had been illegal. Accordingly, it held that Uluots had assumed the President's duties from 21 June 1940 onwards. The Estonian government has maintained that all laws, decrees and treaties made in 1940–1941 in Soviet-occupied Estonia, including those of Vares' puppet government, illegal, null and void from their start. The upper house of Parliament had been dissolved soon after the 16–17 June 1940 Soviet invasion and was never reconvened, nor re-elected. According to the then Constitution of Estonia, all laws had to pass both houses of parliament before being promulgated. This applies also to the new pro-Soviet 1940 "electoral law" under which the blatantly rigged elections of 14–15 July 1940 were conducted. It was this sham election that produced the so-called "People's Parliament" which then declared Estonia a "Soviet republic" and "requested" to join the Soviet Union. After returning to Estonia in 1944, Vares came under investigation by the Soviet NKVD for his activities in the Estonian War of Independence (1918–1920). He committed suicide in presidential residence in Kadriorg, Tallinn, in November 1946. See also Johannes Vares' cabinet Citations and references Cited sources External links Johannes Vares at Estonian Writers' Online Dictionary 1890 births 1946 suicides People from Viljandi Parish People from Kreis Fellin Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia Heads of state of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Prime Ministers of Estonia Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1940–1947 First convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Estonian male poets 20th-century Estonian poets Estonian military doctors Soviet military doctors Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni Russian military personnel of World War I Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class Recipients of the Cross of Liberty (Estonia) Recipients of the Order of Lenin Suicides by firearm in Estonia Estonian politicians who committed suicide Soviet politicians who committed suicide People from Pärnu