Eesti sõjameeste motivatsioon rahvaväes ja Punaarmee Eesti rahvuslikes väeosades 1918–1920
Kuupäev
2024-12-18
Autorid
Ajakirja pealkiri
Ajakirja ISSN
Köite pealkiri
Kirjastaja
Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus
Abstrakt
Kõigil, kes on lugenud või kuulnud midagi Vabadussõjast, on ettekujutus eestlaste võitlusest, mida peeti sooviga iseseisvuda nii vene kui ka saksa mõju alt. Laialt on levinud väljend „Vabadussõja vaim“ ja kuigi selle sõnapaari taga peituvat võib mõista kui eestlaste hulgas valitsenud seninägematut ühtsust ja patriotismipuhangut, on võitluses osalenute motiivid pälvinud seni vähest tähelepanu. Seadsin enda doktoritöös eesmärgiks pakkuda täiendavaid tõlgendusi sõjameeste motiividele ja neid mõjutanud teguritele, kõrvutades selleks Punaarmees teeninud eestlasi rahvaväelastega. Keskendusin institutsionaalsetele, grupipõhistele ja individuaalsetele motiividele. Vabadussõjale eelnenud Esimeses maailmasõjas rakendas Vene impeerium laialdaselt poliitilist kontrolli, kombineerides selleks sõjatsensuuri ja järelevalve võimalusi. Samuti üritati kujundada sõjameeste motivatsiooni propaganda ja karistuspoliitika abil. Soovisin töös teada seda, kuidas muutusid nimetatud tegurid aastatel 1918–1920 sõjameeste suhtes nii Nõukogude Venemaa Punaarmees kui ka Eesti rahvaväes. Jõudsin järeldusele, et võimalused sõjameeste motivatsiooni läbi institutsionaalsete motiivide mõjutada või kujundada olid sõjaaja oludes piiratud. Eestis karistuspoliitikat elluviinud välikohtute tegevust uurides selgus, et riigipoolne sund polnud sõjameeste sõdima motiveerimisel peamine mõjur. Sõjameeste motivatsioonis rahvaväe või Punaarmeega liitumisel ja võitluses osalemisel etendas otsustavat osa arusaamine võitluse eesmärkidest, mis väljendus selgemini individuaalsetes ja grupipõhistes motiivides. Rahvaväe ligi 75 000 võitlejat motiveeris rahvuslus, võitlus kodupinna eest ja lootus maaküsimuse lahendamisest, aga samuti kodumaa kaitsmine sooviga enamlastele kätte maksta. Kooliõpilastest võitlejate ja vabatahtlike üksuste näidete varal motiveerisid neid samuti suhtlusvõrgustikud, mille näol oli tegemist laiaulatusliku nähtusega. Demotiveerivana mõjus majanduslik viletsus. Punaarmee ridades võidelnud kuni 10 000 eestlast motiveeris peamiselt enamlus. Kokkuvõtvalt võib öelda, et kuigi enamus eesti mehi olid rahvaväe mobilisatsiooni tõttu sundolukorras, innustas neid omakeelne ja -meelne armee, mille ridades võideldes ei kandnud eesti sõjamehed suuri kaotusi elavjõus ning kus leidus arvukalt vabatahtlikke.
Anyone who has read or heard anything about the War of Independence will have an idea of the struggle of Estonians to gain independence from both Russian and German influence. The phrase 'the spirit of the War of Independence' is widely used, and although the meaning behind this phrase can be understood as an unprecedented unity and surge of patriotism among Estonians, the motives of those who took part in the struggle have so far received little attention. In my doctoral thesis, I set out to offer further interpretations of the motives of the soldiers and the factors that influenced them, by comparing Estonians who served in the Red Army with the soldiers of the National Army. I focused on institutional, group and individual motives. In the run-up to the War of Independence, the Russian Empire used a combination of military censorship and surveillance to exercise extensive political control. It also tried to shape the motivation of the soldiers through propaganda and penal policies. In my work, I wanted to find out how these factors changed the attitude of soldiers in the Soviet Russian Red Army and the Estonian National Army between 1918 and 1920. I came to the conclusion that the possibilities to influence or shape the motivation of soldiers through institutional motives were limited in wartime conditions. When examining the activities of the field courts martial that implemented penal policy in Estonia, it became clear that coercion by the state was not the main factor in motivating soldiers to fight. The decisive factor in the motivation of soldiers to join the National Army or the Red Army and to participate in combat was the understanding of the aims of combat, which was more clearly expressed in individual and group-based motives. Nationalism, the fight for the homeland and the hope of resolving the land question, as well as the defence of the homeland with the desire to avenge the Bolsheviks, motivated the nearly 75 000 fighters in the National Army. Examples of school student fighters and volunteer units also showed that they were motivated by social networking, a widespread phenomenon. Economic hardship had a demotivating effect. The up to 10 000 Estonians who fought in the ranks of the Red Army were mainly motivated by Bolshivism. To sum up, although the majority of Estonian men were in a forced situation due to the mobilisation of the National Army, they were inspired by the environment with a native langugage and a native spirit, in whose ranks the Estonian soldiers did not suffer heavy losses, and where there were numerous volunteers.
Anyone who has read or heard anything about the War of Independence will have an idea of the struggle of Estonians to gain independence from both Russian and German influence. The phrase 'the spirit of the War of Independence' is widely used, and although the meaning behind this phrase can be understood as an unprecedented unity and surge of patriotism among Estonians, the motives of those who took part in the struggle have so far received little attention. In my doctoral thesis, I set out to offer further interpretations of the motives of the soldiers and the factors that influenced them, by comparing Estonians who served in the Red Army with the soldiers of the National Army. I focused on institutional, group and individual motives. In the run-up to the War of Independence, the Russian Empire used a combination of military censorship and surveillance to exercise extensive political control. It also tried to shape the motivation of the soldiers through propaganda and penal policies. In my work, I wanted to find out how these factors changed the attitude of soldiers in the Soviet Russian Red Army and the Estonian National Army between 1918 and 1920. I came to the conclusion that the possibilities to influence or shape the motivation of soldiers through institutional motives were limited in wartime conditions. When examining the activities of the field courts martial that implemented penal policy in Estonia, it became clear that coercion by the state was not the main factor in motivating soldiers to fight. The decisive factor in the motivation of soldiers to join the National Army or the Red Army and to participate in combat was the understanding of the aims of combat, which was more clearly expressed in individual and group-based motives. Nationalism, the fight for the homeland and the hope of resolving the land question, as well as the defence of the homeland with the desire to avenge the Bolsheviks, motivated the nearly 75 000 fighters in the National Army. Examples of school student fighters and volunteer units also showed that they were motivated by social networking, a widespread phenomenon. Economic hardship had a demotivating effect. The up to 10 000 Estonians who fought in the ranks of the Red Army were mainly motivated by Bolshivism. To sum up, although the majority of Estonian men were in a forced situation due to the mobilisation of the National Army, they were inspired by the environment with a native langugage and a native spirit, in whose ranks the Estonian soldiers did not suffer heavy losses, and where there were numerous volunteers.
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