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116-654: Käru has a railway station on the Tallinn - Viljandi railway line operated by Elron (rail transit) . Käru ( German : Kerro ) was established as an estate in the mid-18th century. The present building was built in 1878 and designed by Riga architect Robert Pflug . It is an eclectic building with mainly neo-Renaissance elements. It was damaged during the Revolution of 1905 and also during World War II . The manor house ensemble has several well-preserved and unusual outbuildings and annexes. Explorer Karl von Ditmar

232-524: A confrontation between US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and countries such as Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Germany with Gates calling on the latter to contribute more and the latter believing the organization has overstepped its mandate in the conflict. In his final policy speech in Brussels on 10 June, Gates further criticized allied countries in suggesting their actions could cause

348-597: A first layer of argillite followed by first layer of sandstone and siltstone and then another layer of argillite also followed by sandstone and siltstone. In other places of the city, hard sedimentary rock is only to be found beneath Quaternary sediments at depths reaching as much as 120 m below sea level. Underlying the sedimentary rock are the rocks of the Fennoscandian Craton including gneisses and other metamorphic rocks with volcanic rock protoliths and rapakivi granites . These rocks are much older than

464-512: A historical derivation of Taani-linna , meaning "Danish-castle" ( Latin : Castrum Danorum ), conceivably because the Danish invaders built the castle in place of the Estonian stronghold after the 1219 battle of Lyndanisse. The Icelandic Njal's saga —composed after 1270, but describing events between 960 and 1020—mentions an event that occurred somewhere in the area of Tallinn and calls

580-466: A large castle" among the towns of 'Astlanda'. It has been suggested that one possible transcription, 'Qlwn', may have denoted a predecessor of the modern city and may somehow be related to a toponym Kolyvan , which has been discovered from later East Slavic chronicles. However, a number of historians have considered connecting any of al-Idrisi's placenames with modern Tallinn erroneous, unfounded, or speculative. The first archaeological traces of

696-561: A major reform of France's military position, culminating with the return to full membership on 4 April 2009, which also included France rejoining the NATO Military Command Structure , while maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent. The 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea led to strong condemnation by all NATO members, and was one of the seven times that Article 4 , which calls for consultation among NATO members, has been invoked. Prior times included during

812-592: A mercantile and military alliance of German-dominated cities in Northern Europe. The king of Denmark sold Reval along with other land possessions in northern Estonia to the Teutonic Knights in 1346. Reval was arguably the most significant medieval port in the Gulf of Finland. Reval enjoyed a strategic position at the crossroads of trade between the rest of western Europe and Novgorod and Muscovy in

928-631: A no-fly zone over Libya shortly afterwards, beginning with Opération Harmattan by the French Air Force on 19 March. On 20 March 2011, NATO states agreed on enforcing an arms embargo against Libya with Operation Unified Protector using ships from NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 and Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1 , and additional ships and submarines from NATO members. They would "monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries ". On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of

1044-759: A peaceful German reunification. A June 2016 Levada Center poll found that 68 percent of Russians think that deploying NATO troops in the Baltic states and Poland – former Eastern bloc countries bordering Russia – is a threat to Russia. In contrast, 65 percent of Poles surveyed in a 2017 Pew Research Center report identified Russia as a "major threat", with an average of 31 percent saying so across all NATO countries, and 67 percent of Poles surveyed in 2018 favour US forces being based in Poland. Of non- CIS Eastern European countries surveyed by Gallup in 2016, all but Serbia and Montenegro were more likely than not to view NATO as

1160-601: A population of about 457,000 (as of 2024) and administratively lies in the Harju maakond (county). Tallinn is the main governmental, financial, industrial, and cultural centre of Estonia. It is located 187 km (116 mi) northwest of the country's second largest city, Tartu ; however, only 80 km (50 mi) south of Helsinki , Finland , also 320 km (200 mi) west of Saint Petersburg , Russia , 300 km (190 mi) north of Riga , Latvia , and 380 km (240 mi) east of Stockholm , Sweden . From

1276-527: A protective alliance rather than a threat. A 2006 study in the journal Security Studies argued that NATO enlargement contributed to democratic consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe. China also opposes further expansion. Member states pay for NATO's three common funds (the civil and military budgets and the security investment programme) based on a cost-sharing formula that includes per capita gross national income and other factors. In 2023–2024,

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1392-511: A quick-reaction force was deployed to the area. The Bosnian War began in 1992, as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia . The deteriorating situation led to United Nations Security Council Resolution 816 on 9 October 1992, authorizing its member-states to enforce a previously declared no-fly zone under the United Nations Protection Force over central Bosnia and Herzegovina. NATO complied and started enforcing

1508-922: A red line . However, there were no such plans to deploy missiles in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry drafted a treaty that would forbid Ukraine or any former Soviet state from ever joining NATO. Secretary-General Stoltenberg replied that the decision is up to Ukraine and NATO members, adding "Russia has no veto, Russia has no say, and Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence to try to control their neighbors". NATO offered to improve communications with Russia and discuss missile placements and military exercises, as long as Russia withdrew troops from Ukraine's borders. Instead, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine applied for NATO membership in September 2022 after Russia proclaimed it had annexed

1624-418: A small hunter-fisherman community's presence in what is now Tallinn's city centre are about 5,000 years old. The comb ceramic pottery found on the site dates to about 3000 BCE and corded ware pottery to around 2500 BCE. Around 1050 AD, a fortress was built in what is now central Tallinn, on the hill of Toompea . As an important port on a major trade route between Novgorod and western Europe, it became

1740-744: A strategic re-evaluation of NATO's purpose, nature, tasks, and focus on the continent. In October 1990, East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance, and in November 1990, the alliance signed the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) in Paris with the Soviet Union. It mandated specific military reductions across the continent, which continued after

1856-588: A target for the expansion of the Teutonic Knights and the Kingdom of Denmark during the period of Northern Crusades in the beginning of the 13th century when Christianity was forcibly imposed on the local population. Danish rule of Tallinn and northern Estonia started in 1219. In 1285, Tallinn, then known more widely as Reval, became the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League  –

1972-1131: A year. Snowfall is common during the winters, which are cloudy and characterised by low amounts of sunshine, ranging from only 20.7 hours of sunshine per month in December to 58.8 hours in February. At the winter solstice , daylight lasts for less than 6 hours and 5 minutes. Spring starts out cool, with freezing temperatures common in March and April, but gradually becomes warmer and sunnier in May, when daytime temperatures average 15.4 °C (59.7 °F), although nighttime temperatures still remain cool, averaging −3.7 to 5.2 °C (25.3 to 41.4 °F) from March to May. In early spring, freezing temperatures are common in March and snowfall can occur in April. Summers are warm with daytime temperatures hovering around 19.2 to 22.2 °C (66.6 to 72.0 °F) and nighttime temperatures averaging between 9.8 to 13.1 °C (49.6 to 55.6 °F) from June to August. The warmest month

2088-410: Is appointed by the city government. The function of the "district governments", however, is not directly governing, but just limited to providing advice to the city government and the city council on issues related to the administration of respective districts. The districts are administratively further divided into 84 asum (subdistricts or "neighbourhoods" with officially defined borders). The city

2204-530: Is governed by the Tallinn City Council which consists of 79 members elected to four year terms via party list. The mayor is elected by the city council. The population of Tallinn on 1 January 2024 was 457,572. It is the primate and most populous city in Estonia, the 3rd most populous city in the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), as well as the 59th most populous city in

2320-547: Is home to the headquarters of the European Union 's IT agency, and to the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence . In 2007, Tallinn was listed among the top-10 digital cities in the world, and in 2022, Tallinn was listed among the top-10 "medium-sized European cities of the future". The name Tallinn(a) Estonian: [ˈtɑlʲːinː] is Estonian . It has been widely considered

2436-421: Is mainly due to the location between a more maritime and a more continental climate and the variation in the duration of sunshine as a consequence of its high latitude. Riga and Helsinki took second and third places. . Tallinn is subdivided into eight administrative linnaosa (districts). Each district has a linnaosa valitsus (district government) which is managed by a linnaosavanem (district elder) who

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2552-509: Is situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland , in north-western Estonia. The largest lake in Tallinn is Lake Ülemiste (9.44 km (3.6 sq mi)), which serves as the main source of the city's drinking water. Lake Harku is the second-largest lake within the borders of Tallinn and its area is 1.6 km (0.6 sq mi). The only significant river in Tallinn nowadays

2668-491: Is the Pirita river, in the eponymous Pirita city district. Historically, a smaller river, called Härjapea , flowed from Lake Ülemiste through the town into the sea, but the river was diverted into underground sewerage system in the 1930s and has since completely disappeared from the cityscape. References to it still remain in the street names Jõe (from jõgi , river) and Kivisilla (from kivi sild , stone bridge). The length of

2784-575: Is the only regulated exchange in Estonia. Port of Tallinn is one of the biggest ports in the Baltic sea region, whereas the largest cargo port of Estonia, the Port of Muuga , which is operated by the same business entity, is located in the neighboring town of Maardu . Old City Harbour has been known as a convenient harbour since the medieval times, but nowadays the cargo operations are shifted to Muuga Cargo Port and Paldiski South Harbour . As of 2010, there

2900-424: Is to this day, the most populous district of Tallinn. The official language of Tallinn is Estonian. As of 2011, 50.1% of the city's residents were native speakers of Estonian, whereas 46.7% had Russian as their first language . While English is the most frequently used foreign language by the residents of Tallinn, there are also a significant number of native speakers of Ukrainian and Finnish . The pie chart to

3016-617: Is usually July, with an average of 17.6 °C (63.7 °F). During summer, partly cloudy or clear days are common and it is the sunniest season, ranging from 255.6 hours of sunshine in August to 312.1 hours in July although precipitation is higher during these months. At the summer solstice , daylight lasts for more than 18 hours and 40 minutes. Autumn starts out mild, with a September average daily mean of 12.0 °C (53.6 °F) and increasingly becomes cooler and cloudier in November. In

3132-532: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , several NATO countries sent ground troops, warships and fighter aircraft to reinforce the alliance's eastern flank, and multiple countries again invoked Article 4. In March 2022, NATO leaders met at Brussels for an extraordinary summit which also involved Group of Seven and European Union leaders. NATO member states agreed to establish four additional battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, and elements of

3248-744: The Army of the Republika Srpska , after the Srebrenica genocide . Further NATO air strikes helped bring the Yugoslav Wars to an end, resulting in the Dayton Agreement in November 1995. As part of this agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated peacekeeping force, under Operation Joint Endeavor , named IFOR . Almost 60,000 NATO troops were joined by forces from non-NATO countries in this peacekeeping mission. This transitioned into

3364-643: The Belgian Congo be excluded from the treaty. French Algeria was, however, covered until its independence on 3 July 1962. Twelve of these thirty-two are original members who joined in 1949, while the other twenty joined in one of ten enlargement rounds. The three Nordic countries which joined NATO as founding members, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway, chose to limit their participation in three areas: there would be no permanent peacetime bases, no nuclear warheads and no Allied military activity (unless invited) permitted on their territory. However, Denmark allows

3480-728: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . During the crisis, NATO also deployed one of its international reaction forces, the ACE Mobile Force (Land) , to Albania as the Albania Force (AFOR), to deliver humanitarian aid to refugees from Kosovo. The campaign was and has been criticized over its civilian casualties , including the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade , and over whether it had legitimacy . The US,

3596-456: The Goražde safe area, resulting in the bombing of a Bosnian Serb military command outpost near Goražde by two US F-16 jets acting under NATO direction. In retaliation, Serbs took 150 U.N. personnel hostage on 14 April. On 16 April a British Sea Harrier was shot down over Goražde by Serb forces. In August 1995, a two-week NATO bombing campaign, Operation Deliberate Force , began against

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3712-582: The Governorate of Estonia . The Magistracy of Reval was abolished in 1889. The 19th century brought industrialisation of the city and the port kept its importance. On 24 February 1918, the Estonian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in Tallinn. It was followed by Imperial German occupation until the end of World War I in November 1918, after which Tallinn became the capital of independent Estonia. During World War II , Estonia

3828-682: The Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean from Somali pirates , and help strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states. During the Libyan Civil War , violence between protesters and the Libyan government under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi escalated, and on 17 March 2011 led to the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 , which called for a ceasefire, and authorized military action to protect civilians. A coalition that included several NATO members began enforcing

3944-585: The Iraq War and Syrian Civil War . At the 2014 Wales summit , the leaders of NATO's member states formally committed for the first time to spend the equivalent of at least two percent of their gross domestic products on defence by 2024, which had previously been only an informal guideline. At the 2016 Warsaw summit , NATO countries agreed on the creation of NATO Enhanced Forward Presence , which deployed four multinational battalion-sized battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Before and during

4060-599: The NATO Response Force were activated for the first time in NATO's history. As of June 2022, NATO had deployed 40,000 troops along its 2,500-kilometre-long (1,550 mi) Eastern flank to deter Russian aggression. More than half of this number have been deployed in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, which five countries muster a considerable combined ex-NATO force of 259,000 troops. To supplement Bulgaria's Air Force, Spain sent Eurofighter Typhoons ,

4176-792: The North Atlantic Treaty to include member territory in Europe, North America, Turkey, and islands in the North Atlantic north of the Tropic of Cancer . Attacks on vessels, aircraft and other forces in the North Atlantic (again, north of the Tropic of Cancer) and the Mediterranean Sea may also provoke an Article 5 response. During the original treaty negotiations, the United States insisted that colonies such as

4292-554: The Northwestern Syria offensive , which involved Syrian and suspected Russian airstrikes on Turkish troops , and risked direct confrontation between Russia and a NATO member. The 32 NATO members are: NATO has thirty-two members, mostly in Europe with two in North America. NATO's "area of responsibility", within which attacks on member states are eligible for an Article 5 response, is defined under Article 6 of

4408-484: The Papal -sanctioned Livonian Crusade in the 13th century. The first recorded claim over the place was laid by Denmark after a successful raid in 1219 led by King Valdemar II , followed by a period of alternating Scandinavian and Teutonic rulers. Due to the strategic location by the sea, its medieval port became a significant trade hub , especially in the 14–16th centuries, when Tallinn grew in importance as

4524-781: The Partnership for Peace and the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative in 1994, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997, and the NATO–Russia Permanent Joint Council in 1998. At the 1999 Washington summit , Hungary , Poland , and the Czech Republic officially joined NATO, and the organization also issued new guidelines for membership with individualized " Membership Action Plans ". These plans governed

4640-626: The Syrian Civil War , after the downing of an unarmed Turkish F-4 reconnaissance jet , and after a mortar was fired at Turkey from Syria, and again in 2015 after threats by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to its territorial integrity. In 2008 the United Nations Secretary-General called on member-states to protect the ships of Operation Allied Provider  [ de ; no ; ru ; uk ] , which

4756-534: The Syrian civil war . In April 2012, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan considered invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty to protect Turkish national security in a dispute over the Syrian Civil War. The alliance responded quickly, and a spokesperson said the alliance was "monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to do so" and "takes it very seriously protecting its members." After

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4872-617: The U.S. Space Force to maintain Pituffik Space Base , in Greenland. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, France pursued a military strategy of independence from NATO under a policy dubbed "Gaullo-Mitterrandism". Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated the return of France to the integrated military command and the Defence Planning Committee in 2009, the latter being disbanded the following year. France remains

4988-491: The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1199 on 23 September 1998 to demand a ceasefire. Negotiations under US Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke broke down on 23 March 1999, and he handed the matter to NATO, which acted on protecting regional security and started a 78-day bombing campaign on 24 March 1999. Operation Allied Force targeted the military capabilities of what was then

5104-668: The Western Union . Talks for a wider military alliance, which could include North America, also began that month in the United States, where their foreign policy under the Truman Doctrine promoted international solidarity against actions they saw as communist aggression, such as the February 1948 coup d'état in Czechoslovakia . These talks resulted in the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 by

5220-590: The aftermath of World War II , the organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty , signed in Washington, D.C. , on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War , NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union . The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of

5336-717: The collapse of the Afghan government as the greatest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding. In August 2004, during the Iraq War , NATO formed the NATO Training Mission – Iraq , a training mission to assist the Iraqi security forces in conjunction with the US-led MNF-I . The NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) was established at the request of the Iraqi Interim Government under

5452-461: The 13th century until the first half of the 20th century, Tallinn was known in most of the world by variants of its other historical name Reval . Tallinn received Lübeck city rights in 1248; however, the earliest evidence of human population in the area dates back nearly 5,000 years. The medieval indigenous population of what is now Tallinn and north Estonia was one of the last " pagan " civilisations in Europe to adopt Christianity following

5568-554: The 1990s, the organization extended its activities into political and humanitarian situations that had not formerly been NATO concerns. During the breakup of Yugoslavia , the organization conducted its first military interventions in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 and later Yugoslavia in 1999 . Politically, the organization sought better relations with the newly autonomous Central and Eastern European states, and diplomatic forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbours were set up during this post-Cold War period, including

5684-440: The Baltic Sea". One of Tallinn's sister cities is the Silicon Valley town of Los Gatos, California . Skype is one of the best-known of several Estonian start-ups originating from Tallinn. Many start-ups have originated from the Institute of Cybernetics . In recent years, Tallinn has gradually been becoming one of the main IT centres of Europe, with the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCD COE) of NATO , eu-LISA ,

5800-535: The Czech Republic officially joined, and NATO issued new guidelines for membership, with individualized " Membership Action Plans ". These plans governed the addition of new members: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017, and North Macedonia in 2020. Finland and Sweden are the newest members, joining on 4 April 2023 and 7 March 2024 respectively, spurred on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine . Ukraine's relationship with NATO began with

5916-409: The EU Digital Agency and the IT development centres of large corporations, such as TeliaSonera and Kuehne + Nagel being based in the city. Tallinn receives 4.3 million visitors annually, a figure that has grown steadily over the past decade. The Finns are especially a common sight in Tallinn; on average, about 20,000–40,000 Finnish tourists visit the city between June and October. Most of

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6032-552: The European Union. According to Eurostat , in 2004, Tallinn had one of the largest number of non-EU nationals of all EU member states' capital cities. Ethnic Russians are a significant minority in Tallinn, as around a third of the city's residents are first and second generation immigrants from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union; a majority of the Soviet-era immigrants now hold Estonian citizenship. Ethnic Estonians made up over 80% of Tallinn's population before World War II. As of 2022, ethnic Estonians made up over 53% of

6148-432: The German retreat in September 1944, the city was occupied again by the Soviet Union . During the 1980 Summer Olympics , the sailing (then known as yachting) events were held at Pirita , north-east of central Tallinn. Many buildings, such as the Tallinn TV Tower , "Olümpia" hotel, the new Main Post Office building, and the Regatta Centre, were built for the Olympics. In 1991, the independent democratic Estonian nation

6264-421: The ISAF mission throughout Afghanistan, and ISAF subsequently expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of the country. On 31 July 2006, the ISAF additionally took over military operations in the south of Afghanistan from a US-led anti-terrorism coalition. Due to the intensity of the fighting in the south, in 2011 France allowed a squadron of Mirage 2000 fighter/attack aircraft to be moved into

6380-404: The NATO–Ukraine Action Plan in 2002. In 2010, under President Viktor Yanukovych , Ukraine re-affirmed its non-aligned status and renounced aspirations of joining NATO. During the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution , Russia occupied Crimea and supported armed separatists in eastern Ukraine . As a result, in December 2014 Ukraine's parliament voted to end its non-aligned status, and in 2019 it enshrined

6496-442: The Netherlands sent eight F-35 attack aircraft, and additional French and US attack aircraft would arrive soon as well. No military operations were conducted by NATO during the Cold War. Following the end of the Cold War, the first operations, Anchor Guard in 1990 and Ace Guard in 1991, were prompted by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait . Airborne early warning aircraft were sent to provide coverage of southeastern Turkey, and later

6612-457: The Quaternary deposits are valuable as they constitute aquifers , or as in the case of gravels and sands, are used as construction materials. The Quaternary deposits are the fill of valleys that are now buried. The buried valleys of Tallinn are carved into older rock likely by ancient rivers to be later modified by glaciers. While the valley fill is made up of Quaternary sediments the valleys themselves originated from erosion that took place before

6728-428: The Quaternary. The substrate into which the buried valleys were carved is made up of hard sedimentary rock of Ediacaran , Cambrian and Ordovician age. Only the upper layer of Ordovician rocks protrudes from the cover of younger deposits, cropping out in the Baltic Klint at the coast and at a few places inland. The Ordovician rocks are made up from top to bottom of a thick layer of limestone and marlstone , then

6844-406: The Russian analog Revel ( Ревель ) were all gradually replaced by the Estonian name after the country became independent in 1918. At first, both Estonian forms, Tallinna and Tallinn , were used. Tallinna in Estonian denotes also the genitive case of the name, as in Tallinna Sadam ('the Port of Tallinn '). Henry of Livonia , in his chronicle ( c.  1229 ), called the town with

6960-550: The Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact , and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans , the Middle East , South Asia , and Africa . The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber ( Latin for 'a mind unfettered in deliberation'). The organization's strategic concepts include deterrence . NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels , Belgium, while NATO's military headquarters are near Mons , Belgium. The alliance has increased its NATO Response Force deployments in Eastern Europe, and

7076-419: The UK, and most other NATO countries opposed efforts to require the UN Security Council to approve NATO military strikes, such as the action against Serbia in 1999, while France and some others claimed that the alliance needed UN approval. The US/UK side claimed that this would undermine the authority of the alliance, and they noted that Russia and China would have exercised their Security Council vetoes to block

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7192-432: The United Kingdom, and the United States. Four new members joined during the Cold War: Greece (1952), Turkey (1952), West Germany (1955) and Spain (1982). Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union , many former Warsaw Pact and post-Soviet states sought membership. In 1990, the territory of the former East Germany was added with the reunification of Germany . At the 1999 Washington summit , Hungary, Poland, and

7308-440: The United States and Germany were the biggest contributors with 16.2% each. Member states pay for and maintain their own troops and equipment. They contribute to NATO operations and missions by committing troops and equipment on a voluntary basis. Since 2006, the goal has been for each country to spend at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product on its own defence; in 2014, a NATO declaration said that countries not meeting

7424-413: The Western Union's military structures and plans, including their agreements on standardizing equipment and agreements on stationing foreign military forces in European countries. In 1952, the post of Secretary General of NATO was established as the organization's chief civilian. That year also saw the first major NATO maritime exercises , Exercise Mainbrace and the accession of Greece and Turkey to

7540-506: The alliance also mounted Operation Essential Harvest , a mission disarming ethnic Albanian militias in the Republic of Macedonia. As of 2023 , around 4,500 KFOR soldiers, representing 27 countries, continue to operate in the area. The September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter for the first time in the organization's history. The Article states that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all. The invocation

7656-401: The alliance on 7 March 2024. In addition, NATO recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina , Georgia , and Ukraine as aspiring members. Enlargement has led to tensions with non-member Russia , one of the 18 additional countries participating in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme. Another nineteen countries are involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes with NATO. The Treaty of Dunkirk

7772-495: The area, to Kandahar , in order to reinforce the alliance's efforts. During its 2012 Chicago Summit , NATO endorsed a plan to end the Afghanistan war and to remove the NATO-led ISAF Forces by the end of December 2014. ISAF was disestablished in December 2014 and replaced by the follow-on training Resolute Support Mission . On 14 April 2021, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by 1 May. Soon after

7888-422: The award was received on false promises since it won the title with its " 15-minute city " concept, according to which key facilities and services should be accessible within a 15-minute walk or bike ride but the concept was left out of the green capital program and other parts of the 12 million euro program amount to a collection of temporary and one-off projects without any structural and lasting changes. Tallinn

8004-459: The ban on 12 April 1993 with Operation Deny Flight . From June 1993 until October 1996, Operation Sharp Guard added maritime enforcement of the arms embargo and economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . On 28 February 1994, NATO took its first wartime action by shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft violating the no-fly zone. On 10 and 11 April 1994, the United Nations Protection Force called in air strikes to protect

8120-491: The city. In the early years of the Protestant Reformation , the city converted to Lutheranism . In 1561, Reval (Tallinn) became a dominion of Sweden. During the 1700–1721 Great Northern War , plague - stricken Tallinn along with Swedish Estonia and Livonia capitulated to Tsardom of Russia (Muscovy) in 1710, but the local self-government institutions ( Magistracy of Reval and Estonian Knighthood ) retained their cultural and economical autonomy within Imperial Russia as

8236-419: The city. It can be seen at Toompea, Lasnamäe , and Astangu . However, the hill at Toompea is not geologically part of the larger limestone cliff. The rocks and sediments underneath Tallinn are of different composition and age. Youngest are the Quaternary deposits. The materials of these deposits are till , varved clay , sand, gravel, and pebbles that are of glacial , marine and lacustrine origin. Some of

8352-688: The collapse of the Warsaw Pact in February 1991 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union that December, which removed the de facto main adversaries of NATO. This began a drawdown of military spending and equipment in Europe. The CFE treaty allowed signatories to remove 52,000 pieces of conventional armaments in the following sixteen years, and allowed military spending by NATO's European members to decline by 28 percent from 1990 to 2015. In 1990, several Western leaders gave assurances to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand further east, as revealed by memoranda of private conversations. In

8468-590: The combined militaries of all NATO members include around 3.5 million soldiers and personnel. All member states together cover an area of 25.07 million km (9.68 million sq. mi.) with a population of about 973 million people. Their combined military spending as of 2022 constituted around 55 percent of the global nominal total . Moreover, members have agreed to reach or maintain the target defence spending of at least two percent of their GDP by 2024. NATO formed with twelve founding members and has added new members ten times, most recently when Sweden joined

8584-512: The country's largest private energy company, Alexela Group , all have their headquarters in Tallinn. Tallinn is the financial centre of Estonia and also an important economic centre in the Baltoscandian region. Many major banks, such as SEB , Swedbank , and Nordea , have their local offices in Tallinn. LHV Pank , an Estonian investment bank, has its corporate headquarters in Tallinn. Tallinn Stock Exchange , part of NASDAQ OMX Group ,

8700-478: The country's southeast . Georgia was promised "future membership" during the 2008 summit in Bucharest, but US president Barack Obama said in 2014 that the country was not "currently on a path" to membership. Russia continued to politically oppose further expansion, seeing it as inconsistent with informal understandings between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and European and US negotiators that allowed for

8816-481: The demise of NATO. The German foreign ministry pointed to "a considerable [German] contribution to NATO and NATO-led operations" and to the fact that this engagement was highly valued by President Obama. While the mission was extended into September, Norway that day (10 June) announced it would begin scaling down contributions and complete withdrawal by 1 August. Earlier that week it was reported Danish air fighters were running out of bombs. The following week,

8932-478: The driest months, averaging about 35 to 37 mm (1.4 to 1.5 in), while July and August are the wettest months with 82 to 85 mm (3.2 to 3.3 in) of precipitation. The average humidity is 81%, ranging from a high of 89% to a low of 69% in May. Tallinn has an average windspeed of 3.3 m/s (11 ft/s) with winters being the windiest (around 3.7 m/s (12 ft/s) in January) and summers being

9048-459: The early parts of autumn, temperatures commonly reach 16.1 °C (61.0 °F) and at least one day above 21 °C (70 °F) in September. In late autumn, snowfall can occur in October and freezing temperatures become more common in November. Tallinn receives 700 mm (28 in) of precipitation annually, which is evenly distributed throughout the year although March, April and May are

9164-470: The east. The city, with a population of about 8,000, was very well fortified with city walls and 66 defence towers . The city wall has been described as an outstanding example of German Medieval fortification architecture. A weather vane , the figure of an old warrior called Old Thomas , was put on top of the spire of the Tallinn Town Hall in 1530. Old Thomas later became a popular symbol of

9280-534: The end of the 20th century. It features film and hands-on displays that show how Estonian dwellers lived and survived. NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO / ˈ n eɪ t oʊ / NAY -toh ; French : Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord , OTAN ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance , is an intergovernmental military alliance of 32 member states —30 European and 2 North American. Established in

9396-618: The first time in NATO's history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area. ISAF was initially charged with securing Kabul and surrounding areas from the Taliban , al Qaeda and factional warlords, so as to allow for the establishment of the Afghan Transitional Administration headed by Hamid Karzai . In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of

9512-661: The goal of NATO membership in the Constitution . At the June 2021 Brussels Summit , NATO leaders affirmed that Ukraine would eventually join the Alliance, and supported Ukraine's right to self-determination without interference. In late 2021, there was another massive Russian military buildup near Ukraine's borders. On 30 November, Russian president Putin said Ukraine joining NATO, and the deployment of missile defense systems or long-range missiles in Ukraine, would be crossing

9628-572: The goal would "aim to move towards the 2 percent guideline within a decade". In July 2022, NATO estimated that 11 members would meet the target in 2023. On 14 February 2024, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that 18 member states would meet the 2% target in 2024. On 17 June 2024, prior to the 2024 Washington summit , Stoltenberg updated that figure and announced that a record 23 of 32 NATO member states were meeting their defense spending targets of 2% of their country's GDP. NATO added that defense spending for European member states and Canada

9744-832: The head of the Royal Navy said the country's operations in the conflict were not sustainable. By the end of the mission in October 2011, after the death of Colonel Gaddafi, NATO planes had flown about 9,500 strike sorties against pro-Gaddafi targets. A report from the organization Human Rights Watch in May 2012 identified at least 72 civilians killed in the campaign. Following a coup d'état attempt in October 2013, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan requested technical advice and trainers from NATO to assist with ongoing security issues. Use of Article 5 has been threatened multiple times and four out of seven official Article 4 consultations have been called due to spillover in Turkey from

9860-463: The least windy at around 2.7 m/s (8.9 ft/s) in August. Extremes range from −32.2 °C (−26.0 °F) on 31 December 1978 to 34.3 °C (93.7 °F) on 30 July 1994. According to a 2021 study commissioned by the British price comparison site Uswitch.com, Tallinn is the most unpredictable of European capitals in terms of weather conditions, with a total score of 69/100; the high score

9976-538: The maker of the internationally-known Vana Tallinn liqueur, is similarly based in Tallinn. The headquarters of Kalev , a confectionery company and part of the industrial conglomerate Orkla Group , is located in Lehmja , near the city's southeastern boundary. Estonia is ranked third in Europe in terms of shopping centre space per inhabitant, ahead of Sweden and being surpassed only by Norway and Luxembourg . Institutions of higher education and science include: Tallinn

10092-600: The member states of the Western Union plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. Canadian diplomat Lester B. Pearson was a key author and drafter of the treaty. The North Atlantic Treaty was largely dormant until the Korean War initiated the establishment of NATO to implement it with an integrated military structure. This included the formation of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in 1951, which adopted many of

10208-677: The name that is also known to have been used up to the 13th century by Scandinavians: Lindanisa (or Lyndanisse in Danish , Lindanäs in Swedish and Ledenets in Old East Slavic ). In 1154, a town called قلون ( Qlwn or Quwri ) was recorded in the description of the world on the world map ( Tabula Rogeriana ) commissioned by the Norman King Roger II of Sicily and compiled by Arab cartographer Muhammad al-Idrisi , who described it as "a small town like

10324-520: The no-fly zone from the initial coalition, while command of targeting ground units remained with the coalition's forces. NATO began officially enforcing the UN resolution on 27 March 2011 with assistance from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. By June, reports of divisions within the alliance surfaced as only eight of the 28 member states were participating in combat operations, resulting in

10440-419: The northernmost member city of the Hanseatic League . Tallinn Old Town is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . In 2012, Tallinn had the highest number of startup companies per person among all capitals and larger cities in Europe. Tallinn is the birthplace of many international high-technology companies, including Skype and Wise . The city

10556-560: The only NATO member outside the Nuclear Planning Group and, unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, will not commit its nuclear-armed submarines to the alliance. NATO was established on 4 April 1949 by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty (Washington Treaty). The 12 founding members of the alliance were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,

10672-692: The organization. Following the London and Paris Conferences , West Germany was permitted to rearm militarily, as they joined NATO in May 1955, which was, in turn, a major factor in the creation of the Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact , delineating the two opposing sides of the Cold War . The building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 marked a height in Cold War tensions, when 400,000 US troops were stationed in Europe. Doubts over

10788-646: The place Rafala (probably a derivation of Rävala , Revala , or some other variant of the Estonian name of the adjacent medieval Estonian county ). Soon after the Danish conquest in 1219, the town became known in the Scandinavian and German languages as Reval ( Latin : Revalia ). Reval was in official use in Estonia until 1918. In international use, the English and German-language ( Reval ; German: [ˈʁeːval] ) as well as

10904-522: The population. Tallinn was one of the urban areas with industrial and military significance in northern Estonia that during the period of Soviet occupation underwent extensive changes in its ethnic composition due to large influx of immigrants from Russia and other parts of the former USSR. Whole new city districts were built where the main intent of the then Soviet authorities was to accommodate Russian-speaking immigrants: Mustamäe, Väike-Õismäe, Pelguranna, and most notably, Lasnamäe, which in 1980s became, and

11020-502: The provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546 . The aim of NTM-I was to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions so that Iraq can build an effective and sustainable capability that addresses the needs of the country. NTM-I was not a combat mission but is a distinct mission, under the political control of the North Atlantic Council . Its operational emphasis

11136-667: The rest ( Paleoproterozoic age) and do not crop out anywhere in Estonia. Tallinn has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfb ) with warm, rainy summers and cold, snowy winters. Winters are cold, but mild for its latitude, owing to its coastal location. The average temperature in February, the coldest month, is −3.6 °C (25.5 °F). During the winters, temperatures tend to hover close to freezing, but mild spells of weather can push temperatures above 0 °C (32 °F), occasionally reaching above 5 °C (41 °F) while cold air masses can push temperatures below −18 °C (0 °F) an average of 6 days

11252-647: The right shows the distribution of religion in Tallinn as of 2021. Religion in Tallinn (2021) [1] Tallinn has a highly diversified economy with particular strengths in information technology, tourism and logistics. More than half of Estonia's GDP is created in Tallinn. In 2008, the GDP per capita of Tallinn stood at 172% of the Estonian average. In addition to longtime functions as seaport and capital city, Tallinn has seen development of an information technology sector; in its 13 December 2005, edition, The New York Times characterised Estonia as "a sort of Silicon Valley on

11368-469: The seaside coast is 46 km (29 mi), comprising three larger ( Kopli , Paljassaare , and Kakumäe ) peninsulas . The city has a number of public beaches, including those at Pirita, Stroomi, Kakumäe, Harku, and Pikakari. The highest point in Tallinn, at 64 m (about 200 ft) above sea level, is situated in Hiiu , Nõmme District, in the south-west of the city. A large limestone cliff runs through

11484-590: The security of shipping in general, which began on 4 October 2001. The alliance showed unity: on 16 April 2003, NATO agreed to take command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which included troops from 42 countries. The decision came at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two countries leading ISAF at the time of the agreement, and all nineteen NATO ambassadors approved it unanimously. The handover of control to NATO took place on 11 August, and marked

11600-525: The shooting down of a Turkish military jet by Syria in June 2012 and Syrian forces shelling Turkish cities in October 2012 resulting in two Article 4 consultations, NATO approved Operation Active Fence . In the past decade the conflict has only escalated. In response to the 2015 Suruç bombing , which Turkey attributed to ISIS , and other security issues along its southern border, Turkey called for an emergency meeting . The latest consultation happened in February 2020, as part of increasing tensions due to

11716-618: The smaller SFOR , which started with 32,000 troops initially and ran from December 1996 until December 2004, when operations were then passed onto the European Union Force Althea . Following the lead of its member states, NATO began to award a service medal, the NATO Medal , for these operations. In an effort to stop Slobodan Milošević 's Serbian-led crackdown on KLA separatists and Albanian civilians in Kosovo ,

11832-512: The strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion – doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of France from NATO's military structure in 1966. In 1982, the newly democratic Spain joined the alliance. The Revolutions of 1989 in Europe led to

11948-485: The strike on Yugoslavia , and could do the same in future conflicts where NATO intervention was required, thus nullifying the entire potency and purpose of the organization. Recognizing the post-Cold War military environment, NATO adopted the Alliance Strategic Concept during its Washington summit in April 1999 that emphasized conflict prevention and crisis management. Milošević finally accepted

12064-674: The subsequent addition of new alliance members. Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty , requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the first and only time after the September 11 attacks , after which troops were deployed to Afghanistan under the NATO-led ISAF . The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending trainers to Iraq , assisting in counter-piracy operations . The election of French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 led to

12180-511: The terms of an international peace plan on 3 June 1999, ending the Kosovo War . On 11 June, Milošević further accepted UN resolution 1244 , under the mandate of which NATO then helped establish the KFOR peacekeeping force. Nearly one million refugees had fled Kosovo, and part of KFOR's mandate was to protect the humanitarian missions, in addition to deterring violence. In August–September 2001,

12296-553: The visitors come from Europe, though Tallinn has also become increasingly visited by tourists from the Asia-Pacific region. Tallinn Passenger Port is one of the busiest cruise destinations on the Baltic Sea, it served more than 520,000 cruise passengers in 2013. The state-owned energy company Eesti Energia , the nationwide electric power transmission system operator Elering , the natural gas distributor Eesti Gaas , and

12412-470: The withdrawal of NATO troops started, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government , quickly advancing in front of collapsing Afghan Armed Forces . By 15 August 2021, Taliban militants controlled the vast majority of Afghanistan and had encircled the capital city of Kabul . Some politicians in NATO member states have described the chaotic withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan and

12528-658: Was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku , Finland. Tallinn is home to more than 60 museums and galleries. Most of them are located in Kesklinn , the central district of the city, and cover Tallinn's rich history. One of the most visited historical museums in Tallinn is the Estonian History Museum , located in Great Guild Hall at Vanalinn , the old part of the city. It covers Estonia's history from prehistoric times up until

12644-483: Was confirmed on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty. The eight official actions taken by NATO in response to the attacks included Operation Eagle Assist and Operation Active Endeavour , a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, and to enhance

12760-574: Was distributing aid as part of the World Food Programme mission in Somalia. The North Atlantic Council and other countries, including Russia, China and South Korea, formed Operation Ocean Shield . The operation sought to dissuade and interrupt pirate attacks, protect vessels, and to increase the general level of security in the region. Beginning on 17 August 2009, NATO deployed warships in an operation to protect maritime traffic in

12876-706: Was first occupied by the Soviet army and annexed into the USSR in the summer of 1940, then occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944. During the German occupation Tallinn suffered from many instances of aerial bombing by the Soviet air force . During the most destructive Soviet bombing raid on 9–10 March 1944 , over a thousand incendiary bombs were dropped on the town, causing widespread fires, killing 757 people, and leaving over 20,000 residents of Tallinn without shelter. After

12992-568: Was on training and mentoring. The activities of the mission were coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the US-led Deputy Commanding General Advising and Training, who was also dual-hatted as the Commander of NTM-I. The mission officially concluded on 17 December 2011. Turkey invoked the first Article 4 meetings in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War . Turkey also invoked this article twice in 2012 during

13108-554: Was restored and a period of quick development as a modern European capital ensued. Tallinn became the capital of a de facto independent country once again on 20 August 1991. The Old Town became a World Heritage Site in 1997, and the city hosted the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest . Tallinn was the 2011 European Capital of Culture , and is the recipient of the 2023 European Green Capital Award . The city has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and takes pride in its biodiversity and high air quality. But critics say that

13224-550: Was signed by France and the United Kingdom on 4 March 1947, during the aftermath of World War II and the start of the Cold War , as a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance in the event of possible attacks by Germany or the Soviet Union . In March 1948, this alliance was expanded in the Treaty of Brussels to include the Benelux countries, forming the Brussels Treaty Organization, commonly known as

13340-517: Was still a small fleet of oceangoing trawlers that operated out of Tallinn. Tallinn's industries include shipbuilding, machine building, metal processing, electronics, textile manufacturing. BLRT Grupp has its headquarters and some subsidiaries in Tallinn. Air Maintenance Estonia and AS Panaviatic Maintenance , both based in Tallinn Airport, provide MRO services for aircraft, largely expanding their operations in recent years. Liviko ,

13456-531: Was the landowner of Käru. Economist Ragnar Nurkse (1907–1959) was born in Käru Manor. This Järva County location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tallinn Tallinn ( / ˈ t æ l ɪ n / ) is the capital and most populous city of Estonia . Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea , Tallinn has

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