From June 14, when we commemorate the 83rd anniversary of the first mass deportation from Estonia, the exhibition “Deported childhood. Survivors’ stories” will be open in KGB prison cells. 

During the Soviet occupation more than 30,000 people, including thousands of children, were forcibly removed from Estonia and deported to Siberia. Many never saw their homeland again. But some children survived thanks to luck, help from other deportees and local people, and packages sent by family and friends at home. 

The exhibition is about those children who returned from Siberia alive and whose stories are especially important today, when Russia is once again deporting children, repeating the crimes of Stalin. This time, the children are not from Estonia, but from the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. 

Vabamu’s curator and head of exhibitions Martin Vaino: “Vabamu’s collections contain many stories of deportees and it is very important not only to collect these stories, but also to tell them. This is especially so now, when we see Russia again committing horrifyingly similar crimes.” 

We welcome everyone to KGB prison cells in the old town of Tallinn (Pagari 1/ Pikk 59.) every day from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The exhibition will remain open until February 2025. 

More information about the exhibition here.