Polite comrades: How Moscow pioneered the use of “little green men” in Estonia a century ago

RU

At 5:15 a.m. one hundred years ago in Revel (now Tallinn), communist rebel battalions organized into tactical groups launched their attack. Their objective was to capture key infrastructure and government buildings, reporting their progress to the central uprising headquarters. The plan closely resembled the October Revolution in Petrograd seven years earlier, which prioritized the seizure of the railway station, the main post office, and essential government offices.

Help from Moscow

The idea for the uprising came from Estonian communists, who hoped for support from local workers and, eventually, the military. Their plan was to overthrow the government, invite the Red Army to secure control, and pave the way for Estonia’s rapid incorporation into the Soviet Union. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR enthusiastically backed the initiative.

Since Estonia’s independence in 1918, communist activities had been banned. To remain politically active, communists disguised themselves as members of legal socialist parties, even securing seats in the Riigikogu (parliament).

However, Estonian communists were widely unpopular. They lacked support from rural farmers, as Estonia’s land reforms had resolved the agrarian question early in its independence. As a result, the uprising focused on urban centers like Revel, Pärnu, and Narva, where industrial workers could be mobilized. Yet even this base proved insufficient. To pull off the coup, Estonian communists required substantial help from abroad.

Exporting revolution

Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, Leon Trotsky, chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, actively promoted his vision of permanent revolution. He believed the revolution should spread to major European countries, asserting that once the proletariat triumphed in the West, communism could be established worldwide.

In 1920, the Red Army aimed to march to Warsaw — and then to Germany, where a civil war was already underway. In Order No. 1423, dated Jul. 2, 1920, Western Front Commander Mikhail Tukhachevsky urged his troops: “Through the corpse of White Poland lies the path to the global conflagration. On our bayonets, we will bring happiness and peace to the working people. To the West!” However, the Battle of Warsaw in August of that year halted the Red Army’s advance.

Moscow decided to postpone its plans to export a global revolution, focusing instead on stabilizing the domestic economy. By 1924, however, a new opportunity arose to revisit these ambitions — this time through Estonia.

At the time, Estonia and Soviet Russia were bound by the Tartu Peace Treaty, signed on Feb. 2, 1920. Under this agreement, Estonia became the first country to recognize Soviet Russia, and in exchange Estonia received Moscow’s recognition of its independence. This gave Moscow a gateway to the outside world, as through Revel, Soviet officials could access Europe. It was only later, at the end of 1920, that the Kremlin signed similar agreements with Latvia and Finland.

The paradox of the situation lay in the fact that, through institutions like Estonia's Scheel Bank, Moscow also laundered money intended to finance its export of the global revolution — funds that were funneled, among other channels, through the young Baltic republic.

To orchestrate a change of power in Revel, the Kremlin sought to exploit Estonia’s turbulent transitional period, during which the country was struggling to adapt its economy to a Western model. Large factories inherited from Tsarist Russia remained operational, but their production was outdated and unsellable in Western markets. As a result, Estonia chose to focus on developing its agriculture — a shift that inevitably impacted the working class.

Preparation

The planning of the uprising took approximately six months and was led by Jaan Anvelt, a member of the Central Committee of the Estonian Communist Party. He received directives from Moscow, specifically from a special committee that included Leon Trotsky and Grigory Zinoviev, the head of the Comintern and the leader of the Leningrad Soviet.

Local officers of the OGPU — Joint State Political Directorate — in Russia’s western Pskov and Leningrad regions were responsible for training militants. They also handled the smuggling of weapons and recruitment of people from border areas to participate in the uprising. The OGPU managed to recruit about 40 people, sending them to Estonia as instructors. Meanwhile, Estonian communists organized cells locally, operating both clandestinely and under the cover of other organizations.

The OGPU also supplied the rebels with weapons, providing a diverse arsenal ranging from grenades to Mosin rifles. Along with Browning pistols and revolvers, they were equipped with Thompson submachine guns, a model famously associated with American mobsters during Prohibition. The weapon was prized by organized criminals for its rapid rate of fire and high accuracy. The arms smuggled into Estonia were stored in hidden caches.

In Estonia itself, the communists took great care to maintain secrecy, especially as the national authorities regarded them as a serious threat. In January 1924, the security police conducted raids in Revel and Narva, arresting 200 people. Communist organizations and publications across the country were shut down. As a result, 149 people were brought to court for treason in what became known as the “Trial of the 149,” held from Nov. 10-27, 1924.

Jaana Tomp, a member of the Central Committee of the Estonian Communist Party, was sentenced to death. In court, he shouted, “Long live the workers’ and peasants’ government,” which was interpreted as a call to overthrow the existing regime. Tomp was executed by firing squad on November 14. Of the other defendants, seven were acquitted, 39 were sentenced to hard labor for life, and the rest received various terms of imprisonment or penal labor.

On Nov. 29, two days after the trial ended, the communists held a clandestine meeting. In a surviving photo from the gathering, the conspirators can be seen wearing white cloth masks with slits for their eyes. They decided there was no time left to delay. The uprising was set for Dec. 1.

A five-hour revolution

Early in the morning on Dec. 1, groups of rebels moved toward the key locations they planned to seize first.

One group headed to Toompea Castle, the capital’s citadel. It housed the office and residence of the head of state, Friedrich Akel, as well as the Riigikogu (parliament) and the cabinet of ministers. Akel narrowly escaped by fleeing through a back door.

A more tragic fate awaited Minister of Transport Karl Kark. Early that morning, he received a phone call reporting suspicious activity at the Baltic Station, Revel’s main railway terminal. He went there personally to investigate but was shot dead by the communists as he approached the building. Ultimately, government forces stormed the station and retook it.

The rebels also attempted to seize the Higher Military School, located in the Tondi barracks. The largest group of militants — nearly 60 people — was sent there. They managed to kill several cadets, but the remaining defenders mounted a strong counterattack, capturing several rebels and redeploying to protect other critical potential targets.

The insurgents also failed in their efforts to capture the Ministry of Defense building, the main post office, several other barracks, and the pretrial detention prison, where their comrades convicted during the “Trial of the 149” were being held.

One of the few successes for the rebels was the capture of Lasnamäe Airfield near the capital. They took two on-duty officers by surprise, which enabled the attackers to seize control of the airfield and make prisoners of the conscripts stationed there. One conscript was sent to the city on a motorcycle by the insurgents to deliver a report. However, he never returned to the airfield. That's because by 10 a.m., the uprising, which lasted just five hours, had already been suppressed by government forces.

Some of the militants who were at Lasnamäe at the time decided to escape by seizing airplanes. One of them, Willem Rubah, managed to fly to Narva, where he reached the Russian frontier. However, he was caught by Estonian border guards, who tried him by a military tribunal and immediately executed him. Another communist, Alfred Kaat, was able to reach Volosovo in Leningrad region.

What went wrong?

Several factors led to the failure of the Dec. 1 uprising. First, the weapons sent from Moscow were far too few for such an ambitious operation: one pistol or revolver per person, and one rifle for every five people. It also turned out that some militants, trained and sent to Estonia from the Pskov region by the OGPU, didn't even know how to handle grenades properly.

Second, the “working masses” the communists relied on did not join the insurgents. Instead, those in whose interests these violent actions were purportedly being carried out remained loyal to the government.

And third, the Estonian authorities responded quickly and effectively as soon as it became clear what was happening. They declared martial law and reinstated the position of Supreme Commander, giving the role to General Johan Laidoner, a hero of the 1918–1920 War of Independence. General Johan Unt, the commander of the capital's military garrison, also played an active role in suppressing the revolt.

Within just two weeks of the armed uprising’s defeat, the Estonian authorities recreated the voluntary defense organization Kaitseliit (“Defense Union”). Interestingly, this organization, which was subsequently banned during the Soviet occupation of 1945-1991, was revived in 1990 and still exists today.

Aftermath

Despite the fact that the uprising had been attempted in the country's major cities, the number of casualties on both sides was relatively small: 26 among the authorities and 13 from the rebels. After martial law was declared, around 150 communists were executed by military tribunal for attempting the coup. Many others were sent to prison.

However, the deaths related to the Dec. 1 uprising did not end there. In 1930, Estonian General Johan Unt was killed. Some sources suggest that his death was a form of revenge by the communists.

After 1940, when the USSR deployed troops and subsequently annexed Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the leadership of the new Soviet Estonia executed or exiled to Siberia a number of military and political figures from the Estonian Republic for their «participation in suppressing the December 1 uprising.» In July 1940, General Johan Laidoner was deported to Penza. The investigation against him lasted for many years. In 1952, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for anti-Soviet activities. He died in March 1953 in the Vladimir prison camp, where he had been transported. On June 3, 1941, the Soviet authorities executed Friedrich Akel, the state elder who had managed to escape the rebels in 1924.

Ironically, the leader of the uprising, Jaan Anvelt, also became a victim of Soviet repression. He died under torture during interrogation by the NKVD on December 11, 1937, five days after his arrest. The same fate befell Alfred Kaat, who had stolen an airplane — he was executed by the NKVD in May 1938.

The only enemy is the USSR

After the Dec. 1 uprising, Estonian authorities concluded that the USSR was their main enemy, and this same mistrust toward Moscow persists in contemporary Estonian politics. As the country well understands, the method of seizing a nation without direct invasion — first tested on Estonia a century ago — could be repeated.

Estonia’s most vulnerable target is well-known: northeastern Ida-Viru County, where Narva is located. In 1993, the region attempted to declare autonomy. Over the past 30 years of independence, the Russian-speaking population in this part of Estonia has struggled to fully integrate into Estonian society.

The Koos movement, which has been active in Estonia for over a year and a half, is suspected of having ties to the modern Kremlin. The group’s leader, Aivo Peterson, visited the Russian-occupied Donbas in February 2023, during the height of the full-scale war. Upon returning to Estonia, he and two associates were arrested on charges of treason. The second leader, Oleg Ivanov, fled to Russia. Towards the end of this past October, Ivanov posted on his Facebook page a video taken in front of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where he issued a message to the Estonian Minister of the Interior and threatened to establish a “People's Front” in his native country. The history of the 1924 uprising remains a stark reminder — a lesson that Estonia can never afford to forget.