Vaino Väljas

Vaino Väljas is the following most important historical figure in Estonia. Vaino Väljas (born March 28, 1932 in Külaküla, Hiiumaa) is an Estonian politician. From 20 April 1962 to 18 March 1967, he was the Chairman of the 6th Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR. He then served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic from 16 June 1988 to April 1990, and as its chairman from April 1990 to August 1991.

He began working with the Komsomol in 1949. From 1955 to 1961, he served as First Secretary of the ELKNÜ Central Committee. Väljas was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Estonia's Tallinn City Committee from 1961 to 1972. He served as Secretary of the EKP Central Committee from 1972 to 1980. Väljas was evacuated from Estonia and assigned as the Soviet ambassador to Venezuela in 1980 and Nicaragua in 1986 because he was thought to have Estonian nationalist tendencies. As the Estonian independence movement gathered traction in 1988, Gorbachev returned Väljas from Nicaragua and nominated him as leader of the Communist Party of Estonia. In February 1990, the Communist Party lost its monopoly on power. Väljas later voted for the Restoration of Estonian Independence in August 1991.