Estonian State Commission on Examination of the Policies of Repression
was established in 1992 to establish acts of violence
committed by occupying powers on the territory of the Estonian Republic and against
Estonian citizens.
The staff and statutes of the commission were confirmed by a decree of the Riigikogu
(Parliament) on June 17, 1993 ( see RT No 40).
Writer Jaan Kross was nominated chairman. At present Professor Emeritus Vello Salo is at
the head of the commission.
The commission researches the consequences of three occupations:
1. The first Soviet occupation during 1940 - 1941.
2. The German occupation during 1941 - 1944.
3. The second Soviet occupation during 1944 - 1990.
The aims of the commission are: to clarify the crimes of genocide committed during these
occupations, to assess the economic damage caused to the people of Estonia and to give an
objective scientific opinion on the activities of the occupying powers in Estonia.