The Estonian dissident who helped break the silence at Hirvepark
At Hirvepark, Madisson called for the secret protocols to be published and their consequences liquidated.
Tiit Madisson was an Estonian dissident and writer who spent 1980–1986 as a political prisoner. After his release, he founded MRP-AEG and helped organise the 1987 Hirvepark meeting, which demanded publication of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocols and the liquidation of their consequences. The rally became a key moment in the return of public political action in late Soviet Estonia, and the authorities forced him into exile in Sweden. After returning, he took part in Estonia's restoration politics and nationalist organisations; his later writings also drew criticism for Holocaust denial.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1970년대 중반Organiser in Estonia's hippie movement
- 1980–1986Political prisoner, then exiled internally
- 1987Founder of MRP-AEG and principal organiser of the Hirvepark meeting
- 1987–1990Exile in Sweden; contributor to Radio Free Europe
- 1990–1992Member of the Congress of Estonia and Estonian Committee
- 1994Presided over the founding congress of the Nationalists' Central League
- 2002–2005Mayor of Lihula
- 2009Helped launch the re-establishment of the Estonian National Independence Party
Related historical events
The 1983 prison letter and the Helsinki Accords
Imprisoned as a Soviet political prisoner from 1980 to 1986, Madisson smuggled an open letter out of a prison in Siberia in 1983 and sent it to the Madrid Conference of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. The letter called on the Soviet Union to observe the humanitarian provisions of the Helsinki Accords. He was placed in solitary confinement as a result. The episode shows that his dissident activity continued in prison, before his role in organising a public rally in 1987.