Estonia

**Estonia**, officially the **Republic of Estonia**, is a country in the Baltic Region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Latvia and Russia, and the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland.

## History

### Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century

Following the Bolshevik takeover of power in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917 and German victories against the Russian army, between the Russian Red Army's retreat and the arrival of advancing German troops, the Committee of Elders of the Maapäev issued the Estonian Declaration of Independence in Pärnu on 23 February and in Tallinn on 24 February 1918. After winning the Estonian War of Independence against both Soviet Russia and the German Freikorps and Baltische Landeswehr volunteers, the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed on 2 February 1920. The Republic of Estonia was recognised (de jure) by Finland on 7 July 1920, Poland on 31 December 1920, Argentina on 12 January 1921, by the Western Allies on 26 January 1921 and by India on 22 September 1921.

In August 1939 Joseph Stalin gained Adolf Hitler's agreement to divide Eastern Europe into "spheres of special interest" according to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and its Secret Additional Protocol. On 24 September 1939, warships of the Red Navy appeared off Estonian ports and Soviet bombers began a patrol over Tallinn and the nearby countryside. On 12 June 1940, the order for a total military blockade on Estonia was given to the Soviet Baltic Fleet.

On 14 June, while the world's attention was focused on the fall of Paris to Nazi Germany a day earlier, the Soviet military blockade on Estonia went into effect, two Soviet bombers downed the Finnish passenger aeroplane "Kaleva" flying from Tallinn to Helsinki carrying three diplomatic pouches from the US legations in Tallinn, Riga and Helsinki. On 16 June, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia. The Red Army exited from their military bases in Estonia on 17 June. The following day, some 90,000 additional troops entered the country. In the face of overwhelming Soviet force, the Estonian government capitulated on 17 June 1940 to avoid bloodshed. The military occupation of Estonia was complete by 21 June. On 6 August 1940, Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union as the Estonian SSR.

Many countries, including the UK and US, did not recognise the annexation of Estonia by the USSR de jure. Such countries recognised Estonian diplomats and consuls who still functioned in the name of their former governments. These diplomats persisted in this anomalous situation until the ultimate restoration of Baltic independence. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the Wehrmacht crossed the Estonian southern border on 7 July. The Red Army retreated behind the Pärnu River – Emajõgi line on 12 July. At the end of July the Germans resumed their advance in Estonia working in tandem with the Estonian Forest Brothers.

The Soviet forces reconquered Estonia in the autumn of 1944 after battles in the northeast of the country on the Narva river, on the Tannenberg Line, in Southeast Estonia, on the Emajõgi river, and in the West Estonian Archipelago. After World War II, as part of the goal to more fully integrate Baltic countries into the Soviet Union, mass deportations were conducted in the Baltic countries and the policy of encouraging Soviet immigration to the Baltic states continued.

In 1989, during the "Singing Revolution", in a landmark demonstration for more independence, more than two million people formed a human chain stretching through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, called the Baltic Way. All three nations had similar experiences of occupation and similar aspirations for regaining independence. The Estonian Sovereignty Declaration was issued on 16 November 1988. On 20 August 1991, Estonia declared formal independence during the Soviet military coup attempt in Moscow, reconstituting the pre-1940 state. The Soviet Union recognised the independence of Estonia on 6 September 1991. The first country to diplomatically recognise Estonia's reclaimed independence was Iceland. The last units of the Russian army left on 31 August 1994.

### Baltic Crisis

 *See Full Article: Baltic Crisis*

In April 2019, while the world was in the throes of the Great Recession, Vladimir Putin mobilized Russian forces on the borders of the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These three countries, Poland and Finland mobilized in response in preparation for possible war with Russia. The EU had become increasingly dependent on Russian gas and food due to the unrest in the United States and other parts of the globe. Russian control over former Ukraine also gave Moscow increased leverage over global food supplies.

After intense negotiations in Moscow between Russian diplomats and envoys from the European Union, the two sides agreed to demobilize. However, in a huge geopolitical victory for Putin, the main EU states recognized Russia's expanded borders in exchange for the resumption of Russian oil, natural gas and grain shipments at preferential prices. This sparked riots by Ukrainians in the European Union and created a sharp wedge between Brussels and Washington with the later continuing to oppose Vladimir Putin.

## Government and Politics

Estonia is a parliamentary representative democratic republic in which the Prime Minister of Estonia is the head of government and which includes a multi-party system. The Parliament of Estonia or the legislative branch is elected by people for a four-year term by proportional representation. The Estonian political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1992 constitutional document. The Estonian parliament has 101 members and influences the governing of the state primarily by determining the income and the expenses of the state.

The Government of Estonia or the executive branch is formed by the Prime Minister of Estonia, nominated by the president and approved by the parliament. The prime minister has the right to appoint a maximum of three such ministers, as the limit of ministers in one government is fifteen. It is also known as the cabinet.

### Administrative Divisions

The Estonia is divided into fifteen counties. Each county is further subdivided into municipalities. As of March 2013, there are a total of 226 municipalities in Estonia, 33 of them being urban and 193 rural.

### Foreign Relations

Estonia is a member of NATO, the United Nations, the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. It is also a member of the Council of Baltic States and Nordic Investment Bank and an observer of the Nordic Council. Estonia is involved in active trilateral Baltic states co-operation with Latvia and Lithuania, and Nordic-Baltic co-operation with the Nordic countries. Estonians consider themselves a Nordic people rather than Balts, based on their historical ties with Sweden, Denmark and particularly Finland, and thus maintains close relations with them.