This article is based on letters written by Ferdinand Linnus (1895–1942), director of the Estonian National Museum (ERM), to the museum’s secretary Helmi Üprus (1911–1978) during the summer and autumn of 1940. At the time, Linnus was employed as a temporary official under the People’s Commissariat for Education of the Estonian SSR and played a key role in the nationalisation and Sovietisation of Estonian museums. This article sheds light on the forced transformation of the Estonian museum landscape, which aimed to create a structure compatible with the Soviet system. It also examines Linnus’s attitude toward cooperating with the new regime, though the deeper reasons for his compliance remain open to further analysis.

Linnus had been invited to join the People’s Commissariat for Education by Eerik Laid, who was then serving as an inspector of heritage protection. Among other responsibilities, Linnus was appointed as commissioner in charge of the nationalisation and eventual liquidation of Baltic German museums, including the Provincial Museum and the Paide Museum. At the same time, Üprus was appointed commissioner of the ERM. Under the Soviet system, the former ERM could not continue in its previous form – the institution was divided into two separate museums: the Museum of Ethnography and the Museum of Literature.

The letters written in August and September are primarily practical in tone. Linnus issues instructions to Üprus regarding the kinds of changes that should be made in the museum and how these should be implemented. He regarded the transition as inevitable and sought to make it as painless as possible. The letters from October, however, take on a deeper and more personal tone. Linnus found himself in a difficult position: the directorship of the newly established Museum of Ethnography – an appointment that had initially seemed natural –appeared to be slipping from his grasp because of his unsuitable background. Ultimately, however, support from Estonian officials outweighed the opposition of All-Union Communist Party (Bolshevik) instructor Perov, and Linnus was appointed director of the Museum of Ethnography on 1 November 1940. Üprus became head of the museum’s Department of Art and Cultural History.

As director, Linnus continued to cooperate with the Soviet authorities, though apparently without much enthusiasm. Outwardly, it was necessary to demonstrate adherence to official directives. He introduced the required changes within the museum, gave ideological lectures, and, together with Laid, organised a training course for museum workers. In early June of 1941, he even published a newspaper article praising the positive effects of the Soviet regime on Estonian museums. Despite these efforts, Linnus was arrested on 25 June 1941, accused of anti-Soviet activity. He was deported to the Unžlag labour camp in the Gorky region, where he died in February of 1942.