Hugo Raudsepp was an influential and prolific 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 playwright. In 1951 he was deported to the Irkutsk region

Irkutsk Oblast

Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...

 by the Soviet authorities, where he died.

Life

Victor Paul Hugo Raudsepp was born the son of a distiller. He first attended the local village and parish schools, then until 1900 the city school 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...

. Subsequently, he worked as a clerk in a small retail businesses in Rakke Parish

Rakke Parish

Rakke Parish is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Lääne-Viru County. It has a population of 1924 and an area of 226 km².-Settlements:Rakke Parish has 1 small borough and 30 villages.Small borough:RakkeVillages:...

. After 1907, he worked as a literary critic, journalist and columnist in various newspapers. Between 1917 and 1920, he was politically active, acting as deputy mayor of Viljandi

Viljandi

Viljandi is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 19,150 . It is the capital of Viljandi County. The town was first mentioned in 1283, upon being granted its town charter by Wilhelm von Endorpe....

 and working at the Secretariat of the Estonian Constituent Assembly

Estonian Constituent Assembly

The Estonian Constituent Assembly was elected on 5-7 April 1919, called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the Estonian War of Independence. The Assembly was elected by proportional representation. Eligible voters included soldiers at the front...

. Thereafter, his political involvement waned. From 1920 to 1924 Raudsepp was a literary critic for the newspaper Vaba Maa

Vaba Maa

Vaba Maa was a daily newspaper in Estonia, published from Tallinn. It was the organ of the Estonian Labour Party. Vaba Maa had a circulation of about 50,000 in the early 1920s.Ants Piip became the editor of Vaba Maa in 1923....

. In 1924, he contracted tuberculosis which took a year of recovery. He became a freelance writer in Elva

Elva, Estonia

Elva is a town and a municipality in Tartu County, Estonia. It has a population of 5,762 and an area of 9.92k m².Elva has two larger lakes. Lake Verevi has a sandy and well-developed beach area that is very popular in the summer and is host to many outdoor events. Lake Arbi has wet reed grown shores...

, and in Tartu from 1936. After the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Raudsepp lived in Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

. While writing he became one of the leading writers of comedies and dramas in Estonia.

In 1950 Raudsepp became a "nonperson

Nonperson

A nonperson is a citizen or a member of a group who lacks, loses, or is forcibly denied social or legal status, especially basic human rights, or who effectively ceases to have a record of their existence within a society , from a point of view of traceability, documentation, or existence...

" and was deported in 1951 after being arrested by the Soviet occupation

Soviet occupations

Soviet occupations is a term used for military occupations by the Soviet Union from the prelude to the aftermath of World War II. The term is typically used for occupations of Eastern European countries...

 regime. He was sentenced to ten years of exile in Siberia with hard labor. In September 1952 he died there during construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline.

Literary work

Hugo Raudsepp debuted after the First World War, with his anthology of short stories Sidemed ja sõlmed (Neck ties and knots) published in 1919. However he was especially known for his twenty plays in Estonia, which were among the most popular of his time. He often wrote under his pseudonym Milli Mallikas. Raudsepp's stage work began with Demobiliseeritud perekonnaisa (Demobilized Father) in 1923. The plays are mostly comedies, cryptically addressing the political issues of the day with satire. His breakthrough on the stage came with the piece Mikumärdi in 1929, a social parody that relentlessly exposed the ambitions and hollow self-esteem through the character of farmer Mikumärdi, the romantically adventurous female summer guests and a salesman from the city. It also achieved success in Finland and in Latvia. The subsequent drama Vedelvorst (The Idler) (1932) became a blockbuster. Hugo Raudsepp published his only novel Viimne eurooplane in 1941.

Works

• Sidemed ja sõlmed (short stories, 1919)
• Imbi (novel, 1920)
• Kirju rida (short stories, 1921)
• Vested (I-II, 1921 and 1924)
• Euroopa uuemast kirjandusest (Literature, 1921)
• Ekspressionism (Literature, 1922)
• Lääne-Euroopa sentimentalism ja haletundeline vool Eesti kirjanduses (Literature, 1923)
• Demobiliseeritud perekonnaisa (Drama, 1923)
• Ameerika Kristus (Drama, 1926)
• Kikerpilli linnapead (Drama, 1926)
• Ristteed (short story collection, 1926)
• Sinimandria (Drama, 1927)
• Kohtumõistja Simson (Drama, 1927)
• Siinai tähistel (Drama, 1928)
• Püha Miikaeli selja taga (Drama, 1928)
• Mikumärdi (Drama, 1929)
• Mait Metsanurk ja tema aeg (essay-monograph, 1929)
• Põrunud aru õnnistus (Drama, 1931)

• Vedelvorst (Drama, 1932)
• Salongis ja kongis (Drama, 1933)
• Isand Maikello sisustab oma raamatukappi (Drama, 1934)
• Roosad prillid (Drama, 1934)
• Jumala veskid (stories, 1936)
• Lipud tormis (Drama, 1937)
• Mees, kelle käes on trumbid (Drama, 1938)
• Roheline Tarabella (Drama, 1938)
• Mustahamba (Drama, 1939)
• Kompromiss (Drama, 1940)
• Viimne eurooplane (novel, 1941)
• Kivisse raiutud (short story collection, 1942)
• Rotid (Drama, 1946)
• Tagatipu Tiisenoosen (Drama, 1946)
• Minu esimesed kodud. Mälestused I (Memoirs, 1947)
• Tillereinu peremehed (Drama, 1948)
• Küpsuseksam (Drama, 1949)
• Lasteaed (Drama, 1949)
• Vaheliku vapustused (drama, posthumously in 2003)

External links