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TheEstonian Provincial Assembly orEstonian State Diet,[a] also often called by its Estonian nameMaapäev,[1] was elected in May–June 1917 during theRussian Revolution as the provincial parliament (diet) of theAutonomous Governorate of Estonia. On 28 November 1917, after theOctober Revolution inRussia, the Assembly declared itself the sole sovereign power inEstonia and called for the elections of theEstonian Constituent Assembly. On the eve of theGerman occupation of Estonia during World War I the council elected theEstonian Salvation Committee and issued theEstonian Declaration of Independence on 24 February 1918.
On 12 April 1917 theRussian Provisional Government issued an order on the provisional autonomy of Estonia. TheGovernorate of Estonia (now northern Estonia) was merged withEstonian-speaking northern part of theGovernorate of Livonia (now southern Estonia), to form the autonomousgovernorate. The Russian Provisional Government decreed that the provincial assembly be created with members elected by indirectuniversal suffrage.
Elections for the 62 deputies of the Maapäev were held in many stages; members representing the rural communities were elected in two-tiered elections in May–June, while the town representatives were elected in July–August 1917. The election process saw the creation and reorganization of Estonian national parties.
Six parties were represented at the diet, with three independent deputies and two deputies representing the localGerman andSwedish-speaking minorities.
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural League | 13 | |
| STP–ERSP | 11 | |
| Estonian Social Democratic Association | 9 | |
| Estonian Socialist Revolutionary Party | 8 | |
| Estonian Democratic Party | 7 | |
| Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks) | 5 | |
| Estonian Radical Democratic Party | 4 | |
| Baltic Germans | 1 | |
| Estonian Swedes | 1 | |
| Independents | 3 | |
| Total | 62 | |
| Source: Raun,[2] Suny[3] | ||
In the wake of the November 1917Bolshevik coup inPetrograd (Saint Petersburg), when the Bolshevik "Estonian Military Revolutionary Committee" staged a similar coup in the Estonian capitalReval (Tallinn), theMaapäev refused to recognize the newBolshevik rule. The Bolsheviks then attempted to disband the council. In its last meeting on 15 November 1917, theMaapäev proclaimed itself the supreme legal authority of Estonia until the convening of theConstituent Assembly. The Committee of Elders was authorized to issue laws. The council was then dissolved by force on 26 November by the Bolsheviks,[4] compelling leading politicians to go underground. In theConstituent Assembly elections in early 1918, which were organised by the Bolsheviks, two-thirds of the voters supported the parties who stood for national statehood. The Bolsheviks then immediately proclaimed the elections null and void. On 19 February 1918, the Committee of Elders of the Land Council decided to proclaim Estonian independence. ASalvation Committee (a three-member committee formed by the Maapäev as executive body for the time when the activities of the Assembly were hindered) with special powers was set up for that purpose. On 24 February, after the Bolsheviks abandonedTallinn and one day beforeGerman forces occupied the country's capital city, the Salvation Committee issued a formal declaration of independence of theRepublic of Estonia.
After theGerman occupation of Estonia ended, the Maapäev continued as the legislature of Estonia until 1919.
