Soome dramaturgia nõukogude eesti teatrilaval
Finnish Drama in Soviet Estonian Theater

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the reception of Finnish plays and adaptations of Finnish novels in the Soviet Estonian theater (1944-1991), relying on the theory of cultural transfer. It first describes the mechanisms to form and control the theater repertoire in Soviet Estonia. The productions of Finnish drama are then examined by different periods: Stalinism and the “thaw” - interruption and then the return of Finnish classics to the stage; the late 1960s and the 1970s - first stage productions of Finnish contemporary drama and productions of classics in a modern style; the 1980s - stage productions based on folklore and the epic Kalevala; the period of the restoration of Estonian independence – politically motivated interpretations of Finnish contemporary drama. In general, the repertoire was dominated by classics; the most popular authors were Hella Wuolijoki and Aleksis Kivi. Regular contact with Finnish contemporary literature only occurred in the mid-1980s. The main strategies of reception were acceptance and adaptation. In the Estonian theater, Finnish dramas helped to construct an imaginary “golden past”, which, on the basis of similarity, fed the nostalgia of Estonians for the lost times and contributed to the preservation of Estonianness. In late Soviet Estonia theatrical productions based on Kalevala and folklore acquired an additional mission of building up a Finno-Ugric identity different not only from the Soviet one, but also from IndoEuropean models.

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