After the Soviet Union reoccupied Estonia in 1944, the country was forcibly integrated into the Soviet system. Estonia lost about one-fifth of its population due to war, Soviet deportations, and those fleeing westward to avoid Soviet rule.
Under Stalinist policies, the Soviet authorities carried out mass deportations and political repression. In 1949 alone, over 20,000 Estonians were deported to Siberia. Resistance movements like the Forest Brothers fought against Soviet rule, but by the early 1950s, Soviet control was fully re-established.
The Communist Party of Estonia became the primary governing body, and ethnic Russians were increasingly brought in to fill administrative and political roles. By the 1950s, ethnic Estonians made up less than half of the Communist Party's membership.
Despite the heavy Russification policies, including the promotion of the Russian language, Estonian national identity and culture remained strong. Some aspects of life improved after Stalin's death, particularly during the Khrushchev Thaw, when limited contact with the West was allowed, such as through Finnish television, which brought outside information and culture into Estonia.
In the 1980s, as the Soviet Union entered a period of stagnation, concerns about Russification grew, particularly with the promotion of Russian in schools and public life. Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms in the mid-1980s, including perestroika and glasnost, encouraged the rise of the Estonian independence movement. By 1988, the Estonian Popular Front and other nationalist groups began to push for greater autonomy, eventually leading to full independence in 1991.