History of Estonia

The beginning of human habitation on the territory of the present-day Estonia became possible after the end of the last Ice Age about 11-12 thousand years ago. The site of settlement of Pulli on the River Pärnu, in the neighbourhood of Sindi, which is the oldest we know till now in Estonia, has been found to be 9500 years old. It is impossible to connect the earliest inhabitants on Estonia's territory with any of the known European nations. At the same time, archaeological materials and linguistic studies prove the continuity of the habitation from those days till the present time. About 5000 years ago, a major immigration of the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric tribes into Estonian territory took place; about 800 years later, the ancestors of the Baltic nations arrived in these territories. The earliest inhabitants, as well as the Finno-Ugric tribes made their living by hunting, fishing and gathering. After the arrival of the Baltic tribes in Estonia's territory one can speak already of primitive cattle breeding and agriculture. Settled habitation together with holding land in demesne developed here a bit more than 2000 years ago. Estonians are the northernmost nation, whose main occupation has been agriculture.

Estonians were first introduced to Europe by ancient Romans, who built here up a lively trade. In the epoch of the Vikings (800-1050), closer relations with Scandinavian nations living westwards were developed. In the end of the 1st millennium, Slavonic tribes became the eastern neighbours of Estonians. Step by step, Slavs assimilated the related Finno-Ugric tribes, who had been our eastern neighbours till that time. Besides of peaceful trading, naturally, also looting raids took place, both to and from eastern and western directions. Owing to the balance of forces, Estonians managed to retain their ancient independence. In the middle of the 11th century, the first more serious attempt of Russians to set their foot in these territories was warded off: in 1061, Estonians reconquered the stronghold of Tartu, which Russians had held for three decades.

In the beginning of the 2nd millennium, there was still little differentiation in the Estonian society. The territory of Estonia was divided into more than 10 ancient counties, not connected to each other. The development of state was still in the initial phase. Although Christianity was not unknown in these territories, the major part of the people still practised their ancient faith (heathenism). Peaceful missionary activities, which were started by Germans in the end of the 12th century, developed in the beginning of the 13th century into a war of Christianisation, supported by both the Emperor and the Pope. To Estonians, that war was the ancient struggle for freedom that lasted two decades and ended in 1227 with defeat and surrender. Christianity, forced upon Estonians, joined them with the Christian world of the rest of Europe, however, they had to relinquish both their land and freedom.

The territory of Estonia was divided between the Livonian Order and two bishoprics (Tartu (Dorpat) Bishopric and Saare-Lääne (Ösel-Wik) Bishopric). Northern Estonia belonged, till 1346, to Denmark, which had participated together with Germany in the conquering of Estonia. In Estonia, there developed a social organisation, similar to that in Central Europe: the feudal hierarchy and the urban citizenry entirely consisted of immigrants. Only a very small number of Estonians belonged to the elite of the new society. As the last attempt to win back the lost freedom, the St. George's Night revolt broke out in 1343, however, it was suppressed with the aid of additional forces brought to Estonia.

The geographic location of Estonia on the trade routes between Western Europe and Russia contributed to the rapid development of Estonian cities. Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu and Viljandi were members of the mighty Hanseatic League. The mediaeval Old Town of Tallinn, which has been preserved by time till the present day, was outstanding for its prosperity and wealth already in the Middle Ages.

As in other Nordic countries, the Reformation was welcomed also in Estonia. From the universal Latin world, in which Estonia had been till those times, it now went over to the German culture area. Lutheranism facilitated the development of public education and publishing of books in Estonian. The first book printed in Estonian dates back to the year 1525. The New Testament was first published in Estonian in 1686, the entire Bible, in 1739.

Development in the Baltic region of national states with a strong central government led to a struggle for the dominion over the Baltic Sea. It lasted about three quarters of a century and in addition to Sweden, Denmark and Poland, Russia also participated in it. In 1558, the latter launched the Livonian War, which put an end to the mediaeval statehood in this region. Russia conquered a great part of Estonia's territory, but by the beginning of the 1580s, it was forced by other countries to retreat. Now the struggle was continued between Sweden, which had conquered Northern Estonia, and Poland, which had established its power over Southern Estonia. In 1629, this struggle came to an end and the entire continental part of the territory of Estonia went under the rule of Sweden. The biggest Estonian island, Saaremaa, which Denmark had taken into its possession in the course of the Livonian War, was joined with the possessions of Sweden in 1645.

By historical tradition, the period when Sweden ruled over Estonia has been depicted as a good and happy time. The Reduction (deprivation of the hereditary estates of nobility), carried out in the end of the 17th century, curbed the political and economic rights of the Baltic-German nobility here and improved the living conditions of the peasants. Lutheran Sweden paid great attention to the promotion of education. In 1632, university was founded in Tartu.

In the course of the Northern War (1700-1721), the territory of Estonia was annexed to the Russian Empire. The Baltic provinces retained a special status, the so-called Baltic special regime. Till the 1880s, the German language and legal order were in force here. As in former times, the social stratification parallelled the national division: the upper class consisted, almost without exception, of Baltic Germans, while the peasantry and servants in towns were Estonians. The emancipation process of peasantry started in the Baltic provinces much earlier than in the internal provinces of Russia. In Northern Estonia serfdom was abolished in 1816 and in Southern Estonia, in 1819. Liberal agrarian reforms, carried out in the middle of the 19th century, paved the way to the emergence of small holding of peasants and to the quicker integration of the peasants into market economy. This, naturally, brought about a considerable stratification of the peasantry. In the end of the 19th century, a more rapid industrial development began. Large-scale construction of railways considerably extended the possibilities of communication.

The period of National Awakening, which began in the 1860s, was characterised by founding of numerous cultural and economic societies. In 1869, the first all-Estonian song festival was held in Tartu. Much attention was paid to the development of the public education in the mother tongue. Demands for broader political rights grew more and more daring. The policy of Russification, which began in the 1880s, drove the Baltic Germans out from their previous positions of power in these countries, however, their places were taken now by Russian officials who were sent to the Baltic provinces from internal provinces of Russia. The revolution of 1905 provided the Estonians with wider cultural rights, but not yet with political rights.

The defeat of Russia in World War I and the following economic and political chaos led to the overthrow of the imperial rule in February 1917. The February Revolution guaranteed to Estonia a wide autonomy within the Russian state heading for democracy. For the first time, the entire territory of Estonia was joined together to form a single administrative region, in which the power belonged entirely to the Estonian people. The Communist coup d'état in October the same year put an end to the development of democracy. The weakened Russia, however, could not provide resistance to the invasion of the German troops which already in the autumn of 1917 had occupied the islands of Estonia. In that situation, the national political forces of Estonia declared the secession of Estonia from the Soviet Russia and promulgated on 24 February 1918 the Republic of Estonia.

Germany, which had occupied the territory of Estonia without meeting any resistance, did not recognise the independence of Estonia; it wanted to annex the territories of Latvia and Estonia to Germany. The revolution, which broke out in Germany, and termination of military activities in November 1918 crossed these plans. German occupation troops left Estonia, however, the Red Army began an offensive from the east, with the desire to take the territories that had belonged to Russia back under its control. In the War of Independence, which began in the end of 1918, Estonians managed to defend the independence both against the Red Army attacking from the east and the German Landeswehr, which threatened Estonia from the south. With the Tartu Peace Treaty, signed on 2 February 1920, the Soviet Russia de jure recognised the independence of Estonia.

Estonia between the two World Wars was a democratic state, the political organisation of which was based on the principle of parliamentarism and on political parties. The economy, which till that time had been oriented mainly to Russia, was reoriented to the markets of Western Europe. With a radical land reform, carried out in the beginning of the 1920s, the landed property of Baltic Germans was expropriated and distributed to Estonian peasantry; this had considerably alleviated social tensions. As a Member State of the League of Nations, Estonia strove for neutrality in its foreign policy. Although after the suppression of an extremist movement (the League of Veterans of the Estonian War of Independence) in 1934 the Parliament had been dissolved and a one-party system had been established, before World War II the Parliament was convened again and the course was taken to the restoration of the democratic way of governance.

A secret additional protocol to the non-aggression pact concluded between the Soviet Union and Germany in August 1939 stipulated that Estonia belonged to the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. Immediately after the outbreak of World War II, the Soviet Union demanded the establishment of bases of the Red Army in Estonia. The number of the Soviet soldiers brought to Estonia (25 thousand) exceeded the strength of Estonia's own armed forces. In June 1940, the Soviet Union presented a new ultimatum, in which it requested, by applying military pressure, the replacement of the sitting Government. The then political administration of Estonia did not consider the resistance possible and on 17 June 1940 the Soviet Army occupied the entire territory of Estonia. Some days later, a Soviet-oriented puppet government was placed in office. Estonia was incorporated into the Soviet Union. Stalinist repression policy was immediately started; it culminated with a deportation of more than 10,000 people to Siberia in June 1941. Only the outbreak of war between the Soviet Union and Germany stopped the red terror.

In July-August 1941, Estonia was occupied by the German troops. The Communist regime was replaced by the Nazi regime. Estonians had been recruited to the Red Army, now they were recruited to the German army. A part of those who fled from Estonia joined as volunteers the Finnish army. The defeat of Germany brought about the reoccupation of Estonia by the Red Army in the summer and autumn of 1944. Tens of thousands of Estonians, being afraid of the continuation of the red terror they had had experienced already, left their homes and fled over the Baltic Sea to Sweden.

The years after World War II brought many sufferings to the people. A new mass deportation in 1949 befell more than 20 thousand Estonians. The following establishment of collective farms ruined the agriculture in Estonia. In the beginning of the 1950s, Estonians were driven out from the highest ranks of the Communist government, they were replaced by Russians or Russified Estonians. The extensive development of industry brought about the immigration of hundreds of thousands of Russian-speaking workers and their families. The share of Estonians in the population fell to 62 per cent. In the end of the 1970s, an overt Russification campaign, accompanied with suppression of democratic ideas, was launched.

The reorganisation, which began in the Soviet Union in the middle of the 1980s, found its expression in Estonia in the form of the so-called singing revolution, which was aimed at the restoration of democracy and independence. The gradual separation from the Soviet structures ended on 20 August 1991, when, by using the failure of the coup d'état in Moscow, the independent statehood was restored. The successful monetary reform carried out in June 1992 enabled to begin with the rebuilding of the collapsed economy. In summer 1994, the last occupation troops of the Soviet Union left Estonia.