Anything is possible: Word of Life and utopian thinking during the revolutionary processes in Estonia, 1987–1991

ABSTRACT

The late 1980s was a chaotic period in Soviet Estonia. The liberalization process of the Soviet Union brought about a sense of freedom and the possibility that Estonian people would finally have a say in the future of Estonia. This unexpected feeling of freedom formed the basis for various attempts to narrate a better society, including religious visions of a new Estonia. Several of the new religious movements that emerged during this period developed their own ideas about the future of Estonia, with some incorporating utopian perspectives. Although these movements had distinct views on the identity and independence of Estonia, their ideas have not yet been thoroughly researched. The aim of this article is to show how one of the movements, Word of Life, addressed these times of change, and to elaborate on what kind of utopias about Estonia are construed in the discourses.

KEYWORDS:

• New religious movements
• singing revolution
• discourse analysis
• Utopia

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank professor Titus Hjelm for the valuable insights regarding social constructionisms and discourse analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In academic literature, this period in Estonia is rarely referred to as a (true) revolution. However, I argue that, taking into account the abrupt change of power and the profound and systemic transformations at different levels of society, starting with the individual and ending with the state, the usage of the concept of revolution is justified (see Aarelaid-Tart and Tart 2008; Eisenstadt 1999; Sztompka 1993; Tismaneanu 1999).

2 The transitional phase in Estonia, commonly referred to as the period of transition, spanned from 1988 to 2005.

3 In the study of religion\s, the period from 1987 to 1991 in Estonia has been called a ‘religious boom’ (Altnurme 2005; Remmel 2017; Kilemit 2020).

4 For instance, Faith of Taara, Word of Life, the Movement for Krishna Consciousness, Estonian Buddhist Brotherhood.

5 Although the Letter of Note was published in December 1987, the programme of activities listed in the writing, was already published in 1986.

6 Unless indicated otherwise, all translations from non-English sources are by the author.

7 The emergence of WOL might also be considered a result of a larger local charismatic revival, which already started in the late 1960s and intensified in the 1980s (Ringvee 2015, 60–62).

8 The movement was the first to display the Estonian national flag when it was still forbidden, although this did not receive much public attention at the time (Rohtmets and Ringvee 2013, 382).

9 In addition to the WOL group in Tallinn, another group emerged in Tartu, led by Albert Türnpu after Mets and Jakobs left. Soon, disagreements led to the formation of three distinct congregations: The Way of Light Free Church, Charta, and Tartu Word of Life. Officially registered in March 1990, WOL became a prominent representative of the charismatic movement in 1990s Estonia, initiating a Bible Seminar and a Christian Primary School. Leadership changes occurred, with Türnpu moving to Israel in 2003 and Urban Vikström and later Eino Lilleleht taking over. WOL, now part of the larger Christian community, operates across Estonia, albeit experiencing declining membership and influence (see Ringvee 2015).

10 The translation of the original verse is as follows: ‘But one day, there comes a time, / When all spills at both their ends will / Start outright to flare up bright; / Flames of fire will cut outright / His hand from stone fetters loose – / Surely Kalev will then come home to / Bring his people / fortune true, / Build Estonia anew’ (Hasselblatt 2016, 53).

11 Estonia’s first independence period began on February 24, 1918, when it declared independence from Russia. This lasted until 1940, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union.

12 It is important to emphasize that in this article, utopia serves as a conceptual tool and not a judgment by the writer on whether WOL’s (or USSR’s) visions were ideal, feasible, or unattainable.

13 Free movement of people around the planet, the establishment of a standardized global postal service, efforts to stop propaganda against Israel and the Jewish people, the immediately cessation of the persecution of Jews and encouraging their emigration to Israel by all possible means.

14 ‘The standard doctrine of Soviet leaders from 1936 until Gorbachev's administration was that their society was in the first phase, which those leaders labeled “socialism,” and that the further development of socialism would lead to the achievement of full Communism in the USSR’ (Evans 1992, 217). During Gorbachev’s reign the discourse gradually changed to the ‘open abandonment of the promise of utopia’ (Evans 1992, 221).

15 Twentieth-century totalitarianism became a primary example of dystopia (Claeys 2017, 5).

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Nele Dresen

Nele Dresen is a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Tartu’s School of Theology and Religious Studies. She holds degrees in History (BA) and Religious Studies (MA). In 2023, Nele Dresen served as a visiting researcher at the University of Helsinki, where she continued her research in religious change and discourse analysis, with funding from the Kristjan Jaak Scholarship. Her research primarily centers on topics related to religious change, new religious movements (NRMs), utopian thinking, and discourse analysis. In her PhD thesis, she examines the intersection of various factors that influenced the emergence of NRMs during the final decades of Soviet-era Estonia. Nele Dresen is a member of the Estonian Academic Theological Society and the Doctoral Studies Council of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Tartu.