Hans Kruus
Hans Johannes Kruus (22 October 1891 – 30 June 1976) was an Estonian historian, academic and politician. As well as sitting in the Estonian parliament and the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR, he was Deputy Prime Minister of Estonia in 1940 and Foreign Minister of the Estonian SSR between 1944 and 1950. He was also Rector of the University of Tartu in 1940–41 and in 1944.
Early life and education
Kruus was born on 22 October 1891 in Tartu,[1] to Hans Kruus (1847–1929), a woodworker in a table factory, caretaker and housekeeper, and his wife Anu Matsi (1846–1929), the daughter of a tenant farmer.[2] In 1900, he moved with his family to a farm his father had purchased. Educated at Tartu Teachers' College between 1907 and 1911, Kruus worked as a teacher until he joined the History Faculty at the University of Tartu in 1914. He served in the First World War in the Estonian Regiment of the Imperial Russian Army from 1916, and first became involved with politics in this time.[3]
Career
Early politics and return to academia
Kruus was elected to the Estonian Provincial Assembly which governed the newly formed Autonomous Governorate of Estonia in July 1917, but also sat on the Estonian Soldiers' Supreme Soviet[clarification needed]. He was a founding member of the pro-independence and left-wing Estonian Socialist Revolutionary Party, which he led from September 1917 to 1921. When Estonia gained independence following the end of the Estonian War of Independence, he was elected to sit on the Constituent Assembly and became chairman of the central committee of his party, reformed as the Independent Socialist Workers Party. He also sat as a member of the first legislature of the Riigikogu (1920–23), but resigned on 3 October 1922 to focus on academia; he was replaced by Jaan Kalla. He completed an undergraduate degree in 1923 and eventually received at doctorate nine years later from the University of Tartu. He became a professor of history there, and in 1934 became Professor of Nordic History and Pro-Rector of the University (holding the latter post until 1937).[3][4][5]
Soviet politics, academic legacy and later life
Kruus was in favour of the
Kruus's academic career had also included spells as Rector of the University of Tartu (1940–41, 1944)[6] and as President of the Estonian SSR's Academy of Sciences (1946–50).[3] Estonian historians have been critical of his politics and his role played in the Soviet occupation,[7] but he was a major influence on the formation of historical scholarship in Estonia and "despite his variegated political career, Kruus is honoured among Estonian historians as one of the founders of the professional scholarly study of history in Estonia".[3] His books included Linn ja Kula Eestis (1920), Eesti Ajaloo Lugemik (1924–29) and Vene-Liivi soda (1924). He was editor of Ajaloo Ajakiri between 1932 and 1936.[3]
Kruus died on 30 June 1976 in Tallinn.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Jaan Toomla, Valitud ja Valitsenud: Eesti parlamentaarsete ja muude esinduskogude ning valitsuste isikkoosseis aastail 1917–1999 (National Library of Estonia, 1999), pp. 276.
- ^ Rektor Hans Kruus (University of Tartu, 2017), pp. 8–9.
- ^ a b c d e f "Kruus, Hans", in Toivo Miljan, Historical Dictionary of Estonia (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015), pp. 260–262.
- ^ Toomla, p. 36.
- ^ "Hans Kruus is dead at 84; leading Estonian historian", New York Times, 5 July 1976, p. 24.
- ^ Miljan, p. 261, appears to state that he was rector in 1940 and between 1944 and 1948, but a biography by the University of Tartu clearly states he was rector in 1940–41 and briefly in 1944 (Rektor Hans Kruus (University of Tartu, 2017), p. 5).
- ^ Rektor Hans Kruus (University of Tartu, 2017), p. 5.
Further reading
- "Kruus, Hans", Eesti Biograafiline Andmebaas ISIK (Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum). Retrieved 26 February 2019
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