Guide Note

Estonia (officially titled the Republic of Estonia) is a country in Northern Europe that borders Sweden on the west, Latvia on the south, Russia on the East, and the Gulf of Finland on the north. Estonia covers an area of 45,226 square kilometers, and has a population of 1.34 million people. The official language is Estonian, but people in the southern regions of Estonia also speak Voro and Seto, while people in Ida-Virumaa tend to speak Russian.

Estonia declared autonomy on April 12, 1917 and declared itself independent from Russia on February 24, 1918. The country was reoccupied by Russia from 1940 to 1941, and again from 1944 to 1991, with Germany occupying the country during World War II. In 1991, Estonia achieved a peaceable break from the Soviet Union.

Estonia's government is run as a Parliamentary Republic, with its chief political figures being President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip.

Fast Facts

1. Capital: Tallinn
2. Government: Parliamentary Republic
3. President: Toomas Hendrik Ilves
4. Prime Minister Andrus Ansip
5. Population: 1,315,912 (July 2007 est.)
6. Currency: Estonian kroon (EEK)
7. Official Language: Estonian
8. Divided into 15 counties
9. 25% of the population died during World War II
10. Estonians are closely related to the Finns, natives of Finland

The oldest-known colony in Estonia, the Pulli Settlement, has been dated back to 11,000 years ago, the 9th millennium BC.

There are a number of historical reports about conflicts between the Scandinavians and Estonians, and it is thought that Estonian pirates may have used similar invading and pillaging tactics to the Nordic Vikings.

From 1228 to the 1560s, Estonia was part of the Livonian Confederation, a collective of states conquered and Christianized by Germans. It was also, at various times, invaded and occupied by Denmark and Russia during this period.

After the collapse of the Confederation, Estonia was ruled alternately by the Swedes and Russians, who claimed the area after winning the Great Northern War.

After the October Revolution of 1917, Estonia took the opportunity to declare its independence from now-Soviet Russia on February 24, 1918. Independence lasted for 22 years, until Estonia was claimed by the Soviet Union as part of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, becoming the Estonian SSR. Tens of thousands of Estonians were drafted into the Red Army.

The Western democracies never really considered the Soviet annexation of Estonia to be legal, and as the Soviet Union weakened, it became clear the country should have its sovereignty returned. The last Soviet troops left the nation on August 31, 1994.