DECLARATION OF THE SUPREME SOVIET OF THE ESTONIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC
On the Sovereignty of the Estonian SSR
The people of Estonia have tilled their land and developed their culture on the shores of the Baltic Sea for more than 5000 years. In 1940, the ethnically homogenous, sovereign Republic of Estonia became a part of the Soviet Union, while the preservation of sovereignty guarantees and national prospering were foreseen. The internal politics of the eras of Stalinism and stagnation ignored those guarantees and positions. As a result, a demographic situation had evolved in Estonia that was unfavourable to Estonians as the indigenous ethnic group, the natural environment in many regions of the republic is catastrophic, the destabilization of the economy is having a negative effect on the living standard of the entire population of the republic.
To overcome the difficult situation, the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR sees but one specific way out – the further development of Estonia must take place under conditions of sovereignty. The sovereignty of the Estonian SSR means that it wields the supreme power in its territory through the supreme institutions of power, governance and courts. The sovereignty of the Estonian SSR is whole and indivisible. According to this, the future status of the republic within the Soviet Union should be determined by a union treaty.
The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR does not agree with those amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Soviet Union proposed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union that exclude the constitutional right of the Estonian SSR to self-determination. Relying on the international covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights of 16 September 1966, which have been ratified by the Soviet Union, and on other norms of international law, the supreme institution representing the power of the people of the Estonian SSR, the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR, declares the supremacy of its laws on the territory of the Estonian SSR.
Amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Soviet Union shall henceforth enter into force on the territory of the Estonian SSR when approved by the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR and when the Constitution of the Estonian SSR is amended.
The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR appeals to those who have linked their fate with the territory of Estonia to consolidate for building a democratic and socialist society of Estonia. The legal and factual implementation of sovereignty also means that the people of Estonia will not in the future agree with any law that would discriminate against the representatives of any other ethnic group living in the Estonian SSR.
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR A. Rüütel
Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR V. Vaht
Tallinn, 16 November 1988