Siima Iakobvna Shkop studied hairdressing as her initial career path. She began working as a hairdressing assistant at the reputable salon of Jan Czipan in Tallinn during the late 1930s. Shkop entered the art word by studying sculpture under the tutelage of the noted Estonian artist, Voldemar Mellik. In the summer of 1940, Estonia became a republic of the Soviet Union and around that time, Shkop entered the state-run School of Applied Arts named for Estonian ...

Estonian National Publishing (Eesti Riiklik Kirjastus) was the state-owned publishing entity of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. The publisher was also known as Estonian State Press and it printed literature and ephemera. In 1940, it began operations as the Tartu State Publishing House (until 1941), and around 1944 it moved to the capital city of Tallinn. In addition to publishing books and posters; Estonian National Publishing disseminated works of fiction and art. During a 1949 reorganization, the publishing house ...