Enn Tarto

Enn Tarto (born on 25 September 1938 in Tartu) is an Estonian politician who was a leading dissident during the Soviet occupation of Estonia. He was imprisoned from 1956 to 1960, 1962 to 1967, and again from 1983 to 1988 for anti-Soviet activity.

An anti-Soviet dissident

Tarto was involved in nationalist activities since his youth. On November 4, 1956 Enn Tarto and other members of the Estonian Youth Brigade (Eesti Noorte Malev) distributed leaflets in support of Hungarian Revolution, 1956. The message reached the West and via Western broadcasts, the students of Moscow State University. Some of these students plus lecturers were expelled for approving the Hungarians. Later, Tarto met some of these in a prison in Mordovia. For his action, Enn Tarto has been awarded of the Officer Cross of the Merit Order of the Hungarian Republic. After being imprisoned twice, Enn Tarto studied from 1969 to 1971 in Tartu University Estonian philology. As Tarto was accepted to the university, a KGB man dealing with Tarto told him: 'We've already used stick, let's try now carrot as well'. Tarto was exmatriculated in 1971 in connection with his patriotic thinking and actions.