rival candidates to the communist ones in the July 1940 sham elections of the new "Soviet" puppet parliament in Estonia. The Soviet occupation regime removed all opposition candidates from the ballot. Membership in the parliament: 1917–1919 Estonian Provincial Assembly (Maapäev) 1919–1920 Estonian Constituent Assembly 1920–1923 I Riigikogu 1923–1926 II Riigikogu 1926–1929 III Riigikogu 1929–1932 IV Riigikogu 1932–1934/1937 V Riigikogu 1938–1940 VI Riigikogu – Riigivolikogu Disappearance Soviet authorities arrested Tõnisson in autumn 1940 and put him on trial. During his trial, Tõnisson neither regretted anything nor gave up any information about other politicians who opposed the Soviets. The exact whereabouts of Tõnisson after the trial and the circumstances of his death remain a mystery. The most credible speculation about his death centres on Tõnisson being shot dead in Tallinn during the first days of July in 1941. His place of burial is unknown. Tõnisson's moral views and honorable death inspired Estonians for decades to symbolically resist the Soviet regime and to eventually regain independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. A memorial to Tõnisson was erected in Tartu in 1999. Awards 1920 – Cross of Liberty II/III 1920 – Cross of Liberty III/I 1925 – Cross of Liberty I/III 1928 – Order of the Estonian Red Cross I/I 1930 – Order of the Cross of the Eagle I 1938 – Order of the White Star I 1932 – Grand Cross of the Order of the White Lion (Czechoslovakia) 1939 – Royal Order of the Polar Star (Sweden) Grand Cross See also List of people who disappeared Notes References External links Jaan Tõnisson Institute Jaan Tõnisson at the President of the Republic of Estonia website 1868 births 1941 deaths People from Viljandi Parish People from Kreis Fellin Russian Constitutional Democratic Party members Estonian People's Party politicians National Centre Party (Estonia) politicians Heads of State of Estonia Prime Ministers of Estonia Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Government ministers of Estonia Members of the 1st State Duma of the Russian Empire Members of the Estonian Provincial Assembly Members of the Estonian Constituent Assembly Members of the Riigikogu, 1920–1923 Members of the Riigikogu, 1923–1926 Members of the Riigikogu, 1926–1929 Members of the Riigikogu, 1929–1932 Members of the Riigikogu, 1932–1934 Speakers of the Riigikogu Members of the Riigivolikogu University of Tartu alumni Recipients of the Cross of Liberty (Estonia) Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Recipients of the Military Order of