Read more: Years of the authoritarian regime
President Konstantin Päts speaking at the parade on Freedom Square in Tallinn on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia on 24 February 1938. Päts focused on the topic of peace in Europe and Estonia, although dark clouds were gathering above. An indication of what was to come was marked, for examples, by two incidents earlier in the year on the ice of Lake Peipsi – in the first, two Soviet border guards were killed, and in the second, so were two Estonian border guards and their driver.
Konstantin Päts making a speech
President Konstantin Päts speaking at the parade on Freedom Square in Tallinn on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia on 24 February 1938. Päts focused on the topic of peace in Europe and Estonia, although dark clouds were gathering above. An indication of what was to come was marked, for examples, by two incidents earlier in the year on the ice of Lake Peipsi – in the first, two Soviet border guards were killed, and in the second, so were two Estonian border guards and their driver.
