The Essen family or von Essen is the name of a Baltic German noble family which later became part of the Swedish and Russian nobility .
171-543: The first known ancestor was Thomas von Essen (d. 1615–1627) who was from Lääne län in Estonia . His son Alexander von Essen received Swedish nobility , but was not introduced in the Swedish House of Nobility . His descendants, Reinhold Wilhelm von Essen (1669–1732) and Hans Henrik von Essen (1674–1729), were elevated to Baron in 1717 and 1719. Hans Henrik von Essen was later elevated to comital rank. Another
342-587: A crusade to "defend the Christians of Livonia ". Fighting reached Estonia in 1206, when Danish King Valdemar II unsuccessfully invaded Saaremaa . The German Livonian Brothers of the Sword , who had previously subjugated Livonians , Latgalians , and Selonians , started campaigning against the Estonians in 1208, and over the next few years both sides made numerous raids and counter-raids. A major leader of
513-655: A famine between 1930 and 1933 that killed millions. The Soviet forced labour camp system of the Gulag was expanded. During the late 1930s, Stalin's government conducted the Great Purge to remove opponents, resulting in mass death, imprisonment, and deportation. In 1939, the USSR and Nazi Germany signed a nonaggression pact , but in 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest land invasion in history, opening
684-683: A referendum was held where 78.4% of voters (including Soviet citizens) supported full independence. During the coup attempt in Moscow , Estonia declared restoration of independence on 20 August 1991. Soviet authorities recognised Estonian independence on 6 September 1991, and on 17 September Estonia was admitted into the United Nations . The last units of the Russian Army left Estonia in 1994. Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR ), commonly known as
855-534: A " mutual assistance treaty " was signed on 28 September 1939, allowing the USSR to establish military bases in Estonia. On 14 June 1940 the Soviet Union instituted a full naval and air blockade on Estonia, shooting down the airliner Kaleva . On 16 June, the USSR presented another ultimatum demanding free passage of the Red Army into Estonia and the establishment of a pro-Soviet government. Feeling that resistance
1026-485: A brutal crackdown; some 500 people were executed and hundreds more jailed or deported to Siberia. During World War I , over 100,000 Estonian men were mobilized into the Imperial Russian Army . Of these, approximately 8,000 to 10,000 perished, and one in five suffered injuries. In the turmoil of war, ideas for establishing an Estonian national army began to take root, while the shortages and hardships on
1197-541: A closer relationship with France and Britain. In 1939, half a year after the Munich Agreement , the USSR attempted to form an anti-Nazi alliance with France and Britain. Adolf Hitler proposed a better deal, which would give the USSR control over much of Eastern Europe through the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . In September, Germany invaded Poland, and the USSR also invaded later that month, resulting in
1368-519: A greater union which he initially named as the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia (Russian: Союз Советских Республик Европы и Азии , romanized : Soyuz Sovyetskikh Respublik Evropy i Azii ). Joseph Stalin initially resisted Lenin's proposal but ultimately accepted it, and with Lenin's agreement he changed the name to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), although all republics began as socialist soviet and did not change to
1539-531: A major revolt ejected the Germans and Danes from the whole of Estonia, except Tallinn, but the crusaders soon resumed their offensive, and in 1227, Saaremaa was the last maakond (county) to surrender. After the crusade, the territory of present-day south Estonia and Latvia was named Terra Mariana ; later on it became known simply as Livonia . Northern Estonia became the Danish Duchy of Estonia , while
1710-418: A major split happened in the national movement. The moderate wing led by Hurt focused on development of culture and Estonian education, while the radical wing led by Jakobson started demanding increased political and economical rights. At the end of the 19th century, Russification began, as the central government initiated various administrative and cultural measures to tie Baltic governorates more closely to
1881-824: A member of the German nobility is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Estonia – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green) – [ Legend ] Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe . It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland , to
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#17327810896532052-459: A millennium, before eventually blending into a Bronze Age Estonian culture. Archaeological estimates place the population within Estonian territory at a modest level, with approximately 6,000 inhabitants in 3900 BC, rising to around 10,000 by 2000 BC. The Bronze Age saw the establishment of the first hill fort settlements. The Seima-Turbino phenomenon brought the first bronze artefacts to
2223-626: A moderate faction within the independence movement, and the Estonian National Independence Party , which became the first non-communist political party legally registered in the Soviet Union. The parliament of Soviet-controlled Estonia asserted the primacy of Estonian laws with the Sovereignty Declaration on 16 November 1988, inspiring similar declarations across other Soviet republics . On 23 August 1989, approximately two million people formed
2394-433: A new phase of Soviet control over Estonia's economy. Simultaneously, the Soviet Union initiated Russification policies that sought to reshape Estonia's demographics and dilute its cultural identity. Large numbers of ethnic Russians and other Soviet citizens were resettled in Estonia, threatening to turn native Estonians into a minority in their own homeland. Between 1945 and 1989, the proportion of ethnic Estonians in
2565-597: A new profitable market. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stalin ordered Marxist-Leninist parties across the world to strongly oppose non-Marxist political parties, labour unions or other organizations on the left, which they labelled social fascists . In the usage of the Soviet Union, and of the Comintern and its affiliated parties in this period, the epithet fascist was used to describe capitalist society in general and virtually any anti-Soviet or anti-Stalinist activity or opinion. Stalin reversed himself in 1934 with
2736-534: A severe population decline and slow recovery. North Estonian coast was strategically located on the route from the Varangians to the Greeks , making Estonia a trade hub while also being both a target and starting point for many raids. Coastal Estonians, particularly Oeselians from Saaremaa , adopted Viking lifestyle. Several Scandinavian sagas referred to major confrontations with Estonians, notably when in
2907-529: A single parish. By the 13th century, Estonia was divided into eight major counties – Harjumaa , Järvamaa , Läänemaa , Revala , Saaremaa , Sakala , Ugandi , and Virumaa – as well as several smaller, single-parish counties. These counties operated as independent entities and only formed loose alliances for defense against foreign threats. Estonia's culture during this period was split into two primary regions. Northern and western coastal areas maintained close connections with Scandinavia and Finland , while
3078-631: A status that is retained by the Russian Federation . Covering a sixth of Earth's land surface, its size was comparable to that of North America . Two other successor states, Kazakhstan and Ukraine , rank among the top 10 countries by land area, and the largest country entirely in Europe, respectively. The European portion accounted for a quarter of the country's area and was the cultural and economic center. The eastern part in Asia extended to
3249-428: A supreme deity worshiped by the islanders of Saaremaa. Sacred groves , particularly those of oak trees, played a significant role in pagan worship practices. Christianity – both Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy – started to be introduced by foreign traders and missionaries since the 10th and 11th century, but most of the population retained their indigenous beliefs. In 1199, Pope Innocent III declared
3420-526: A trade intermediary between Novgorod and western Hanseatic cities, while Tartu filled the same role with Pskov . Many artisans' and merchants guilds were formed during the period. Protected by their stone walls and membership in the Hansa, prosperous cities like Tallinn and Tartu often defied other rulers of the medieval Livonian Confederation . The Reformation began in central Europe in 1517, and soon spread northward to Livonia despite some opposition by
3591-475: A union of equals, in practice the Soviet Union was dominated by Russians . The domination was so absolute that for most of its existence, the country was commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as 'Russia'. While the Russian SFSR was technically only one republic within the larger union, it was by far the largest (both in terms of population and area), most powerful, and most highly developed. The Russian SFSR
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#17327810896533762-626: Is connected to the Kunda culture . Around 5300 BCE, ceramics appear of the neolithic period, known as Narva culture . This was followed by the Comb Ceramic culture around 3900 BC, bringing early agriculture and sophisticated religious art. Starting from around 2800 BC the Corded Ware culture appeared; this included new activities like primitive farming and animal husbandry. The Comb Ceramic and Corded Ware cultures coexisted in Estonia for
3933-573: Is derived from the Russian word sovet (Russian: совет ), meaning 'council', 'assembly', 'advice', ultimately deriving from the proto-Slavic verbal stem of * vět-iti ('to inform'), related to Slavic věst ('news'), English wise . The word sovietnik means 'councillor'. Some organizations in Russian history were called council (Russian: совет ). In the Russian Empire ,
4104-655: Is his background, his education , his profession . These are the questions that will determine the fate of the accused. That is the meaning and essence of the Red Terror ." During his rule, Stalin always made the final policy decisions. Otherwise, Soviet foreign policy was set by the commission on the Foreign Policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , or by
4275-461: Is some speculation that the name Estonia may have originated from the Aesti tribes. In the 4th century, Gothic ruler Ermanaric claimed to have subjugated the territories corresponding to Estonia, but there is no archaeological evidence to support this. The Late Antique Little Ice Age is starkly evident in the archaeological record, with a sharp drop in the number of sites and grave finds, indicating
4446-455: Is widely recognised as one of the most liberal in the world at that time. The Great Depression put heavy pressure on Estonia's political system, and in 1933, the right-wing Vaps movement spearheaded a constitutional reform establishing a strong presidency. On 12 March 1934 the acting head of state, Konstantin Päts , extended a state of emergency over the entire country, under the pretext that
4617-642: The Baltic Way , a human chain spanning Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, to demonstrate unity in pursuit of independence. In 1989, the Estonian Citizens' Committees began registering citizens according to jus sanguinis – those whose citizenship traced back to the pre-war republic. This led to the formation of the Congress of Estonia , a grassroots parliament dedicated to achieving independence through legal continuity and sovereignty. In March 1991,
4788-520: The Council of People's Commissars ), headed by the Chairman (Premier) and managing an enormous bureaucracy responsible for the administration of the economy and society. State and party structures of the constituent republics largely emulated the structure of the central institutions, although the Russian SFSR, unlike the other constituent republics, for most of its history had no republican branch of
4959-551: The Eastern Front of World War II . The Soviets played a decisive role in defeating the Axis powers , suffering an estimated 27 million casualties , which accounted for most Allied losses. In the aftermath of the war , the Soviet Union consolidated the territory occupied by the Red Army , forming satellite states , and undertook rapid economic development which cemented its status as a superpower . Geopolitical tensions with
5130-543: The Estonian Constituent Assembly was elected. The Constituent Assembly passed a sweeping land reform expropriating large estates, and adopted a new highly liberal constitution establishing Estonia as a parliamentary democracy. In 1924, the Soviet Union organised a communist coup attempt , which quickly failed. Estonia's cultural-autonomy law for ethnic minorities, adopted in 1925,
5301-564: The Estonian Waffen-SS division . Thousands of Estonians escaped to Finland, where many volunteered to fight together with Finns against Soviets . The Red Army reached the Estonian borders again in early 1944, heightening fears of renewed Soviet occupation. The Estonian Self-Administration declared a general mobilization in January, invoking pre-war Estonian legislation, with the support of all major pre-war political parties and
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5472-554: The Estonian War of Independence . The Red Army came within 30 km of Tallinn, but in January 1919, the Estonian Army , led by Johan Laidoner , went on a counter-offensive, ejecting Bolshevik forces from Estonia within a few weeks. Renewed Soviet attacks failed, and in the spring of 1919, the Estonian army, in co-operation with White Russian forces, advanced into Russia and Latvia . In June 1919, Estonia defeated
5643-729: The Forest Brothers , launching an insurgency against Soviet forces. By mid-July, the Forest Brothers' uprising succeeded in liberating South Estonia ahead of the advancing German army, allowing local institutions of the pre-war Republic of Estonia to resume operation. The USSR fully evacuated Tallinn by late August, suffering massive losses in the process, and German forces completed their capture of Estonia's islands by December. Many Estonians were hopeful that Germany would help to restore Estonia's independence, but this proved to be in vain. A puppet Estonian Self-Administration
5814-722: The German Landeswehr which had attempted to dominate Latvia, restoring power to the government of Kārlis Ulmanis there. After the collapse of the White Russian forces, the Red Army launched a major offensive against Narva in late 1919, but failed to achieve a breakthrough. On 2 February 1920, the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed by Estonia and Soviet Russia, with the latter pledging to permanently give up all sovereign claims to Estonia. In April 1919,
5985-505: The Iron Age , population grew. Local production of iron started approximately in 200 BC. During the first centuries CE, North Estonia, particularly the coastal region of Virumaa , emerged as a cultural hub. This period saw an influx of North Estonian settlers into sparsely populated Baltic Sea region. This cultural and linguistic expansion originating from North Estonia gave also rise to the neighboring Finnish language and continued until
6156-755: The Land Forces , the Air Force , the Navy , Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) and the Internal Troops . The OGPU later became independent and in 1934 joined the NKVD secret police, and so its internal troops were under the joint leadership of the defense and internal commissariats. After World War II, Strategic Missile Forces (1959), Air Defense Forces (1948) and National Civil Defense Forces (1970) were formed, which ranked first, third, and sixth in
6327-603: The Learned Estonian Society and other scientific societies, supported Estonian-language education and founded the first newspapers in the Estonian language. They also began to value and collect the Estonian folklore , including surviving pre-Christian myths and traditions. Another sign of a rising Estonian national consciousness was a mass movement in South Estonia to convert to Eastern Orthodoxy in
6498-528: The Moscow State Institute of International Relations . The Marxist-Leninist leadership of the Soviet Union intensely debated foreign policy issues and changed directions several times. Even after Stalin assumed dictatorial control in the late 1920s, there were debates, and he frequently changed positions. During the country's early period, it was assumed that Communist revolutions would break out soon in every major industrial country, and it
6669-685: The Novgorod Slavs who migrated to the area, expanding westward. Kievan Rus attempted to subjugate Estonia in the 11th century, with Yaroslav the Wise capturing Tartu around 1030. This foothold lasted until 1061 when an Estonian tribe, the Sosols, destroyed it. In 1187, Estonians, Curonians and Karelians sacked Sigtuna , which was a major city of Sweden at the time. In the early centuries AD, Estonia's first political and administrative subdivisions began to take shape. The primary units were
6840-657: The Pacific Ocean to the east and Afghanistan to the south, and, except some areas in Central Asia , was much less populous. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones , and over 7,200 kilometres (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra , taiga , steppes , desert and mountains . The USSR, like Russia , had the world's longest border , measuring over 60,000 kilometres (37,000 mi), or 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 circumferences of Earth. Two-thirds of it
7011-790: The Popular Front program that called on all Marxist parties to join with all anti-Fascist political, labour, and organizational forces that were opposed to fascism , especially of the Nazi variety. The rapid growth of power in Nazi Germany encouraged both Paris and Moscow to form a military alliance, and the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in May 1935. A firm believer in collective security, Stalin's foreign minister Maxim Litvinov worked very hard to form
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7182-404: The Soviet Union , was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by area , extending across eleven time zones and sharing borders with twelve countries , and the third-most populous country . An overall successor to the Russian Empire , it was nominally organized as a federal union of national republics ,
7353-581: The Soviet republics , and the control of the Communist Party weakened. The failed coup attempt in August 1991 against Gorbachev by hardline communists hastened the end of the Soviet Union , which formally dissolved on December 26, 1991, ending nearly seven decades of Soviet rule. With an area of 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi), the Soviet Union was the world's largest country,
7524-772: The State Council , which functioned from 1810 to 1917, was referred to as a Council of Ministers. The Soviets as workers' councils first appeared during the 1905 Russian Revolution . Although they were quickly suppressed by the Imperial army, after the February Revolution of 1917 , workers' and soldiers' Soviets emerged throughout the country and shared power with the Russian Provisional Government . The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin , demanded that all power be transferred to
7695-473: The Teutonic Order , Denmark , Sweden , and the Russian Empire , a distinct Estonian national identity began to reemerge in the mid-19th century. This culminated in the 1918 Estonian Declaration of Independence from the then-warring Russian and German empires. Democratic throughout most of the interwar period , Estonia declared neutrality at the outbreak of World War II , however the country
7866-635: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), saying that it was "overly juridical" and potentially infringed on national sovereignty. The Soviet Union later signed legally-binding human rights documents, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1973 (and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ), but they were neither widely known or accessible to people living under Communist rule, nor were they taken seriously by
8037-706: The largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world . As an Allied nation, it was a founding member of the United Nations as well as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . Before its dissolution, the USSR was one of the world's two superpowers through its hegemony in Eastern Europe, global diplomatic and ideological influence (particularly in the Global South ), military and economic strengths, and scientific accomplishments. The word soviet
8208-485: The right to food , the right to work , and the right to education . The Soviet conception of human rights was very different from international law . According to Soviet legal theory , "it is the government who is the beneficiary of human rights which are to be asserted against the individual". The Soviet state was considered as the source of human rights. Therefore, the Soviet legal system considered law an arm of politics and it also considered courts agencies of
8379-430: The 1530s onward the regular religious services were held in Estonian. Early Estonian-language Protestant texts emerged, including Wanradt–Koell Catechism in 1535. During the 16th century, the expansionist monarchies of Muscovy , Sweden, and Poland–Lithuania consolidated power, posing a growing threat to decentralised Livonia weakened by disputes between cities, nobility, bishops, and the Order. In 1558, Tsar Ivan
8550-432: The 1840s, following a famine and a promise for being rewarded with land. By the 1850s, several leading figures were promoting an Estonian national identity among the general populace. Widespread farm buyouts by Estonians and the resulting rapidly growing class of land-owning farmers provided the economic basis for the political affirmation of the Estonian identity. In 1857, Johann Voldemar Jannsen started publishing one of
8721-425: The 1860s, such as a campaign to establish the Estonian language Alexander School, the founding of the Society of Estonian Literati and the Estonian Students' Society , and the first national song festival , held in 1869 in Tartu. Linguistic reforms helped to develop the Estonian language. The national epic Kalevipoeg was published in 1857, and 1870 saw the first performances of Estonian theatre . In 1878
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#17327810896538892-481: The 1920s, it refused to rubber stamp proposals from the party and Council of Ministers. In 1990, Gorbachev introduced and assumed the position of the President of the Soviet Union , concentrated power in his executive office, independent of the party, and subordinated the government, now renamed the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR , to himself. Tensions grew between the Union-wide authorities under Gorbachev, reformists led in Russia by Boris Yeltsin and controlling
9063-432: The 1940 Soviet annexation. In 1980, Tallinn hosted the sailing events for the Moscow Olympics , an occasion that triggered international boycotts in protest of both the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the occupation of the Baltic states. Though the Olympics brought economic investments to Tallinn, many Estonian exiles and Western nations condemned the events held on occupied soil. The introduction of perestroika by
9234-424: The 1950s, the Soviet Union expanded its efforts in space exploration and took a lead in the Space Race with the first artificial satellite , the first human spaceflight , the first space station , and the first probe to land on another planet . In 1985, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev , sought to reform the country through his policies of glasnost and perestroika . In 1989, various countries of
9405-488: The 1960s, however, some Estonians living in the northern regions covertly began watching Finnish television broadcasts, offering glimpses into life outside the Iron Curtain . Soviet security forces in Estonia enjoyed vast powers to suppress dissent, but despite harsh repression, underground resistance endured. In the late 1970s, Moscow's ideological pressure intensified with a new wave of Russian immigration, and Karl Vaino , an official from Moscow who barely spoke Estonian,
9576-424: The 1960s. The Soviet regime also intensified its policy of collectivisation , forcing Estonian farmers to abandon private agriculture and join state-run collectives. When locals resisted, authorities launched a campaign of terror, culminating in March 1949 with operation Priboi – the mass deportation of around 20,000 Estonians to the gulag system in Siberia. Full collectivization followed shortly after, marking
9747-564: The 1988–90 bloodless Estonian " Singing Revolution " against Soviet rule, the nation's full independence was restored on 20 August 1991 . Estonia is a developed country with a high-income advanced economy . It is a democratic unitary parliamentary republic , administratively subdivided into 15 maakond (counties) . It is one of the least populous members of the European Union and NATO . Estonia has consistently ranked highly in international rankings for quality of life , education , press freedom , digitalisation of public services and
9918-432: The 1990s, people in the West were also interested in the radioactive hazards of nuclear facilities, decommissioned nuclear submarines , and the processing of nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel . It was also known in the early 1990s that the USSR had transported radioactive material to the Barents Sea and Kara Sea , which was later confirmed by the Russian parliament. The crash of the K-141 Kursk submarine in 2000 in
10089-468: The 20th century and the indigenous Setos were converted to Eastern Orthodoxy . Initially, the Estonian nobles who accepted baptism were able to retain their power and influence by becoming vassals of the Danish king or the church; they intermarried with newcomer Crusader familiers and over the centuries become Germanised , leading to the ethnogenesis of the Baltic Germans . The Estonian pagans rose several times against foreign Christian rule. During
10260-427: The CPSU, being ruled directly by the union-wide party until 1990. Local authorities were organized likewise into party committees , local Soviets and executive committees . While the state system was nominally federal, the party was unitary. The state security police (the KGB and its predecessor agencies ) played an important role in Soviet politics. It was instrumental in the Red Terror and Great Purge , but
10431-411: The Communist authorities. Under Joseph Stalin , the death penalty was extended to adolescents as young as 12 years old in 1935. Sergei Kovalev recalled "the famous article 125 of the Constitution which enumerated all basic civil and political rights" in the Soviet Union. But when he and other prisoners attempted to use this as a legal basis for their abuse complaints, their prosecutor's argument
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#173278108965310602-425: The Estonian public education system appeared in the 1680s, largely due to efforts of Bengt Forselius , who also introduced orthographical reforms to written Estonian. The population of Estonia grew rapidly until the Great Famine of 1695–97 in which 70,000–75,000 people died – about 20% of the population. During the Great Northern War , Peter the Great of Russia launched another invasion of Estonia in 1700. By
10773-422: The Estonian resistance was Lembitu , an elder of Sakala County , but in 1217 the Estonians suffered a significant defeat in the Battle of St. Matthew's Day , where Lembitu was killed. In 1219, Valdemar II landed at Lindanise , defeated the Estonians in the Battle of Lyndanisse , and started conquering Northern Estonia. The next year, Sweden invaded Western Estonia, but were repelled by the Oeselians. In 1223,
10944-425: The Livonian Constitutions re-established Livonia as a Catholic bishopric, marking a turning point in religious influence in the region. Jesuit influence flourished, establishing institutions such as the Collegium Derpatense in Tartu, where Estonian-language catechisms were published to support local missions. Despite the Jesuits' efforts, including extensive publishing and education initiatives, their presence in Tartu
11115-399: The Livonian Order. Protestant preaching began actively in Tallinn in 1524, leading the town council to align with the Reformation by the following year. Similar events unfolded in Tartu, where tensions arose with Catholic Bishop Johann Blankenfeld, resulting in iconoclastic riots that damaged Catholic churches and monasteries in both cities. By the late 1520s, most Estonian towns had embraced
11286-401: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and its secret protocols which had led to Estonia's loss of independence. Although direct demands for independence were not yet made, organizers aimed to reinforce the continuity of the Estonian state and prepare the foundation for a restoration based on legal principles. In 1988, new political movements emerged, including the Popular Front of Estonia , representing
11457-481: The Politburo after the deaths of Lenin and Stalin, as well as after Khrushchev's dismissal, itself due to a decision by both the Politburo and the Central Committee. All leaders of the Communist Party before Gorbachev died in office, except Georgy Malenkov and Khrushchev, both dismissed from the party leadership amid internal struggle within the party. Between 1988 and 1990, facing considerable opposition, Mikhail Gorbachev enacted reforms shifting power away from
11628-399: The Reformation, although Catholic influence remained stronger in Viljandi, Haapsalu , and Vana-Pärnu. Unlike the cities, rural areas were slower to adopt Protestantism, with Catholic influence persisting among local nobility and peasants well into the 1530s. With the Reformation, church services began to be conducted in vernacular language, which initially meant Low German , but already from
11799-499: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the world's first constitutionally socialist state . The revolution was not accepted by all within the Russian Republic , resulting in the Russian Civil War . The RSFSR and its subordinate republics were merged into the Soviet Union in 1922. Following Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin came to power, inaugurating rapid industrialization and forced collectivization that led to significant economic growth but contributed to
11970-458: The Russian central government to align Estonian governance with broader imperial standards, the autonomy of the Baltic provinces generally remained intact, as the tsarist regime sought to avoid conflicts with the local nobility. From 1783 to 1796, the administrative structure shifted temporarily under Empress Catherine II 's "Governorate System," aiming to centralize governance and bring the Baltic regions closer to imperial norms; however, this system
12141-420: The Russian name of the Soviet Union as СС has been taboo, the reason being that СС as a Russian Cyrillic abbreviation is associated with the infamous Schutzstaffel of Nazi Germany , as SS is in English. In English-language media, the state was referred to as the Soviet Union or the USSR. The Russian SFSR dominated the Soviet Union to such an extent that, for most of the Soviet Union's existence, it
12312-632: The Soviet Union and turned into SSRs, which was not recognized by most of the international community and was considered an illegal occupation . After the Soviet invasion of Finland , the Karelo-Finnish SSR was formed on annexed territory as a Union Republic in March 1940 and then incorporated into Russia as the Karelian ASSR in 1956. Between July 1956 and September 1991, there were 15 union republics (see map below). While nominally
12483-513: The Soviet Union in 1932, and with Germany in 1939. In 1939, Estonia declared neutrality, but this proved futile in World War II . A week before the outbreak of World War II , the secret protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact assigned Estonia to the Soviet Union 's sphere of influence. On 24 September 1939, Joseph Stalin presented the Estonian government an ultimatum. The Estonian government decided to avoid military conflict, and
12654-529: The Soviet Union . Boris Yeltsin , the leader of the RSFSR, oversaw its reconstitution into the Russian Federation , which became the Soviet Union's successor state; all other republics emerged as fully independent post-Soviet states . During its existence, the Soviet Union produced many significant social and technological achievements and innovations . It had the world's second-largest economy and largest standing military. An NPT-designated state , it wielded
12825-513: The Soviet Union on 22 June, the Summer War began in Estonia. The Soviet authorities forcibly conscripted around 34,000 young Estonian men into the Red Army; fewer than 30% would survive the war. Soviet extermination battalions adopted a scorched-earth policy , massacring many civilians in the process, and NKVD units executed political prisoners who could not be evacuated. Thousands of Estonians joined anti-Soviet partisan groups known as
12996-607: The Soviet Union transferred border areas comprising about 5% of Estonian pre-war territory from the Estonian SSR to the Russian SFSR . Following the renewed Soviet occupation of Estonia, thousands of Estonians once again joined the Forest Brothers to resist Soviet rule. This armed resistance was particularly intense in the immediate post-war years, but Soviet forces eventually wore it down through relentless attrition tactics, bringing an end to organized armed resistance by
13167-662: The Soviet Union's priorities changed. Despite previous conflict with the United Kingdom , Vyacheslav Molotov dropped his post war border demands. The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc , which began following World War II in 1945. The term cold war is used because there
13338-594: The Soviet Union's superpower status, the economy struggled due to its centralized nature, technological backwardness, and inefficiencies. The vast military expenditures and burdens of maintaining the Eastern Bloc, further strained the Soviet economy. In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev 's policies of Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring) aimed to revitalize the Soviet system but instead accelerated its unraveling. Nationalist movements gained momentum across
13509-539: The Soviet Union, maintaining that it was illegal under international law. Legal continuity of the Estonian state was preserved through the government-in-exile and the Estonian diplomatic representatives which Western governments continued to recognise. This stance drew support from the Stimson Doctrine , which denied recognition of territorial changes enacted through force, and appeared on USA-made maps, which carried disclaimers affirming non-recognition of
13680-546: The Soviet authorities admitted. The Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. In 1988, total emissions in the Soviet Union were about 79% of those in the United States. But since the Soviet GNP was only 54% of that of the United States, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 times more pollution than the United States per unit of GNP. The Soviet Chernobyl disaster in 1986
13851-733: The Soviet forces launched several major offensives , compelling German troops to withdraw from mainland Estonia in September and from the Estonian islands in November. During this retreat, Jüri Uluots appointed a government led by Otto Tief in a final effort to restore Estonian independence. Facing a second Soviet occupation, tens of thousands of Estonians fled westward. Overall, Estonia lost about 25% of its population through deaths, deportations and evacuations in World War II. Estonia also suffered some irrevocable territorial losses, as
14022-719: The Soviet government in 1987 reopened the possibility for political activism in Estonia, sparking the Singing Revolution , a peaceful movement towards independence. One of the first major acts of resistance was the Phosphorite War , an environmental protest against Soviet plans to establish large phosphate mines in Virumaa . On 23 August 1987, the Hirvepark meeting in Tallinn called for the public disclosure of
14193-825: The Soviets, and gained support from the workers and soldiers. After the October Revolution , in which the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government in the name of the Soviets, Lenin proclaimed the formation of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic (RSFSR). During the Georgian Affair of 1922, Lenin called for the Russian SFSR and other national Soviet republics to form
14364-587: The Supreme Soviet were members of the CPSU. Of the party heads themselves, Stalin (1941–1953) and Khrushchev (1958–1964) were Premiers. Upon the forced retirement of Khrushchev, the party leader was prohibited from this kind of double membership, but the later General Secretaries for at least some part of their tenure occupied the mostly ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet ,
14535-727: The Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) invaded Livonia, starting the Livonian War . The Livonian Order was decisively defeated in 1560. The majority of Livonia accepted Polish–Lithuanian rule, while Tallinn and the nobles of northern Estonia swore loyalty to the Swedish king, and the Bishop of Ösel-Wiek sold his lands to the Danish king. Tsar Ivan's forces were at first able to conquer the larger part of Livonia. Epidemics of plague swept through
14706-713: The US led to the Cold War . The American-led Western Bloc coalesced into NATO in 1949, prompting the Soviet Union to form its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact , in 1955. Neither side engaged in direct military confrontation, and instead fought on an ideological basis and through proxy wars . In 1953, following Stalin's death , the Soviet Union undertook a campaign of de-Stalinization under Nikita Khrushchev , which saw reversals and rejections of Stalinist policies. This campaign caused tensions with Communist China . During
14877-430: The USSR. Moscow eventually stopped threatening other states, and instead worked to open peaceful relationships in terms of trade, and diplomatic recognition. The United Kingdom dismissed the warnings of Winston Churchill and a few others about a continuing Marxist-Leninist threat, and opened trade relations and de facto diplomatic recognition in 1922. There was hope for a settlement of the pre-war Tsarist debts, but it
15048-502: The Vaps movement had been planning a coup. Päts went on to rule by decree for several years, while the parliament did not reconvene (" era of silence "). A new constitution was adopted in a 1937 referendum, and in 1938 a new bicameral parliament was elected in a popular vote, where both pro-government and opposition candidates participated. The Päts régime was relatively benign compared to other authoritarian régimes in interwar Europe, and
15219-469: The Warsaw Pact overthrew their Soviet-backed regimes , and nationalist and separatist movements erupted across the Soviet Union. In 1991, amid efforts to preserve the country as a renewed federation , an attempted coup against Gorbachev by hardline communists prompted the largest republics—Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus—to secede. On December 26, Gorbachev officially recognized the dissolution of
15390-573: The West. Estonia joined the League of Nations in 1921. Attempts to establish a larger alliance together with Finland , Poland , and Latvia failed, with only a mutual-defence pact being signed with Latvia in 1923, and later was followed up with the Baltic Entente of 1934. In the 1930s, Estonia also engaged in secret military co-operation with Finland . Non-aggression pacts were signed with
15561-503: The accident, but this led to a relatively low number of deaths (WHO data, 2005). Another major radioactive accident was the Kyshtym disaster . The Kola Peninsula was one of the places with major problems. Around the industrial cities of Monchegorsk and Norilsk , where nickel , for example, is mined, all forests have been destroyed by contamination, while the northern and other parts of Russia have been affected by emissions. During
15732-475: The commercial district of Tallinn and in a number of wealthy landowners' manors in the Estonian countryside. The flag of Estonia , adopted by the Estonian Students' Society since 1881, was prominently featured during these demonstrations. In December 1905, the first attempt to declare Estonia an independent country took place in the village of Vaali, Järvamaa . The Tsarist government responded with
15903-874: The committee declared Estonia's independence , forming the Estonian Provisional Government . Shortly thereafter, German occupation commenced, accompanied by an attempt to create the United Baltic Duchy , which aimed to establish a client state of the German Empire in the region. However, following Germany's defeat in World War I, the Germans were compelled to transfer power back to the Estonian Provisional Government on 19 November 1918. On 28 November 1918, Soviet Russia invaded , starting
16074-704: The constitutional Prime Minister in the duties of the President , Jüri Uluots . The mobilisation drew wide support among Estonians, while the 38,000 men who were drafted became part of the Waffen-SS . With significant support from Estonian units, German forces managed to halt the Soviet advance for six months in fierce battles near Narva . In March, the Soviet Air Force launched extensive bombing raids on Tallinn and other Estonian cities, resulting in severe damage and loss of life. From July to September,
16245-463: The country dropped from 97% to 62%. Occupying authorities carried out campaigns of ethnic cleansing, mass deportation of indigenous populations, and mass colonization by Russian settlers which led to Estonia losing 3% of its native population. The Soviet regime seized all industry and centralized agriculture, emphasizing heavy industrial development that often neglected local well-being and caused significant environmental damage. The military presence
16416-429: The country was limited. The state restricted rights of citizens to private property . According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , human rights are the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." including the right to life and liberty , freedom of expression , and equality before the law ; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture ,
16587-716: The creation of new state commissions and committees. It gained additional powers relating to the approval of the Five-Year Plans and the government budget . The Supreme Soviet elected a Presidium (successor of the Central Executive Committee ) to wield its power between plenary sessions, ordinarily held twice a year, and appointed the Supreme Court , the Procurator General and the Council of Ministers (known before 1946 as
16758-579: The decades following initial Christianization, there were several uprisings against the Teutonic rulers in Saaremaa. In 1343, a major uprising encompassed North Estonia and Saaremaa. The Teutonic Order suppressed the rebellion by 1345, and in 1346 the Danish king sold his possessions in Estonia to the Order. The unsuccessful rebellion led to a consolidation of power for the upper-class German minority. For
16929-589: The degree of power consolidation, it was either the Politburo as a collective body or the General Secretary, who always was one of the Politburo members, that effectively led the party and the country (except for the period of the highly personalized authority of Stalin, exercised directly through his position in the Council of Ministers rather than the Politburo after 1941). They were not controlled by
17100-472: The dominant faith. Estonia was divided into two governorates : the Governorate of Estonia , which included Tallinn and the northern part of Estonia, and the southern Governorate of Livonia , which extended to the northern part of Latvia. The rights of local farmers reached their lowest point, as serfdom completely dominated agricultural relations during the 18th century. Despite occasional attempts by
17271-606: The duty of the Russian Bolsheviks to protect what they had in Russia, and avoid military confrontations that might destroy their bridgehead. Russia was now a pariah state, along with Germany. The two came to terms in 1922 with the Treaty of Rapallo that settled long-standing grievances. At the same time, the two countries secretly set up training programs for the illegal German army and air force operations at hidden camps in
17442-527: The earliest known sources that definitely use the name in its modern geographic meaning. From Old Norse the toponym spread to other Germanic vernaculars and reached literary Latin by the end of 12th century. The oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement ; according to radiocarbon dating , it was settled around 11,000 years ago. The earliest human habitation during the Mesolithic period
17613-536: The early 2nd millennium AD when the encroachment of Baltic and Slavic tribes limited the reach of Finnic cultures. Commercial contacts in the Baltic Sea region grew and extended. During this period, North Estonia developed increasingly robust connections with the southern and southeastern Baltic Sea regions, particularly with tribes associated with the Wielbark culture and Dollkeim-Kovrovo cultures. Historical sources identify these people as Goths and Aesti . There
17784-734: The early 7th century "Estonian Vikings" defeated and killed Ingvar Harra , the King of Swedes . The Salme ship burials dating from mid-8th century have been suggested as a possible starting point for the Viking Age in Europe. In the East Slavic sources, Estonians and other closely related Finnic tribes were known as Chuds . In 862, Chuds participated in the founding of the Rurik dynasty in Novgorod , gradually losing their influence to
17955-492: The empire. The Russian language replaced German and Estonian in most secondary schools and universities, and many social and cultural activities in local languages were suppressed. In the late 1890s, there was a new surge of nationalism with the rise of prominent figures like Jaan Tõnisson and Konstantin Päts . In the early 20th century, Estonians started taking over control of local governments in towns from Germans. Nationalist poets such as Juhan Liiv began openly calling for
18126-490: The era, though diverse in origin and political stance, depicted Ivan and his armies as barbaric and tyrannical, emphasizing the suffering of local populations under Muscovite occupation. These accounts helped to shape European perceptions of the conflict, solidifying Ivan's reputation as a brutal oppressor. This did not stop Magnus, Duke of Holstein from playing a controversial role marked by shifting allegiances and aspirations for power. On June 10, 1570, he arrived in Moscow and
18297-404: The establishment of an independent Estonian state. During the 1905 Revolution , the first legal Estonian political parties were founded. An Estonian national congress was convened and demanded the unification of Estonian areas into a single autonomous territory and an end to Russification. The unrest was accompanied by both peaceful political demonstrations and violent riots with looting in
18468-418: The first successful circulating Estonian-language weekly newspapers, Perno Postimees , and began popularising the denomination of oneself as eestlane (Estonian). Schoolmaster Carl Robert Jakobson and clergyman Jakob Hurt became leading figures in a nationalist movement , encouraging Estonian farmers to take pride in their language and ethnic Estonian identity. The first nationwide movements formed in
18639-779: The founding republics who signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR in December 1922. In 1924, during the national delimitation in Central Asia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were formed from parts of Russia's Turkestan ASSR and two Soviet dependencies, the Khorezm and Bukharan PSPs . In 1929, Tajikistan was split off from the Uzbekistan SSR. With the constitution of 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR
18810-410: The general party membership, as the key principle of the party organization was democratic centralism , demanding strict subordination to higher bodies, and elections went uncontested, endorsing the candidates proposed from above. The Communist Party maintained its dominance over the state mainly through its control over the system of appointments . All senior government officials and most deputies of
18981-525: The globe. The post-Stalin leadership, particularly under Nikita Khrushchev , initiated a de-Stalinization process, leading to a period of liberalization and relative openness known as the Khrushchev Thaw . However, the subsequent era under Leonid Brezhnev , referred to as the Era of Stagnation , was marked by economic decline, political corruption, and a rigid gerontocracy . Despite efforts to maintain
19152-497: The government. Extensive extrajudicial powers were given to the Soviet secret police agencies . In practice, the Soviet government significantly curbed the rule of law , civil liberties , protection of law and guarantees of property , which were considered as examples of "bourgeois morality" by Soviet law theorists such as Andrey Vyshinsky . The USSR and other countries in the Soviet Bloc had abstained from affirming
19323-402: The highest bodies of the party and making the Supreme Soviet less dependent on them. The Congress of People's Deputies was established, the majority of whose members were directly elected in competitive elections held in March 1989, the first in Soviet history. The Congress now elected the Supreme Soviet, which became a full-time parliament, and much stronger than before. For the first time since
19494-516: The home front led to civil unrest. Despite repeated appeals and promises, the Russian imperial government resisted expanding Estonian political rights. In 1917, following the February Revolution , the Russian Provisional Government finally conceded to Estonian demands. Estonia was granted autonomy , and the Estonian Provincial Assembly was formed through democratic elections. In addition, the territory of autonomous Estonia
19665-472: The implementation of socialist policies and the New Economic Policy (NEP), which allowed for market-oriented reforms. The rise of Joseph Stalin in the late 1920s ushered in an era of intense centralization and totalitarianism. Stalin's rule was characterized by the forced collectivization of agriculture , rapid industrialization , and the Great Purge , which eliminated perceived enemies of
19836-663: The inland south had stronger ties to the Balts and the principality of Pskov . The Estonian landscape was dotted with numerous hill forts, and evidence of ancient harbor sites has been found along the coast of Saaremaa. During the Viking Age, Estonia was a region of active trade, with exports such as iron, furs, and honey. Imports included fine goods like silk, jewelry, glass, and Ulfberht swords . Estonian burial sites from this era often contain both individual and collective graves, with artifacts such as weapons and jewelry that reflect
20007-417: The largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR . In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized . As a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , it was a flagship communist state . Its capital and largest city was Moscow . The Soviet Union's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917. The new government, led by Vladimir Lenin , established
20178-541: The most common Russian initialization is Союз ССР (transliteration: Soyuz SSR ) which essentially translates to Union of SSRs in English. In addition, the Russian short form name Советский Союз (transliteration: Sovyetsky Soyuz , which literally means Soviet Union ) is also commonly used, but only in its unabbreviated form. Since the start of the Great Patriotic War at the latest, abbreviating
20349-417: The newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR , and communist hardliners. On 19–21 August 1991, a group of hardliners staged a coup attempt . The coup failed, and the State Council of the Soviet Union became the highest organ of state power 'in the period of transition'. Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary, only remaining President for the final months of the existence of the USSR. The judiciary
20520-400: The nominal head of state . The institutions at lower levels were overseen and at times supplanted by primary party organizations . However, in practice the degree of control the party was able to exercise over the state bureaucracy, particularly after the death of Stalin, was far from total, with the bureaucracy pursuing different interests that were at times in conflict with the party, nor
20691-630: The offensive and the war ended in 1583 with Russian defeat. As a result of the Livonian War, northern Estonia became Swedish Duchy of Estonia and southern Estonia became Polish Duchy of Livonia . Saaremaa remained under Danish control while Ruhnu was part of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia . During Polish rule in South Estonia, efforts were made to restore Catholicism, yet this was distinct from traditional Counter-Reformation actions, as Poland–Lithuania fostered religious tolerance. In 1582,
20862-608: The official Soviet system of importance (ground forces were second, Air Force fourth, and Navy fifth). The army had the greatest political influence. In 1989, there served two million soldiers divided between 150 motorized and 52 armored divisions. Until the early 1960s, the Soviet navy was a rather small military branch, but after the Caribbean crisis , under the leadership of Sergei Gorshkov , it expanded significantly. It became known for battlecruisers and submarines. In 1989, there served 500 000 men. The Soviet Air Force focused on
21033-487: The only legal party and the final policymaker in the country. At the top of the Communist Party was the Central Committee , elected at Party Congresses and Conferences. In turn, the Central Committee voted for a Politburo (called the Presidium between 1952 and 1966), Secretariat and the general secretary (First Secretary from 1953 to 1966), the de facto highest office in the Soviet Union. Depending on
21204-694: The other order until 1936 . In addition, in the regional languages of several republics, the word council or conciliar in the respective language was only quite late changed to an adaptation of the Russian soviet and never in others, e.g. Ukrainian SSR . СССР (in the Latin alphabet: SSSR ) is the abbreviation of the Russian-language cognate of USSR, as written in Cyrillic letters . The Soviets used this abbreviation so frequently that audiences worldwide became familiar with its meaning. After this,
21375-443: The parish (Estonian: kihelkond ) and the county (Estonian: maakond ), the latter composed of multiple parishes. Each parish was typically governed by local nobles referred to as kings (Estonian: kuningas ). Ancient Estonia had a professional warrior caste while the nobles' wealth and prestige was based on international trade. The parishes were commonly centered around hill forts, though occasionally multiple forts existed within
21546-494: The partition of Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II . Up until his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin controlled all foreign relations of the Soviet Union during the interwar period . Despite the increasing build-up of Germany 's war machine and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , the Soviet Union did not cooperate with any other nation, choosing to follow its own path. However, after Operation Barbarossa ,
21717-429: The party's highest body the Politburo . Operations were handled by the separate Ministry of Foreign Affairs . It was known as the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (or Narkomindel), until 1946. The most influential spokesmen were Georgy Chicherin (1872–1936), Maxim Litvinov (1876–1951), Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), Andrey Vyshinsky (1883–1954) and Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989). Intellectuals were based in
21888-431: The population of Estonia from about 250–270,000 people in the mid 16th century to 115–120,000 in the 1630s. The Swedish era in Estonia was complex, marked by both cultural repression and significant reforms. Initially, Swedish rule brought Protestant puritans who opposed traditional Estonian beliefs and practices, leading to witch trials , bans on folk music, and the burning of traditional costumes. While large parts of
22059-458: The prevalence of technology companies. The name Estonia ( Estonian : Eesti [ˈeˑstʲi] ) has been connected to Aesti , a people first mentioned by Ancient Roman historian Tacitus around 98 CE. Some modern historians believe he was referring to Balts , while others have proposed that the name then applied to the whole eastern Baltic Sea region. Scandinavian sagas and Viking runestones referring to Eistland are
22230-460: The region and is often connected to the development of the Finno-Ugric languages . A transition from hunter-fisher subsistence to single-farm-based settlement started around 1000 BC, and was complete by the beginning of the Iron Age around 500 BC. The large amount of bronze objects indicate the existence of active communication with Scandinavian and Germanic tribes. By the end of the Bronze Age, domestic manufacture of bronze artefacts began. In
22401-521: The rest was divided between the Sword Brothers and prince-bishoprics of Dorpat and Ösel–Wiek . In 1236, after suffering a major defeat , the Sword Brothers merged into the Teutonic Order becoming the Livonian Order . The eastern border with the Novgorod Republic was fixed after the Battle on the Ice took place on Lake Peipus in 1242, where the combined armies of the Livonian Order and Estonian infantry were defeated by Novgorod. The southeastern region of Setomaa remained under Russian rule until
22572-493: The rural population remained in serfdom during the Swedish rule, legal reforms under King Charles XI strengthened both serfs' and free tenant farmers' land usage and inheritance rights – hence this period got the reputation of "The Good Old Swedish Time" in historical memory. Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus established gymnasiums in Tallinn and Tartu; the latter was upgraded to Tartu University in 1632. Printing presses were also established in both towns. The beginnings of
22743-428: The régime never used violence against political opponents. In spite of political complications, Estonia enjoyed rapid economic growth during the interwar period. Land reforms improved the farmers' conditions, but the country also prospered from industrialisation and the development of oil shale mining. With the independence, most economic links with Russia were severed, but trade was rapidly reoriented towards markets in
22914-474: The shared material culture of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. The spiritual and religious beliefs of medieval Estonians before their Christianization remain a topic of historical interest and debate. Estonian spirituality was deeply rooted in animistic traditions, with shamans ( nõid ) and fortunetellers known abroad, as noted by sources like Adam of Bremen and the Novgorod First Chronicle . The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia mentions Tharapita as
23085-427: The state. The Soviet Union played a crucial role in the Allied victory in World War II , but at a tremendous human cost, with millions of Soviet citizens perishing in the conflict. The Soviet Union emerged as one of the world's two superpowers, leading the Eastern Bloc in opposition to the Western Bloc during the Cold War . This period saw the USSR engage in an arms race, the Space Race , and proxy wars around
23256-469: The struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare , propaganda campaigns, espionage , far-reaching embargoes , rivalry at sports events and technological competitions such as the Space Race . Constitutionally, the USSR was a federation of constituent Union Republics, which were either unitary states, such as Ukraine or Byelorussia (SSRs), or federations, such as Russia or Transcaucasia (SFSRs), all four being
23427-451: The subsequent centuries Low German remained the language of the ruling elite in both Estonian cities and the countryside. Tallinn , the capital of Danish Estonia founded on the site of Lindanise, adopted the Lübeck law and received full town rights in 1248. The Hanseatic League controlled trade on the Baltic Sea, and overall the four largest cities in Estonia became members: Tallinn, Tartu , Pärnu , and Viljandi . Tallinn acted as
23598-459: The territory, compounding the destruction. Estonian peasants, growing increasingly resentful of local authorities’ failure to protect them from Russian raids, erupted in uprisings in 1560, besieging Koluvere Castle in Läänemaa . The rebellion saw Estonians briefly elect their own king before it was ultimately suppressed. Reports of Russian atrocities against Livonians, led by Ivan the Terrible and his forces, spread widely in Europe. Chroniclers of
23769-428: The time of the Great Northern War, many Estonians were loyal to the Swedish crown, with up to 20,000 fighting to defend Estonia against Russian invasion. Stories of the Swedish king Charles XII , who was revered in Estonian folk memory, embody a sentiment that distinguished the Swedish era from the harsher Russian rule that followed. Despite the initial Swedish success in the victorious Battle of Narva , Russia conquered
23940-492: The truth". Human rights in the Soviet Union were severely limited. The Soviet Union was a totalitarian state from 1927 until 1953 and a one-party state until 1990. Freedom of speech was suppressed and dissent was punished. Independent political activities were not tolerated, whether these involved participation in free labour unions , private corporations , independent churches or opposition political parties . The freedom of movement within and especially outside
24111-454: The two largest urban areas . The Estonian language is the official language and the first language of the majority of the population of 1.4 million. Present-day Estonia has been inhabited by humans since at least 9,000 BCE. 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 successive rule by
24282-473: The university in Tartu in 1802 gave opportunities for higher education to both Baltic German and a growing number of Estonian students. Among the latter were first public proponents of Estonian nationalism , such as young poet Kristjan Jaak Peterson . At the same time, the nationalist ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder greatly influenced the Baltic German intelligentsia to see the value in the native Estonian culture. The resulting Estophile movement gave rise to
24453-423: The wars stretched on until 1629, concluding with Sweden gaining Livonia , including Southern Estonia and Northern Latvia, altering the power balance in the Baltic region. In addition, Danish Saaremaa was transferred to Sweden in 1645. During the Russo-Swedish War , Russia in 1656 captured eastern parts of Estonia, including Tartu, holding it until the Treaty of Cardis was concluded in 1661. The wars had halved
24624-420: The west by the 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 , the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa , and over 2,300 other islands and islets on the east coast of the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,335 square kilometres (17,504 sq mi). Tallinn , the capital city , and Tartu are
24795-403: The west further raised concerns. In the past, there were accidents involving submarines K-19 , K-8 , a K-129 , K-27 , K-219 and K-278 Komsomolets . There were three power hierarchies in the Soviet Union: the legislature represented by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union , the government represented by the Council of Ministers , and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),
24966-441: The whole of Estonia by the end of 1710. The war again devastated the population of Estonia, with the 1712 population estimated at only 150,000–170,000. Under the terms of the Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia , the country was incorporated into the Russian Empire under the "Baltic Special Order" ( Balti erikord ). This policy restored the political and landholding rights of the local aristocracy , and recognized Lutheranism as
25137-406: The world's largest lakes; the Caspian Sea (shared with Iran ), and Lake Baikal , the world's largest (by volume) and deepest freshwater lake that is also an internal body of water in Russia. Neighbouring countries were aware of the high levels of pollution in the Soviet Union but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was discovered that its environmental problems were greater than what
25308-402: Was Magnus Gustav von Essen (1759–1813), a Russian lieutenant general and military governor of Riga . Nikolai von Essen (1860-1915), Admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy , hailed from the Livonian branch of the family, but not Count Peter Essen who was born a commoner . This article is fully or partially based on material from Nordisk familjebok , 1904–1926. This article about
25479-407: Was repeatedly contested, invaded, and occupied ; first by the Soviet Union in 1940 , then Nazi Germany in 1941, and ultimately reoccupied in 1944 by, and annexed into, the USSR as an administrative subunit ( Estonian SSR ). Throughout the 1944–91 Soviet occupation, Estonia's de jure state continuity was preserved by diplomatic representatives and the government-in-exile . Following
25650-452: Was a coastline . The country bordered Afghanistan , the People's Republic of China , Czechoslovakia , Finland , Hungary , Iran , Mongolia , North Korea , Norway , Poland , Romania , and Turkey from 1945 to 1991. The Bering Strait separated the USSR from the United States . The country's highest mountain was Communism Peak (now Ismoil Somoni Peak ) in Tajikistan , at 7,495 metres (24,590 ft). The USSR also included most of
25821-408: Was also the industrial center of the Soviet Union. Historian Matthew White wrote that it was an open secret that the country's federal structure was 'window dressing' for Russian dominance. For that reason, the people of the USSR were usually called 'Russians', not 'Soviets', since 'everyone knew who really ran the show'. Under the Military Law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of
25992-504: Was appointed head of the Communist Party of Estonia . The Communist Party of Estonia , now dominated by ethnic Russians, acted as a mechanism for this demographic shift. Estonian dissidents, responding to this escalating Russification, grew increasingly vocal, with notable protests such as the Baltic Appeal to the United Nations in 1979, and the Letter of 40 intellectuals in 1980, which openly criticized Soviet policies. Most Western nations refused to recognize Estonia's annexation by
26163-434: Was brought under strict party control after Stalin's death. Under Yuri Andropov , the KGB engaged in the suppression of political dissent and maintained an extensive network of informers, reasserting itself as a political actor to some extent independent of the party-state structure, culminating in the anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking party officials in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The constitution , which
26334-419: Was carried out within the terms of the Soviet Civil Code. Some Soviet legal scholars even said that "criminal repression" may be applied in the absence of guilt. Martin Latsis , chief of Soviet Ukraine 's secret police explained: "Do not look in the file of incriminating evidence to see whether or not the accused rose up against the Soviets with arms or words. Ask him instead to which class he belongs, what
26505-404: Was colloquially, but incorrectly, referred to as Russia . The history of the Soviet Union began with the ideals of the Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War , the Soviet Union quickly became a one-party state under the Communist Party . Its early years under Lenin were marked by
26676-406: Was crowned King of Livonia by Ivan, pledging allegiance to the Russian Tsar as his overlord. Põltsamaa became the capital of his short-lived Kingdom of Livonia . Ivan and Magnus twice laid a brutal siege on Tallinn, however failing to capture it. An Estonian peasant army led by Ivo Schenkenberg was wreaking havoc in Russian rear. By the 1580s, the Polish–Lithuanian and Swedish armies had gone on
26847-432: Was cut short by Swedish conquest in the early 17th century. The Polish–Swedish War , which began in 1600, unleashed years of further devastation across Estonia. The Battle of Weissenstein ( Paide ) in 1604 marked a critical turning point, where Lithuanian hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz led a smaller Polish-Lithuanian force of 2,300 to a decisive victory against a Swedish army of 6,000. Despite this victory and others,
27018-404: Was dissolved, resulting in its constituent republics of Armenia , Georgia and Azerbaijan being elevated to Union Republics, while Kazakhstan and Kirghizia were split off from the Russian SFSR, resulting in the same status. In August 1940, Moldavia was formed from parts of Ukraine and Soviet-occupied Bessarabia , and Ukrainian SSR. Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania were also annexed by
27189-413: Was established, and occupied Estonia was merged into Reichskommissariat Ostland , with its economy being subjugated to German military needs. About a thousand Estonian Jews were killed in 1941 and numerous forced labour camps were established. German occupation authorities started recruiting men into volunteer units and limited conscription was instituted in 1943, eventually leading to formation of
27360-425: Was expanded to include the Estonian-speaking areas of Livonia. In November 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power in Estonia, declaring the Provincial Assembly disbanded. In response, the Assembly established the Estonian Salvation Committee , which played a crucial role during the brief period between the Bolshevik retreat and the arrival of German forces . On 23 February 1918 in Pärnu and on 24 February in Tallinn,
27531-587: Was hopeless, the Estonian government complied and, on the next day, the whole country was occupied. The Independent Signal Battalion was the only unit of the Estonian Army to offer armed resistance to occupation. On 6 August 1940, Estonia was formally annexed by the Soviet Union as the Estonian SSR . The USSR established a repressive wartime regime in occupied Estonia, targeting the country's elite for arrest. Soviet repression escalated on 14 June 1941, when approximately 11,000 Estonians were deported to Russia . When Germany launched Operation Barbarossa against
27702-424: Was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers , but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars . The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment,
27873-450: Was not independent of the other branches of government. The Supreme Court supervised the lower courts ( People's Court ) and applied the law as established by the constitution or as interpreted by the Supreme Soviet. The Constitutional Oversight Committee reviewed the constitutionality of laws and acts. The Soviet Union used the inquisitorial system of Roman law , where the judge, procurator , and defence attorney collaborate to "establish
28044-472: Was pervasive, with closed military zones occupying 2% of the country, while entry into coastal areas required special permits, rendering Estonia partially isolated from the outside world. Estonians faced additional hardships, as thousands were forcibly conscripted into Soviet conflicts, including the Soviet–Afghan War and the Chernobyl disaster cleanup. Despite the proximity to Finland, Estonia's standard of living under Soviet rule lagged substantially. Since
28215-433: Was promulgated in 1924 , 1936 and 1977 , did not limit state power. No formal separation of powers existed between the Party, Supreme Soviet and Council of Ministers that represented executive and legislative branches of the government. The system was governed less by statute than by informal conventions, and no settled mechanism of leadership succession existed. Bitter and at times deadly power struggles took place in
28386-430: Was repealed, and the Baltic Special Order was restored under Emperor Paul I . This Baltic Special Order remained largely in effect until the late 19th century, marking a distinctive period of localized governance within the Russian Empire. Serfdom was abolished in 1816–1819, but this initially had little practical effect; major improvements in farmers' rights started with reforms in the mid-19th century. The reopening of
28557-477: Was repeatedly postponed. Formal recognition came when the new Labour Party came to power in 1924. All the other countries followed suit in opening trade relations. Henry Ford opened large-scale business relations with the Soviets in the late 1920s, hoping that it would lead to long-term peace. Finally, in 1933, the United States officially recognized the USSR, a decision backed by the public opinion and especially by US business interests that expected an opening of
28728-482: Was that "the Constitution was written not for you, but for American Negroes, so that they know how happy the lives of Soviet citizens are". Crime was determined not as the infraction of law, instead, it was determined as any action which could threaten the Soviet state and society. For example, a desire to make a profit could be interpreted as a counter-revolutionary activity punishable by death. The liquidation and deportation of millions of peasants in 1928–31
28899-506: Was the Russian responsibility to assist them. The Comintern was the weapon of choice. A few revolutions did break out, but they were quickly suppressed (the longest lasting one was in Hungary)—the Hungarian Soviet Republic —lasted only from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919. The Russian Bolsheviks were in no position to give any help. By 1921, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin realized that capitalism had stabilized itself in Europe and there would not be any widespread revolutions anytime soon. It became
29070-404: Was the first major accident at a civilian nuclear power plant . Unparalleled in the world, it resulted in a large number of radioactive isotopes being released into the atmosphere. Radioactive doses were scattered relatively far. Although long-term effects of the accident were unknown, 4,000 new cases of thyroid cancer which resulted from the accident's contamination were reported at the time of
29241-431: Was the party itself monolithic from top to bottom, although factions were officially banned . The Supreme Soviet (successor of the Congress of Soviets ) was nominally the highest state body for most of the Soviet history, at first acting as a rubber stamp institution, approving and implementing all decisions made by the party. However, its powers and functions were extended in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including
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