KGB Prison Cells Muziejus

This museum is located in the cellar of the former NKVD and KGB headquarters in the centre of Tallinn.

The building at 1 Pagari Street was home to one of the most infamous and feared pre-trial detention centres of the Soviet era, where many Estonian politicians, state officials, intellectuals, War of Independence veterans and even commoners were tortured and sentenced to death or prison. The unmodified cells are the epitome of the Red Terror and are now open to visitors. The museum consists of two corridors, six prison cells and one solitary confinement cell. The main exhibition, entitled ‘History of the KGB House’, recalls the atrocities committed there.

This address has had an interesting past. The residential building constructed here in 1912 was the headquarters of the Provisional Government of Estonia and the military high command during the War of Independence. Then, until 1940, the building housed the Ministry of War of the Republic of Estonia. In March 1991 the building became the head office of the Estonian Police. Today, 1 Pagari Street has regained its former residential use.