This formal portrait has a handwritten inscription on the back: “Rudolf Holsti, Tallinna, 1923, helmikuussa.” Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, and helmikuussa means in February in Finnish.
Rudolf Holsti (1881-1945) became one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Finland after that country declared its independence from Soviet Russia in December 1917. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs twice (1919-1922 and 1936-1938). He represented Finland at the League of Nations and served as Envoy to Estonia (1923-1927). In 1940, his open criticism of Nazi Germany made it necessary for him to move with his family to the United States, where he was offered a teaching position at Stanford University.
Here he is in the portrait above:
Knowing that Rudolf Holsti was Envoy to Estonia in 1923, I hoped to identify the other men in the photograph. I quickly identified the man seated in the center as Juhan Kukk, at that time serving as State Elder, or Head of State, of the young Republic of Estonia. Juhan Kukk (1885-1942) served as State Elder from November 1922 to August 1923.
I had assumed it would be easy to identify the other three men in the photo, but that turned out not to be the case. I looked at photos of leading politicians of the newly independent Baltic states–Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland–which shared many common interests as former provinces of the Russian Empire. Occasionally I thought I could see a resemblance, but it was impossible to be sure.
Frustrated by my lack of progress in identifying these men, I decided to return to Juhan Kukk. Here he is in my photo:
A little more searching turned up a book about him, published in 2015 in Estonian and English but not available in the United States. The book is Juhan Kukk, Framer of Estonian Independence, by Anne Velliste. When I saw the cover, my jaw dropped:
His hands are in a slightly different position, but the two photos must have been taken only moments apart. I need to find out what was happening in Tallinn in February 1923!
Update: I’ve been in touch with Anne Velliste, who very kindly identified the man seated at right as Aleksander Hellat, Foreign Minister of Estonia from November 1922 to August 1923 (and again in 1927). Her book contains a version of the photo showing Holsti, Kukk and Hellat seated as they are above, but without the two men standing behind them. She isn’t sure who the standing men are.
Aleksander Hellat, Foreign Minister of Estonia:
I wonder if the man standing on the right could be Konstantin Päts?
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There’s a strong resemblance!! Most of the photos of him online were taken much later, so I didn’t give him much consideration. He was born in 1874, which would make him 49 in the photo. It’s possible!!
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Such an exciting photo, Brad! Maybe if you add more tags of the names you already have and the countries that might be involved, this post will be easier for those who may have the answers to find?
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PS Great timing of this post given the recent events in Helsinki. Also forgot to say “Wow”, about your photo (more or less) turning up on the cover of a book!
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How did you come by the photo?
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Hi Liz, I bought it on eBay from a dealer in Finland who specializes in photos from the time when Finland was part of Russia. This photo is from a bit later, of course, but only a few years. I don’t think the dealer had any provenance for it.
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Thanks for the additional information. I’ve learned a lot from this entire thread.
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A unick photo!
Two men on the right could be Aadu (Ado) Birk and Konstantin Päts
https://vp2006-2016.president.ee/en/republic-of-estonia/heads-of-state/index.html
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It’s so hard to tell. That’s a good page you found, thank you!
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Please find one more picture of Konstantin Päts.
https://en.astri.ee/lounakeskus/apollo/konstantin-pats-poliitiline-biograafia-i-ja-ii-osa-1529472699725/?q=&idx=posts&p=0&fR%5BcenterIds%5D%5B0%5D=1&fR%5BpartnerName%5D%5B0%5D=Apollo&_ga=2.208015442.1954467507.1531831300-1125250693.1531831300
I can see a strong resemblance!
Let,me say, your collection is a unique and inimitable collection! It would certainly be interesting to many fans and professional photographers.
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You’re very kind, as always. 🙂
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What knowledgeable comments on this thread! And yes–great timing for this post, and your discovery of the book cover is such an exciting find! I can only add–this was when diplomats dressed like diplomats.
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They knew how to dress, didn’t they? They understood what it meant to represent their nation. In a way, they continue to do so.
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Love all the medals! Have you tried identifying the medals and looking among the names of those who had received them? That seems like the kind of record that might exist somewhere. Good luck identifying these distinguished gentlemen!
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Thank you, Andrea! Medals are one avenue of research. I’m confident someone will identify the men eventually.
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For anyone receiving updates to the comments, I’ve just edited the post. Anne Velliste kindly identified the man seated at right as Aleksander Hellat, Foreign Minister of Estonia.
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This reminded me of President Trump’s recent visit to Finland. I fell in love with the Finnish First Lady’s dress she wore in the photo taken with the two heads of State couples. I took a screen shot of the online video and plan to make a similar dress for myself. A simple A-line dress in a gorgeous botanical print fabric. Now I’m thinking how fashions have changed since your photo was taken.
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Hi Linda! Do you mean the dress with the butterflies? I couldn’t find a photo of the couples together, but I saw several photos of her in that dress, which is really charming. If you make a similar dress, I hope you’ll model it on your blog!
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Totally excellent idea! 😀
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