Letter of 40 intellectuals

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The Letter of 40 intellectuals, also The letter of 40 (Estonian: Neljakümne kiri), originally A public letter from Estonian SSR (Estonian: Avalik kiri Eesti NSV-st) was a public letter dated October 28, 1980 and posted a week later, in which 40 intellectuals attempted to defend the Estonian language and expressed their protest against the recklessness of the Republic-level government in dealing with youth protests sparked a week earlier by the banning of a public performance by the band Propeller. The real reasons were much more deep-seated, and had to do primarily with the Russification policies of the Kremlin in occupied Estonia.

The letter was addressed to the newspapers Pravda, Rahva Hääl and Sovetskaya Estoniya. None of these, nor any other Soviet publication, printed the letter. However, copies were widely distributed through self-publishing.