“Prior to the outbreak of World War II, the majority of the members of the Estonian communirty in Shanghai were planning to return to Estonia. However this was not possible because of the Japanese invasion of China. In 1939 , an organization called “Eesti Selts” was formed. … The main purpose of the “Eesti Selts” was to establish better contact with Estonia, to obtain Estonian literature and to help Estonians in need. … In the early fall of 1940 there were various indications that the Shanghai Estonian Consulate would be closed by the Soviet authorities. (Estonia had then been invaded by Russia.ed.)
“In September 1940 the Soviet authorities issued the first demand regarding the turning over of the Estonian files. This demand was forwarded from the Soviet embassy in Tokyo and was made by S.Budkevich, who came to Shanghai from Tokyo to take possession of the records for the USSR. … V.Miller, at the time Secretary of the Estonian Consulate informed Budkevich that the files would not be turned over to the Soviets and that they would remain in the possession of the Estonian Consulate. … On October 19 the Soviet authorities (with the help of local police and court officials) raided the Estonian Consulate and confiscated all the official papers on the premises.
{The CIA has taken the following paragraph from the North China Daily News.) “V.Miller (Honorary Secretary of the Estonian Consulate) declared last night that although the Estonian Consular Archives had been taken away, it would help Soviet authorities only a litle bit ‘as the Estonian Consulates and legations are all over the world and automatically are represented by the nearest Estonian Consulate'. He also mentioned that there are 140 Estonians in Shanghai and that of this number only 2% have so far applied for Soviet passports. He asserted that the rest of the local Estonians do not want to have anything to do with the Soviets. (End of quote from North China paper.)
“V.Miller has been approached by a local citizen with the following proposition: Miller should take out a Soviet passport and advertise in the local papers that as an ex-Secretary of the Estonian Consulate and the ‘Eesti Selts' Miller has left the Estonian community and no longer takes any active part in the'Eesti Selts'. … If he does this, Miller was promised an important position in the Soviet Consular Service. His Soviet “friend” has warned Miller that he will be a fool if he does not accept this offer.” (He didn't. ed.)
The above excerpts are taken from a long CIA report detailing political in-fighting and intrigue within the Estonian Consulate as well as community. The historical importance of the document is the coercion from Moscow that Estonian diplomats abroad had to endure and repell when the Soviet Union annexed Estonia in June of 1940.
We are reminded that it was the USA that granted pre-war Estonian diplomats in the USA full accreditation (J.Kaiv, E.Jaakson, later E.Uustalu, A. Linkhorst and new appointees A.Roos, O.Metsmaa). Washington led the free world in the ‘non-recognition' policy, which in one way or another was honoured by most of democratic countries.
(Declassified CIA documents will be studied in future issues of Estonian Life.)
Laas Leivat
