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Estonia Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe . It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland , to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden , to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Russia . The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland , the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa , and over 2,300 other islands and islets on the east coast of the Baltic Sea. Its capital Tallinn and Tartu are the two largest urban areas . The Estonian language is the official language and the first language of the majority of its population of nearly 1.4 million. Estonia is one of the least populous members of the European Union and NATO .
Present-day Estonia has been inhabited since at least 9,000 BC. The medieval indigenous population of Estonia was one of the last pagan civilisations in Europe to adopt Christianity following the Northern Crusades in the 13th century. After centuries of foreign rule by the Teutonic Order , Denmark , Poland , Sweden , and the Russian Empire , a distinct Estonian national identity gained new momentum with the Estonian national awakening in the mid-19th century. This culminated in the 1918 Estonian Declaration of Independence . Democratic throughout most of the interwar period , Estonia declared neutrality at the outbreak of World War II , but the country was repeatedly invaded and occupied , and ultimately annexed into the USSR. Throughout the Soviet occupation, from World War II until 1991, Estonia's de jure state continuity was preserved by diplomatic representatives and the government-in-exile . Following the 1988–90 "Singing Revolution " against Soviet rule, full independence was restored on 20 August 1991 .
Estonia is a developed country with a high-income advanced economy and Eurozone membership. It is a democratic unitary parliamentary republic , administratively subdivided into 15 maakond least corrupt countries in the world and ranks very highly in international rankings for education , human development , press freedom , digitalisation of public services, and the prevalence of technology companies. (Full article...
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact , was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union , with a secret protocol establishing Soviet and German spheres of influence across Eastern Europe . The pact was signed in Moscow on 24 August 1939 (backdated 23 August 1939) by Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop .
The treaty was the culmination of negotiations around the 1938–1939 deal discussions , after tripartite discussions between the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France had broken down. The Soviet-German pact committed both sides to neither aid nor ally itself with an enemy of the other for the following 10 years. Under the Secret Additional Protocol of 23 August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to partition Poland ; Latvia , Estonia , Finland and Bessarabia were allotted to the Soviet sphere, while Lithuania – apart from the Vilnius region , whose "interests" were recognized – lay in the German sphere (Lithuania – including the Vilnius region , but excluding a strip of land – was only transferred to the Soviet sphere by the 28 September 1939 Boundary and Friendship Treaty ). In the west, rumored existence of the Secret Protocol was proven only when it was made public during the Nuremberg trials . (Full article...
Credit: taken by Heino Ruiso.
Morning in Rabivere Nature Park at Lake Kaselaug. Rapla County , Estonia .
The following are images from various Estonia-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Europe in 19th century (from
History of Estonia )
Image 3 Public education systems founded during prior Swedish rule made Estonia and Finland the two most literate areas of
Russian Empire (map of
1897 census literacy data) (from
Culture of Estonia )
Image 4 Fragments of the
Wanradt–Koell Catechism (1535), the first book printed in
Estonian (from
History of Estonia )
Image 5 Map of
Varbola Stronghold by L. A. Mellin (from
History of Estonia )
Image 7 Ancient Estonia until 21 September 1217 (from
History of Estonia )
Image 8 Estonian President
Kersti Kaljulaid with Russian President
Vladimir Putin in April 2019 (from
History of Estonia )
Image 10 Public education systems founded during prior Swedish rule made Estonia and Finland the two most literate areas of
Russian Empire (map of
1897 census literacy data) (from
History of Estonia )
Image 11 Estonian farmers drinking (vodka) in an
inn , by
Oskar Hoffmann (painter) , 1899. (from
Culture of Estonia )
Image 12 Tools made by Kunda culture, the
Estonian History Museum (from
Ancient Estonia )
Image 13 Stone
cist graves from the Bronze Age in northern Estonia (from
History of Estonia )
Image 14 Varbola ruins (from
Ancient Estonia )
Image 15 Livonia, as shown in the map of 1573 of Joann Portantius (from
History of Estonia )
Image 16 The Estonian Army High Command in 1920 (from
History of Estonia )
Image 17 Corded Ware culture pottery and stone axes, at the EHM (from
History of Estonia )
Image 18 Tools made by
Kunda culture , the Estonian History Museum (from
History of Estonia )
Image 19 Estonia's greatest territorial extent ever, reached during its War of Independence, marked by the light blue line on the map. (from
History of Estonia )
Image 20 A moment before the opening of the 25th
Estonian Song Festival (2009) at the Tallinn Song Festival grounds. (from
Culture of Estonia )
Image 21 Comb Ceramic pottery at the Estonian History Museum (from
History of Estonia )
Image 23 Livonian Confederation in the 15th century (from
History of Estonia )
Image 24 Estonian
folk music performers dressed in 19th-century festive
folk costumes (from
Culture of Estonia )
Image 25 Estonian Soviet politician
Johannes Käbin led the
Estonian Communist Party from 1950 to 1978 (from
History of Estonia )
Image 27 Soviet prison doors on display in the Museum of Occupations, Tallinn (from
History of Estonia )
Image 28 Europe in the 9th century (from
History of Estonia )
Image 29 From
Dirham hoards in Estonia, 8th–11th centuries. (from
Ancient Estonia )
Image 30 Comb Ceramic pottery at the Estonian History Museum (from
Ancient Estonia )
Image 31 Artifacts of the hoard from Kumna, Estonia (from
Ancient Estonia )
Image 32 Tartu University (Universität Dorpat) in 1860, during its 'Golden Age' (from
History of Estonia )
Image 34 Hermann Castle , Narva, was one of the Teutonic Order's castles in Estonia. (from
History of Estonia )
Image 35 Stone Cist Graves from The Bronze Age in Northern Estonia (from
Ancient Estonia )
Image 37 Dannebrog falling from the sky during the
Battle of Lindanise , 1219 (from
History of Estonia )
Image 38 The Swedish Empire, 1560–1815 (from
History of Estonia )
Image 39 Corded Ware culture pottery and stone axes at the Estonian History Museum. (from
Ancient Estonia )
Image 42 Tallinn, 28 August 1941 (from
History of Estonia )
Image 43 Outline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (from
History of Estonia )
Image 44 Counties of Ancient Estonia in the beginning of the 13th century. (from
Ancient Estonia )
Image 45 Registration card for Estonian citizenship from 1989 (from
History of Estonia )
Image 46 Toompea castle – the seat of the
Riigikogu (from
History of Estonia )
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