Estonia

History

Human settlement in Estonia became possible when the ice, from the last Ice Age|glacial era, melted away 11,000–13,000 years ago. The oldest known settlement in Estonia was located on the Pärnu|Pärnu River, near the town of Sindi (Pulli settlement, by village Pulli - on right bank of Pärnu River). It dates back to the middle of the 8th millennium BC. Estonia was first christianization|christianised when the Germany|German "Livonian Sword Brethren" and Denmark conquered the land by 1227. Subsequent foreign powers that controlled Estonia at various times included Denmark, Sweden, Poland and finally (1710 de facto, 1721 de jure, see Treaty of Nystad) Russia. However, the upper classes and the higher middle class remained primarily Baltic German until roughly 1918. During and immediately after World War II, the remaining Germans were forced out by Adolf Hitler|Hitler and, later, Stalin. Following the collapse of Imperial Russia after the October Revolution, Estonia declared itself an independent republic on February 24, 1918. After the Estonian Liberation War and Treaty of Tartu signed in February 2, 1920 Estonia maintained this independence for twenty-two years, and the very same parliamentary government was reinstated in 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It included a parliament called ''Riigikogu'', elected by all Estonian citizens aged 18 or above. ''Riigikogu'' was disbanded in 1934 and the country was ruled by decree by president Konstantin Päts until the parliamentary elections in 1938. 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. Many of its political and intellectual leaders were killed or repressed, including Estonia's first president Konstantin Päts, who was deported to Russia. The country was occupied by the German Third Reich from 1941 to 1944, when Soviet forces reconquered it. Estonia regained its independence on August 20, 1991, with the Singing Revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union. August 20 is now a national holiday in Estonia. 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. Estonia signed a border agreement with Russia on May 18, 2005, slightly redefining the border they had been using since 1991, which the Riigikogu, the Estonian parliament, ratified on June 20, 2005. However, Russia took exception to Estonia's preamble to the law, which makes references to the Estonian state's uninterrupted legal continuity during the Soviet period and indirect references to the Soviet occupation of Estonia and announced that it is revoking its signature and that it desires to restart negotiations with Estonia. Estonia has said that there is no need to renegotiate the border and that it has no land claims against Russia.

Politics

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. 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, and the lawmakers in Estonia have authorized internet voting for parliamentary elections as well. http://news.com.com/Estonia+pulls+off+nationwide+Net+voting/2100-1028_3-5898115.html

Counties

Estonia numbers 15 main administrative subdivisions. Due to the geographical and demographic size of these subdivisions, they are to be considered counties rather than states (Estonian: pl. ''maakonnad''; sg. - ''maakond''). Here is a list of them:

Harju County (Estonian: ''Harjumaa'')

Hiiu County (Estonian: ''Hiiumaa'')

Ida-Viru County (Estonian: ''Ida-Virumaa'')

Järva County (Estonian: ''Järvamaa'')

Jõgeva County (Estonian: ''Jõgevamaa'')

Lääne County (Estonian: ''Läänemaa'')

Lääne-Viru County (Estonian: ''Lääne-Virumaa'')

Pärnu County (Estonian: ''Pärnumaa'')

Põlva County (Estonian: ''Põlvamaa'')

Rapla County (Estonian: ''Raplamaa'')

Saare County (Estonian: ''Saaremaa'')

Tartu County (Estonian: ''Tartumaa'')

Valga County (Estonian: ''Valgamaa'')

Viljandi County (Estonian: ''Viljandimaa'')

Võru County (Estonian: ''Võrumaa'')

Geography

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 m, and the country's highest point is the Suur Munamägi in the southeast (318 m). 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 List of lakes in Estonia|1,400 lakes (most very small, with the largest, Lake Peipus, (Peipsi in Estonian) being 3,555 km²), numerous bogs, and 3,794 kilometers 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 http://weather.ee/(English), http://ilm.ee/(Estonian) or http://pogoda.ee/(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 World Trade Organization|WTO in November 1999 — the second Baltic state to join — and continued its EU accession talks. Privatization of energy, telecommunications, railways, and other state-owned companies is a continuing process. 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 members 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. List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP PPP per capita is at $16,461, the highest among the Baltic states. near Nõva, Lääne_County|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%. 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%. The Estonian government is intending to adopt the euro as the country's currency on 1 January 2007, and finalised the design of Estonia's euro coins in late 2004.

Demographics

Indigenous Estonian-speaking ethnic Estonians constitute nearly 70 percent of the population. 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 Finland|Finnish descent. The country's official language is Estonian language|Estonian, which is closely related to Finnish language|Finnish. Russian language|Russian is also much more widely understood than spoken by 30-70 year old ethnic Estonians because Russian was a compulsory second language in school during the Soviet era. Younger people can usually speak English language|English, having learned it as their first foreign language.

Ethnicity

According to the most recent national census taken in 2003, the population of Estonia comprised the following self-reported ethnic groups:

68.4% Estonians

25.7% Russians

2.1% Ukrainians

1.2% Belarusians

0.8% Finns

1.7% others

Religion

The predominant religion of indigenous ethnic Estonians is the Christianity|Christian belief in the form the Protestantism|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 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:

15% Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church

14% Orthodox

0.5% Baptists

0.5% Roman Catholics There are also a number of smaller Protestant and Jewish groups, as well as some neopagans who revere the local ancient deity Taara.

Culture

Estonian mythology

Music of Estonia

Tallinn University of Technology

University of Tartu

Estonian rock

Miscellaneous topics

List of famous Estonians

List of Estonian rulers

Baltic Germans

History of Russians in Estonia|Russians in Estonia

Foreign relations of Estonia

List of cities in Estonia

List of islands of Estonia

List of municipalities of Estonia

List of national parks of Estonia

Transportation in Estonia

Communications in Estonia

Crime in Estonia

List of people on stamps of Estonia

Military of Estonia

Eesti Skautide Ühing

Public holidays in Estonia

The Estonian State Decorations

Tourism in the Baltics

Further reading

''The Baltic Nations and Europe: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the Twentieth Century'' John Hiden and Patrick Salmon

''The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence'' Anatol Lieven

''The Baltic States: The National Self-Determination of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania'' Graham Smith

''Bradt Travel Guide: Estonia'' Neil Taylor

''Estonia and the Estonians'' Toivo U. Raun

''Estonia: Independence and European Integration'' David J. Smith

''Estonia: Return to Independence'' Rein Taagepera

''Lonely Planet World Guide: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania'' Nicola Williams, Cathryn Kemp and Debra Herrmann

''War In The Woods: Estonia's Struggle For Survival 1944-1956'' M. Laar, Mart Laar and Tiina Ets

External links

http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Estonia

http://www.ciesin.ee/ESTCG/

http://www.europe-atlas.com/estonia-map.htm

http://english.eesti.pl

http://www.unanenestonie.net/

http://www.estonica.org/

http://www.riik.ee/en/- in English

http://www.culture.ee

http://webcam.deili.info/en,1,32

http://www.parks.it/world/EE/Eindex.html- National parks, nature reserves and other protected areas