The Stalinist purge of teachers in Estonian general education schools between 1940–1941 and 1944–1953 and its effect upon teachers’ education levels

2025/10/28 by Eli Pilve · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Historical Education Studies Worldwide #Academic Freedom and Politics #Soviet and Russian History

paper · doi:10.1080/01629778.2025.2580481

openalex publication_date 2025/10/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Under the Soviet regime people were subjected to ideological control with the aim of erasing the historical memory of nations. Therefore, the education system became a propaganda tool. Between 1940–1941 and 1944–1953, at least 1,414 teachers were illegally dismissed during a staff purge. The politically incorrect teachers were replaced mainly by people with little education but who were ideologically reliable. As a result, the proportion of teachers with higher education dropped from 90% to 12%. Instead of teachers’ professional education, political education and loyalty to the regime were considered more important.

Discussions

• Recently published online in the Journal of Baltic Studies: "The Stalinist purge of teachers in Estonian general education schools between 1940–1941 and 1944–1953 and its effect upon teachers’ educati [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]

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