Republic of Estonia
Short Form: Estonia

Geography

Location:
North Eastern Europe.
Estonia is located on the Baltic Sea and is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Finland, on the south by Latvia and on the east by the Russian Federation.
Area
Total: 45,226 sq km
Land: 43,211 sq km
Water: 2,015 sq km
The figures above include 1,520 islands that are located in the Baltic Sea.

Population

Total: 1,423,316 (July 2001 est.)
Ethnic groups: Estonian 65.1%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Byelorussian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.8%
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish.
Languages: Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, English, Finnish, other.

Principal Cities

Capital: Tallinn
Tartu
Narva
Kohtla-Jarve
Parnu

Short History:

The Estonian people are related to the Finns and belong to the Finno-Ugric subfamily of languages. The Estonians apparently lived in the region before the Christian era and were mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus. In the 13th century, Estonia came under the control of the Knights of the Sword, which was a German religious order, along with their Danish allies who occupied northern Estonia. German rule was continued under the Teutonic Knights and was latter followed by Swedish rule, beginning in northern Estonia in the mid 14th century and extending to the south by about 1660. Peter I of Russia conquered the region and took control from Sweden in the 18th century. The 19th century saw a rise in Estonian national consciousness and after the Russian Revolution in 1917 that toppled the Russian Czar, Estonia proclaimed its independence (1918) and was formerly recognized in 1920 by the USSR. This independence lasted for twenty years and ended with Soviet forces imposing military occupation in 1939, during the Second World War. The following year Estonia was incorporated into the USSR as a republic (the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic). For three years after the German invasion of the USSR in June of 1941, Estonia was under German occupation. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia regained its independence in 1991. The last Russian troops left Estonia in 1994 and since then has been more actively involved in promoting political and economic ties with Western Europe.

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