Sõgelite saaga

“The main goal, for which I have been fighting for the last three years, to leave some trace of myself, has been achieved,” says Urmas Sõgel (1952-2019) in the epilogue to his memoirs, written less than a year before his death. Although Sõgel’s memoirs are indeed very personal and the author can be very merciless at times – also towards his loved ones, but above all towards himself – this work is still something more than one person’s attempt to leave some trace of himself. “The Saga of the Sõgels” is a valuable addition to the memoirs of those who have already been published in the leadership of the Estonian SSR or those close to it. More precisely: it provides a good insight into the lives and world of thought of the scions of the ruling elite and party members who began their careers in the 70s. Urmas Sõgel also includes excerpts from his parents’ correspondence in the book. Through these and the author's personal fragments of memory, the reader also gains an insight into the life and uncompromising communist worldview of his father, the notorious literary ideologist Endel Sõgel (1922-1998). But above all, "The Saga of the Sõgels" is an insight into the life of a communist who began his career in the 1970s - after all, this was a generation whose career choices largely did not materialize, who had to recalibrate themselves and adapt to new circumstances in the late 1980s. Some adapted better, others worse - Sõgel also takes a look at the lives of his fellow travelers in his memoirs, written in a loose and popular language. Which of the sayings is true, which Sõgel's friends, acquaintances and enemies remember differently, is up to each reader to decide. All in all, it is good that Urmas Sõgel had the determination to write down his life path on the eve of his death: as a reminder to the elderly, a lesson - but even more so, perhaps, as a warning - to the young.