The Singing Revolution, directed by James and Maureen Tusty, is a documentary tracing the history of the Estonian people that culminates in the independence of Estonia during 1991. After noting the way in which a small country has been conquered by larger powers, most recently Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the focus is on how the passion for singing served to mobilize the people politically to achieve self-determination. The documentary makes clear that thousands of Estonians readily come together in vocal festivals because they learn the joy of singing at an early age and continue to sing throughout their lives. In the 1980s, particularly with the advent of Mikhail Gorbachëv’s perestroika, new songs entered the repertoire with political subtexts that were open challenges to Soviet domination. Later, when secret clauses in Nazi-Soviet pact of 1940 were revealed, Estonians realized that their forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union had been a clear violation of international law. Accordingly, a registration of Estonian citizens began, resulting in the election of a Congress as an alternative to the Soviet-sponsored parliament. Incremental steps toward independence then emerged. Russians living in Estonia felt threatened, but they were pacified in a nonviolent confrontation. Then while Soviet tanks rolled into Estonia, Boris Yeltsin declared Russia’s secession from the Soviet Union, an act that took place one day after the Estonian parliament had done so. The documentary ends with brief biographies of some of those interviewed in constructing the narrative of the drama. A collector’s edition is now available, with three DVDs for elementary and secondary schools. Strangely, the film is not licensed for colleges and universities, as the story provides a paradigm for understanding how a subject people might achieve independence that is quite appropriate for peace and international studies programs. MH
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