Aleksander Kesküla
Encyclopedia
Aleksander Eduard Kesküla (21 March 1882 Saadjärve fief, Tartumaa - 17 June 1963 Madrid
, Spain
) was an Estonia
n politician and revolutionary.
Kesküla studied politics and economics in the universities of Tartu
, Berlin
, Zürich
, Leipzig
and Bern.
In 1905, as a bolshevik
intended to create strife inside of the Russian empire
and, as Elisabeth Heresch tried to prove, did it in Japan
ese spy's, Motojiro Akashi's interest.
In 1913. he became an Estonian nationalist and wanted to play a role in the world's political arena. In 1914-1915, he informed the German government about Lenin´s plans and intended to use Bolshevik
agitation to replace the Russian empire with a number of national states. While earlier scholarship has expressed skepticism, Estonian research indicates that 500,000 German Reichsmark
was paid to Lenin by Germany using Kesküla as a conduit. It is concluded that Kesküla exerted no visile influence on Lenin and that he had minimal contact with Lenin. Kesküla had given the Germans little of substance and he did not deliver any significant sums to the Bolshevisk.
In 1918, he founded the Estonian Office in Stockholm
to seek the support of the Entente
states for Estonian independence. He acted in such status, until the official Estonian delegation forbade him to do that. The Estonian delegation was skeptical about Kesküla and considered him a German agent.
Central in Kesküla's thought was the region of Baltic Sea
. According to Kesküla's approach, Estonia had originally belonged to the Nordic region, but as a result of the German conquest in the 13th century it was included in the alien Central Europe
an cultural space. It then re-established its Nordic heritage in the 16-17th centuries and in the 18th century fell under the yoke of the even more alien Eastern European (Russian) sphere. Kesküla thought that Estonia should separate from Russia and restore its place among the Nordic countries that were becoming increasingly unified.http://www.para-web.org/viewthread.php?tid=2857
In his later years, Kesküla acted as the teacher of politics for several young Spanish scientists.
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) was an Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n politician and revolutionary.
Kesküla studied politics and economics in the universities of Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and Bern.
In 1905, as a bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
intended to create strife inside of the Russian empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and, as Elisabeth Heresch tried to prove, did it in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese spy's, Motojiro Akashi's interest.
In 1913. he became an Estonian nationalist and wanted to play a role in the world's political arena. In 1914-1915, he informed the German government about Lenin´s plans and intended to use Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
agitation to replace the Russian empire with a number of national states. While earlier scholarship has expressed skepticism, Estonian research indicates that 500,000 German Reichsmark
German reichsmark
The Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until June 20, 1948. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig.-History:...
was paid to Lenin by Germany using Kesküla as a conduit. It is concluded that Kesküla exerted no visile influence on Lenin and that he had minimal contact with Lenin. Kesküla had given the Germans little of substance and he did not deliver any significant sums to the Bolshevisk.
In 1918, he founded the Estonian Office in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
to seek the support of the Entente
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
states for Estonian independence. He acted in such status, until the official Estonian delegation forbade him to do that. The Estonian delegation was skeptical about Kesküla and considered him a German agent.
Central in Kesküla's thought was the region of Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. According to Kesküla's approach, Estonia had originally belonged to the Nordic region, but as a result of the German conquest in the 13th century it was included in the alien Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
an cultural space. It then re-established its Nordic heritage in the 16-17th centuries and in the 18th century fell under the yoke of the even more alien Eastern European (Russian) sphere. Kesküla thought that Estonia should separate from Russia and restore its place among the Nordic countries that were becoming increasingly unified.http://www.para-web.org/viewthread.php?tid=2857
In his later years, Kesküla acted as the teacher of politics for several young Spanish scientists.