Estonian Independent Socialist Workers' Party
The Estonian Independent Socialist Workers' Party (Estonian: Eesti Iseseisev Sotsialistlik Tööliste Partei, EISTP) was a political party in Estonia.
Estonian Independent Socialist Workers' Party Eesti Iseseisev Sotsialistlik Tööliste Partei | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Hans Kruus |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Dissolved | 1924 |
| Split from | Estonian Socialist Revolutionary Party |
| Succeeded by | Estonian Socialist Workers' Party |
| Colours | Red |
History
editThe party was formed in 1919 as a split from the Estonian Socialist Revolutionary Party, and was joined by defectors from the Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party.[1] It contested the Constituent Assembly elections in 1919 as Socialists-Revolutionaries, winning seven seats. Later in the year they became the EISTP.[2]
The 1920 elections saw the EISTP win 11 of the 100 seats in the Riigikogu. In 1922 the party was infiltrated by members of the Communist Party, resulting in a power struggle that the Communists won by mid-1923.[1] The right-wing opposition left the party in 1922 and formed the Independent Socialist Workers' Party (ISTP). The May 1923 elections saw the radicalised party reduced to five seats.[3]
The EISTP was renamed the "Working People's Party" (Eestimaa töörahva partei) and became a front for the banned Communists. In May 1924 the party was banned, and in 1925 the right-wing splinter party ISTP merged with the Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party to form the Estonian Socialist Workers' Party.[1][2]
References
edit- ^ a b c Vincent E McHale (1983) Political parties of Europe, Greenwood Press, p382 ISBN 0-313-23804-9
- ^ a b Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p579 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p586