Project: Estonia/Country

The Republic of Estonia
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Contents

Location

The Republic of Estonia is located in Northern Europe. It is the northernmost of the three Baltic republics. Estonia is bordered by Russia to the east and Latvia to the south. It is also bounded by the Gulf of Finland in the north, the Baltic Sea in the west, and the Lake Peipus in the east. Estonia shares its maritime borders with Finland and Sweden.

Administrative Divisions

Estonia is a unitary country with a single-tier local government system. Local affairs are managed autonomously by local governments. The country was previously divided into 15 counties (maakond), which were the state administrative subdivisions. However, the county governments were abolished at the end of 2017. Since then, their duties have been split between state authorities and local governments. There are a total of 79 municipalities (omavalitsis), including 15 towns (linn) and 64 rural parishes (vald). Separately from administrative units, there are also settlement units including villages with less that 300 residents, small boroughs with 300 to 1000 people, and boroughs with over 1000 inhabitants.



See Also: Administrative Divisions of Estonia

Tallinn is the capital and the most populous city of Estonia. Other significant cities include Tartu, Narva, Pärnu , and Kohtla-Järve.

See Also: Geography of Estonia

History

The first recorded reference to the Estonians was by the Roman historian Tacitus in the 1st century AD, who called them the Aesti. It the 2nd century, Ptolemy referred to them as the Osilians. The extent of the Estonian territory in early medieval times is disputed, but the nature of their religion is not. Like the Lapps, they were known to the Scandinavians as experts in wind-magic.

In the first centuries AD, political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge in Estonia. Two larger subdivisions appeared: the parish (kihelkond) and the county (maakond). The parish consisted of several villages and nearly all parishes had at least one fortress. The defense of the local area was directed by the highest official, the parish elder. The county was composed of several parishes, also headed by an elder.

Estonia was one of the last regions of medieval Europe to be Christianized. In 1193 Pope Celestine III called for a crusade against Baltic pagans in Northern Europe. In 1208, with the help of the newly converted local tribes of Livs and Letts, the crusaders initiated raids into part of what is present-day Estonia. Estonian tribes fiercely resisted the attacks and occasionally themselves sacked territories controlled by the crusaders. In 1217 the German crusading order the Sword Brethren and their recently converted allies won a major battle in which the Estonian commander, Lembitu, was killed. Over the next 350 years, the Estonians were controlled by the Danes, the Swedish, and ultimately Imperial Russia.

Estonia as a unified political entity first emerged after the Russian Revolution of February 1917. With the collapse of the Russian Empire in World War I, Russia's Provisional Government granted national autonomy to a unified Estonia in April 1917. The Governorate of Estonia in the north (corresponding to the historic Danish Estonia) was united with the northern part of the Governorate of Livonia. On 5 Nov 1917, Estonian Bolshevik leader Jaan Anvelt violently usurped power in a coup d'état, forcing the legally-recognized Estonian government underground.

In February, after the collapse of the peace talks between Soviet Russia and the German Empire, mainland Estonia was occupied by the Germans. Bolshevik forces retreated to Russia. Between the Russian Red Army's retreat and the arrival of advancing German troops, the Salvation Committee of the Estonian National Council Maapäev issued the Estonian Declaration of Independence in Pärnu on 23 February 1918.

Estonia was forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, an action never recognized by many other countries. Estonia regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. This period is known as The Singing Revolution, inspired by the more than century-old song festival tradition.

Historical Timeline

  • 3000 BC: Finno-Ugric peoples (ancestors of Estonians) start to move from eastern Europe to northeastern coast of Baltic Sea.
  • 1st century: Roman historian Tacitus writes in the book Germania about Aesti tribes1.
  • 1154: Arab geographer Al Idrisi mentions Estonian places, also marking the foundation of Tallinn.
  • 1165: The Benedictine bishop Fulco is named Bishop of the Estonians by the Archbishop of Lund.
  • 1193: Pope Celestine III calls for a crusade against Baltic pagans in Northern Europe.
  • 1208: With the help of the newly converted local tribes of Livs and Letts, the crusaders initiate raids into part of what is present-day Estonia.
  • 1217 The German crusading order the Sword Brethren defeat the Estonians and kill their commander, Lembitu.
  • 1710: The Russian Empires claims Estonia from Sweden.
  • 1918: Estonia first emerges as a unified political entity and declares its independence.
  • 1940: Estonia is forcibly incorporated into the USSR
  • 1991: Estonia regains its freedom with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

See Also: History of Estonia

See Also: Timeline of Estonian History

Ethnicities

Ethnic Estonians constitute the majority of the nation's population, making up nearly 70% of the total population. Russians form the largest minority group in Estonia, comprising as much as 25% of the population. This is largely due to migration during the era of Soviet rule. Ukrainians are the third largest ethnic group in Estonia, making up around 2% of the total population. Belarusians make up around 1% of the total population. Other smaller minorities include Finns, Armenians, Azeris, Moldovans, Chuvash, Karelians, and Roma.

See Also: Estonians

Language

Estonian, a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, is the official language of Estonia and is spoken by the majority of the country’s population. Russian is the most spoken minority language in the country. There are towns in Estonia with large concentrations of Russian speakers. Võro and Seto, also Uralic languages of the Finnic branch, used to be considered dialects of the South Estonian dialect group of the Estonian language, but now have their own literary standard. Swedish, German, Ukrainian, Polish are other minority languages spoken in Estonia. English is also widely spoken as a foreign language.

See also: Estonian Language

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Religion

Estonia is one of the least religious nations in the world. In fact, as recently as 2011, more that 58% of the population identified as non-religious. of those who do identify as religious, about 16% practice Eastern Orthodoxy. About 10% practice Lutheranism and about 3% practice other Christian faiths. Muslims, Estonian Neopagans, Buddhists and other religions all account for less than 1% of the population.

See Also: Religion in Estonia

See Also: Demographics of Estonia

Estonian Naming Conventions

Estonian naming conventions are similar to most European countries. They consist of one to three given names followed by a surname, which is usually inherited from the father. Married women often take their husband’s surname, but they can also keep their maiden name or use a hyphenated double surname. Given names must be gender-specific and are often of Estonian, Finnish, or Russian origin. Diminutives and nicknames are popular among friends and family.

See Also: Estonian Names



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