Authors

Discussion

The history of Estonia during the 20^th century was one of war, independence, occupation, war again, occupation again, oppression, censorship and finally a return to independence. The 21^st century brought a “return to Europe” but also foreign surveillance and cyber warfare. Throughout all these events, an innovative and identifiable focus on an Estonian perspective of Science fiction prevailed. The first mention of the name Estonia in the late 1200s, through foreign domination and occupation, folk lore and intergenerational stories helped to shape and preserve the identity of Estonia and its people. 

The 20^th century saw many changes with the original period of independence following World War I, from 1918-1939, to the censorship of the Soviet period, Estonians fought to maintain a viable Science fiction presence, often from the Estonian diaspora, but also from strong willed writers and creators within the country. With re-independence in 1991, the foundation of the Estonian Science Fiction Association in 1995, and an annual Estonian Science fiction conference since 1998, has resulted in a country rich in the many facets of Science fiction today. 

The focus of this research is to take an historical review of the Estonian Science fiction sector and demonstrate how the role, and existence, of Science fiction helped to both preserve the Estonian language and culture, but also served as a tool to covertly fight the oppressive Soviet system through the use of subversive imagery and themes within movies and literature. 

Unlike in Estonia’s fellow Baltic states of Latvia, and Lithuania, whose Science fiction sector existed during the Soviet period, Estonia’s only began to flourish with its return to independence in 1991. This fact has been attributed to the basis for Estonia’s larger fandom and Science fiction growth, in comparison to the other two countries, during the 21st century. A challenge to Estonian Science fiction has been an overt focus by governmental organizations on Estonian folklore, and poetry genres. The fact that the Estonian language is arguably the key component of Estonian culture, and the relatively small population of Estonian speakers, heightens these challenges. 

Identifying the key aspects of what differentiates Estonian Science fiction from that in other countries is a very difficult, but interesting, question. Beyond the fact that Estonian Science fiction exists at all (and arguably thrives), particularly within the shadows of their neighbour to the East, and the tragic war in Ukraine, results in a strong voice for this research.