Estonian History

Estonia’s history spans ancient Finno-Ugric roots, medieval Hanseatic trade, periods of Danish, Swedish, and Russian rule, independence in 1918, Soviet occupation, re-independence in 1991 through the Singing Revolution, and rapid development as a digital nation.

Key periods include the flourishing Hanseatic era in Tallinn, the Swedish “good old Swedish times,” the 19th-century national awakening, the hard decades under Soviet occupation, and the peaceful mass demonstrations of the late 1980s that restored independence. Since 1991, Estonia has embraced democracy, the Euro, NATO and the EU, and pioneered e-government and startups.