12 questions about Estonia by Estonian Institute

12 questions about

Estonia

12 questions about Estonia Is Estonia the smallest country in the world? Is the Estonian national anthem on loan? Do Estonians speak at all? Do Estonians eat anything besides bread? Why don’t Estonians cry wolf? Does it rain iron in Estonia? What puts food on the Estonians’ tables? How old is Estonia? How many countries fit into Estonia? Do Estonians dream of electric sheep? Where do Estonians disappear to for the summer? Why do they do everything together if they just want to be alone?

Photo by Jaanus Siim

Eesti Vabariik – Republic of Estonia DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: 24 February 1918

POPULATION: 1,315,635

GOVERNMENT: parliamentary democracy

MAIN ETHNIC GROUPS: Estonians 69%, Russians 25%

HIGHEST JUDICIAL AUTHORITY: Supreme Court

AREA: 45,339 km2

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Estonian

CAPITAL: Tallinn

MEMBER OF: UN (since 17 September 1991) NATO (since 29 March 2004) EU (since 1 May 2004)

LARGER CITIES: Tartu, Narva, Pärnu, Kohtla-Järve ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: 15 CURRENCY: Euro

finland

sweden estonia

russia

latvia lithuania belarus poland europe

Is Estonia the smallest country in the world? Of course not. With its slightly less than 45,000 km² territory, Estonia is bigger than Denmark, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, almost twice the size of Israel, and only a little smaller than New Hampshire and Massachusetts put together. Estonia, which is located in Northern Europe by the Baltic Sea, stretches 350 km from east to west and 240 km from north to south. Estonia’s neighbours are Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia. Lakes make up about a twentieth of the country’s territory and islands about a tenth.

account of Estonians originates from classical authors: the Greek explorer Pytheas mentions ‘ostiatoi’ around 320 before the Common Era, followed by the Roman historian Tacitus, who writes about the amber-rich ‘aesti’ at the end of the first century in the Common Era.

The first humans arrived in Estonia at the end of the last Ice Age, some 11,000 years ago. Although some words from their language, such as the name of the largest Estonian lake, Peipsi, have allegedly survived, it is not known what they called themselves or the land they inhabited. What can be taken as the first

All in all, Estonia boasts 2,222 islands and islets. Estonia covers 0.03% of Earth’s land area. With regards to population, Estonia, with its 1,340,000 people, most definitely belongs to the smallest states in the world. In contrast with densely populated central Europe, Estonians have plenty of space; Estonia has an average density of 30.3

70%

OF POPULATION

30%

OF POPULATION

Next to the capital, the largest cities are university town Tartu (approximately 103,000 people), the industrial centre of northeastern Estonia Narva (66,000), and the seaside resort on the southwestern coast, or the ‘summer capital of Estonia’, Pärnu (44,000). Russians are the largest minority in Estonia, making

up almost a quarter of the overall population. Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Finns represent less than 2%. The nearest major city to Tallinn is the Finnish capital Helsinki, which is located only 85 km across the Gulf of Finland. Latvian capital Riga is 307 km south as the crow flies, ‘the northern capital’ of Russia, St Petersburg is 395 km to the east, and the Swedish capital Stockholm lies 405 km to the west.

Photo by Martin Dremljuga

people per km², which is four times smaller than the EU average. In fact, Estonian rural areas are even more spacious as almost 70% of the population dwells in cities, and almost a third (a little over 400,000) of those live in the capital Tallinn.

Is the Estonian national anthem on loan? Well, in a way, yes. The Estonian national anthem Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm (My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy) actually shares its melody with the Finnish national anthem. The tune was created by German-Finnish composer Friedrich Pacius in 1848, and it became widely popular in the northern European countries. One of the leaders of the Estonian national awakening period, Johann Voldemar Jannsen, wrote the Estonian lyrics to the melody, and it was first publicly performed at the first all-Estonian Song Festival in 1869. After the First World War and becoming independent, both Estonia and Finland started using the song as their national anthem, because it had grown into a symbol of national culture in both countries. During the Soviet occupation, the FinnishEstonian anthem brotherhood took on a new meaning. When a Finnish dignitary visited Estonia, the Finnish anthem was played, of course. Estonians got to watch as all the Soviet state officials had to stand up with respect for the Finnish anthem, which in reality was also the forbidden pre-occupation Estonian anthem. Music has played a crucial role at many turning points in Estonian history. The birth of the Estonian Song Festival tradition is tightly intertwined with the Estonian Age of Awakening (Estonian: Ärkamisaeg), a period in history where Estonians came to acknowledge themselves as a nation deserving the right to govern themselves. This period is considered to begin in the 1850s with greater rights being granted to peasants and to end with the declaration of the Republic of Estonia in 1918. In 2008, the Estonian Song and Dance Celebration was entered into 8

the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The choral singing tradition also played an important role in Estonia regaining independence in 1991. The non-violent Singing Revolution got its name from tens of thousands of Estonians coming together and singing patriotic songs as an act of defiance. Many hit songs from the Singing Revolution used folk song motives. The Singing Revolution soon expanded over the Baltic States and led to the Baltic Way – a unique peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres (419.7 mi) across the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Folk traditions have always found their way into almost all genres of music in Estonia. Estonian contemporary music artists often use folk motifs in their songs, keeping traditions alive for younger audiences as well. Folk music has also provided artists a way of preserving the Estonian culture and worldview despite censorship during the Soviet occupation. The composer Veljo Tormis is known for his choral compositions based on Finno-Ugric mythology. The Estonian folk poetry collection is 1.3 million pages long. Tormis’ most well-known composition outside Estonia ‘Curse Upon Iron’ (Raua needmine,1972) constructs an allegory about the evils of war using

The shared tune of the Estonian and Finnish anthems

shamanistic traditions. And Arvo Pärt, one of the world’s most performed contemporary classical composers, wrote some of his best-known pieces ‘Fratres’, ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’, ‘Tabula Rasa’ and ‘Für Alina’ during the 1970s in occupied Estonia.

tradition, but it evolved into something unique – a true celebration of singing, involving over 30,000 choral singers. Perhaps Estonians have found the secret to keeping one’s uniqueness in the globalising world?

The loans and influences found in Estonian culture show that conflict nourishes creativity. Among fellow Europeans, Estonians have dwelt in the same place the longest – for 11,000 years. The Estonian language and culture include influences from all the nationalities that have ruled over the country: Germans, Swedes, Danes, Poles, and Russians. The biggest influencers have been the Baltic Germans. Even the Estonian Song Festival originally followed the German choir singing 9

The Tallinn Song Festival Grounds where everything takes place under the caring watch of the beloved conductor Gustav Ernesaks (1908–1993), who most of all, loved to be among his people. Sculpture by Ekke Väli and Vello Lillemets.

Photo by Aron Urb

Do Estonians speak at all? Sometimes, yes, they do. Although, one might say that even when they are silent, they are silent in Estonian. As is common for a small nation, Estonians’ self-identity is strongly tied to their language. Every word in Estonian is dear to them, and their folk tradition invites them to be careful with words: ‘Leave the last word unspoken’, and ‘Talking is silver, quietude is gold’. These are but a couple of examples of folk wisdom that recommend staying schtum, situation permitting. Estonians are indeed regarded as having quite a reserved nature. Guests from abroad might notice that Estonians usually try to avoid sentimentality in their relationships. Things that somewhere else might be said straight out in someone’s face would only come up in Estonia once those concerned know each other through and through. Small talk is an art Estonians are only just learning,

and it might never take root here. Estonian as a mother tongue is today spoken by a little over 1 million people, about 900,000 of whom live in Estonia. This is approximately eight times less than the population of London, and three times less than that of Berlin. Estonian is also used daily by a couple of hundred thousand people who do not speak it as their first language. Estonian is spoken by about 100,000 expatriates and their offspring in Finland, Sweden, Canada, USA, Australia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Unlike most other European languages, which are Indo-European (e.g. Germanic, Slavic, and Romance languages, and even Celtic, Greek and Albanian), Estonian belongs to the Finno-Ugric languages (Baltic-Finnic languages), which are the largest branch of the Uralic languages.

Here is a little example of differences and similarities between the Estonian language and its linguistic relations and neighbours: Estonian

English

Finnish

Hungarian Latvian

Russian

Swedish

üks

one

yksi

egy

viens

Odin

kaks

two

kaksi

kettő

divi

Dva

två

viis

five

viisi

öt

pieci

Pjat

fem

käsi

hand

käsi

kéz

roka

Ruka

hand

veri

blood

veri

vér

asinis

Krov

blod

vesi

water

vesi

víz

ūdens

Voda

vatten

Estonians’ passion for vowels is evident in the phrase ‘working night of lunar researcher on the edge of ice’.

In addition to Estonian, around thirty languages belong to this language family, the largest of which are Hungarian and Finnish. Finnish and Estonian, languages spoken on opposite shores of the Gulf of Finland, are close linguistic relatives, kind of like Italian and Spanish, or German and Dutch. Northern Estonians are in general able to understand simple Finnish, as many of them have grown up watching Finnish TV, which even penetrated the Iron Curtain. Estonian oral traditions stretch back a few thousand years, converging upon the ‘runo song’, with its unique rhythm and repetition-based lyrics. However, written Estonian started taking shape during the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. Initially, Estonians considered the ability to read pointless, and the clergy seriously struggled to teach them. Quite often the students needed to be coaxed with the promise of treats. Sometimes even that did not do the trick – whole families would run to the forest to escape the teacher. Nevertheless, in time Estonians fell in love with reading, and the love story continues today. According to an international survey conducted in 2018,

Estonians are the biggest book lovers in the world. An average Estonian household has 218 books (in comparison, an average French household has 117 books). Grammatically, Estonian is quite remarkable: its 14 noun cases and lack of articles, genders and the future tense are but a few idiosyncrasies that differentiate Estonian from the Indo-European languages prevalent in Europe. Still, these differences are probably one of the reasons Estonian has survived and developed into a modern literary language containing specialist vocabularies of many fields. It is also one of the official languages of the EU. To emphasise the importance of the Estonian language as a marker of national identity, in 2007, the constitutional committee of the Parliament of Estonia decided to amend the preamble of the Estonian constitution to guarantee the preservation of the Estonian language (along with the Estonian nation and culture) through the ages. Keeping this rare language alive is also the Estonians’ contribution to cultural diversity in the world.

Do Estonians eat anything besides bread? Yes, actually they do. Although bread, especially black bread or rye bread, is central not only to Estonians’ diet, but their world view. Many Estonian food-related customs and proverbs also respect bread: ‘Bread is older than we are’, they maintain, and instead of ‘bon appétit’ they sometimes still say ‘May your bread last!’ because you can never be sure that it will. The Estonian sense of humour is also often said to be as black as their bread. Estonia is a northern country, and this shows in their cuisine, eating habits, ingredients, cooking methods, etc. In general, Estonians tend to be closer to nature than the average European, and the rhythm of Estonian life is shaped by the great seasonal variations. Mushroom and berry picking in the autumn are still a real thing for Estonians; it’s a hobby, therapy and necessity all in one. And almost every Estonian knows a couple of good mushroom or berry groves where their family has gone picking for generations. Estonia, as any seaside country, has also always honoured fishing. The sea, lake and river fish of the region have helped to provide livelihood for centuries, when crops have failed because of unruly weather or other problems. Fishing is a field of sports for many, but for some, it provides an opportunity to spend time with friends or one’s own thoughts in nature. Any self-respecting restaurant in Estonia offers at least one fish dish. An average Estonian eats about 10 kilograms of fish per year. Fish has been and is an integral part of the Estonian cuisine. Mulgipuder – potatoes and groats mash – is probably the most peasanty 14

Estonian food you could find these days. In the past, it was only served on important holidays at peasants’ kitchen tables, but these days it is no longer associated with celebrations and is served without any specific occasion. Then there is potato salad, which is a classical birthday dish. Estonian celebratory foods also include blood sausage, pork roast, sauerkraut and, of course, potatoes at Christmas. Shrove Tuesday is usually celebrated by eating pea soup and Shrovetide buns. On Estonian Independence Day, 24 February, people enjoy sprat and egg open sandwiches. Last but not least there is kama – a mixture of roasted barley, rye, oat and pea flour that can be used for several purposes. Nowadays, it is used for making sweet dairy desserts with a sour touch that often involve forest berries, but is mostly enjoyed for breakfast mixed with milk, buttermilk or kefir as mush. It is frequently sweetened with sugar and blueberry or more rarely with other fruits or honey or served unsweetened. The art of beer brewing is also an important tradition for Estonians, especially among islanders off the western coast. Every self-respecting family used to brew their own beer for special occasions like Christmas or weddings. Today, more and more small craft beer producers are renewing the taste nuances of this drink. The Estonian climate probably brought about the need to stock up for winter and the marinating or fermenting all kinds of foodstuffs: cucumbers, pumpkins, cabbage, milk, fish, mushrooms, etc. It is a ubiquitous tradition among Estonians. Estonians also

Estonians like clean food and many of them try to grow at least some of their food themselves. In the countryside, many of them have their own vegetable patches, but city gardening is becoming increasingly popular as it adds greenery to the city landscape and gives city dwellers the chance to cultivate their own crops and remain grounded.

Photo by Aron Urb

love their sour rhubarb. As children, they like to dip it in sugar, crunch it and laugh at each other’s contorted faces as the acid hits the taste buds. Thus, rhubarb is a great mood enhancer for Estonians. Estonians use rhubarb in cakes, sweet soups, of course jam, and in sparkling wine, with local rhubarb sparkling wine being one of the most popular summer drinks.

Photo by Birgit Vaarandi

Why don’t Estonians cry wolf? Wolves have lived in Estonia at least as long as humans, and Estonia folklore about wolves is very diverse and abundant, overshadowing other wildlife, including the bear. People have always feared the wolf but also admired and respected it. And all of that with good reason; the wolf was the main threat to cattle and even to children. Therefore, wolves have many by names in the Estonian language. Back in the day, people preferred to use euphemisms when talking about wolves, hoping that this way they would not show up. Currently, out of 200,000 wolves in the world, approximately 200 live in Estonia. Estonian bogs and larger forests have often been called wolf lands. In 2018, the wolf was named the Estonian national animal. There are many reasons for that: the wolf symbolises wild, untouched nature. The wolf is also very resilient, supple, and extremely clever. The wolf is a survivor and a brave defender of its family in the face of other wolves. The wolf is a universal indicator species: they measure the health of the forest. The wolf reflects the Estonians’ understanding of nature as a whole. When we understand the wolf’s position in the forest, we understand how nature functions. And those that understand nature understand themselves, naturally. Forests are an important landscape with regard to the Estonian psyche. Estonian forests belong to the mixed forest zone, and Estonia is still one of the most forested countries in the world. Prior to Christianisation, sacred rituals took place in the forest in sacred groves, where people 1

communicated with the spirits of nature. And they say that if Lithuanians were the last pagans of Europe, then Estonians were the last savages¹ of Europe. Perhaps in their heart they still are. In addition to wolves, Estonian forests are homes to brown bears, lynxes, and smaller mammals and birds, of course. Ornithologists say that the Estonian bird population is becoming increasingly interesting and diverse, and to hear that for yourself, Estonians have developed an app which helps to identify different wild birds by their song. The Estonian climate is mainly influenced by the sea. Thanks to the Baltic Sea, which surrounds Estonia in the North, West, and South, and the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean, the climate here is considerably milder than in some eastern continental regions. They say that living by the sea makes you more forbearing, as you witness the moods and changes of the sea daily and learn to respect them in order to put food on the table and stay true to yourself. Estonians have had plenty of time to practice that throughout history. A different kind of experience are Estonian swamps and bogs, which cover approximately 5% of the country’s territory; their beauty can be enjoyed by taking walks on plankways that criss-cross them. Due to Estonia’s northern location, the seasons as well as light and dark periods are starkly contrasted. While the shortest winter day lasts barely six hours, the

Savage = ‘metslane’ in Estonian, from the root ‘mets’, which means ‘forest’.

longest summer day goes on for 18 hours. The summertime twilight also considerably shortens the nighttime, and therefore southerners might find it rather difficult to get good shut-eye here from May till the end of July. This time is not easy on Estonians, either: there is so much to do, it would be a shame to waste the precious light!

However, no Estonian can imagine a completely snowless winter. Nor can they picture a summer without at least two weeks of intolerable heat. By the by, it is advisable to try to wear your summer wardrobe within the next couple of hundred years, because considering that intervals between ice ages are usually about 12,000 years, we might do well to remember that the last one started about 11,400 years ago.

In accordance with the temperate zone, there are four seasons in Estonia. In addition, you can also experience the fifth season at Soomaa National Park, which is how the springtime thaw period that often floods the region, is sometimes referred to. Water levels can be five metres higher than normal and can rise by a metre per day. The average annual temperature in Estonia is +5°C or a little higher. The coldest month is usually February, when the average temperature is -5°C. The average temperature in winter months is between -4 and -5°C. July is considered the hottest month, with temperatures averaging +18°C. Nowadays, we increasingly experience winters with no permanent snow cover.

Photo by Sven Zacek

Does it rain iron in Estonia? Estonia, having been the meteorites’ favourite target through ages, is one of the most densely meteorite crater-covered regions in the world.

The best known of them is located in Saaremaa, in Kaali, where the heavenly iron fell between 1530–1450 B.C. The last of the known cosmic bodies to hit a heavily populated area caused destruction comparable to a small atom bomb. The damage spread over kilometres from the explosion site. The largest meteorite site at Kaali measures 110 m in diameter and 22 m in depth. Some suggest that the image of ‘the sun’ hurtling towards the earth like a gigantic fireball might have left lasting impressions on the inhabitants of the North and found a place in the folklore of the region. Scientists and cultural researchers have studied Kaali meteorite’s appearances in folklore. A few possible examples include the ancient people of Saaremaa’s war god Tharapita flying from Ebavere mountain to Saaremaa, and even the ancient Scandinavian god Thor arriving from the East, or the story of the death of Phaeton, the son of ancient Greek sun god Helios. The first president of the re-independent Estonia Lennart Meri has theorised that 22

Saaremaa could have been described by Pytheas of Massalia in the fourth century B.C. as the northernmost place in the world – Ultima Thule – the place where the sun goes to rest. The dramatic fall of the meteorite indeed could have been interpreted as the sun falling from the sky and ‘going to bed’. The more distant Estonian history is known to us through primarily archaeology and, for example, linguistics. The first in-depth written documents about Estonian history date from the Christianisation period in the thirteenth century, and they were documented by Christian chroniclers. Although the crusaders were in the habit of referring to the locals as pagans and savages, by the time of Christianisation, Estonia had its own system of villages and fortresses. Power had already concentrated into the hands of a narrow elite, iron was being produced in large quantities, and local folk had firm contacts with neighbouring peoples. The inhabitants of Saaremaa were especially known as seafarers and merchants, and akin to

Estonian territories belonged to German, Danish, Swedish, Polish, and Russian rulers.

In turn, we also know from earlier Viking history that the Vikings made pillage trips to Estonian territory. Some important trade routes went through here, helping the Vikings branch out towards the east to today’s Russia.

And yet Estonians kept their language and culture through all that. Another testament to Estonians’ resilience is perhaps the fact that today, Estonians are some of the most non-religious people in the world. Only a quarter of the population claims to be religious (most of them Lutherans or Russian Orthodox). However, this does not mean that Estonians are purely atheists or agnostics. It is the organised, church-driven religion that seems alien to them; on a personal level, Estonians’ beliefs are often linked to nature, spirituality, or folk tradition.

The Christianisation of Estonian territories started in the 1180s, and by the end of the century, it had turned into a holy war. All Estonians were defeated by 1227, Saaremaa was the last to fall. It took Estonia almost seven hundred years from then to become an independent state. In the meantime,

Photo by Margus Vilisoo

the Vikings, they organised pillage trips to areas surrounding the Baltic Sea.

Long Hermann

Tallinn

Lady in White

Surf Paradise

Kärdla

Haapsalu

HIIUMAA

Rapla

RAPLAMAA

LÄÄNEMAA

Raft houses

PÄRNUMAA Pärnu Beach Kaali crater

SAAREMAA Kuressaare

Pärnu

Käsmu Captains´ village Narva Jõesuu promenade

Rakvere

HARJUMAA Tuhala Witch's Well

Narva

IDA-VIRUMAA

Rakvere Castle

Estonian Mining Museum

LÄÄNEVIRUMAA Heart of Estonia

Paide

Jõgeva

JÄRVAMAA

Capital of cold

JÕGEVAMAA VILJANDIMAA

The Onion Route University of Tartu

Viljandi

Tartu

RUSSIA

TARTUMAA Mushroom forests

Viljandi Folk Music Festival

Põlva

VALGAMAA

PÕLVAMAA Võru

Twin towns

Valka LATVIA

Valga

VÕRUMAA Suur Munamägi 317m

Värska mineral water

What puts food on the Estonians’ tables? From time immemorial, Estonia has been on the crossroads of trade routes, connecting East and West, Russia and Europe. In medieval times, people used to say that the Estonian towns of the Hanseatic League had been built on salt – the most important commodity of the time, transported from Western Europe through Estonia to Russia, Sweden, and Finland. Trade with our closest neighbours is also important today. Export of goods and services makes up over three quarters of Estonia’s national GDP. Estonia’s main trade partners are Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia, and Germany. The economy in northern Estonia is concentrated in the capital Tallinn, where a third of the country’s population lives. In the South, it centres around university city Tartu. Because over 70% of Estonians live in cities, agriculture has lost its earlier central position in the economy. In the olden days, principal exports used to be grain dried in thrashing barns (famous for long shelf life), beeswax, and later also bacon and butter. The main airport, railway station, and one of the biggest trade ports on the Baltic Sea are in Tallinn. Tallinn’s medieval old town is also a big tourist attraction. Most Estonian people work in the industrial sector. Important employers are metal, electronics, and timber industries. For example, Estonia is one of the most successful wooden house manufacturers in Europe. Ninety per cent of the wooden houses built are exported, mainly to Norway, Germany, and the UK. More than half of Estonia’s territory is covered by forests. Forest management is vital to Estonians not only economically; it is also an environmental and cultural hot topic. 26

Other important economic spheres are retail, wholesale trade, food production, logistics, and real estate. The public sector is also a big employer. The fastest growing economic field of the past decade is the IT sector. Estonia boasts more successful start-up companies per capita than any other European country. Skype, Transferwise, Bolt, Starship Technologies, and Pipedrive were all born in Estonia. Even more traditional industries are using clever and innovative IT solutions. Most Estonian people work in small and medium-sized enterprises, which makes the Estonian economy flexible and adaptable. Thanks to e-services, starting a company is easy. It is also light on bureaucracy; it takes three hours to start a new company online, and filing taxes takes just a few minutes. About 1% of Estonians work in a start-up.

Photo by Renee Altrov

Car-free avenue in Tartu, European Capital of Culture 2024. University of Tartu (est.1632) belongs to the top 1.2% of world’s best universities.

Photo by Maanus Kullamaa

How old is Estonia? Estonians have lived on these Baltic Sea shores for the past 11,000 years, but their own state was declared in 1918. Following the Christianisation of the local tribes in the thirteenth century, Estonia, or parts of it, has belonged to Danish, Swedish, and Polish Crowns, and to Russian tsars. The Republic of Estonia was first declared on February 24, 1918. It became fastened during the War of Independence in 1920, when the peace Treaty of Tartu between Soviet Russia and Estonia was signed and Estonia was internationally recognised. The same year the first constitution of Estonia was also accepted. It bestowed sizeable power into the hands of the parliament. After just two decades of independence, during which the country flourished, Estonia was annexed by the USSR in 1940 following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which with its Secret Protocol defined the spheres of influence of both countries in the Second World War. Following the Singing Revolution at the end of the 1980s and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonian statehood was restored on the basis of de jure continuity in 1991. In 2004, Estonia joined both the European Union and NATO. Even though Estonians have never had a king from their own midst, the Estonian coat of arms is of royal descent: the three lions motif dates from the thirteenth century, when the king of Denmark, Valdemar II, donated a similar coat of arms to the city of Tallinn. Despite the arguments against arms of strange royal origins, or calls for inclusion of the southern Estonian griffin on the coat of arms, the three lions were declared the Arms of Estonia in 1925. 30

The Estonian blue-black-white national flag dates from the nineteenth century. Estonian students at the University of Tartu had chosen those colours for the flag of their fraternity, and pretty soon, most Estonians had accepted it as theirs. By the beginning of the twentieth century, it had become a national symbol. As is common in parliamentary systems, the legislature and the executive are closely entwined in Estonian politics. Every four years, Estonian citizens elect a unicameral parliament of 101 people called the ‘Riigikogu’, which makes

The president, ‘Vabariigi President’, is the head of state in Estonia. Akin to European constitutional monarchies, and in contrast with, for example, the presidents of the United States or France, the role of the Estonian president is mainly ceremonial and representative; in day-to-day politics, they are primarily advisers and commentators. Local matters are dealt with by town and parish councils who are elected every four years. Every permanent resident of Estonia who is at least 16 years old can participate at local elections.

The most important national holiday for Estonians is February 24 – Estonian Independence Day – which marks the anniversary of the declaration of independence in 1918. The celebration starts with people gathering to witness the hoisting of the national flag at the Pikk Hermann tower at dawn. It continues with the Defence Forces parade and ends with the Independence Day reception hosted by the President of Estonia. The hand shaking ceremony during which the President welcomes guests preceding the ball, lasts several hours and is broadcast on national television. Many Estonians consider it essential viewing. It is popularly known as the Penguin Parade thanks to the black tie attire of the male guests. The evening is concluded with a celebratory concert.

Photo by Aron Urb

laws, decides on taxes, and compiles a budget. The government, led by the prime minister, is the highest executive in the country, and it decides the state’s internal and external policies and runs the work of government departments.

“Estonia returns”. Campaign for the first presidential elections in Estonia in 1992 after regaining independence in 1991.

Photo by Peeter Langovits

How many countries fit into Estonia? From a distance, Estonia looks like a tiny dot on the globe, but when you take a closer look, every corner of Estonia hides its own culture and way of life. Moving from northern Estonia southwards, you will notice the landscape changing. There are roosters above crosses atop church towers, black-and-white cattle become replaced by russet bovids. Estonians’ language changes, too, and their world view with it, in some people’s opinion.

The southern part of Viljandi County is called Mulgimaa, and its inhabitants are ‘Mulks’. They have always been considered wealthy and entrepreneurial, but also arrogant and miserly. Despite their arrogance, or perhaps thanks to their stubbornness, the Mulks played an important role in shaping the Estonian selfawareness and later on in the creation of the nation state. Today, the county capital Viljandi, with its Culture Academy, is at the centre of Estonian folk tradition; every year in July, the biggest folk music festival

Photo by Aron Urb

Differences between the North and South are apparent also in their capitals – the maritime Tallinn and the inland Tartu. Visitors to the latter will no doubt hear about ‘the Spirit of Tartu’, the essence of which is supposedly incomprehensible to the pragmatic capital city slickers. People from Tallinn

might on the other hand make fun of the self-complacent academia of Tartu.

Four parishes in the farther corners of southeastern Estonia together with a few border regions in Russia make up Setomaa. Even though they are Russian Orthodox, the Seto people still keep alive old pagan customs and beliefs such as honouring their ancestors by bringing food to their graves. On the shore of Europe’s fourth largest lake, Lake Peipus, there lives a community of Old Believers, who are known as great fishermen and onion growers. Driving along their village roads laced with colourful

houses, you can see onion braids for sale hanging on doors. In the east, right on the Estonian-Russian border, there is the former great industrial and Hanseatic town Narva. Nowadays, the mostly Russianspeaking bordertown hosts a college of the University of Tartu and of The Estonian Academy of Security Sciences. In recent years, more and more cultural life is finding its way there, due to the opening of a contemporary performing arts centre and international music festivals taking place in the region. The nearby resort town Narva-Jõesuu, with its sprawling sandy beaches, is also a big draw for visitors. Western Estonia boasts many different islands. Estonia’s largest island Saaremaa has throughout history been associated with maritime activities; both ancient Viking ships and treasures have been discovered there. The small island Kihnu, with its 700 inhabitants, belongs to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity thanks to its music, garments, language, and handicrafts.

Photo by Ingmar Muusikus

in Estonia takes place there. One of the most unique places in Estonia is definitely southeastern Estonia, or Võrumaa, which is decidedly different from the northern Estonian flatlands, boasting numerous lakes and a hilly landscape. The language of the people living there differs from standard Estonian enough to justify its status as a unique language in its own right. The Võro people have plenty of reasons to be proud of their culture – from the written Võro language having set rules to the creation of multiple neologisms and offering school education in the Võro language.

Do Estonians dream of electric sheep? They might do, indeed, as Estonia is first and foremost known as a successful digital society where public life and everyday activities have moved to the internet. Next to ordinary citizens, Estonia is also inhabited by thousands of e-residents, many of whom have never set foot on Estonian soil.

It is not by accident that one of the first e-services was the e-Tax. The young state needed to fill its coffers to support a developing society. Thereafter, other services moved to the internet, where they were made to link up and communicate with each other through the X-Road® based software solution ‘X-tee’. A significant milestone was the appearance of the ID card in 2002, which provided every Estonian with a digital identity.

Photo by Starship Technologies

However, Estonians have never dreamed of building a futuristic techno-utopia. They are too down to earth for that; rather, their choices have stemmed from the need for clever solutions where resources are lacking. You can bet your bottom dollar that during the cowboy capitalist 1990s, it was not the electric sheep Estonians dreamed of, but rather about catching up to Western welfare societies (and, of course, about leather couches and stereo systems with extra bass and used BMWs and a better life in general).

Today, it is quite difficult to find a public service that does not include the prefix ‘e-’: prescriptions, driver’s license, education, paying taxes, creating and managing companies, signing documents, voting at local and general elections, etc. In 2005, Estonia became the first country in the world where e-voting was used at general elections. Well, to get married you still have to go to the marriage registration office in person. Some decisions require raising the eyes off the screen. One of the reasons behind Estonia’s IT success is the fact that the Singing Revolution that led to the Restoration of Independence had both people of the arts and software engineering backgrounds at the helm. This meant that in the beginning, the state’s top officials included people who could understand and implement innovative IT solutions. This actually brings the roots of Estonia’s digital revolution back to the Soviet Union in the 1960s, when the Institute of Cybernetics was established at Tallinn University of Technology. Without knowledge, no important changes occur in society.

Even after re-independence, education has played a central role in change within Estonia. The Tiger Leap (Tiigrihüpe) educational programme of the 1990s prioritised computer studies and English, and thus gave many people the basics of computer usage. Later on, Estonians have not neglected education. In recent years, Estonian teens keep ranking highly among Europeans according to the OECD’s PISA testing. Estonia is sharing its experience in building its e-state with other countries from Asia to Africa. E-Estonia’s Briefing Centre and e-Governance Academy welcome hundreds of delegations annually. One of the most important lessons to learn is that technology is useful when it is not an end in itself but helps people and communities function better and becomes a natural part of life. Estonians often only appreciate the benefits of their e-state when they have to deal with bureaucracy abroad.

Where do Estonians disappear to for the summer? A couple of days after the summer solstice, on 23 June, Estonian cities empty of people. Those that can go to the country to celebrate one of the most important feasts for Estonians, jaanipäev (St John’s Day). Jaaniöö (St John’s Night) marks the brightest time of the year – when darkness only lasts a couple of hours, and people light large bonfires, dance and sing around them, often all night long.

Estonians enjoy spending time outdoors in general. Almost a quarter of Estonia’s territory is classified as nature reserves. People like to hike in the woods and bogs but also pick mushrooms and berries. One of the biggest bestsellers of the past decade is a book on the Estonians’ relationship with the forest. Bumping into each other in summer, Estonians invariably ask where and when

But simply spending weekends or holidays in the country is also a very Estonian thing to do. In their summer homes Estonians hoe, weed, create vegetable and flower beds, grow herbs, build, and then, if there is some time left over, relax. Time in the country often includes going to sauna. The smoke sauna tradition in Võromaa is included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

the other has gone swimming lately. Because having gone swimming proves that summer has not been wasted. The Estonian summer is not the longest, but the coast boasts kilometres of sandy beaches, and then there are all the rivers and lakes. Winter swimming is gaining popularity too, by the way. The rest of the year Estonians consume culture. Similarly to other northern European countries with long winters and rainy autumns, the consumption of culture is high in Estonia. The population of 1.3 million manage to visit museums 3.4 million times a year, while 3.5 million visits are made to the cinema, 2 million to concerts, and 1.2 million to theatres. Estonians are the leading theatregoers in the world. Next to jaanipäev, jõulud (yuletide, or Scandinavian ‘jule’) is the most important holiday for Estonians; it is celebrated during the darkest time of the year just after winter solstice. The name ‘jõulud’ alludes to the pre-Christian roots of this tradition. Nowadays, jõulud is primarily a family-centred holiday. People decorate their Christmas trees on 24 December, have a festive meal, and wait for Santa Claus or elves to arrive with a Santa sack. Other old holidays are also celebrated – in February or March, for example, even the grown-ups use Shrove Tuesday as an excuse to go sleighing downhill with the kids. Many regions of the world mark the beginning of the darkest time of year in October-November; the Mexicans have the Day of the Dead and Americans have Halloween. For Estonians, the time for spirits is kicked off by All Souls’ Day on 2 November, which is a quiet holiday, as people remember their ancestors that have passed on. Usually they light candles, go to the cemetery, and in the olden days, they also left food on graves for the dead. The quiet day of spirits is followed by not one but two carnivals – Martinmas (mardipäev) and St. Catherine’s Day

(kadripäev). Martinmas is on 10 November, and on that day’s eve, people dress up and go around from door to door singing and reciting verses. Estonian folklorists have considered this holiday the old Estonians’ end of year celebration. Up until the beginning of the twentieth century, it was mostly young men who went out as ‘Marts’, and so this holiday has been associated with the young men’s initiation rituals: their acceptance into manhood. As the tradition is long-running, the Martinmas customs have changed and include many new elements. St. Catherine’s Day, which takes place on 25 November, has been viewed as the young girls’ initiation ritual. On that day, ‘kadrisandid’ (‘Kadris’, or ‘Catherines’) go from door to door. They have always worn white, beautiful clothes, and regardless of their gender, people always dress up as women. Both Marts and Kadris supposedly brought luck and wealth to the families they visited as long as they were welcomed and treated well. Today, mostly children practice these customs. In cities this tradition is dying; it is difficult to get into large tenement buildings. However, on dark November evenings in the suburbs, it is quite common to spot some funny-looking, laughing Kadris and Marts galloping down the streets. 39

Photo by Liisa-Lota Kaivo

Why do they do everything together if they just want to be alone? So, Estonians are quiet and reserved, preferring to be on their own and do their own thing, right? Actually, it often happens that when they do something, it is with other people. Fifty thousand Estonians came together in May 2008 – that’s 4% of the population (it would be about 15.4 million Americans) – to clean. Over ten tonnes of rubbish was picked up from forests and roadsides, work that would normally take many years and millions of euros, got done in a few hours. The Teeme ära (Let’s Do It) collective cleaning initiative started to grow every year and spread outside Estonia to Latvia, India, Slovenia, Ukraine, and many other countries. In 2018, the first World Cleanup Day ‘Let’s Do It World’ took place with 18 million people participating. This is not the end of contradictions for Estonians. Why did people who supposedly do not like interactions invent an app that facilitates free video calls with people from all around the world? In the past, Estonians could escape modern life and the city bustle (even though the largest city in Estonia has a population of only around 400,000) by going to their country houses deep in the woods or visiting their grandparents. Now, even the farthest peripheries of the earth cannot shelter them from human interaction. Skype, created by Estonian programmers, was first published on 29 August 2003. It quickly became synonymous with internet calls, and ‘to Skype’ became a verb in many languages. The Baltic Chain of 1989 is probably the best known mass protest of the independence restoration era in the Baltic states. Over a million people from the three 42

Baltic states formed a 700 km human chain by standing next to one another, holding hands, to express mutual longing for freedom for Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. A true individualist would have come up with something a little less crowded… And of course, the music genre with most accolades and attention in Estonia is probably choral singing, even though Estonians are supposedly such soloists. There is a joke about Estonians: In front of the elephant cage at the zoo, an American thinks, ‘If I sold the animal, I’d get a lot of money’. A person from Japan thinks, ‘How is this animal built?’ An Estonian thinks, ‘What does the elephant think of me?’ On the one hand, concern regarding your image makes you try harder and be better. On the other hand, maybe Estonians are not quite the loners and individualists they let on to be. It is safer to do big things together, and cooperation is nothing to be ashamed of. So, if you see a lonely Estonian, do not think they want to be alone – maybe they just haven’t found anyone with whom to do something.

There is a joke about Estonians: In front of the elephant cage at the zoo, an American thinks, ‘If I sold the animal, I’d get a lot of money’. A person from Japan thinks, ‘How is this animal built?’ An Estonian thinks, ‘What does the elephant think of me?’

Photo by Erlend Staub

Speak some Estonian and make us happy. Good morning!

Tere hommikust!

Good day!

Tere päevast!

Hello/Hi!

Tere!

How are you?

Kuidas läheb?

Congratulations!

Palju õnne!

Thank you!

Aitäh! / Tänan!

Here you are! / Please

Palun!

I am hungry

Mul on kõht tühi

Bon appétit!

Head isu!

Good evening!

Tere õhtust!

Goodbye!

Head aega!

See you!

Nägemist!

Good night!

Head ööd!

Text: Andris Feldmanis, Estonian Institute Translation: Kristi Lahne Language editors: Tina Allen Kolessar, Jae Jensen Design and layout: Erkin Antov Illustrations: Ingel Martin Photos: Jaanus Siim (2–3), Martin Dremljuga (7), Aron Urb (10–11, 15, 31, 34), Birgit Vaarandi (16–17), Sven Zacek (20–21), Margus Vilisoo (23), Renee Altrov (27, 40–41), Maanus Kullamaa (28–29), Peeter Langovits / National Archives of Estonia (32–33), Ingmar Muusikus (35), Starship Technologies (36), Tõnu Runnel (38), Erlend Štaub (42–43), Simo Sepp (47). 2021 ISBN 978-9949-558-59-9 ISBN 978-9949-558-60-5 (pdf )

Photo by Simo Sepp

ESTONIAN INSTITUTE Suur-Karja 14 10140 Tallinn Estonia estinst.ee Visit Estonia visitestonia.com 48

ISBN 978-9949-558-59-9

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