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Estonia

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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti or Eesti Vabariik), is a country in Northeastern Europe. Estonia has land borders with Baltic country Latvia (339 km) to the south and Russia (229 km) to the east. It is separated from Finland in the north by the narrow Gulf of Finland and from Sweden in the west by the middle part of the Baltic Sea. Its coastline is 3794 km long. Estonia has been a member state of the European Union since 1st May 2004.

Contents

History

Human settlement in Estonia became possible 11,000–13,000 years ago, when the ice from the last glacial era melted away. The oldest known settlement in Estonia was the Pulli settlement located on the banks of the Pärnu River, near the town of Sindi in south Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating, it was settled 11,000 years ago, at the beginning of the 9th millennium BC.

Evidence has been found of hunting and fishing communities existing around 6500 B.C. near the town of Kunda in north Estonia. Bone and stone artifacts similar to those found at Kunda have been discovered elsewhere in Estonia, as well as in Latvia, northern Lithuania and in southern Finland. The Kunda culture belongs to the middle stone age, or mesolithic period.

The end of the Bronze Age and early Iron Age were marked by great cultural changes. The most significant was the transition to farming, which has remained at the foundation of Estonian economy and culture. During the Iron Age, approximately the 1st–5th century AD, resident farming was widely established, the population grew and settlement expanded. Cultural influences from the Roman Empire reached Estonia, and this era is therefore also known as the Roman Iron Age.

A more troubled and war-ridden Middle Iron Age followed with external danger coming both from the Baltic tribes, who attacked across the southern border, and from overseas. Several Scandinavian sagas refer to campaigns against Estonia. Estonian pirates conducted similar raids in the Viking age and sacked and burned the Scandinavian capital of Sigtuna in 1187.

By the early 13th Century, Estonia was divided into eight large counties — Saaremaa, Läänemaa, Revala, Harju, Viru, Järva, Sakala, and Ugandi. Annual consultations were held by representatives of several counties and developments took the direction of establishing a state. Estonia until this time retained a pagan religion centered around a deity called Taara.

Estonia was christianised when the German "Livonian Brothers of the Sword" invaded south Estonia as part of the Northern Crusades in the early 13th Century. At the same time Denmark attempted to take possession of north Estonia and Estonia was consolidated under the two forces by 1227. Northern Estonia remained a possession of Denmark until 1346. Tallinn (Reval) was given its Lübeck Rights in 1248 and joined the Hanseatic League at the end of the 13th century. Ethnic Estonians became serfs for the German-speaking nobility. In 1343 the people of northern Estonia and Saaremaa rebelled against the rule of the Germans in the St. George's Night Uprising, which was put down in 1344. There were unsuccessful Russian invasions in 1481 and 1558. From 1524, during the Protestant Reformation, Estonia converted to Lutheranism.

During the Livonian War in 1561, northern Estonia submitted to Swedish control, while southern Estonia briefly came under the control of Poland in the 1580s. In 1625, mainland Estonia came entirely under Swedish rule. Estonia was administratively divided between the provinces of Estonia in the north and Livonia, southern Estonia and northern Latvia, a division which persisted until early 20th century.

In 1631, the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus forced the nobility to grant the peasantry greater rights, although serfdom was retained. In 1632 a printing press and university were established in the city of Tartu (Dorpat). This period is known in Estonian history as the "Good Old Swedish Times."

Following the Great Northern War, the Swedish empire lost Estonia to Russia (1710 de facto, and 1721 de jure, by the Treaty of Nystad). However, the upper classes and the higher middle class remained primarily Baltic German. The war devastated the population of Estonia, but it recovered quickly. The rights of peasants were initially weakened, however, serfdom was abolished in 1816 in the province of Estonia and in 1818 in Livonia.

As a result of the abolishment of serfdom and the availability of education to the natives, an active Estonian nationalist movement started in the 19th century. It began on a cultural level, resulting in the establishment of Estonian-language literature, theater and professional music and the formation of the Estonian national identity. Among the leaders of this movement were Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Jakob Hurt and Carl Robert Jakobson. Significant accomplishments were the publication of the national epic, Kalevipoeg, in 1862, and the organization of the first national song festival in 1869.

In response to a period of Russification initiated by the Russian empire in the 1890s, Estonian nationalism took on more political tones, with intellectuals first calling for greater autonomy, and later, complete independence from the Russian empire. Following the October Revolution, Estonia declared itself an independent republic on February 24, 1918. After winning the Estonian Liberation War against Soviet Russia (Treaty of Tartu signed in February 2, 1920) Estonia maintained its independence for twenty-two years. Initially a parliamentary democracy, the parliament (Riigikogu) was disbanded in 1934, following political unrest caused by the global economic crisis. Subsequently the country was ruled by decree by Konstantin Päts, who became President in 1938, the year parliamentary elections resumed.

The country was occupied by Soviet troops in June 1940, as a consequence of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The Estonian SSR was formed, which joined the Soviet Union. Many of its political and intellectual leaders were killed or deported to Soviet Union. The country was occupied by the Third Reich from 1941 to 1944, when Soviet forces reconquered it. A guerilla war against the Soviet authorities in Estonia was waged into the early 1950s by so called forest brothers (metsavennad) consisting mostly of Estonian veterans of both German and Finnish armies as well as civilians.

Estonia regained its independence on August 20, 1991, with the Singing Revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The last Russian troops left on August 31, 1994, and Estonia joined NATO on March 29, 2004 and the European Union on May 1, 2004.

Politics

The Estonian Parliament building in Tallinn
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The Estonian Parliament building in Tallinn

More information on politics and government of Estonia can be found at the Politics and government of Estonia series.
Estonia is a constitutional democracy, with a president elected by its unicameral parliament (elections every four years). The government or the executive branch is formed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and a total of 14 ministers. The government is appointed by the president after approval by the parliament.

The legislative power lies with the unicameral parliament, the Riigikogu or State Assembly, which consists of 101 seats. Members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The supreme judiciary court is the National Court or Riigikohus, with 19 justices whose chairman is appointed by the parliament for life on nomination by the president.

Internet voting has already been used in local elections in Estonia. The lawmakers in Estonia have authorized internet voting for parliamentary elections as well.[link].

Counties

Estonia numbers 15 main administrative subdivisions, counties. (Estonian: pl. maakonnad; sg. - maakond). Here is a list of them:

Counties of Estonia
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Counties of Estonia

Geography

Map of Estonia

Gulf of Finland and Estonia
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Gulf of Finland and Estonia

Estonia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea on the level northwestern part of the rising east European platform between 57.3° and 59.5° N and 21.5° and 28.1° E. Average elevation reaches only 50 metres (164 ft), and the country's highest point is the Suur Munamägi in the southeast at 318 metres (1,043 ft).

Oil shale (or kukersite) and limestone deposits, along with forests which cover 47% of the land, play key economic roles in this generally resource-poor country. Estonia boasts over 1,400 lakes (most very small, with the largest, Lake Peipus, (Peipsi in Estonian) being 3555 km²; 1372 sq. mi), numerous bogs, and 3794 kilometers (2,357 mi) of coastline marked by numerous bays, straits, and inlets. The number of islands and islets is estimated at some 1,500, with two of them large enough to constitute their own counties, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.

Climate

See [Weather] (English), [Ilm] (Estonian) or [Pogoda] (Russian).

Economy

As a member of the European Union, Estonia is part of the world's largest economic zone. In 1999, Estonia experienced its worst year economically since it regained independence in 1991, largely because of the impact of the August 1998 Russian financial crisis. Estonia joined the WTO in November 1999 — the second Baltic state to join — and continued its EU accession talks. With assistance from the European Union, the World Bank and the Nordic Bank, Estonia completed most of its preparations for EU membership by the end of 2002 and now has one of the strongest economies of the new member states of the European Union, which Estonia joined on 1 May 2004. The Estonian economy is growing fast, partly due to a number of Scandinavian companies relocating their routine operations and Russian oil transit using Estonian ports. Estonia has a strong information technology (IT) sector. GDP PPP per capita is at $17,802, the highest among the Baltic states.

The north-west coast of Estonia near Nõva, Lääne county
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The north-west coast of Estonia near Nõva, Lääne county

In 1994, Estonia became among the first in the world to adopt a flat tax, with a uniform rate of 26% regardless of the income a person makes. In January 2005 the personal income tax rate was reduced to 24%. A subsequent reduction to 23% followed in January 2006. In the following years the income tax rate will be decreased by 1% annually to reach 20% by January 2009.

Since January 1, 2000, companies have not had to pay income tax on re-invested income. However, tax is due on profit distributions (incl. hidden distributions) at a rate of 24%. Despite the fact that only the moment of taxation was shifted from earning profits to their distribution, leaving the rest of the corporate taxation system mostly unchanged, the current legislation is said to be in violation of one of the fundamental freedoms of the European Union — free movement of capital. Estonia is to remove this hindrance by January 2009 when the temporary derogation expires.

In June 1992, Estonia replaced the ruble with its own freely convertible currency, the Kroon (EEK). A currency board was created and the new currency was pegged to the German Mark at the rate at 8 EEK for 1 DEM. When Germany introduced the Euro the peg was changed to 15.6466 Kroon for 1 Euro. The Estonian government is intending to adopt the Euro as the country's currency on 1 January 2008 due to continued high inflation, and finalised the design of Estonia's Euro coins in late 2004.

Demographics

Indigenous Estonian-speaking ethnic Estonians constitute nearly 70 percent of the total population of about 1.3 million people. First and second generation immigrants from various parts of the former Soviet Union, mainly Russia comprise most of the remaining 30 percent. The latter, mostly Russian-speaking ethnic minorities reside predominantly in the capital city (Tallinn) and the industrial urban areas in northeastern Estonia (Ida-Virumaa county). There is also a small group of Finnish descent, mainly from Ingermanland. Historically, large parts of Estonia’s north-western coast and islands have been populated by an indigenous ethnically Swedish population called "rannarootslased" ("coastal Swedes"). The majority of Estonia's Swedish population fled to Sweden in 1944, escaping the advancing Soviet Army. Only a few hundred Swedes were left.

The country's official language is Estonian, which is closely related to Finnish, and like Finnish contains many Swedish words. Russian is also widely spoken as a secondary language by 30–70 year old ethnic Estonians because Russian was a compulsory second language in school during the Soviet era. Younger people, born at the end of or following the Soviet era, can usually speak English, having learned it as their first foreign language.

Ethnicity

According to information published by the Estonian Statistical Office in 2006, the population of Estonia comprised the following self-reported ethnic groups [link]:

Religion

Tallinn, churches in the background
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Tallinn, churches in the background

The predominant religion of indigenous ethnic Estonians has traditionally been the Christian belief in the form the Protestant Evangelical Lutheran confession; however, less than a quarter of ethnic Estonians define themselves as active believers at present. Most believers amongst the Russian minority are Eastern Orthodox. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has since the 1920s recognised a separate national Estonian Orthodox Church, which has led to strained relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, which claimed sole authority over Orthodox believers in the country during the period of Soviet rule.

Today, over 31% of the adult population are active followers of a particular faith, and they are made up of:

There are nearly 10,000 Muslims in Estonia (most of whom are Tatars), as well as a number of smaller Buddhist, Protestant and Jewish groups, and some neopagans who revere the local ancient deity Taara.

The results of 2002 poll are as follows:

Q: What religion is the dearest, most cherised for you?

Altogether 1000 people were questioned, out of which 72% were Estonians.

According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005 Eurobarometer, http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf, only 16% of Estonian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 54% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 26% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force". This, according to the survey, would make Estonians the least religious people in the 25-member European Union.

International rankings

Culture

Estonian Song Festival - Laulupidu 2004
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Estonian Song Festival - Laulupidu 2004

Miscellaneous topics

Gallery

Image:Estonian Folk Dancing.jpg|Estonian folk dancing Image:RingDance.jpg|Estonian folk dance festival "Tantsupidu" Image:MenEnter.jpg|Tantsupidu - The men enter! Image:Statue of Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Tallinn.jpg|Statue of Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Tallinn Image:Tallin-markt.jpg|Medieval city centre and marketplace of Tallinn

Further reading

External links

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Countries and territories of Europe
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Geographical notes: (1) Partly in Asia; (2) Entirely in Asia but having sociopolitical connections with Europe; (3) Entirely in North America but having sociopolitical connections with Europe

[[roa-rup:Estonia]]

[[zh-min-nan:Eesti]]

[[nds-nl:Estlaand]]

[[fiu-vro:Eesti]]

 

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