![Flag of Estonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Flag_of_Estonia.svg)
Estonian nationalism refers to the ideological movement for attaining and maintaining identity, unity, freedom and independence on behalf of a population deemed by many, or most, of its members to be the
Estonian people
Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language.
The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to othe ...
, having one Estonian homeland –
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, sharing the common
Estonian culture
The culture of Estonia combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the country's Finnic national language Estonian, with Nordic and German cultural aspects. The culture of Estonia is considered to be significantly influenced by that of the ...
, as well as ancestral myths and memories, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members.
Emergence of Estonian national identity in the 19th century
Estonian nationalism emerged in the first half of the 19th century, in large part a result of the activities of the
Estophile movement of the late 18th to early 19th century, when local
Baltic German
Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
scholars, influenced by the
European Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
,
began documenting and promoting the culture and the
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
of Estonian farmers.
Early Estonian nationalism grew into a strong popular movement and a distinct Estonian national identity began to emerge in the mid-19th century as a result of the "
Estonian national awakening
The Estonian Age of Awakening ( et, Ärkamisaeg) is 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 bein ...
" and the people's rapidly increasing access to Estonian-language newspapers, cultural activities and secondary education.
A prominent figure in Estonian nationalism was
Carl Robert Jakobson
Carl Robert Jakobson ( – ) was an Estonian writer, politician and teacher active in the Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire. He was one of the most important persons of the Estonian national awakening in the second half of the 19th century ...
. During the late 19th century, Jakobson made significant financial contributions to the promotion of Estonian-language printed media and education. He was one of the main sponsors of the
Estonian Alexander School.
[Jakobson, Carl Robert](_blank)
/ref> Politically, however, Jakobson was often misunderstood as well as misrepresented by opponents and, whilst popular among the farmers, he could find only very limited support among other parts of the wider population of Estonia.
Another prominent figure in the history Estonian nationalism was the poet Lydia Koidula
Lydia Emilie Florentine Jannsen, ( – ), known by her pen name Lydia Koidula, was an Estonian poet. Her sobriquet means 'Lydia of the Dawn' in Estonian. It was given to her by the writer Carl Robert Jakobson. She is also frequently referred to ...
, who voiced the ideas for an independent and sovereign Estonia already in the 19th century. Her collection of poetry ''Emajõe ööbik'' became the country's second most widely printed book (after the Bible), and in the beginning of 20th century almost every household in Estonia had a copy of it. She became a unique personified symbol of the Estonians' cultural revival and national awareness.
The Estonian nationalist movement eventually, after the 1917 collapse of the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, led to the Estonian Declaration of Independence
__NOTOC__
The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia ( et, Manifest Eestimaa rahvastele), is the founding act of the Republic of Estonia from 1918. It is celebrated on 24 February, the Natio ...
and the foundation of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
in 1918. On February 24, 1918, the Republic of Estonia was proclaimed and secured its independence in the following Estonian War of Independence
The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westwa ...
of 1918-1920.
In June 1940, Estonia was invaded and occupied by the Stalinist
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
Soviet Union, introducing a totalitarian state and a terror regime. With the outbreak of war between Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the Soviet Union in 1941, many nationalists in Estonia thought that they would have an opportunity to create an independent country once again, and collaborated with the German occupation administration and military units. However, the German treatment of the local population quickly put an end to this.
The " Forest Brethren" was a loose set of Estonian nationalist guerilla units that first took up arms against the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
and against the Soviet occupation authorities in 1941, and followed their armed resistance after the 1944 Soviet reconquest of Estonia. The Estonian anti-Soviet guerillas were not exclusively ethnic Estonians, but included also Ingrians
The Ingrians ( fi, inkeriläiset, ; russian: Ингерманландцы, translit=Ingermanlandts'i), sometimes called Ingrian Finns, are the Finnish people, Finnish population of Ingria (now the central part of Leningrad Oblast in Russia), des ...
, Latvians
Latvians ( lv, latvieši) are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common Latvi ...
, Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
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118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
, and Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s. For several years after World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Estonian nationalist guerilla fighters directed their military actions against the Stalinist Soviet regime in Estonia. Many members of these nationalist units saw themselves as the armed wing of the Estonian people in its struggle for Estonian independence.The Estonian partisans - - www.estonianpartisans.com.ee
/ref>
Estonian Forest Brethren maintain a prominent and symbolic role in Estonian history and the quest for Estonian independence.[Wilson, Andrew. ''Estonian Nationalism in the 1990s: A Minority Faith''. Cambridge University Press. London: 1997. 51.] They have been deemed as illegal insurgents or terrorist groups by the former Soviet and current Russian historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
.[
]
Singing Revolution
From 1987, Estonian nationalism emerged in form of many spontaneous non-violent mass demonstrations that ultimately led Estonia to regain its full independence in August 1991. Similar events took place in Latvia and Lithuania.
Estonian nationalism in the 21st century
Currently, parties identifying strictly as nationalist are the Conservative People's Party of Estonia
The Conservative People's Party of Estonia ( et, Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond, EKRE) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Estonia. It is currently led by Martin Helme. It was founded in March 2012, with the ...
(EKRE) and the Estonian Independence Party
The Estonian Independence Party ( et, Eesti Iseseisvuspartei, EIP) was a far-right nationalist political party in Estonia. The party, founded in 1999, is a successor to the Estonian Future Party. One of the principal aims of the party is the withd ...
.
One of the most significant expressions of Estonian nationalism is still the Estonian Song Festival
The Estonian Song Festival (in Estonian: ''laulupidu'', ) is one of the largest choral events in the world, a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It is held every five years in July on the Tallinn Song Festival Gro ...
, one of the largest amateur choral events in the world that is held every five years in July.
After the 2019 Estonian parliamentary election the ethnic-nationalist party EKRE entered into a coalition government for the first time.
See also
*Estonian national awakening
The Estonian Age of Awakening ( et, Ärkamisaeg) is 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 bein ...
*Latvian National Awakening
The Latvian National Awakening ( lv, latviešu r latvju
R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irelan ...
tautas atmoda) refers to three distinct but ideologically related Romantic nationalism, National revival movements:
* the ''The First Latvian National Awakening, First Awakening'' refers ...
*Finnish nationalism
Nationalism was a central force in the history of Finland for the last two centuries. The Finnish national awakening in the mid-19th century was the result of members of the Swedish-speaking upper classes deliberately choosing to promote Finnish ...
*Singing Revolution
The Singing Revolution; lv, dziesmotā revolūcija; lt, dainuojanti revoliucija) was a series of events that led to the restoration of independence of the Baltic states, Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union a ...
*Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
*Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism is a form of nationalism that promotes Russian cultural identity and unity. Russian nationalism first rose to prominence in the early 19th century, and from its origin in the Russian Empire, to its repression during early ...
*German nationalism
German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one na ...
References
Further reading
*Ernst B. Haas, "Nationalism, Liberalism, and Progress", Cornell University Press
The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in th ...
, 1997,
*Ronald Grigor Suny
Ronald Grigor Suny (born September 25, 1940) is an American historian and political scientist. Suny is the William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan and served as director of the Eisenberg In ...
, Revenge of the Past: Nationalism, Revolution, and the Collapse of the Soviet Union", Stanford University Press
Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...
, 1993,
{{Ethnic nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
Nationalist movements in Europe
Independence movements