Previous research on Estonian migration has focused heavily on the periods surrounding the Second World War and the Soviet occupation (1940-1941, 1944-1991). However, as Martin Vaino, curator of "Estonia Worldwide," points out, "that's only part of the story."

The exhibition takes a much broader approach to the subject, highlighting three distinct waves of Estonian migration from the 1800s to the present day, through personal items and stories.

Covering such a huge time period was not without its challenges.

"The most difficult part was having to leave interesting material out," says Vaino's fellow curator Ede Schank Tamkivi. "Originally," adds Vaino, "I wanted to go back as far as the long-distance trade routes that traversed Estonia in the Viking Age."

However, he soon realized that would be "too much ground to cover if I wanted to say something meaningful." Instead, Vaino opted to start in the mid-19th century — a period "when Estonians started emigrating more, both as settlers and as urban migrants."

For Schank Tamkivi, where to begin also raised an even more fundamental question about Estonian identity: "Can we even talk about Estonians before the sovereign country itself was created?"

Estonians Worldwide

That issue of who is and is not considered Estonian is central throughout "Estonia Worldwide" from the sections on the distant past to those touching on more recent chapters of Estonian history.

"We included stories of people who may not have held an Estonian passport or spoken the Estonian language," Schank Tamkivi says, "but who still identified themselves as Estonians."

Plus, as Vaino adds, much of the 19th- and early 20th-century wave of Estonian migration actually took place within the settler-colonial context of the Russian Empire. "Ethnic Estonian farmers, seeking to escape Baltic German and Russian domination at home, ended up settling in regions such as Crimea, the Caucasus, Siberia and the Far East," he explains.

When telling those stories, there is a danger, Vaino admits, "of deepening the already entrenched narratives of terra nullius, or empty land, whereby colonial violence is disguised as moving into an uninhabited place."

To avoid that trap, "Estonia Worldwide" includes perspectives of indigenous peoples from those places, as well as stories of earlier migrant communities whom Estonians encountered when they arrived.

"I wanted to explore the connection people ended up having with the places they moved to," Vaino says. "So, instead of a more general story of migration, a lot of my section is explored through a small number of place-specific case studies."

Tragedy and heroism

Doing background research for the exhibition provided a rich source of material, with Vaino coming to see the material aspect of migration as especially interesting.

"We found a homemade chessboard that a Siberian-Estonian boy took with him when his family moved back to Estonia, after it had become an independent country," Vaino says. That chessboard, he adds "is quite massive. He must have really liked playing chess."

For Schank Tamkivi, who examined the two mass deportations in 1941 and 1949, as well as the Great Flight of 1944 (Suur põgenemine), the stories she unearthed were even more vivid and not always easy to process.

"I got to meet some amazing people who actually survived the ordeal," she says, adding that she also "read hundreds of stories of families being torn apart, people losing their homes, loved ones and careers." Among them were numerous accounts of people being forced to endure punishing new environments, alongside unique tales of "human tragedy and heroism."

"What always struck me," Schank Tamkivi says, "is how the people who were taken to Siberia in cattle carts or had to flee across the stormy sea in tiny boats still managed to have such a positive attitude."

Most were able to rebuild their lives "and somehow made peace with the atrocities of the past," she explains. "They really knew how to appreciate what is important in life. We all have a lot to learn from them."

Sense of belonging

There are plenty of lessons too in the exhibition's final chapter, which brings the story of Estonian migration right up to date.

Curated by anthropologist and filmmaker Terje Toomistu, it explores post-1991 migration through video interviews with Estonians living abroad. Younger generations, Schank Tamkivi explains, "have a totally different approach to the sense of belonging," than those who went before them. After all, unlike in previous eras, "the most recent migration wave has been an entirely voluntary one," Vaino says.

From Toomistu's interviews, Schank Tamkivi picks out Maur, an Estonian photographer living in Canada, as an illuminating example of how things have changed. "While in Canada, Maur misses his home in Estonia, but when he comes back here, he misses his home in Canada," she says.

Yet while modern technology makes it easier to visit Estonia and stay in touch than ever before, belonging also plays a role for some in choosing not to return.

This was especially the case for "members of the LGBTQ+ community or those who have gone abroad for love," Vaino says, adding that racism and homophobia are among the reasons "some feel they can't move to Estonia with their partners."

Complex and colorful

In a complicated world, "Estonia Worldwide" is not afraid to challenge commonly-held assumptions that there is only one way to be Estonian.

"The diaspora communities show especially clearly that identity is complex, multifaceted and colorful," says Vaino. "It was interesting to learn how people in the diaspora build 'Estonian-ness,' whether through food, clothing, literature, language or creating spaces where they can experience that part of their identity."

Fluency in the national language is routinely considered fundamental to being Estonian. Yet, as Vaino observes, "while many of the second- or third-generation diaspora don't necessarily speak Estonian, that doesn't mean they don't identify as Estonian."

Having lived abroad and studied Estonian identity issues in depth, Schank Tamkivi also finds the topic "really compelling." She references Irish political scientist Benedict Anderson's idea that "nationalism is a social construct and nations just imagined communities," alongside American philosopher Judith Butler's view of nationality as something expressed through "rituals and other performative acts."

"Speaking a certain language," Schank Tamkivi reasons, "is also performing one of those rituals." And, she adds, as a small country, "Estonia needs every extra person who wants to belong and be part of us."

More Estonian than before

While "Estonia Worldwide" tells the story of Estonian migration, Vaino believes there are also universal lessons to take away.

At a time when "migration is often seen as something bad," understanding the human side is "especially important," he says. Though it may have taken different forms, "migration has always existed — and people are people, whether they move around or not."

For Schank Tamkivi, the exhibition equally highlights the benefits of voluntary migration for younger generations of Estonians, who have grown up increasingly connected to the outside world.

"With borders open and a curiosity to learn new things, I'd recommend everyone try living abroad at least once in their lives." Leaving home is not only a way to broaden your horizons; it's also an opportunity "to introduce Estonia to the rest of the world," she adds.

"Curiously enough," Schank Tamkivi says, "it can even make you feel more Estonian than before."

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"Estonia Worldwide" opened at the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallinn on January 21.

The exhibition will remain on display until January 2028.

Estonians living abroad, or who have lived abroad in the past, and wish to share their stories and photos with the museum for the exhibition can do so here.

More information is available here.

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