The fight against the "Russian Spirit" in the Tallinn of the early 1920s Cover Image

"Здесь русский дух… здесь Русью пахнет!": Борьбас "русским духом" в Таллине в начале 1920-х гг
The fight against the "Russian Spirit" in the Tallinn of the early 1920s

Author(s): Aurika Meimre, Antonia Nael
Subject(s): Cultural history, Visual Arts, Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), Politics of History/Memory, Politics and Identity
Published by: Tallinna Ülikooli Kirjastus
Keywords: History of Estonia; monument of Peter the Great; Georg Tõnisson (1894–1944); caricature;

Summary/Abstract: This article is aimed at reconstructing the course of events that resulted in the relocation of a monument of Peter the Great in the capital of Estonia. The bronze standing figure of Peter by Léopold Bernstamm (unveiled in September 1910 to commemorate the bicentennial of the siege of Reval) was removed in April 1922. The reasons for its demolition were mainly ideological: for Estonians Peter the Great symbolized years of suffering under Russian rule. The controversy around Peter the Great attracted Georg Tõnisson (Gori), a graphic artist, who portrayed the czar in a series of caricatures published by Waba Maa and Meie Mats.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 121-152
  • Page Count: 32
  • Language: Russian