Lennart Meri is a famous Estonian politician and writer. From 1992 to 2001 he was the president of this B altic republic. Considered one of the most famous leaders of the independence movement in Estonia.
Biography of the politician
Lennart Meri was born in Tallinn in 1929. His father was an Estonian diplomat who later became interested in literature. Translated Shakespeare into Estonian.
At an early age, Lennart and his parents had to leave the country. They constantly changed their place of residence. As a teenager, Lennart Meri changed nine schools in four different countries.
Most of all he liked to study at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris. The hero of our article returned to Tallinn in 1940, when Soviet power was established in Estonia. But a year later his family was exiled to Siberia. Already at the age of 12, young Lennart worked at a logging site. To earn at least some money, he worked as a lumberjack and a potato peeler.
In the link started activelystudy the Finno-Ugric languages and the culture of these peoples. Meri's family managed not only to survive, but also to return to Estonia. Lennart entered the University of Tartu. Graduated from the Department of Languages and History with honors.
After graduation, Lennart Meri began working as a playwright in the oldest Estonian theater. Over time, he got a job as a director at the republican radio.
Creative work
Lennart-Georg Meri (this is his full name) went to Central Asia in 1958. He wrote his first book in the Karakum Desert.
By the way, he started earning money by writing while still a student. This was especially in demand after his father was imprisoned for the third time. In this way, he supported his mother financially along with his younger brother, who got a job as a taxi driver.
In 1978, Lennart Meri, whose biography was connected with the Finno-Ugric peoples, shot one of his most famous films, "The Winds of the Milky Way". In it, the director presents his own theory of studying the degree of kinship, as well as types of cultural and linguistic ties between the Finno-Ugric peoples. Filming was carried out jointly with colleagues from Hungary and Finland. However, the film was banned in the USSR. In doing so, he received a silver medal at the New York Film Festival. But in Finland, this film was used in the classroom as educational material.
Mary's Books
Also known as the writer Lennart Meri. The author's books have been translated into many languages. In 1964, the novel "To the Land of the Fiery Mountains" was published, dedicated to him.travel to Kamchatka. Lennart went on an expedition with the geologist and photographer Kalyu Polly. He wrote that travel is a passion for city dwellers who are starving for nature. The hero of our article believed that science would free us from megacities and return us back to nature.
In 1974 he wrote the novel "Northern Lights Gate". In it, he combined today's knowledge about Finland and surrounding countries with research from the past.
Perhaps his most famous work is called "Silver White", it first saw the light in 1976. It describes in detail the history of Estonia itself and the entire region located on the B altic coast. As with most of her work, Mary combines documentary sources with her own imagination and scientific research.
The basis for the novel "Silver-White" was a large number of ancient sources on navigation, with the help of which it is possible to lift the veil of secrecy on the legendary island of Thule, which was described by Greek travelers. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that this was the territory of modern Iceland or one of the Faroe Islands. However, many researchers today believe that he is simply fictional.
Meri himself believed that the basis for the legend of Tula was an old Estonian folk poem, which describes the birth of a crater lake.
Meri was engaged in the fate of Estonian history until the end of his life. In 2000, he published an essay en titled "The Will of Tacitus". In himexplores in detail the ancient contacts that, in his opinion, existed between Estonia and the Roman Empire. He argues that it was Estonia that made a great contribution to the development of European culture, since amber, furs and Livonian dry were supplied to Europe in large volumes. And grain from this B altic country was brought to the hungry zones.
It is believed that one of Meri's merits is the founding of the Estonian Institute. This is a non-governmental organization that appeared in 1988. Its goal is to improve contacts with the Western world, send Estonian students to study at prestigious European universities.
Political career
In the late 70s, Mary received permission from the Soviet authorities to travel abroad. Prior to that, he was denied for 20 years. Meri immediately began to forge close relationships with politicians and representatives of the Estonian creative elite who left for Europe and America. As a result, he became the first Estonian to openly state that the Soviet Union could make Estonia uninhabitable by exploiting phosphorite deposits. According to environmentalists, this project could affect a third of the inhabitants of Estonia.
It was the environmental protests that soon turned into anti-Soviet speeches. This uprising, led by the B altic intelligentsia, was called the "Singing Revolution".
Meri's famous speech "Estonians have found hope", in which he dwells in detail on the problems of the existence of an entire nation. In 1988, the hero of ourarticle begins to cooperate with similar protest organizations in Lithuania and Latvia, and in 1990 takes part in the Estonian Congress.
Post Minister of Foreign Affairs
In 1990, in the first democratic elections, Meri was nominated for the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In this post, he only managed to work out issues related to the creation of the ministry itself, make a number of study visits to Western European countries, and establish external contacts.
Took part in the work of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe. And also in the conference that resulted in the creation of the Council of the B altic Sea States.
Head of State
In 1992 he was elected President of Estonia. He won the second round of parliamentary elections. He was supported by 59 senators out of 101.
In 1996, he was again nominated by the National Coalition Fatherland Party. And again received the post of President of Estonia. This time the elections dragged on for five rounds. In the decisive one, he was supported by 196 electors out of 372.
By law, he had no right to run for a third term. Therefore, he was replaced by Arnold Ruutel, nominated by the Estonian People's Union.
Working as a Human Rights Defender
Retired, Mary was engaged in human rights activities. Protected refugees and victims of ethnic cleansing. In 2005, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. He died at the age of 76years.
Today Tallinn Airport. Lennart Meri immortalized the name of the great Estonian figure in his title.
