Exploring Tallnin’s communist history by visiting many of the soviet era landmarks including Patarei Prison & the brutalist bunker-like Tallinna Linnahall. We’ll talk WWII, KGB & the effects of Soviet occupation.
🇱🇹 🇱🇻 🇪🇪 See all of my videos from this trip here → [ Ссылка ]
Welcome to my tour of communist Tallinn and the many sights and sounds that capture the brutal period between 1940 when Estonia was annexed to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and 1991 when they declared their independence. I also talk about the horrific period between 1941 and 1944 when German forces occupied the area.
We’ll start by discussing the history of Soviet occupation and how things turned out the way they did. This involved enforced deportations, invading forces and a mass uprising called the Baltic Chain which saw people form a human chain from Vilnius in Lithuania, through to the Riga in Latvia and onto Tallinn in Estonia.
I’ll show you some Soviet memorabilia and then take a walk around Harju Street Park (Harju Tänava Haljasala) which was once a mediaeval neighbourhood in the city centre that was destroyed by Red Army bombing during World War II. Scores of civilians were killed and hundreds of residential properties were destroyed. We’ll then take a look at the former KGB headquarters on our way down to the seafront.
Next up is the former KGB jail and Sea Fortress called Patarei Prison (Tallinna Keskvangla) which has recently opened back up to the public. Its mission statement is to highlight the crimes committed to innocent Estonians during Soviet rule. I was able to walk around the prison cells, read clear and informative signs explaining the events that happened there, and even visit death row - the scene of many gruesome killings.
From a distance I could see the Viru Hotel - a place where foreigners would stay when visiting Tallinn during communist times, perhaps not surprisingly it was bugged with the control room being part of a KGB museum on the hotel’s top floor. I also talked about the Tallinn TV Tower (Tallinna Teletorn) which is located about six kilometres from the old town and was built in 1980 to improve telecommunications throughout the city.
This leads on to the events of 1980 and the Olympic Games held in Moscow, Russia. It was decided that the sailing event at that Olympic would be held in Tallinn and that a new venue officially called the Lenin Palace of Culture and Sports would be built. The Tallinna Linnahall is a remarkable sight to see and a great example of brutalist architecture left over from the Soviet period.
*Chapters*
📖 00:00 Intro
📖 00:39 History of Soviet Occupation
📖 03:20 Red Army Bombing of Tallinn
📖 05:09 Tallinn’s KGB Headquarters
📖 06:35 Patarei Prison (Patarei Sea Fortress)
📖 07:52 Inside Patarei Prison
📖 12:33 Patarei Prison Courtyard
📖 14:12 Tallinna Linnahall
📖 19:58 Tallinn TV Tower
📖 20:20 Bugged Hotels & KGB Museum (Hotel Viru)
*More Info*
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*Soundtrack*
🎵 Frostbite by Yellowbase
🎵 Spectral by Myysk
🎵 We Go Together by OTE feat. Cal Dune
🎵
🎵 Music by Epidemic Sound. Get a FREE month here → [ Ссылка ]
