Patarei - International Museum for the Victims of Communism

13/10/2026

⏳ The deadline is approaching!

Early-career researchers, we invite you to submit your work to the International Research Competition on Communism!

If your research explores the history, ideology, repression, or societal impact of communist regimes, don't miss this opportunity!

📅 Submission deadline: 1 November 2026.

We look forward to receiving your research!

📣 Call for Papers: International Research Competition on Communism

The Estonian Institute of Historical Memory invites early-career researchers to submit their work to the International Research Competition on Communism.

The competition is open to completed but unpublished Master’s and Doctoral theses defended in 2025 or 2026 by scholars aged 35 or younger. We welcome research on communist ideology, regimes, and their legacies — whether focused on Estonia, comparative perspectives, or other national contexts.

🏆 Awards
• Master’s thesis category: €1,500
• Doctoral thesis category: €3,000

Theses may be submitted in Estonian, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Spanish, or Swedish.

📅 Submission deadline: 1 November 2026

Full details and the application form are available here:
https://mnemosyne.ee/en/competition/

For inquiries, please contact: [email protected]



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📣 Kandideerimiskutse: rahvusvaheline kommunismiuuringute konkurss noorteadlastele

Eesti Mälu Instituut kutsub noori teadlasi osalema rahvusvahelisel kommunismiuuringute konkursil.

Konkursile on oodatud avaldamata magistri- ja doktoritööd, mis on kaitstud 2025. või 2026. aastal ning mille autor on 35-aastane või noorem. Ootame uurimusi kommunistlikust ideoloogiast, režiimidest ja nende pärandist — nii Eesti ajaloo, võrdleva vaate kui ka teiste riikide kogemuste põhjal.

🏆 Auhinnad
• magistritööde kategooria: 1500 eurot
• doktoritööde kategooria: 3000 eurot

Töid võib esitada eesti, inglise, soome, prantsuse, saksa, itaalia, läti, leedu, vene, hispaania või rootsi keeles.

📅 Tööde esitamise tähtaeg: 1. november 2026

Täpsem info ja taotlusvorm:
https://mnemosyne.ee/en/competition/

Küsimuste korral palume kirjutada: [email protected]

19/09/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 & 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘁 (𝗘𝗠𝗠𝗔)

Eighty-two years ago, during these days in September 1944, the Red Army was reoccupying Estonia. The Great Escape was under way: tens of thousands of Estonians were trying to flee their homeland in order to avoid becoming victims of a new wave of Soviet terror. Not everyone reached the free world, and thousands disappeared along the way.

The fate of wartime refugees and victims of Soviet terror can be traced through the Estonian Memorial & Migration Dataset (EMMA), which brings together information on approximately 70,000 wartime refugees and 90,000 victims of Soviet repression.

The dataset is freely accessible to everyone:
https://www.memoriaal.ee/baas/

The Great Escape will also be featured in the Patarei Memorial Museum for Victims of Communism, opening on 14 June 2027. Until then, you can learn more about these events through the online exhibition:
https://2024.wwii-refugees.ee/e-naitus/

Photo: Refugee boats on the shore in Gotland. Archive of the Gothenburg Maritime Museum.

17/09/2026

On this day 87 years ago, 17 September 1939, the Soviet Red Army crossed the Polish border to seize its share of the territory agreed upon with Hi**er. The secret protocol to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, signed on 23 August, paved the way for N**i Germany and the Soviet Union to unleash the Second World War.

The Soviet Union emerged from the war on the victorious side, enabling communist regimes to take root around the world and leading to the deaths of millions of innocent people. In memory of all these victims, the Patarei Memorial Museum for Victims of Communism will open in Tallinn on 14 June 2027, Estonia’s national day of mourning.

Photos:

1. Unknown war photographer, TASS
2. Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-121-0012-30 / CC BY-SA 3.0 DE

17/09/2026

We are opening on the Day of Mourning on 14th June of 2027. Yes, we are.

We shall remember.

09/09/2026

09/09/2026

Collaboration with EKA students begins to develop mementos for the Patarei Memorial Museum gift shop!

Yesterday marked the launch of a collaborative project between the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory and the Estonian Academy of Arts. As part of the project, students will develop a concept and product range of gift items for the Patarei Memorial Museum for Victims of Communism. The project is being carried out within LAETUS, the EKA Faculty of Design’s collaboration programme (https://laetus.artun.ee/).

The gift items will be developed by bachelor’s and master’s students in jewellery and blacksmithing, accessory design and industrial design, including international students studying at EKA through the Erasmus exchange programme.

The project day began at EKA, where Martin Andreller, Member of the Board of the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory, gave the students a lecture on the history of Patarei, the aims of the future museum and the responsibility involved in commemorating the victims of communist regimes. We then visited the future museum to explore Patarei’s historical setting and learn about the stories of those who suffered there.

The students’ task is to find ways in which design can support historical memory, human dignity and a meaningful visitor experience.

As the accompanying photographs show, design can serve both good and evil. We are therefore pleased and confident that, together with EKA students, we will create dignified and sensitive gift items for museum visitors that convey the message of remembrance, resistance and responsibility.

The Patarei Memorial Museum for Victims of Communism will open on 14 June 2027.

04/09/2026

04/09/2026

On 3 September, a stakeholder meeting and information day of the international PROTECH2024 project, which focuses on preventive conservation, was held at the Seaplane Harbour. The event explored the past, present and future of Patarei as an outstanding site of military and cultural heritage.

The day began with a tour of the Patarei Sea Fortress led by architectural and military historian Robert Treufeldt. Participants learned about the building’s history and architecture, as well as the development of its heritage value.

Martin Andreller, Member of the Board of the [Estonian Institute of Historical Memory](https://www.facebook.com/eestimaluinstituut), presented the story of Patarei’s transformation into a museum and gave an overview of the current progress and future plans for the Patarei Memorial Museum for Victims of Communism.

Participants also shared personal memories connected with Patarei and discussed how this historic environment can be protected, preserved and meaningfully carried into the future.

Presentations were also delivered by Annemai Mägi, Urmas Varm, Andrus Villem, Indrek Tarand and Urmas Dresen. The meeting was organised by the Estonian War Museum – General Laidoner Museum as part of the PROTECH project, co-funded by Interreg Europe.

We thank the organisers and all participants for an insightful day and for the meaningful discussions about the future of Patarei’s heritage!

20/07/2026

The development of the Patarei Memorial Museum for the Victims of Communism has entered its second phase!

We are pleased to announce that the second phase of constructing the Patarei Museum’s permanent exhibition has begun. During this stage, the exhibition developed so far will take physical form.

The work on the 3,700 m² exhibition space includes, among other things:

▪️ the design and production of exhibition elements;
▪️ the delivery of exhibits, display cases, structures and other furnishings;
▪️ installation and assembly work;
▪️ the testing, configuration and commissioning of technical solutions;
▪️ the preparation and handover of operating, maintenance and warranty documentation.

The interior architectural design of the Patarei Museum was created by KOKO Architects. The exhibition’s creative director is Martti Helde, and the exhibition is being produced and installed by MOTOR and ATEA.

This marks an important step towards the completion of the museum. The extensive and multi-layered exhibition will tell the story of the crimes committed by communist regimes, their impact on individuals and societies, and the value of freedom.

We will keep you updated on the progress of the work leading up to the museum’s opening on 14 June 2027!