Exhibition “Estonians Worldwide”

This exhibition explores the story of Estonian diasporas from the mid-19th century to the present day and is open at Vabamu in Tallinn. Migration has always been part of being human, and thus, emigration has always been part of the history of the land we know today as Estonia.
Just as the migration of Estonians is distinguished by three major waves, the exhibition is divided into three parts:
1. Foreign communities that emerged during the emigration of the second half of the 19th century and the diaspora during Estonia’s first period of independence
2. Deportations and mass escapes during World War II and occupations, and the preservation of Estonian identity and statehood in exile
3. Emigration following Estonia’s re-independence
The story of Estonians Worldwide is also part of Vabamu’s story. Vabamu’s founder, Olga Kistler-Ritso, has been an expatriate Estonian during several waves of emigration: she was born in Kyiv and, after spending her youth in Estonia, was forced to flee and lived the rest of her life in the USA. This is an exhibition about the connections that unite communities, identity, and Estonia, which also lives beyond borders.