Estonia
Between 57.3 and 59.5 degrees latitude and 21.5 and 28.1 degrees
longitude, Estonia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea on
the level, northwestern part of the rising East European platform.
Average elevation reaches only 50 meters (160 ft.).
The climate resembles New England's. Oil shale and limestone
deposits, along with forests that cover 47% of the land, play key
economic roles in this generally resource-poor country. Estonia
boasts more than 1,500 lakes, numerous bogs, and 3,794 kilometers of
coastline marked by numerous bays, straits, and inlets. Tallinn's
Muuga port offers one of Europe's finest warm water harbor
facilities.
Estonia's strategic location has precipitated many wars fought on
its territory between other rival powers at its expense. In 1944,
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) granted Russia
the trans-Narva and Petseri regions on Estonia's eastern frontier.
Russia and Estonia signed a border treaty in 2005 recognizing the
current border. Estonia ratified the treaty in June 2005, but Russia
subsequently revoked its signature to the treaty, due to a reference
the Estonian Parliament inserted regarding the Peace Treaty of
Tartu.
Estonians belong to the Balto-Finnic group of the Finno-Ugric
peoples, as do the Finns and the Hungarians. Archaeological research
confirms the existence of human activity in the region as early as
8,000 BC, but by 3,500 BC the principal ancestors of the Estonians
had arrived from the east.
Estonians have strong ties to the Nordic countries today stemming
from deep cultural and religious influences gained over centuries
during Scandinavian colonization and settlement. This highly
literate society places great emphasis upon education, which is free
and compulsory until age 16. About 20% of the population belongs to
the following churches registered in Estonia: Estonian Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Estonian
Orthodox Church subordinated to the Moscow Patriarchate, Baptist
Church, Roman Catholic Church, and others.
As of January 2, 2009, 83.8% of Estonia's population held Estonian
citizenship, 7.9% were citizens of other countries (primarily
Russia), and 8.2% were of undetermined citizenship.
Written with the Latin alphabet, Estonian is the language of the
Estonian people and the official language of the country. Estonian
is one of the world's most difficult languages to learn for
English-speakers: it has fourteen cases, which can be a challenge
even for skilled linguists. During the Soviet era, the Russian
language was imposed for official use. |
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Estonians are one of the longest-settled European peoples and have
lived along the Baltic Sea for over 5,000 years. The Estonians were
an independent nation until the 13th century A.D. The country was
then subsequently conquered by Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and
finally Russia, whose defeat of Sweden in 1721 resulted in the
Uusikaupunki Peace Treaty, granting Russia rule over what became
modern Estonia.
First Period of Independence
Independence remained out of reach for Estonia until the collapse of
the Russian empire during World War I. Estonia declared itself an
independent democratic republic in November 1918. In 1920, by the
Peace Treaty of Tartu, Soviet Russia recognized Estonia's
independence and renounced in perpetuity all rights to its
territory.
The first constitution of the Republic of Estonia was adopted in
1920 and established a parliamentary form of government. Estonia's
independence would last for 22 years, during which time Estonia
guaranteed cultural autonomy to all minorities, including its small
Jewish population, an act that was unique in Western Europe at the
time.
Soviet Period
Leading up to World War II (WWII), Estonia pursued a policy of
neutrality. However, the Soviet Union forcibly incorporated Estonia
as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, in which Nazi
Germany gave control of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to the Soviet
Union in return for control of much of Poland. In August 1940, the
U.S.S.R. proclaimed Estonia a part of the Soviet Union as the
Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (E.S.S.R.). The United States
never recognized Soviet sovereignty over Estonia, Latvia, or
Lithuania.
During World War II, between 1939 and 1945, through both the Nazi
and Soviet occupations, Estonia's direct human losses reached
180,000 residents, which amounted to 17% of its total population.
During the Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1944, 7,800 citizens of the
Republic of Estonia (70% ethnic Estonians, 15% ethnic Russians,
12.8% Estonian Jews, and 2.2% representing other nationalities) were
executed in Nazi prison camps. Of the total number executed during
the period of Nazi occupation, an estimated 1,000 were Estonian
Jews--or roughly 25% of the pre-war Jewish population of Estonia.
Additionally, an estimated 10,000 Jews were transported to Estonia
from elsewhere in eastern Europe and killed there.
Re-establishing Independence
In the late 1980s, looser controls on freedom of expression under
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev reignited the Estonians' call for
self-determination. By 1988, hundreds of thousands of people were
gathering across Estonia to sing previously banned national songs in
what became known as the "Singing Revolution."
In November 1988, Estonia's Supreme Soviet passed a declaration of
sovereignty; in 1990, the name of the Republic of Estonia was
restored, and during the August 1991 coup in the U.S.S.R., Estonia
declared full independence. The U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet recognized
independent Estonia on September 6, 1991. Unlike the experiences of
Latvia and Lithuania, Estonia's revolution ended without blood
spilled.
Estonia became a member of the United Nations on September 17, 1991
and is a signatory to a number of UN organizations and other
international agreements, including IAEA, ICAO, UNCTAD, WHO, WIPO,
UNESCO, ILO, IMF, and WB/EBRD. It is also a member of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In May
2007, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
ministers invited Estonia to begin accession discussions.
After more than 3 years of negotiations, on August 31, 1994, the
armed forces of the Russian Federation withdrew from Estonia. |
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