Phosphorite War

The other, more covert issue was the fear that the new mines' need for a workforce would start a wave of migration, bringing tens of thousands of workers from other parts of the Soviet Union to Estonia.

In 1940 a new larger mine was opened, which together with a factory producing low-grade phosphorus fertilizers operated until late 1991, causing several environmental problems in the area.

The central government of the Soviet Union in Moscow took interest in exploiting the phosphorite deposits in Lääne-Viru County in the early 1970s.

[3] On this day Moscow’s plans to expand phosphorite mining in Northern Estonia were revealed on Estonian TV.

[10] Regarding the Estonian independence movement, the unintended consequences of the campaign were of similar importance to the immediate outcome.

[3] The Phosphorite War activated the Estonian masses,[7] gave people faith in the power of collective action[3] and was an important factor in the disappearance of fear of the regime.