III.

People of Estonia

The population of Estonia was estimated to be 1,299,371 in 2009, giving the country an average population density of 30 persons per sq km (78 per sq mi). However, the northern portion of the country, where the largest cities are located, is much more densely inhabited than the south.

Estonia is highly urbanized, with 70 percent of the people living in cities or towns. About a third of the total population resides in the capital, Tallinn, on the northern coast. The only significant population concentrations in the south and west are in the cities of Tartu, an important cultural center, and Pärnu, a popular seaside resort. The Russian minority in Estonia is overwhelmingly urban and forms a majority of the population in some northeastern cities, including Narva and Kohtla-Järve. Ethnic Estonians are more evenly distributed throughout the country, and even urban dwellers maintain strong rural ties.

A.

Ethnic Groups

According to the 2000 Estonian census, ethnic Estonians made up 68 percent of the population. They are ethnically and linguistically close to the Finns. Russians are the largest minority group, constituting about a quarter of the population. Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Finns also live in Estonia, but in much smaller numbers. The country’s ethnic composition reflects decades of immigration from elsewhere in the Soviet Union after World War II ended in 1945. The Soviet government recruited large numbers of Russians to work in new Soviet-built factories in Estonia. Before the war, Russians made up only 4 percent of Estonia’s total population, and ethnic Estonians constituted about 90 percent.

After Estonia regained its independence in 1991, only those citizens and their descendants who lived in Estonia before Soviet occupation received automatic citizenship, regardless of ethnicity. Russians, Ukrainians, and others who came to Estonia during Soviet times were slow to pursue citizenship, in part because the citizenship exam required proficiency in the Estonian language. As a result some of the country’s residents, mostly ethnic Russians, were stateless (not citizens of any country). Following protests, the government revised the tests of Estonian language and history required for citizenship, and the number of stateless people in the country dropped. In 1998 Estonia eased its citizenship laws so that children born in the country after February 1992 are eligible for automatic citizenship, regardless of their parents’ status.

B.

Religion

Religious life in Estonia is a mosaic of different faiths and denominations. The church with the largest membership in Lithuania is the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The much smaller Estonian Apostolic-Orthodox Church is next in size. Other Orthodox Christians in Estonia belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. Third in size is the Evangelical Baptist Congregation. Other Christian groups include Methodists and Pentecostals. There are also Muslim and Jewish congregations in the country.

Estonia became Lutheran during the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, but the church administration and most of the pastors remained German until 1918. Religious practice flourished during Estonia’s brief interval of independence from 1918 to 1940. During the Soviet period, religious activity was strongly discouraged and at times banned by the officially atheistic government. However, religious groups managed to covertly survive Soviet rule. In the late 1980s most of the restrictions regarding religion were lifted, stimulating a revival of religious practice.

C.

Language and Education

The official language of the republic is Estonian, which with the Finnish language belongs to the Finno-Ugric languages, a subfamily of the Uralic languages. Estonian was adopted as the official language in 1989 as part of Estonia’s movement toward independence from the Soviet Union. Members of minority ethnic groups tend to speak their own native languages, especially Russian, and in some communities Estonian is rarely heard.

Estonia has an adult literacy rate of nearly 100 percent. The country has several institutions of higher education. The oldest is the University of Tartu, founded in 1632 by Swedish king Gustav II Adolph. Another major university is Tallinn Technical University, founded in 1936.

D.

Culture

In the 19th century an Estonian national movement emerged, and its first aim was the development of a distinctive and modern Estonian culture. A literary tradition began to develop in the early 1800s with the poems of Kristjan Jaak Peterson. In the mid-1800s a national epic poem, Kalevipoeg (Son of Kalev), which incorporated hundreds of Estonian legends and folk tales, was written by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald. The most notable poet of the late 1800s was Lydia Koidula, whose works best represent Estonia’s national awakening.

Estonian culture thrived during the country’s brief period of independence in the first half of the 20th century. The foremost literary figure of this period was the novelist Anton Hansen Tammsaare, who completed his historical saga, Tõde ja õigus (Truth and Justice), in 1933. This five-volume work documented Estonian life from the 1870s to the 1920s. Under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who ruled the USSR from 1922 to 1953, many Estonian writers and intellectuals were persecuted and deported to the Gulags (Soviet concentration camps). Poetry was especially significant during the Soviet period because its indirect meaning was less prone to government censorship.

In the late 1980s writers and other intellectuals were in the vanguard of the Estonian independence movement. Since independence the historical novels of Jaan Kross have won critical acclaim internationally, making him one of Estonia’s most translated writers. His novels, which explore the moral dilemmas faced by succeeding generations of Estonians, include Keisri hull (1978; The Czar’s Madman, 1992) and Paigallend (1998; Treading Air, 2002). The works of poet and essayist Jaan Kaplinski have also gained international recognition.

Folk songs are an important part of Estonian culture. During the Soviet period many signs of national culture, such as the Estonian national anthem and other songs, were suppressed. The song My Fatherland Is My Love, based on a poem by Koidula and music by composer and conductor Gustav Ernesaks, became the de facto anthem. Estonia’s independence movement was known as the Singing Revolution because huge song festivals were held in which previously banned songs were again publicly heard.

Cultural events in Estonia include numerous song festivals, which involve the periodic assembly of choruses from all over the country for performances in Tartu or Tallinn. The Estonian National Opera, the Estonian Drama Theatre, and the Estonian National Ballet are based in Tallinn. Symphony orchestras perform at the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn. Museums include the Estonian Museum of Art and the Estonian History Museum, both located in the capital, and the Estonian National Museum, established in 1909 in Tartu.

Spectator sports such as basketball, ice hockey, and soccer are very popular in Estonia. In 1992 Estonia participated in the Olympic Games for the first time since 1936. Estonians enjoy leisure activities such as horseback riding, cross-country skiing, birdwatching, and boating.