Era of Silence

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The Era of Silence (Estonian: vaikiv ajastu) was the period between 1934 and 1938 (or 1940) in Estonian history. The period began with the preemptive self-coup of 12 March 1934, which Estonian Prime Minister Konstantin Päts carried out to avert a feared takeover of the state apparatus by the popular Vaps Movement (a nationalist political organization of war veterans).