Together (Estonian political party)

Together (Koos, Вместе), officially known as the TOGETHER organization points to sovereignty (KOOS organisatsioon osutab suveräänsusele), previously known as the Party of Estonian Patriots TOGETHER (Eesti Patriootide Erakond KOOS; Партия патриотов Эстонии ВМЕСТЕ), was a Russian minority politics-oriented and pro-Russia political party in Estonia. The party stated its main goal was to ensure peace in Estonia and harmony in relations between peoples. The party was led by Aivo Peterson and crypto businessman Oleg Ivanov, who ran on the list of the Estonian United Left Party for the 2023 parliamentary election. On 19 May 2023, Ivanov announced that he would be moving to Russia to lead the party from there out of fear of being detained by the Internal Security Service.

History
The non-profit association Koos Rahu Eest in Eesti is registered with the movement.

On 24 April 2022, Ivanov posted a video where he called the Bucha massacre staged. He also declared: "Estonia is destined to be destroyed in the war with Russia. The allies are fighting Russia with the hands of their vassal states, and not directly. According to the plans of the allies, Estonia will be destroyed. Everything is being done so that the Baltic states become the next hotbed of war. The same criminals who brought the masses to syringes are now pushing countries to go to war with Russia."

In November 2022, Ivanov participated in the program of the Russian and pro-Kremlin TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, where he said that Estonia should be open to negotiations, but the current orientation towards "escalation" does not bode well: "Our main message is peace and inter-ethnic harmony in Estonia."

Danish Radio (DR) quoted Ivanov "I know that Putin launched a military operation. But I also know that if Putin had not done it, the Ukrainian army would have attacked Donbass within days".

On 30 November 2022, the registry department of the Tartu County Court did not register the movement as a political party, as the total number of its members was below the required minimum – at least 500 members. Therefore, the movement decided to participate in the 2023 elections as part of the Estonian United Left Party.

In January 2023, the movement held a prayer service “for peace” with the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Together was legally registered as a political party on 8 May 2023.

In March 2023, party leader Aivo Peterson was detained by Estonian border police upon his return from Russia, where he had gone after traveling to the Ukrainian occupied territories to film videos in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Peterson and two other people were charged under Section 235(1) of the Estonian Penal Code, which prohibits associations from pursuing relationships considered harmful to the Estonian state. Oleg Ivanov himself left Estonia for Russia by 19 May, saying he did so because he could be arrested by Estonian police in the same way as Aivo Peterson, and that it would be difficult to lead the party and run in the elections from prison.

On 22 May 2023, daily Õhtuleht revealed that the party might have no members at all due to potentially having registered the members in a legally incorrect way. In July 2023, daily Eesti Ekspress published an article confirming that the party's new leader is Julia Smoli due to Aivo Peterson being detained and Oleg Ivanov being in Russia. On 7 September 2023, the State Prosecutor's Office charged Aivo Peterson with treason.

Political programme
The election program of the movement envisages the neutrality of the Republic of Estonia and non-membership of military alliances (i.e. Estonia outside of NATO), as well as granting Estonian citizenship to all people who lived there in 1991 and abolishing the institution of non-citizens (the so-called "gray passport"). The election program also includes "preservation and protection of traditional values, family, religion, cultural and historical heritage. Also present is a ban on rewriting history and destroying monuments, and a requirement that defense spending not exceed 1% of the gross domestic product."