. However, there are substantial differences in this distribution, frequently even among neighbouring municipalities. Such fluctuations cannot be explained by structural (compositional) factors. These discrepancies decreased in the later election. This means that municipalities with greater Bolshevik support in the first election saw a greater decrease in the later election, and municipalities with lower Bolshevik support in the first election mostly recorded an increase in their support in the later election.

Fourth, in terms of explaining the changes in Bolshevik support, it is claimed that increasing understanding of the political landscape among the electorate evened up the vote share across socio-demographically similar municipalities. Also, it is evident that the Bolsheviks were able to gain the support of previous Socialist-Revolutionary and Social Democratic supporters. The article found support for the hypothesis that the Bolshevik vote share fell more in the more industrial areas. Increased voter participation and land ownership rates in the rural municipalities, on the other hand, were shown to have no effect on the change in Bolshevik võte share. Finally, the article questioned if the timing of local Bolshevik action in taking over local municipalities or creating local soviets had an impact on the change in the Bolshevik vote. The analysis showed this to be true for Harju County but the data on local political actions is too flawed to say anything conclusively about Estonia more generally.

Enn Küng, Mercuriuse ja Marsi vahel. Hansalinn Tallinn Rootsi riigi haardes 1561–1632 (Inna Jürjo)

Inna Jürjo — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Ülevaade ajaloo ja arheoloogia doktorantide konverentsist

Toivo Kikkas, Ott Koor, Jens Raevald — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Hästitempereeritud eelmäng. Kirg ja vaoshoitus seksuaalsuhetes varauusaegses Euroopas

Mati Laur — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract: A Well-Tempered Foreplay. Passion and Constraint in Sexual Relations in Early Modern Europe

The church prescribed norms for sexual behaviour, stipulating four requirements for sexual intercourse: it had to take place within marriage, it had to be genital (ruling out anal and oral intercourse), it had to be heterosexual, and with some concessions it also had to be procreative – aimed at conceiving children. The Reformation admittedly did away with marriage as a sacrament, but that did not mean that Protestants depreciated marriage as an institution. Compared to their Catholic counterparts, Protestant theologians placed considerably greater emphasis on the importance of sexual ties between a married man and woman. Marriage was no longer a conceded form of cohabitation, but rather one that was preferred and recommended. Luther not only stipulated the requirement to marry, but also the duty of marriage, which required sexual activity from both the man and the woman. Along with this requirement, sexual life was forced into a marital framework even more. Leaving the duties of marriage (debitum conjugale) unfulfilled was deplored in both theological and medical literature and it was acceptable grounds for divorcing marriage.

The church’s requirement to exercise sexual restraint in marriage contradicted the medical understandings of that time. According to the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen of Pergamon that were current in the early modern era, both men and women had semen – women’s semen was situated in the womb, which opened up when the woman became sexually aroused. Conception took place when male semen was mixed with female semen. This in turn required that both the man and the woman achieved orgasm. If the woman hated her husband, then the womb would not open up and conception would not take place. From the medical viewpoint of that time, in order for the woman to conceive, the sexual stimulation of the woman was not only permissible, but altogether indispensable. Hence two almost contradictory opinions concerning the encouragement of sexual intercourse took shape: the medical – the more, the better – and the theological – the less, the better. While physicians gave spouses advice on how to conceive children as effectively as possible, theologians taught how to behave as sinlessly as possible.

The Enlightenment redefined the sexuality of women. By the end of the 18th century, the knowledge that the woman’s orgasm or its absence was of no importance whatsoever regarding conception gained general acceptance. From that point onward, the woman’s part in the sexual sphere was relegated to a passive role that implied indifference and dispassion during coitus. Bourgeois marriage, which started to take shape at the end of the early modern era, altered conceptions that had hitherto been current. While pleasure had been a sin before the Enlightenment era, thereafter pleasure became irrational and foolish.

Kas digitaalne infosüsteem ühtlustab teabeasutusi: muuseumide, arhiivide ja raamatukogude konvergents

Kurmo Konsa — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract: Does the digital information system unify information institutions: convergence of museums, archives, and libraries?

Today’s information society is highly dependent on digital information and its management. Since the invention of computers in the 1940s and 1950s, we have reached a point where digital technology affects every citizen of the developed world every day. Information institutions, including libraries, archives, and museums (LAM), among others, ensure the functioning of information systems. These institutions are cultural mechanisms by which a meaningful and ordered social world is created and maintained. Convergence has become an important subject in the field of LAM since the 1980s. In short, this refers to the convergence of institutions and the possible merging of functions. Above all, the development of the digital information environment drives convergence. More and more common digital cultural heritage platforms (e.g., e-Varamu, Europeana) are being created, and data are being shared.

The convergence of LAMs has been a research topic since the 1930s, but a more serious interest in the convergence of LAM institutions arose with the wider adoption of digital information. A common argument in favour of convergence was the recognition that in the digital environment, it is no longer important to the user whether the information that interests them is located in a library, archive, or museum. The literature on the convergence of LAMs is extensive, demonstrating the subject’s importance for both the memory institutions themselves and society at large. In general, the attitude in the LAM convergence literature is positive, although a number of researchers are very critical of convergence, emphasising the fact that its proponents are mostly politicians and cultural organisers, not so much the institutions themselves. In this article, I focus on how digital technologies have changed the role of libraries, archives, and museums in the social information system and determine the factors promoting and hindering convergence. I highlight the broader societal processes Associated with convergence. These are aspects that have been overshadowed in most of the work published so far.

Two developments are discernible in the development of information organisation in information institutions. Firstly, there is regulation, standardisation, and rationalisation of information organisation. The other development is the increasing diversification and general democratisation of information organisation, and the ever-wider involvement of people. Both of these developments are largely driven by the development of digital technologies. The first tendency is primarily related to practical and internal developments in technology, since digital technology also defines certain workflows and organisational structures and culture. However, the second developmental direction is related to change in the wider social and political environment, which in fact is also directly related to digital technologies, for example the facilitation of information exchange and overall networking due to their influence.

Information institutions have for some time no longer been focused only on collections. In the last couple of decades, the main focus has already been on users. Of course, such development has not been easy or smooth. The purposeful political development of information society has been an ongoing process since at least 1998 in Estonia. In that year, the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) adopted the first basic document of the country’s information policy, ‘Principles of Estonian Information Policy’. This Document stipulated the principles from which the state should proceed when making political decisions regarding the development of information society. Among other things, the document set the goal that the country’s information policy must help preserve and develop the Estonian language and culture. The Council of Preservation of Cultural Heritage (KSN), which acted as an advisory body to the Ministry of Culture, was involved in the preservation of cultural heritage, including digital cultural heritage, in memory institution LAMs. They based their activities on Estonian national cultural heritage as a whole, regardless of its affiliation or form of ownership.

The Council’s emphasis was on the convergence of LAM memory institutions and the societal and cultural aspects of information use. As issues related to digital cultural heritage became more and more important, in 2003, the Ministry of Culture prepared the ‘National Strategy for the Digital Preservation of Estonian Cultural Heritage 2004–2007’. In 2004, the Digital Preservation Council was established at the Ministry. Subsequent development plans related to digital cultural heritage (Digital Cultural Heritage 2007–2010, 2011–2016, 2015–2020) increasingly focused on digitisation and reuse of heritage, and new services. The convergence themes emphasised by the Council of Preservation of Cultural Heritage were also not developed further. However, it is definitely worth pointing out that in the field of digitisation, good cooperation and coordination of activities between memory institution LAMs were achieved. Current activities in the field of digital culture are clearly aimed only at digitisation, and a real turn to user-centeredness is still being planned.

The use of digital technologies alone does not necessarily make LAM institutions more similar and cannot be the only and main reason for their convergence. On the other hand, the networking and cooperation of various information institutions have also become an important value in the altered social conditions. One of the most important drivers of convergence is definitely the turn to user-centricity, along with the desire to increase the number of visitors. Certainly, in the case of convergence, the local context, and in memory institutions the history of the institutions and the established organisational culture must be considered. There is certainly no single convergence model suitable for all institutions. It must be considered that each specific situation is unique. Standardisation gives rise to the danger that the uniqueness of each organisation may possibly be overlooked – it is described on some general level, but that which is peculiar, unique, and does not fit in with the norm is pushed aside. On the one hand, standardisation is beneficial because it makes collections easier to manage and use, but on the other hand, diversity is again reduced.

In the case of convergence, functions should be considered separately from institutions and, if necessary, ways should be found to reconcile and organise them according to the requirements of the new digital environment.