Sõjakujutusest tänapäeva eesti kirjanduses. Leo Kunnase sõjad
The depiction of war in modern Estonian literature. The wars of Leo Kunnas

Summary/Abstract: Unlike the traditional Estonian papers on war literature, which mainly deal with the so-called two big wars of the 20th century, the focus of this article lies on more recent wars and conflicts and their representations in modern Estonian literature, with closer attention to the works of Leo Kunnas. Modern Estonian literature is rich in war themes and representations of various conflicts (e.g. the Soviet-Afghan War, social upheavals, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, hypothetical wars of the future, an abstract threat of war) while their genre diversity is also considerable (fiction, diaries, documentary works, sci-fi, etc). The present analysis is focused on the representation of war in the following three books by Leo Kunnas: Sõdurjumala teener (“Servant of the Soldier God”, 2001), Viiv pikas sõjas (“A Moment in the Long War”, 2006) and Sõda 2023 (“War 2023”, 2016). The wars depicted are the August Coup of 1991 in Soviet Union, the Iraq War, and a hypothetic future war against Russia, respectively. Based on Evelyn Cobley’s book “Representing War: Form and Ideology in First World War Narratives” (1993), the analysis is centered not on what is depicted but on representations, i.e. on how and by what textual means the depiction is done. In addition it is explored how the ways of war representation used by Kunnas may relate to his attitude to war and his ideological position. The conclusion is that in all three works analysed war is depicted realistically, the representation becoming even excessively detailed and documentary in places, which bears on Kunnas’ militant and heroic ideology. Leo Kunnas is a devoted warrior, determined to stand for his country and defend it whatever it takes, thus following the soldier’s path.

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