Communist Party of Estonia (1920-1990)

The Communist Party of Estonia (Estonian: Eestimaa Kommunistlik Partei, abbreviated EKP; in Russian: Коммунистическая партия Эстонии) was a regional branch of the Soviet communist party which in 1920–1940 operated illegally in Estonia and, after the 1940 occupation and annexation of the country by the Soviet Union, was formally re-merged into the USSR's All-Union Communist Party (bolsheviks) and operated as part of the CPSU until 1990.

Estonian parties, movements and organizations

1900s

• Communist Party of Estonia (1920-1990)
• Vaps Movement (1929-1935)

History of Estonia

• Estonian parties, movements and organizations

Nikolay Abramov: Writer, Translator, Journalist and Poet

Nikolay Viktorovich Abramov, also spelled Nikolai, (January 24, 1961 – January 23, 2016) was a Vepsian writer, translator, journalist and poet. He was a leading proponent of the Veps language, as well as Vepsian literature and culture in Russia. The Vepsians are a Finnic people of northern Russia whose language belongs to the Uralic languages.

Life and career

Abramov composed poems and literature in both Vepsian and Russian, which have been translated into more than 20 languages. He was the author of seven collections of poetry, which have been released in Vepsian, Russian, Estonian, French and Hungarian.

Abramov first published his poetry in the Finnish-language journal, Punalippu, in February 1989. His book, Koumekümne koume, which was released in 1994, was the first Vepsian-language book of literature ever published.

He was accepted into the Writers' Union of Russia in 1998. He was also a member of Karelian Writers' Union. The Russian Republic of Karelia named him a "Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Karelia." The Barents Euro-Arctic Region cultural center in Overkalix, Sweden, awarded Abramov a literary prize in August 2006.

In 2013, a collection of eighty Vepsian language poems Оять-ёген рандал... (Ojat-jogjen randal...) written by Abramov, has been published. This collection is believed to be the third Veps language book to be written using the Cyrillic alphabet in history. Traditionally, the Veps language is written in the Latin script.

In addition to his literary work, Abramov served as the head bibliographer for the National Library of the Republic of Karelia in Petrozavodsk.

Vepsians

Veps, or Vepsians (Veps: vepsläižed), are a Finnic people who speak the Veps language, which belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages.

According to the 2002 census, there were 8,240 Veps in Russia. Of the 281 Veps in Ukraine, 11 spoke Vepsian (Ukr. Census 2001).

The self-designations of these people in various dialects are vepslaine, bepslaane and (in northern dialects, southwest of Lake Onega) lüdinik and lüdilaine. Almost all Vepsians are fluent in Russian. The younger generation, in general, does not speak Vepsian although many have an understanding of the language.

Notable Vepsians

• Nikolay Abramov (1961-2016)

Genetics

Vepsians cluster with Karelians and Finns. They share most of their autosomal ancestry with Europeans, but about 12% of their ancestry is Nganasan-like. The Nganasan-related component is linked to the spread of Uralic languages. Vepsians share more IBD (identity-by-descent) segments with several Uralic-speaking populations, including geographically distant ones like the Mansis and the Nganasans, than with Russians or other non-Uralic groups near to them. They have significant IBD segment sharing with the Turkic-speaking Dolgans from Siberia, too.

The most common maternal haplogroups among Vepsians include H (57.6%) and U5 (16.8%), showing similarity with other Baltic Finnic groups. 56.4% of Vepsian men have the haplogroup N, which is of East Eurasian origin and commonly found among Uralic-speaking populations. 38.5% belong to the subclade N1a1a (M178) and 17.9% have the subclade N-P43. The second most common Y-DNA haplogroup among the Veps is R1a (35.9%).

Ali Tornberg: Deputy Judge (1907), Mayor of Tornio (1919) and Chairman of the Karelian Isthmus Guarding Committee (1924)

Ali Tornberg (6 January 1873 Oulu – 9 November 1958 Tornio) was a Finnish jurist, border inspector and mayor of Tornio.

Tornberg's parents were merchant Niilo Alfred Tornberg and Fredrika Charlotta Nyman. He graduated from Oulu's Swedish private high school in 1895 and completed his law degree at the University of Helsinki in 1904. Tornberg was awarded the rank of deputy judge in 1907.

Ali Tornberg was a lawyer for the Finnish Creditors' Association in Tampere in 1906–1907 and a lawyer for Kemi Oy in 1908–1910. Tornberg had his own law office in Rovaniemi from 1910−1918. She became the mayor of Tornio in 1919 and was a border inspector on the border between Sweden and Norway from 1920 to 1940 and the honorary consul of Finland in Haparanna from 1927.

Tornberg was the vice-chairman of the Rovaniemi municipal council and a member, vice-chairman and chairman of the Tornio municipal council. SHe was a member of the Reindeer Committee between Finland and Norway in 1920−1921, a member of the Tornion and Muonionjoki Fishing Commission between Finland and Sweden, and a member of the Central Committee of Tornionlaakso municipalities from 1925. Tornberg also served as chairman of the Karelian Isthmus Guarding Committee in 1924 and as a member of Governor Pehkonen's Western Border Committee in 1938. She founded the Rovaniemi bread factory and was the chairman of its board.

Ali Tornberg was married to Anna Stark since 1923.

Arvi Järventaus: Writer, Chaplain in Enontekiö (1910-1916), Field Chaplain in the Headquarters of the Western Army (1918), Vicar of Sodankylä (1918-1923) and Chaplain in Tuusula (1923-1939)

Heikki Arvi Järventaus (Ockenström until 1908; December 17, 1883 Oulu – June 5, 1939 Hartola) was a Finnish writer and priest.

Personal history

Järventaus' parents were blacksmith Heikki Ockenström and Kaisa Kreeta Hämet and wife since 1908 Jenny Katarina Wisuri. He matriculated from Oulu Lyceum in 1904 and was ordained a priest in 1908. In the same year, he started acting as vicar in Tervola and got married there. In 1909, Järventaus worked as a vicar's assistant in Ylitornio and from 1910 to 1916 as a chaplain in Enontekiö. In addition, in 1914 he completed studies at the University of Halle in Germany. At the end of 1916, he acted as as a prison preacher in Oulu county prison and had to inform activist Taavetti Lukkarinen about his execution. Järventaus was also present at the execution. During the Finnish Civil War, Järventaus served as a chaplain and field chaplain in the headquarters of the Western Army.

In the years 1918–1923, Järventaus was the vicar of Sodankylä and at the same time also acting. as a county governor in the county of Lapland in 1919–1923. From 1923, he worked as a chaplain in Tuusula until his death, but was also a religion teacher at Kerava co-educational school in 1923-1925.

Järventaus was politically active, and especially fennomania, guardianship activities and tribalism were close to his heart. Among other things, he worked as an educational guide for the Northern Uusimaa guardianship district, writing numerous articles for the Sarkatakki magazine published by the district.

Actor Mervi Järventaus and lieutenant general Jorma Järventaus were children of Arvi Järventaus.

Written production

Järventaus was one of the most prominent short story writers of the early days of Finland's independence, which is also shown by the fact that he was awarded the State Literature Prize in 1919, 1920, 1928, 1930 and 1932. Most of his literary production is related to Lapland. He is also remembered for his historical novels, especially the four-part novel Rummut about the Finnish war. Järventaus got the subjects of his last works from Hungary, where he made several trips in the 1930s. Järventaus received an honorary doctorate from the Hungarian University of Debrecen in 1938. In addition to Hungarian, his work has been translated into at least Swedish, Estonian and German.