Tief's Symbolic Significance
Tief only held power for only a brief period of time, and his efforts were rapidly undone by the invading Red Army. However, Tief's actions have immense symbolic and legal significance, as his proclaiming the restoration of the Republic of Estonia as well as the accompanying raising of the Estonian flag atop the tower of Pikk Hermann high above Tallinn at the seat of power in the Toompea quarter negate Soviet historiography's claims, according to which the 1944 Red Army invasion of the country constituted "liberation of Estonia". Although the attempt to restore Estonian independence in September 1944 did not succeed, the Otto Tief Government proved to be an integral and indispensable part of the de jure continuity of Estonia, upon which the current state rests.
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