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1988 Estonian Soviet legislature is first in the USSR to declare sovereignty.The independence drive begins in earnest; it's dubbed the Sing Revolution, because demonstrations are peaceful and usually accompanied by singing.
The demonstration "Estonian Song" (Eestimaa Laul) held at the end of the "hot summer" on September 11, 1988. 300.000 people, or nearly a third of the Estonian population, gathered at the traditional songfest site in Tallinn. Here the head of the Heritage Society, Trivimi Velliste, expressed for the first time in front of such a large gathering the demand for the complete restoration of Estonian independence.