The Singing Revolution tells the moving story of how the Estonian people peacefully regained their freedom and helped topple the Soviet empire—by singing. The film will be shown at Portland’s Hollywood Theater, April 4-10. RAPS member Tom Palm, professor emeritus of economics, was deeply involved in the events the film depicts. Palm came to the United States as an 11-yearold refugee from post-World War II Europe (his “real name” is Toomas). Decades later, as a professional economist still speaking the Estonian language, he was in demand as a lecturer on market economics. Palm was advising the prime minister of the freedom-minded government when Estonian independence was restored in 1991. Later he worked with the universities to retrain their economics and business faculty on market economics, and he was one of the founders of the School of Social Sciences at the venerable University of Tartu. He was granted an honorary doctorate by Tallinn Technical University in 1992. Independent Estonia has flourished as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. How independence was peacefully restored to the Soviet occupied country is an extraordinary story. Estonians had lived on their land for thousands of years before the crusades began a series of occupations. An independent Estonian state was finally established in 1918, but then, in 1939-1940, a brutal invasion and occupation by the Soviet Union decimated the country. When Hitler attacked his erstwhile ally, Estonia suffered a brief Nazi occupation. Then the Soviets reoccupied the country and stayed for the next 50 years. As World War II wound down, the Palms escaped to the West, along with some 70,000 other Estonians. Those who stayed suffered summary executions, deportations, and deprivation. Over the following decades, it was Soviet policy to Tom Palm Film documents a most unusual revolution: Estonia, 1987-91 import hundreds of thousands of Russian speakers to control and dilute the native population. Today, ethnic Estonians are still only about two-thirds of the total population, but they are still singing. Most people don’t think about singing when they think about revolutions. But song was the weapon of choice when Estonians sought to free themselves. Hundreds of thousands Estonians, mostly younger people, spontaneously gathered in public to sing forbidden patriotic songs and to rally for independence. This is the story told in The Singing Revolution. The Portland Estonian folk dancers, the largest such troupe in North America, will do a half-hour show before the 7 p.m. screening on Friday, April 4, and before the Sunday 3 p.m. matinee, April 6. Go at least half an hour early—you’ll enjoy the folk costumes and varied, authentic dancing. On Friday evening, the co-producer and author of the film, Jim Tusty, will be on hand to introduce his work and to answer your questions. The home page for the film is www.singingrevolution.com. The Web site includes the trailer, the press kit, and access to reviews fromThe New York Times, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Theater also has information about the film and the option to buy tickets on line at https://robot.boxofficetickets.com. Freedom demonstrations in Estonia, like this one in 1987, blossomed into one of the most unusual revolutions in history. Photo courtesy The Singing Revolution — 3 —
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