Letter of 40 intellectuals

The Letter of 40 intellectuals, also The letter of 40 (Estonian: Neljakümne kiri), originally A public letter from Estonian SSR (Estonian: Avalik kiri Eesti NSV-st) was a public letter dated October 28, 1980 and posted a week later, in which 40 intellectuals attempted to defend the Estonian language and expressed their protest against the recklessness of the Republic-level government in dealing with youth protests that were sparked a week earlier due to the banning of a public performance of the band Propeller. The real reasons were much more deep-seated, and had to do primarily with the Russification policies of the Kremlin in occupied Estonia.

The letter was addressed to the newspapers Pravda, Rahva Hääl and Sovetskaya Estoniya. None of these nor any other Soviet publication printed the letter. Copies of the letter were however widely distributed through self-publishing.