parliament. During the 1934–1938 "Era of Silence", many reforms were made and the economy grew, while he prolonged the return of constitutional order. Largely supported by General Johan Laidoner, Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, Päts ruled as Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder (1934–1937) and President-Regent (1937–1938) until a new constitution was adopted in 1938, after which Päts was elected the first President of Estonia. During his presidency, the Stalinist Soviet Union invaded and occupied Estonia in June 1940. As president, he was forced to sign decrees for over a month, until being arrested and deported to Soviet Russia, where he died in 1956. Family Päts' parents originated from Holstre near Viljandi in the then Governorate of Livonia. The family name "Päts" means a "loaf" in Estonian and is thought to derive from his patrilineal ancestors from the beginning of the 18th century, who distributed free bread from their mill during a famine. The mill was initially named the Päts Mill; and "Päts" (originally "Paets") was later adopted as an official surname. The father of Konstantin, Jakob (Jaagup) Päts (1842–1909), was a housebuilder from Heimtali, near Viljandi. Konstantin's mother, Olga Päts (née Tumanova; 1847–1914), was an orphan who had been raised as a native Russian-speaker reportedly by the Razumovsky family, where her adoptive father at one time was the mayor of Valga. It has also been claimed that she grew up with the Krüdener family, where the adoptive father, Baron Krüdener, was her uncle; however, it is more likely that she served the Krüdener family later as a governess. Jakob and Olga met while they were both in the service of the Krüdener family. Konstantin had an older brother, Nikolai (1871–1940), three younger brothers – Paul (1876–1881), Voldemar (1878–1958), and Peeter (1880–1942) – and a younger sister, Marianne (1888–1947). Since their mother Olga was raised in a wealthy Russian family, their father Jakob converted from Lutheranism to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The children were all brought up in strong Orthodox traditions. The family initially lived in Viljandi. Päts' father Jakob was one of the Estonian nationalist farmers, who in 1865 petitioned to Emperor Alexander II of Russia to remove the (what they considered oppressive) aristocratic privileges of Baltic German landowners. After the petition, Jakob came into conflict with the local nobility and in 1873 he was forced to move to Tahkuranna, near Pärnu. As Päts' father was unable