This article provides an overview of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Hans and Peeter Pihelgas, aged 17 and 18. The brothers were among 40 so-called rebels (revolutionaries) executed in Viljandi on 9 January 1906 by a punitive squad led by Karl von Sievers. They were accused of belonging to a Social Democratic organisation and participating in the destruction of manors. However, the execution was carried out based on weak circumstantial evidence, and no preliminary investigation was conducted. The Pihelgas brothers, who were minors by the standards of the time, quickly became nationally recognised symbols of the violence and injustice that prevailed in society under martial law. While the tsarist authorities were convinced of the validity of the accusations against the Pihelgas brothers, at an unofficial level there were doubts, and many believed in the brothers’ innocence.

What makes the case of the Pihelgas brothers particularly remarkable is that their father, Madis Pihelgas, repeatedly petitioned the authorities – in 1906, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1920, and 1928 – to open an investigation into the circumstances of his sons’ deaths and to hold those responsible accountable. Although the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Empire did not deny that Sievers had overstepped his authority, it avoided substantive engagement with the petitions and instead responded by claiming that Sievers had died.

Due to a lack of evidence, the father’s attempt to seek justice in the Republic of Estonia in 1928 also failed. Although the two-month preliminary investigation was thorough, no conclusive evidence was found to prove that Sievers had made the decision to execute the Pihelgas brothers.

This, together with significant violations of procedural rules in the criminal proceedings and contradictions in witness testimonies, supports the conclusion that the Pihelgas brothers likely did not commit the crimes of which they were accused. Although society’s sense of justice called for their recognition as victims and for the perpetrators to be punished, the prosecutor’s office ultimately terminated the investigation due to a lack of evidence. It was not until 1937 that modest memorial stones dedicated to the victims of the Viljandi massacre were erected in Viljandi in the place where they were punished and buried, and they have survived to the present day.