The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia (Estonian : Manifest Eestimaa rahvastele), is the founding act which established the independent democratic Republic of Estonia on 24 February 1918. Since then the 24 February has been celebrated as the Estonian Independence Day, the national day of Estonia.
The declaration was drafted by the Salvation Committee elected by the elders of the Estonian Provincial Assembly and consisting of Konstantin Päts, Jüri Vilms and Konstantin Konik. Originally intended to be proclaimed on 21 February 1918, the proclamation was delayed until the evening of 23 February, when the manifesto was printed and read out aloud publicly in Pärnu. On the next day, 24 February 1918, the manifesto was printed and distributed in the capital, Tallinn (Reval). [1] [2]
During World War I, on 24 February 1918, in the capital city Tallinn, between the retreating Russian bolshevik troops and the advancing German army (and the nearing occupation by the German Empire), the Estonian Salvation Committee — the executive body of the democratically elected Provincial Assembly ( Maapäev ) — declared the independence of Estonia. The declaration was made in the main hall of the local branch of the former imperial Russian state bank. [3] [4]
The German Empire did not recognise the newly declared "democratic republic of Estonia". However, after the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I in November 1918, Germany withdrew its troops from Estonia, and formally handed power in Estonia over to the Estonian Provisional Government on 19 November 1918. [5] The Russian Bolshevik invasion and the Estonian War of Independence followed. On 2 February 1920, the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed by the Republic of Estonia and Bolshevik Russia. [6] The Republic of Estonia obtained international recognition and became a member of the League of Nations in 1921. [7]
Manifesto to the peoples of Estonia
Never in the course of centuries have the Estonian people lost their ardent desire for independence. From generation to generation the secret hope has endured in Estonians that despite the dark night of servitude and violent rule by foreign peoples the time will come in Estonia "when all splinters, at both end, will burst forth into flames" and when "Kalev will reach home to bring his children happiness."
Now is the time.
An unheard-of struggle of nations has destroyed the rotten foundations of the Russian tsarist state. All over the Sarmatian plains ruinous anarchy is spreading, threatening to overwhelm in its wake all peoples living within the borders of the former Russian state. From the West the victorious armies of Germany are approaching in order to claim their share of Russia's inheritance and, first of all, to take possession of the coastal lands by the Baltic Sea.
In this fateful hour the Estonian Provincial Assembly, as the legal representative of our land and people, has, in unanimous agreement with Estonian democratic political parties and organizations, and by virtue of the right of self-determination of peoples, found it necessary to take the following decisive steps to shape the destiny of Estonian land and people.
ESTONIA,
within her historical and ethnic boundaries, is declared as of today an
INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC.
The independent Republic of Estonia shall include Harjumaa, Läänemaa, Järvamaa, Virumaa, with the city of Narva and its surroundings, Tartumaa, Võrumaa, Viljandimaa, and Pärnumaa with the Baltic islands of Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, Muhumaa, and others where the Estonians have settled for ages in large majorities. Final determination of the boundaries of the Republic in the areas bordering on Latvia and Russia will be carried out by plebiscite after the conclusion of the present World War.
In the aforementioned areas the only supreme and organizing authority is the democratically supported Estonian Salvation Committee created by the Estonian Provincial Assembly.
The Republic of Estonia wishes to maintain absolute political neutrality towards all neighbouring states and peoples and expects that they will equally respond with complete neutrality.
Estonian military forces shall be reduced to the extent necessary to maintain internal order. Estonian soldiers serving in the Russian military forces will be called home and demobilized.
Until the Estonian Constituent Assembly, elected by general, direct, secret, and proportional elections, will convene and determine the constitutional structure of the country, all executive and legislative authority will remain vested in the Estonian Provincial Assembly and in the Estonian Provisional Government created by it, whose activities must be guided by the following principles:
1. All citizens of the Republic of Estonia, irrespective of their religion, ethnic origin, and political views, shall enjoy equal protection under the law and courts of justice of the Republic.
2. Ethnic minorities residing within the borders of the Republic – Russians, Germans, Swedes, Jews, and others – shall be guaranteed their rights to cultural autonomy.
3. All civic freedoms, such at the freedom of expression, of the press, of religion, of assembly, of association, and the freedom to strike as well as the inviolability of the individual and the home, shall be irrefutably effective within the territory of the Republic of Estonia and based on laws which the Government shall immediately work out.
4. The Provisional Government will be charged with the immediate organization of the courts of justice to protect the security of the citizens. All political prisoners shall be released immediately.
5. The city, county, and township local governments will be called upon to continue their work which has been violently interrupted.
6. For maintenance of public order, people's militia, subordinated to local governments, shall be immediately organized and citizens' self-defence organizations established in the cities and rural areas.
7. The Provisional Government in instructed to work out without delay, on a broad democratic basis, bills for the solution of the agrarian problem, and the problems of labor, of food supply, and of finances.Estonia! You stand on the threshold of a hopeful future in which you shall be free and independent in determining and directing your destiny. Begin building a home of your own, ruled by law and order in order to be a worthy member within the family of civilized nations. Sons and daughters of our homeland, let us unite as one man in the sacred task of building our homeland. The sweat and blood shed by our ancestors for this country oblige us to do it, and we must do it for the sake of our future generations.
May God watch over Thee
And amply bless
Whatever thou undertake
My dear homeland!Long live the independent democratic Republic of Estonia!
Long live peace among nations!
The Council of Elders of the Estonian Provincial Assembly
February 24, 1918 [8]
The Estonian Provincial Assembly or Estonian State Diet, also often called by its Estonian name Maapäev, was elected in May–June 1917 during the Russian Revolution as the provincial parliament (diet) of the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia. On 28 November 1917, after the October Revolution in Russia, the Assembly declared itself the sole sovereign power in Estonia and called for the elections of the Estonian Constituent Assembly. On the eve of the German occupation of Estonia during World War I the council elected the Estonian Salvation Committee and issued the Estonian Declaration of Independence on 24 February 1918.
The United Baltic Duchy, or alternatively the Grand Duchy of Livonia, was the name of a short-lived state during World War I that was proclaimed by leaders of the local Baltic German nobility.
The Estonian War of Independence, 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 Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the 1919 aggression of the pro–German Baltische Landeswehr. The campaign was the struggle of the newly established democratic state of Estonia for independence in the aftermath of World War I. It resulted in a victory for Estonia and was concluded in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu.
The Finnish Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Parliament of Finland on 6 December 1917. It declared Finland a fully independent nation, ending its status as Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous state ruled by Russia, with reference to a bill simultaneously delivered to the Parliament to make Finland a fully independent republic instead.
The Russian Republic, referred to as the Russian Democratic Federal Republic in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, de jure, the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Russian Provisional Government on 1 September 1917 in a decree signed by Alexander Kerensky as Minister-Chairman and Alexander Zarudny as Minister of Justice.
The Belarusian People's Republic, also known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The Council proclaimed the Belarusian Democratic Republic independent in its Third Constituent Charter on 25 March 1918 during the occupation of contemporary Belarus by the Imperial German Army.
The Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia was a document promulgated by the Bolshevik government of Russia on 15 November 1917 and signed by Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.
Jaan Tõnisson was an Estonian statesman, serving as the Prime Minister of Estonia twice during 1919 to 1920, as State Elder from 1927 to 1928 and in 1933, and as Foreign Minister of Estonia from 1931 to 1932.
The Estonian Workers' Commune was a government claiming the Bolshevik-occupied parts of Republic of Estonia as its territories during the Estonian War of Independence and the Russian Civil War. It was recognised as an independent state only by Russian SFSR on December 7th, 1918.
The Autonomous Governorate of Estonia of the Russian state was established as a result of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and ceased to exist prior to Estonia becoming a fully independent country in 1918.
The Estonian Salvation Committee was the executive body of the Estonian Provincial Assembly that issued the Estonian Declaration of Independence.
The 90th Anniversary of Estonian Republic is an official government program for the celebration of the Republic of Estonia's 90th anniversary. It is currently the largest and longest Estonian Independence Day celebration event which is entirely funded by the Government of Estonia. The celebrations started on 28 November 2007 and finished on 28 November 2008 with the opening of the Estonian War of Independence Victory Column on the Freedom Square of Tallinn.
Estonia was under military occupation by the German Empire during the later stages of the First World War. On 11–21 October 1917, the Imperial German Army occupied the West Estonian archipelago, including the larger islands of Saaremaa (Ösel), Hiiumaa (Dagö), and Muhu (Moon).
The Operation Faustschlag, also known as the Eleven Days' War, was a Central Powers offensive in World War I. It was the last major offensive on the Eastern Front.
Universals of the Central Council of Ukraine are legal acts or declarations issued by the Central Council of Ukraine in 1917-18. These documents marked the main stages of the development of the nascent Ukrainian state, from the proclamation of its autonomy to the declaration of full independence.
Independence Day, formally the Anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, is a national holiday in Estonia commemorating the Estonian Declaration of Independence which was published in the capital city Tallinn (Reval) on 24 February 1918, establishing the Republic of Estonia. Since then, it has been the national day of Estonia.
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 as a result of the February Revolution, and in June, it declared Ukrainian autonomy within Russia. Its autonomy was later recognized by the Russian Provisional Government. Following the October Revolution, the Central Council of Ukraine denounced the Bolshevik seizure of power and proclaimed the Ukrainian People's Republic with a territory including the area of approximately eight Russian imperial governorates. It formally declared its independence from Russia on 22 January 1918.
This article covers the timeline of the Estonian War of Independence (1918−1920) and a few key events in the prelude and aftermath of the war.
The political history of Estonia covers the political events and trends in the country throughout its historical period.
