Governorate of Estonia

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Governorate of Estonia
  • Эстляндская губерния (Russian)
  • Eestimaa kubermang (Estonian)
  • Gouvernement Estland (German)
Coat of arms of Estlandia Governorate 1856.svg
Estonia in Russian Empire (1914).svg
Location in the Russian Empire
Country Russian Empire
Established1796
Abolished1917
CapitalReval
(present-day Tallinn)
Counties 4
Area
  Total20,246.7 km2 (7,817.3 sq mi)
Highest elevation166 m (545 ft)
Population
 (1897)
  Total412,716
  Density20/km2 (53/sq mi)
   Urban
18.68%
   Rural
81.32%

The Governorate of Estonia, [lower-alpha 1] also known as the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, [1] [2] [3] [4] was a province ( guberniya ) and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. It was located in the northern Estonia with some islands in the West Estonian archipelago, including Hiiumaa and Vormsi. Previously, the Reval Governorate existed during Peter I's reign and was confirmed by the Treaty of Nystad, which ceded territory from Sweden to the newly established Russian Empire. The Estonia Governorate was established in 1796 when Paul I's reforms abolished the Reval Viceroyalty. The port city of Reval (known in Russian as Revel, contemporary Tallinn) was the administrative centre where the governor had his seat.

Contents

From the 1850s to 1914, the Estonian national awakening influenced and characterized the governorate by general modernization, the reorganization into a modern European society, and the success of the newly emerged nationalist awareness. [5] The accession of Alexander III in 1881 marked the beginning of a period of more rigid Russification; the previous Baltic civil and criminal codes were replaced with Russian ones, and the Russian language replaced the German language and Estonian language. Jaan Tõnisson founded the National Liberal Party and organized its first congress in 1905, in the course of the First Russian Revolution; in response, the Russian government suppressed the revolution by declaring martial law, causing Konstantin Päts and the radical leader Jaan Teemant to flee abroad. [6] The governorate gained more territories from the Governorate of Livonia and was granted autonomy on 12 April 1917, and lasted for nearly a year. The Estonian independence that came on 24 February 1918 marked the permanently end for the governorate.

Until the late 19th century the governorate was administered independently by the local Baltic German nobility through a feudal Regional Council. [7]

History

German and Russian map of Governorate of Estonia Governorate of Estonia 1820.jpg
German and Russian map of Governorate of Estonia

From 1561, Estonia had been under the control as a dominion of the Swedish Empire following the annexation of the northern part of the Livonian Confederation, in which nobilies swore obedience to the Swedish king Eric XIV as the Russians, in 1558, invaded Livonia, which prompted the Livonian War. The Treaty of Plussa forced Russia to cede to Sweden possessions along the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, including northern Livonia and Ingria.

Seeking to regain lost territories, in 1701, Tsar Peter I and his allies invaded Sweden, beginning the Great Northern War. He initially met with setbacks by King Charles XII but later gained triumphs. In 1710, the Russians advanced into Estonia and Livonia, which were incorporated into Russia. In the Treaty of Nystad of 1721, Sweden formally ceded its former dominion of Estonia, Livonia, and its other territories to Russia, whereas Russia paid Sweden compensation of 2 million efimki (1.3 million rubles).

Initially named Reval Governorate after the city of Reval (now known as Tallinn), it was established in 1719 by decree of Peter the Great on 29 May, on the territory that was acquired from Sweden, along with the Riga Governorate. In 1783, the Reval Viceroyalty was formed from Reval Governorate, and in 1796, together with Narva county, which was separated from Saint Petersburg Governorate, Estonia Governorate was formed. During the reign of the Swedish kings, there was a tendency towards granting more autonomy to the peasantry, but under the Russian tsars, there was a shift towards tighter regulation. Serfdom remained in place until its abolition in 1816. [8] [9]

Rise of the Estonian cultural identity

The early course of the reign of Alexander II marked the emergence of the Estonian national movement, which periodised the so-called Estonian age of awakening that led to the birth of a distinctive Estonian national culture and laid the groundwork for its growing roles in Baltic politics. [10] As agricultural reforms, the spread of education, increasing communication beyond the Baltic, and the spirit of reformation were factors in the national awakening, from 1860, the Estonian national movement had gained more support from rising Estonians. [10] Although many Estonians still continued to assimilate into the German and Russian cultures, many nationwide efforts to promote the Estonian culture were seen, especially for the Estonian-language Alexander School  [ et ], the Society of Estonian Literati, and the all-Estonian song festivals. [11]

The national epic Kalevipoeg, written by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, published in 1862. OKallis-Kalevipoeg.jpg
The national epic Kalevipoeg , written by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, published in 1862.

The prominent figure in the period was Carl Robert Jakobson from the neighbouring Governorate of Livonia; he opposed the Baltic German dominance and took an anti-clerical position on the Luteran Church. [12] He had also begun campaigning for the introduction of zemstvo, which had already existed in the empire; in June 1881, seventeen Estonian societies requested that they do so with equal representations for Germans and Estonians, in a memorandum to Alexander III. [12] [13] As a result, four of the ten points of the memorandum were implemented at the end of the 1880s. [14]

Also in this era, poet Lydia Koidula had been a prominent figure in the advocation of Estonian literature; she wrote her most important work, Emajõe ööbik  [ et ] (The Nightingale of Emajõgi), which was published in 1867. Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald composed his epic Kalevipoeg , in which he portrayed the mythological adventures of the eponymous hero, who had ended up in chains at the gate of Hell and the promise of a return to home; Kalevipoeg has been later considered the national epic. [15] Among Koidula and Kreutzwald were Mihkel Veske, Ado Reinvald, Friedrich Kuhlbars, and others. Many works in this era reflected the condition of rural people and satirised the elites. [15] Publication of Estonian-language print grew rapidly from 1860 to 1900, and the number of books and brochures six times increased, from 55 to 312. [16] According to the 1897 census, 96.9 per cent of Estonians, 10 years and older, could read and write, making the northern Baltic area the most literate region of the empire. [17] [18]

Russification

Road to Reval, painted by Oskar Hoffmann in 1900 Hoffmann Tee Revalisse.jpg
Road to Reval, painted by Oskar Hoffmann in 1900

In 1885, the new governor of Estonia, Sergey Shakhovskoy, was appointed by Emperor Alexander III, who had seemed to think the father's reforms were a threat to Russian culture; this marked the beginning of the Russification process in Estonia. [14] In 1877, the Russian urban reform of 1870 took place in the Baltic area. The new law enfranchised men 25 years of age and over, which was divided into three curiae according to the city taxes they paid, replacing the medieval estate-based system that had excluded Estonians from participation in the municipal government. Virtually all Estonians, in fact, belonged to the third curia since their begeoisie was only beginning to improve its economic position. [19] [20] The 1892 municipal law, in which the franchise base was determined by property value, was implemented in the Baltic provinces; for Estonians, it would increase the possibility of winning over the Baltic German hegemony, and for the begeoisie, it would be a step forward to put all voters in the same place. [21]

In 1888–1889, the Russification of the police system took place: the Baltic Germans lost all police powers in the rural township, although they retained powers on their estates; and the police system at county and urban levels was reorganised and placed under the Minister of Internal Affairs, by which all higher police officers were appointed. The new Russian officers regarded Estonian local affairs with disinterest, and its population was more impartial than the German ones, although they were non-Estonian. [22] The Russification of jurisdiction, although the Baltic legal codes remained unchanged, was taken as well, by which the peasantry had its own courts, the township court, with appeals to the higher court for the peasantry. [23] In 1864, the Russian institution reform was introduced, which brought more impartial justice: the justice of the peace with appeals to the conference of justices of the peace; and the circuit court with appeals to the court chamber. [23] The major problem was that proceedings in the higher court were conducted exclusively in Russian, which meant the Estonians, who did not fluent in Russian, were forced to hire translators or lawyers, involving a prohibitive expense for destitute Estonians. [22] [24]

Russification policies had also been taken in education: placing all Lutheran rural elementary schools under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education; creating the position of director and inspector so the ministry insured the state control; and introducing Russian as an instruction language in the third year of the school in 1887 and then the first year in 1892. [17] [25] Initially, the result of Russification was disorganised: many schools, which the Baltic Germans withdrew support for as a protest, were closed; much of the teaching personnel were unable to teach Russian; and the number of pupils in the governorate declined, from 25,646 to 20,565 between 1886 and 1892. [26]

Built in 1894, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Reval is the symbol of the Orthodox Church in the Governorate Aleksander Nevski katedraal ja linnamuur Niguliste kiriku tornist 74.jpg
Built in 1894, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Reval is the symbol of the Orthodox Church in the Governorate

The Russian Orthodoxy came unexpectedly into the Baltic area in the 1840s, causing the struggle between the Orthodox and the Luteran churches, which had attended since the Northern Crusades, for the allegiance of Estonians. [27] There, the Russification process was also performed for religious purposes. In 1883, in Wiek county, the conversation movement among 3,400 Estonian peasants began, which had the motivation of strong anti-German sentiment. [27] During his first tenure as governor, Shakhovskoy sought to propagate Orthodoxy in his ruling governorate, which caused spiritual dissatisfaction among the Baltic natives who lived under a German-controlled Protestantism. In 1886, Shakhovskoy suggested to the procurator of the Holy Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev, that Orthodoxy was the quickest way to unite the Estonians into the "great Russian family". [28] [29] Furthermore, in 1885, Alexander III reinstated that children of mixed Lutheran-Orthodox marriages be only baptised as Orthodox, and the reconverts to Luteranism were again considered members of the state church. [29] [30]

The major factor that was unavoidable in internal affairs was the gradual introduction of Russian as the language in administration in 1885; by 1889, Russian had become the language in municipal government and exclusively in higher courts, as well as in communication among all administrative organs. [31] Estonian intelligentsia, which had sought equal rights for Estonian as an administrative language and had been rooted in a Baltic Weltanschauung , proved this aspect of Russification disorienting. [32] Some of them, who had received their education in German, were able to retool themselves, but it was a long process. [31]

1905 Revolution

Jaan Tonisson1928.jpg
Jaan Tõnisson, founder of the Estonian Progressive People's Party.
Konstantin Pats.jpg
Konstantin Päts, founder of Teataja and later head of the Estonian Provisional Government.

With the rise of the liberation movement in Russia, all-Empire questions began to impinge on Estonian life, as well as a new generation emerged in Estonia. The crucial point in social and political thought was the appearance of journalistic voices for the lower class, engaging in the fade of loyalty to the crown. [33] Many intellectuals emerged in the post-Russification era; among them were Jaan Tõnisson, who represented a renewal of the moderate political orientation, and Konstantin Päts, the editor of Teataja in Reval. [33]

In 1905, the massacre on Bloody Sunday became the final straw that brought about the revolution, whose impulse had spread into the rural area of the Baltic region; the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party organised activity in Estonia, with its counterpart formed in August. [34] The worker strikes broke out in Reval, Narva, and Pernau in January 1905. [35] In the rural area, 120 manor houses, which were the symbol of Baltic German power, were put to the torch by Estonians. [36] Mass meetings called for peaceful reform in Reval, and the situation remained calm until 16 October; the Russian Army on that day, however, opened fire on a peaceful demonstration on a market square, which was later known as the Tallinn Bloodbath. [37]

In November 1905, Jaan Tõnisson founded the Estonian Progressive People's Party, which, along with the Baltic German-led Baltic Constitutional Party, was the only legal party in the governorate at that time. [37] [38] The All-Estonian Congress was held by Tõnisson and his moderates on 27–29 November, with the authority permitting that. Following the dispute over the election of vice-chairs, the congress was split into two factions: the moderates, known as the Bürgermusse; and the radicals, known as the Aula. [39] Nevertheless, both factions demanded the repeal of Russification; the moderates demanded the unification of Estonia and northern Livonia with an autonomous self-government. [37]

In early December, the Russian government began to react with force to what it described as "revolutionary excesses": martial law was declared in Reval and the Harrien County on 10 December; the Russian army and local Baltic German militias, known as Selbstschutz, began to scour cities and the countryside for participants in the 1905 revolution; and much of the local committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party and Estonian intellectuals were arrested. [40] In the governorate alone, 300 people were executed, 600 received some form of corporal punishment, and 500 were sentenced to hard labour in Siberia or elsewhere. [41] [42] Konstantin Päts and Jaan Teemant, the radical leader, fled to Finland and then to Western Europe; both had reasons to fear for their freedom. [43]

World War I and path to independence

Mechanical workshop of the Friedrich Wigand plant in Reval, photographed in 1914 F. Wiegandi vabriku lukussepatsehh.jpg
Mechanical workshop of the Friedrich Wigand plant in Reval, photographed in 1914

The outbreak of World War I was greeted by mixed reactions in the governorate. Within the Estonian population, there was some enthusiasm for a struggle against a historical enemy; for the Baltic Germans, however, it was unthinkable to fight against their co-nationals—the imperial Germans. Increasingly suspicious of possible collaboration with the imperial Germans, the Russian authorities closed down German schools and forbade using German in public. [44] Restrictions were also included for using Estonian. About 100,000 men, nearly 10 percent of the Estonian population, were mobilised into the Russian Imperial Army; their extent of casualties is little known, and no reliable sources are available. [45] [46] The Estonians considered that fighting against foes—the Germans and the Austrians—was easy to transfer the enmity they felt towards the Baltic Germans, who were the representatives of the German-speaking cultural world; however, the Baltic German leadership also declared encouragement for Russia. [46]

By the time the Russian Empire was crumbling, the Estonian desire for unification of the Estonian-speaking area, especially the entire Estonia and northern Livonia, had come into focus. Following the February Revolution in Russia, the Russian Provisional Government was proclaimed, and the clash on the Eastern Front was still ongoing. Seeing this moment as an opportunity to fulfil what they had wanted, Jaan Tõnisson and his moderate politicians lobbied the provisional government for changes in the northern Baltic area. [47] In conjunction with a mass demonstration attended by 40,000 Estonians in Petrograd, the government agreed on 12 April [ O.S. 30 March] to reorganise the self-government in the northern Baltic. The decree consisted of the merger of the governorate of Estonia with the northern counties of the governorate of Livonia—Dorpat, Fellin, Ösel, Pernau, Werro, and some portions of Walk—into the consilidated governorate, which accomplished what Carl Robert Jakobson had expressed, creating the autonomous polity known as "Estonia". The decree also established a temporary zemstvo with the provincial assembly as its head. [48] In addition, Baltic German-controlled diets and imperial local administrative organs were dissolved. [48] [47]

In April, the provisional government appointed the Reval Mayor Jaan Poska as the first commissar, followed by, in May, elections of the provincial assembly known as Maapäev , in which political parties emerged on a broad basis for the first time, with the largest blocs being the Agrarian League and the Labour Party. [49] The municipial elections in 1917, however, proved the significant fractionalisation of the political spectrum, as the configuration of party groupings was unstable. Predominantly, the moderates dominated the smaller urban areas, while the lefts dominated stronger in the larger industrial cities. In the early course, the soviets that emerged in Estonia were the Mensheviks and the Socialist Revolutionaries, whom concentrated in major cities and military garrisons. Although permission of principle for the formation of national military units was granted in April, the Minister of War Alexander Kerensky restricted the establishment of a single regiment due to pressure from the Soviets. [50] Nevertheless, the first Estonian regiment had grown to 8,000 men by the end of July, twice as large as originally intended, and the provisional government approved the formation of a second regiment in September. [51]

The Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia, which declared Estonia an independence state, was carried out on 24 February 1918 Estonian Declaration of Independence.jpg
The Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia, which declared Estonia an independence state, was carried out on 24 February 1918

After the successful October Revolution in Petrograd, the Estonian Military Revolutionary Committee, led by Viktor Kingissepp, took power from the provisional government's commissar. [49] The Bolsheviks were, however, unable to consolidate their power owing to the lack of Bolshevik officials who could replace the former government's public officials; the latter refused and launched the strike. [52] The Estonian Bolsheviks had lost much of their popular support by the end of January 1918, engaging in the cancellation of the Estonian Constituent Assembly election held on 3–4 February [ O.S. 21–22 January]. [53] With the German advance in southern Livonia and Estonia and the Bolsheviks fleeing to Soviet Russia, the Estonian Provincial Assembly asserted Estonia "independent and democratic republic" within its "historical and ethnographical borders" on 24 February, with Konstantin Päts being the leader of the new provisional government. [54] [55] [56] This was nonetheless a symbolic indication, and the Germans, on the following day, entered Reval.

Geography

The Governorate of Estonia was the northernmost of the Baltic governorates, located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. It was bordered with the Baltic Sea in the west, the Gulf of Finland in the north, the Saint Petersburg Governorate in the east, and the Governorate of Livonia and Lake Peipus in the south. The westernmost point was Cape Kalana in Hiiumaa; in the east, the Narva river near the city of Narva; Cape Stenskär in the north; Kõrksaar in the Pärnu Bay in the south. The land border was 297 versts (317 km; 197 mi) in the west, 469 versts (500 km; 311 mi) in the north, 75 versts (80 km; 50 mi) in the east with Saint Petersburg Governorate along the Neva, and 371 versts (396 km; 246 mi) with Lake Peipus and Governorate of Livonia in the south. The provincial border between Wierland and Dorpat counties was 20,377 fathoms (37.265 km; 23.156 mi) long, and between Wierland and Fellin counties was 18,669.3 fathoms (34.1424 km; 21.2151 mi) long.

Physically, the governorate was situated on the East European Plain, where the uplands and plateau structures were interspersed with lowlands and valley structures. [57] It consisted of the limestone plateau, the northern part of which formed the North Estonian Klint. The highest areas were Pandivere and Jõhvi Uplands; the Pandivere was where the Emumägi, the highest point in the governorate, was located. [58] In the west, the large area was entirely flat, forming the lowlands of West Estonia and the Moonsund archipelago. The scarps of the Ösel and Moon islands and those in the western continental area formed the Silurian Klint. [58] Crystalline rocks formed in the lowest part of the basement; in the northeastern part, the crystalline rocks were 60–70 metres below the surface. [57] Below the surface, the area also consisted of a large amount of phosphorite, especially in Wesenberg deposits, [59] and kukersite oil shales within the Baltic Oil Shale Basin. [60]

Painting of the port of Reval, by Ivan Aivazovsky in 1845 Aivazovsky - Reval 1845.jpg
Painting of the port of Reval, by Ivan Aivazovsky in 1845

In the west, it is the location of the Moonsund archipelago, which was shared with the Governorate of Livonia. There are about 80 islands in the governorate, of which Dagö (known in modern times as Hiiumaa) was the largest, with an area of 989 square kilometres (382 sq mi). Other islands in the archipelago were Worms, Kassar, Groß Pakri and Klein Pakri, and Nargen.

The area of the Governorate of Estonia was 17,791.7 square versts (20,248.1 km2; 7,817.8 sq mi); of this, 16,290.5 square versts (18,539.6 km2; 7,158.2 sq mi) were the mainland and 1,032.7 square versts (1,175.3 km2; 453.8 sq mi) were the islands, with 468.5 square versts (533.2 km2; 205.9 sq mi) were the of Lake Peipsi as a part the governorate.

The governorate consisted of the northern Estonia, approximately corresponding to: Harju, Lääne-Viru, Ida-Viru, Rapla, Järva, Lääne and Hiiu counties, and a small portion of Pärnu County.[ citation needed ]

Administrative divisions

Administrative divisions of the Estonia Governorate EsthoniaGovernorate1914.png
Administrative divisions of the Estonia Governorate

The districts (уѣзды, uezdy ; German : kreise) of the Governorate of Estonia in 1897 were as follow: [61]

County Administrative centreAreaPopulation
(1897 census) [62]
Name in GermanName in Russian
Wierland Везенбергскій/ВирляндскійWesenberg (Rakvere)7,143.2 km2
(2,758.0 sq mi)
120,230
Jerwen Вейсенштейнскій/ЕрвенскійWeißenstein (Paide)2,871.2 km2
(1,108.6 sq mi)
52,673
Wiek Гапсальскій/ВикскійHapsal (Haapsalu)4,697.9 km2
(1,813.9 sq mi)
82,077
Harrien Ревельскій/ГарріенскійReval (Tallinn)5,739.5 km2
(2,216.0 sq mi)
157,736

Supernumerary towns

TownPopulationPart of
Baltiysky Port (Paldiski)1,268Harrien County

Governors

Demographics

Bread retailed from street counters in Reval Bread retailed from street counters, Revale, Esthonia, photo from The Encyclopedia of Food by Artemas Ward.jpg
Bread retailed from street counters in Reval

The first general census in the Estonia Governorate, conducted in 1881, returned a population of 376,337, consisting of 184,323 men and 192,014 women. [65] By 1887, the population was 393,983, increasing 17,646 over 6 years. [66] The first-and-only organised nationwide census was conducted in 1897, which turned out a population of 412,716 on 9 February 1897 [ O.S. 28 January], including 202,409 men and 210,307 women. The majority of the population indicated Estonian to be their mother tongue, with significant Russian and German speaking minorities. [67]

The urban population of the governorate was 77,081, making up 18.68 per cent of the total population. The largest settlements included Reval (64,572), Wesenberg (5,890), Hapsal (3,212), and Weißenstein (2,507). Of the preceding cities, Estonian-speakers formed majorities. [67]

Linguistic composition of the Estonia Governorate in 1897 [67]
LanguageMalesFemalesNative speakersPercentage
Estonian 176,972188,987365,95988.67
Great Russian [lower-alpha 2] 12,4417,99820,4394.95
German 6,9919,04616,0371.39
Swedish 2,7253,0435,7681.39
Jewish 8524171,2610.31
Polish 9213161,2370.30
Latvian 3511214720.11
Finnish 271913620.09
White Russian [lower-alpha 2] 215152300.06
Little Russian [lower-alpha 2] 210202300.06
Norwegian 131291600.04
Other3292245530.13
TOTAL202,409210,307412,716100.00

Religion

Religious composition of the Estonia Governorate in 1881 [70]
FaithMaleFemaleBoth
NumberPercentage
Luteran170,403183,972354,37594.16
Eastern Orthodox11,9046,66518,5694.93
Judaism9337461,6790.47
Roman Catholic7554591,2140.32
Anglican136221580.04
Reformed56711270.03
Brethren2570.00
Irvingian1010.00
Mennonite0110.00
Baptist1010.00
Mansfield's faith1010.00
Others131732040.05
TOTAL184,323192,014376,337100.00
Religious composition of the Estonia Governorate in 1897 [71]
FaithMaleFemaleBoth
NumberPercentage
Luteran 177,995192,110370,10589.68
Eastern Orthodox 21,48616,33137,8179.16
Roman Catholic 1,3866482,0340.49
Judaism 9204831,4030.34
Baptist 2334296620.16
Old Believer 1741543280.08
Anglican 5229810.02
Reformed 3839770.02
Karaite 2020.00
Mennonite 1010.00
Armenian Apostolic 1010.00
Armenian Catholic 1010.00
Other Christian denomination60691290.03
Other non-Christian denomination6015750.02
TOTAL202,409210,307412,716100.00

It's urban population was 18.68% and rural was 81.32%.

See also

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Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert Graf von Berg was an Imperial Russian nobleman, statesman, diplomat and general of Baltic German descent. Berg was a count of the Austrian Empire and Grand Duchy of Finland and the 5th last man to be promoted General-Field Marshal in the history of the Russian Empire. He served as the Governor-General of Finland from 1854 to 1861 and the last Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland from 1863 to 1874.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estonian national awakening</span> 1850s–1918 period of Estonian nationalism

The Estonian Age of Awakening 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 being granted to commoners and to end with the declaration of the Republic of Estonia in 1918. The term is sometimes also applied to the period around 1987 and 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jüri Vilms</span> Estonian politician

Jüri Vilms was a member of the Estonian Salvation Committee and the first Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia. Empowered by Maapäev the Salvation Committee issued the Estonian Declaration of Independence on February 24, 1918 in the middle of a political power vacuum created by the retreating Russian and advancing German troops during World War I. The German forces taking over the country didn't recognize the independence of Estonia. The Salvation Committee went underground, Jüri Vilms volunteered to go to Finland to take funds and instructions to the Estonian missions working to get diplomatic recognition for the newly sovereign nation. According to an "official" version, he was captured on reaching the Finnish coast and executed by German troops in Helsinki. According to the latest research Jüri Vilms may have been executed by a unit of the Swedish Brigade in Hauho. Estonia gained its independence after the German troops were withdrawn from Estonia due to the German Revolution and following Estonian War of Independence ended with Peace Treaty of Tartu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia</span> 1710 integration of the Swedish dominions of Estonia and Latvia into the Russian Empire

With the Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710 the Swedish dominions Estonia and Livonia were integrated into the Russian Empire following their conquest during the Great Northern War. The Livonian nobility and the city of Riga capitulated on 4 July (O.S.) / 15 July 1710 (N.S.), Pernau (Pärnu) in August, and the Estonian nobility and the city of Reval (Tallinn) on 29 September (O.S.) / 10 October (N.S.). Russia left the local institutions in place and confirmed the traditional privileges of the German nobles and burghers as was established in Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti, especially with respect to the Protestant faith. The land reform of the so-called reduction which had been introduced by the Swedish king Charles XI, and transformed many serfs to subjects of the Crown, was reversed.

Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti was established on 28 November 1561 in the Treaty of Vilnius between the Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus and the last Landmeister in Livonia Gotthard Kettler, contractually negotiated and granted privilege, which sets the ratio of the Livland Estates Order on the Polish crown and sealed the end of the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Confederation. For the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia the Pacta Subiectionis was additionally signed, which in addition to the privileges governed the relationship of the nobility to the duke, the Polish king and the Reichstag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estonia</span> Country in Northern Europe

Estonia, officially 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, and to the east by Lake Peipsi and Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,300 other islands and islets on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,335 square kilometres (17,504 sq mi). The capital city Tallinn and Tartu are the two largest urban areas of the country. The Estonian language is the indigenous and the official language of Estonia; it is the first language of the majority of its population, the world's second-most spoken Finnic language as well as the third-most spoken Uralic language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terra Mariana</span> Vassal state of the Holy See

Terra Mariana was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia. It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, and its territories were composed of present-day Estonia and Latvia. It was established on 2 February 1207, as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire, and lost this status in 1215 when Pope Innocent III proclaimed it as directly subject to the Holy See.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrien County</span> Uyezd in Estonia Governorate, Russian Empire

The Harrien County was one of the four counties of the Governorate of Estonia. It was situated in the central part of the governorate. Its capital was Reval (Tallinn), which was the capital of the governorate as well. The territory of Kreis Harrien corresponds to the present-day Harju County and most parts of Rapla County.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Prior to 1918, the Imperial Russian Government classified Russians as the Great Russians, Ukrainians as the Little Russians, and Belarusians as the White Russians. After the creation of the Ukrainian People's Republic in 1918, the Little Russians identified themselves as "Ukrainians". [68] Also, the Belarusian Democratic Republic which the White Russians identified themselves as "Belarusians". [69]

Citations

  1. The Baltic States from 1914 to 1923 By LtCol Andrew Parrott. Archived 19 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. William Henry Beable (1919), Russian Gazetteer and Guide, London: Russian Outlook
  3. Thaden 2014a, p. 27.
  4. Thaden 2014b, p. 34.
  5. "National awakening". Estonica.org. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  6. "Estonian national awakening". Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  7. Smith, David James (2005). The Baltic States and Their Region. Rodopi. ISBN   978-90-420-1666-8.
  8. Raun 1991, p. 47.
  9. Thaden 2014b, p. 122.
  10. 1 2 Raun 1991, p. 57.
  11. Raun 1991, p. 59.
  12. 1 2 Raun 1991, p. 65.
  13. Thaden 2014b, p. 306.
  14. 1 2 Raun 1991, p. 66.
  15. 1 2 Raun 1991, p. 77.
  16. Raun 1991, p. 78.
  17. 1 2 Raun 1991, p. 79.
  18. Thaden 2014b, p. 318.
  19. Raun 1991, p. 60.
  20. Thaden 2014b, pp. 306–307.
  21. Thaden 2014b, p. 307.
  22. 1 2 Raun 1991, p. 61.
  23. 1 2 Thaden 2014b, p. 308.
  24. Thaden 2014b, p. 309.
  25. Thaden 2014b, p. 316.
  26. Thaden 2014b, p. 317.
  27. 1 2 Thaden 2014b, p. 324.
  28. Raun 1991, p. 80.
  29. 1 2 Thaden 2014b, p. 325.
  30. Plakans 2011, p. 259.
  31. 1 2 Thaden 2014b, p. 310.
  32. Raun 1991, p. 62.
  33. 1 2 Raun 1991, p. 82.
  34. Plakans 2011, p. 270.
  35. Raun 1991, p. 83.
  36. Plakans 2011, p. 271.
  37. 1 2 3 Raun 1991, p. 84.
  38. Plakans 2011, p. 278.
  39. Plakans 2011, p. 272.
  40. Plakans 2011, p. 273.
  41. Raun 1991, p. 86.
  42. Plakans 2011, p. 274.
  43. Raun 1991, p. 85.
  44. Raun 1991, p. 94.
  45. Raun 1991, p. 95.
  46. 1 2 Plakans 2011, p. 287.
  47. 1 2 Plakans 2011, p. 295.
  48. 1 2 Raun 1991, p. 100.
  49. 1 2 Plakans 2011, p. 296.
  50. Raun 1991, p. 101.
  51. Raun 1991, pp. 101–102.
  52. Raun 1991, p. 102.
  53. Raun 1991, p. 104.
  54. Raun 1991, p. 105.
  55. Plakans 2011, p. 297.
  56. O'Connor 2015, p. 99.
  57. 1 2 Raukas 2018, p. 286.
  58. 1 2 Raukas 2018, p. 290.
  59. Raukas & Teedumäe 1997, p. 331–332.
  60. Raukas & Teedumäe 1997, p. 314.
  61. Эстляндская губерния (in Russian). Руниверс. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  62. Первая Всеобщая перепись населения Российской империи 1897 года. Эстляндская губерния (in Russian)
  63. Estonia Gubernatorial Statistical Committee 1889, p. 31.
  64. Russian Empire census 1905, p. 123.
  65. Estonia Gubernatorial Statistical Committee 1889, p. 22.
  66. Estonia Gubernatorial Statistical Committee 1889, p. 24.
  67. 1 2 3 "Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. Распределение населения по родному языку и уездам 50 губерний Европейской России" [The First General Census of the Russian Empire of 1897. Breakdown of population by mother tongue and districts in 50 Governorates of the European Russia]. www.demoscope.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  68. Hamm, Michael F. (2014). Kiev: A Portrait, 1800–1917. Princeton University Press. p. 83. ISBN   978-1-4008-5151-5.
  69. Fortson IV, Benjamin W. (2011). Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons. p. 429. ISBN   978-1-4443-5968-8.
  70. Estonia Gubernatorial Statistical Committee 1889, p. 25.
  71. "Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. Распределение населения по вероисповеданиям и регионам" [The First General Census of the Russian Empire of 1897. Population distribution by faith and religion]. www.demoscope.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 23 March 2024.

Bibliography

Academic publications

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