"Margus Reinsalu's Diary"

Photo: 1969, XVII Song Festival . Postcard I went together with my godfather uncle Kaarel, in late June 1969, for the first time to Tallinn and the XVII Song Festival. In June 1969, at eight and a half years old, I took my life's first trip to Tallinn, our capital, and back then it was a proud event with a capital letter. Together with uncle Kaarel, we traveled from the countryside by bus through Rakvere to Tallinn, that was an adventure in itself. Uncle had a small apartment in a wooden house on what is now Juhkentali Street , with wooden ceilings, a creaky staircase, and city air. There he lived with his second wife Nadja, whom he brought back from Norilsk, where he had been in forced labor. Nadja was quite quiet and friendly, and her daughter Kapitoolina, a name that sounded to me like some fairy-tale character. She was older than me, but we got along well, and she showed me where the Baltic Trainstation was and even the Kalev chocolate shop at the tram terminus, from where ...

                                                                            Photo: Margus's first school day September 1, 1967, was my first school day at Kohtla-Järve IV Eight-Grade School . I was a good student, my grades were mainly 4s and 5s. I liked natural science the most, it was so simple and interesting that I got 5s without even studying. In the fall of the same year, there was a city-wide folk ball competition, where our school team became the Kohtla-Järve champions. This was my first major achievement in sports, which ignited a passion for sports in me. In the fall of 1968, I entered second grade, and my biggest wish was to get long pants for my school uniform. Most boys already had them, but my mom was against it because she thought I looked like a little old man in them. Eventually, I...

Photo: Dad, Marti and Mom, 1953 After World War II and the start of the Soviet occupation , my father Ottmar and my mother Agnes each went their separate ways, leaving behind a former life full of loss and turmoil. Fate brought them together in Kohtla-Järve , a city that many Estonians had moved to in search of work in the oil-shale mines and the Chemical Combine . In the grey industrial town, their new life began and with it, my own story. They met when both had already lived through very difficult times. Father had divorced his first wife after tragic events. Mother had divorced Feliks, who was in prison for stealing state property. Those trials and wounds created a deeper understanding and bond between them.   Video: Dad and Mom, 1953 In 1956 they married and were given one room in a two-room apartment in Kohtla-Järve, sharing the kitchen and bathroom with Russian neighbours. The apartment building was always noisy, especially on payday, when the Russians drank vodka from tea ...

Photo: my mother before World War II My mother, Agnes Reinsalu (maiden name Kuutma), was born in March 1920 at Marjametsa farm in Sagadi , Virumaa . She was born as a member of a large and hardworking family, the daughter of Anton and Helena Kuutma, there were 8 brothers and sisters in total, including her brothers Julius, Kaarel, and Raul, whose fates during World War II led them to different armies. Mother attended Sagadi manor school . She was a smart girl and could have gone far, but her father Anton was an old-school man who believed "a girl's place is in farm work, not school." So her education was cut short, and mother began helping the family at a young age, with days full of work, caring for animals, and working in the fields. When World War II began, everything changed. Her older brother Kaarel, my godfather, was sent to the Red Army but deserted to the German side, was captured, and sent to Norilsk for forced labor, from where he returned in 1960. The oldest...

Photo: My Father My father, Ottmar Reinsalu , was born in March 1918 in Taali , Tori parish, Pärnu County , at a time when Estonia declared its independence and German troops occupied the country at the same time. He was born in the midst of historical events, but his own life turned out to be peaceful at least initially, as the son of a prosperous farm. Father came from a fairly large family. His father Johannes was a worker and craftsman who, despite becoming blind in early childhood, managed to build a home and family. My grandmother Marta was the heart and soul of the farm, who bore the entire household. Father grew up with his brothers Evald and Ervin and sister Helta. The family lived in Taali, Pärnu County, on a prosperous farm, of which my father was the young master as the eldest son. Fate later handed the farm over to father's brother when times changed and the war disrupted everyone's lives. In 1936, the family name Reinhold was Estonianized to Reinsalu, where gran...

                                   Photo: Grandmother Helene and Grandfather Anton My grandfather Anton was born in September 1877 on Sagadi Manor lands in Virumaa . He came from a family where seafaring was in the blood. His father, Hans Kuutman , was the captain of Sagadi Manor's two-masted sailing ship. The sea was an inseparable part of the Kuutmans' life, but Anton's life turned out differently. As a young man, he sailed like his father and older brothers, but later he chose a more stable life and stayed on Sagadi Manor lands as a farmer. He was a man who could handle both sea and land, his work included seafaring, farming, forestry, and woodworking. In 1914, he was once again caught in maritime events when a storm threw him and his two brothers-in-law's ship "Pilk" onto the Altja beach . This was his last serious seafaring adventure, after which Anton focused on land and family. In 1936, th...