Estonia,
officially the 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 Lake Peipus and Russia. The territory of Estonia
consists of the mainland and of 2,222 islands on eastern coast of the
Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,227 square kilometres (17,462 sq
mi), and is influenced by a humid continental climate. Tallinn, the
capital of Estonia, and Tartu are the largest cities and urban areas in
the country. Other notable cities include Narva, Pärnu, Kohtla-Järve and
Viljandi. The official language of the country, Estonian, is the
second-most-spoken Finnic language.
The
territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 9,000 BC.
Ancient Estonians became some of the last European pagans to adopt
Christianity following the Livonian Crusade in the 13th century. After
centuries of successive rule by Germans, Danes, Swedes, Poles and
Russians, a distinct Estonian national identity began to emerge in the
19th and early 20th centuries. This culminated in independence from
Russia in 1920 after a brief War of Independence at the end of World War
I, where Estonians, led by General Laidoner, had to fight for their
newborn freedom. Initially democratic prior to the Great Depression,
Estonia experienced authoritarian rule from 1934 during the Era of
Silence. During World War II, Estonia was repeatedly contested and
occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union, ultimately being incorporated
into the latter as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. After the
loss of its de facto independence for the Soviet Union, Estonia's de
jure state continuity was preserved by diplomatic representatives and
the government-in-exile. In 1987 the peaceful Singing Revolution began
against Soviet rule, resulting in the restoration of de facto
independence on 20 August 1991.
The
sovereign state of Estonia is a democratic unitary parliamentary
republic divided into fifteen counties. With a population of 1.3
million, Estonia is one of the least populous members of the European
Union, the Eurozone, the OECD, the Schengen Area, NATO, and from 2020,
the United Nations Security Council.
