Tiit LepikInformation technologist

This page is a machine translation from Estonian, made with Claude (Anthropic AI). The working language of this site is Estonian; if the texts differ, the Estonian original applies. Eesti keeles

Nature conservationLenin’s decree and Lahemaa

For the 55th anniversary of Lahemaa National Park in 2026 I tracked down the Lenin quotation that was cited when the national park was founded.

Contact

Tiit Lepik
Information technologist
Language: Estonian. I use machine translation for other languages.

+372 5199 2928
tiit.lepik.71@gmail.com
https://lepik.co
Tehase tn 1, 74604 Kiiu, Kuusalu Parish, Harju County, Estonia
Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8LxfQmDbNWSsSb476
By bus: stop “Kuusalu kool” (https://peatus.ee/), then about 1 km along the cycle and footpath.
Tickets: from the driver in cash or with the Ühiskaart card – https://pilet.ee/et/card-info.

Invoices: Ordinatim OÜ, registry code 14805167, Tehase tn 1, 74604 Kiiu, Estonia (not VAT registered)

The question

Lahemaa National Park was founded on 1 June 1971 as the first national park of the Soviet Union. The driving force behind the idea was Jaan Eilart. As was the custom of the time, a Lenin quotation was needed to carry the idea through. Many nature people know the story that while in exile in Switzerland Lenin wrote an article in which he recognised the need for nature reserves and parks.

The search

I enlisted the help of Claude and a couple of friends. Lenin’s Russian-language works are well digitised and indexed, but no such quotation was found in the articles written in Switzerland. Then I searched for texts in which Lenin and the word “park” appear together. This search produced a result.

The find

On 16 September 1921 the Council of People’s Commissars issued, with Lenin’s signature, the decree “On the protection of natural monuments, gardens and parks” (Об охране памятников природы, садов и парков).

The second point of the decree says that larger natural areas remarkable for their monuments are declared zapovedniks and national parks (объявляются заповедниками и национальными парками). The third point adds that the lands of zapovedniks and national parks may not be taken for cultivation or for the extraction of natural resources without the permission of the Commissariat of Education.

According to the press, in 1971 it was precisely this decree, containing the words “national park”, that was cited to fend off Moscow’s objections.

Doubts

I have not seen the original of the decree. The texts found are later online publications and retellings, and some of them come from politically charged articles. So go figure what Jaan Eilart actually based Lahemaa National Park on in his time.

Sources

Nature conservation