Estonia: Last leader of Estonian Communist Party dies at 92

The last leader of the Communist Party of Estonia (EKP), Vaino Väljas, has died at the age of 92, ERR reports. President Alar Karis offered his condolences, noting the important role that Väljas played during Estonia’s Singing Revolution in the late 1980s, leading to the restoration of independence in 1991. Väljas was born on Hiiumaa island in 1931 and joined EKP in 1952. In the 1980s, he was the Soviet Union’s ambassador to Venezuela and Nicaragua. In 1992-1995, Väljas chaired the Estonian Democratic Labour Party (EDTP), which later merged into the Estonian United Left Party (Vasakpoolsed).