Estonia and Russia compared

Entangled histories

13 events in which either nation’s sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle; nothing here was written for this page.

1. 1285

   Reval joins the Hanseatic League

   Tallinn, known as Reval, entered the Hanseatic League and grew into a wealthy port linking Russian trade to the markets of the Baltic and the North Sea.

   Economy & Trade · from the Estonia chronicle · Hanseatic Reval, Danish and Swedish Estonia · Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn

2. 1558–1583

   The Livonian War

   A twenty-five-year struggle for Livonia pitted Russia against Sweden, Denmark and Poland-Lithuania, shattering the old crusader confederation as the towns and provinces sought new protectors.

   War & Rupture · from the Estonia chronicle · Hanseatic Reval, Danish and Swedish Estonia · Livonian War, Estonia: History

3. 1721

   Treaty of Nystad

   Sweden ceded Estonia and Livonia to Russia, which organised them into governorates and confirmed the privileges of the Baltic German nobility, beginning two centuries of Russian imperial rule.

   Politics & Power · from the Estonia chronicle · The Russian Empire and the National Awakening · Peace of Nystad, Estonia: History

4. 1816–1819

   Abolition of serfdom

   Serfdom was abolished in the Estonian and Livonian governorates ahead of the rest of Russia, freeing the peasantry and laying the social groundwork for the later national awakening.

   Politics & Power · from the Estonia chronicle · The Russian Empire and the National Awakening · Estonia: History

5. 1918–1920

   The War of Independence

   The Estonian army, with Finnish, British and other allied support, repelled the Soviet Red Army and the Baltic German Landeswehr, securing the survival of the new republic.

   War & Rupture · from the Estonia chronicle · Independence, the War of Independence and the First Republic · Estonia celebrates Independence Day: How was freedom declared in 1918?, Estonia: History

6. 2 Feb 1920

   Treaty of Tartu

   Soviet Russia recognised Estonian independence de jure and renounced 'voluntarily and forever' all sovereign rights over Estonia, ending the war and fixing the eastern border at Narva and Petseri.

   Independence · from the Estonia chronicle · Independence, the War of Independence and the First Republic · Tartu Peace, 2 February 1920, Estonia marks the anniversary of the Tartu Peace Treaty, Treaty of Tartu

7. 23 Aug 1939

   The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

   The secret protocol of the German-Soviet pact assigned Estonia to the Soviet sphere of influence, sealing the country's fate without its knowledge or consent.

   Politics & Power · from the Estonia chronicle · Occupation, Annexation and the Long Night · Estonia in the grip of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Estonia: Independence lost (Soviet occupation, World War II)

8. Jun–Aug 1940

   Soviet occupation and annexation

   The Red Army occupied Estonia on 16-17 June 1940 and, after a staged election, the country was annexed into the Soviet Union in August, ending the independent republic.

   War & Rupture · from the Estonia chronicle · Occupation, Annexation and the Long Night · Estonia: Independence lost (Soviet occupation, World War II), Estonia in the grip of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

9. from 1940

   Western non-recognition

   Following the Stimson Doctrine, the United States and many other states refused to recognise the Soviet annexation de jure, holding that Estonia remained a sovereign state under occupation.

   Politics & Power · from the Estonia chronicle · Occupation, Annexation and the Long Night · What Made the Restoration of Estonian Independence Possible? (non-recognition and state continuity), Estonia: Independence lost (Soviet occupation, World War II)

10. 14 Jun 1941

    The June deportation

    Soviet authorities deported more than 10,000 people from Estonia to Siberia in a single operation, most of them women, children and the elderly, days before the German invasion.

    Catastrophe · from the Estonia chronicle · Occupation, Annexation and the Long Night · Commemoration in Tallinn of victims of the deportations of June 1941, Estonia: Independence lost (Soviet occupation, World War II)

11. 1944

    Soviet reoccupation

    After three years of Nazi occupation, the Soviet Union reconquered Estonia in 1944, beginning a second occupation marked by further mass deportations and armed 'Forest Brother' resistance.

    War & Rupture · from the Estonia chronicle · Occupation, Annexation and the Long Night · Estonia: Independence lost (Soviet occupation, World War II), Commemoration in Tallinn of victims of the deportations of June 1941

12. 1 May 2004

    Accession to the European Union

    Estonia joined the European Union, completing its post-Soviet return to Europe after a 2003 referendum in which two-thirds of voters approved membership.

    Politics & Power · from the Estonia chronicle · The Singing Revolution, Restoration and the Return to Europe · Estonia and the European Union: Timeline of Relations

13. 2005 & 2014

    The unratified border treaty

    A border treaty with Russia, settling the post-war frontier at Narva and Petseri, was signed in 2005 and again in 2014 but remains unratified, leaving the boundary formally unconcluded.

    Politics & Power · from the Estonia chronicle · The Singing Revolution, Restoration and the Return to Europe · Russian provocations and Estonia's borders: why international law matters, Foreign minister: We can initiate ratifying Estonia-Russia border treaty