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Republic of Estonia

2024-11-25T14:06:20Z

Khamasparaglider: Removed a few instances of incorrect information

{{Infobox country
| name = Republic of Estonia
| native_name = Eesti Vabariik
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Estonia.svg
| capital = [[Tallinn]]
| largest_city = [[Tallinn]]
| image_map = Estonia map.png
| map_width = 290
| map_caption = Estonia (dark green) in the [[European Union]] (light green)
| official_languages = Estonian
|demonym=Estonian| area_km2 = 45,339
| population_estimate = 1,373,101
| population_estimate_year = 2024
|legislature=Riigikogu| established_event1 = Secession from [[USSR]]
| established_date1 = 8 May 1990
| established_event2 = Secession recognized
| established_date2 = 20 August 1991
| image_flag = Estonian flag.png.png
| mode_of_production = [[Capitalism]]
| government_type = Unitary parliamentary republic under a [[dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]]
| leader_title1 = President
| leader_name1 = [[Alar Kalis]]
| leader_title2 = Prime Minister
| leader_name2 = [[Kristen Michal]]
}}

'''Estonia''', officially the '''Republic of Estonia''', is a small country in the [[Baltic states|Baltic]] region of Europe with a coast on the [[Baltic Sea]] to the northwest. It borders [[Russian Federation|Russia]] to the east and [[Republic of Latvia|Latvia]] to the west while also being separated from [[Republic of Finland|Finland]] to the north by the [[Gulf of Finland]]. Although previously Estonia was a socialist republic of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]], modern Estonia is an [[Imperialism|imperialist]] country with membership in the [[European Union|EU]] and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]]. Ethnic Russians in Estonia live under an [[apartheid]] system and have discriminatory non-citizen passports.<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik]]|title=Apartheid, Estonian-Style: Lawmakers Propose Stripping Russians of Right to Vote|date=2017-05-22|url=https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127000838/https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-date=2022-01-27|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early history ===
[[Germany|German]] [[Landlord|landowners]] and merchants dominated Estonia from the 13th through 19th centuries. [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] conquered the region in 1710. In the 1917 elections, the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolsheviks]] received 37% of the vote in Estonia compared to 25% throughout the [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|Russian Empire]]. In early 1918, the Estonian [[ruling class]] declared independence from Russia and fought a two-year civil war with major Western support.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The European Nationalities in the USSR|page=78–79|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd.|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref>

=== Interwar period ===

==== Early 1920s ====
In 1920, Estonia established a parliamentary government. Despite declaring itself an independent nation, in reality, the Estonian state operated as a [[Neocolony|semi-colony]] under the influence of the foreign powers. Economic decisions were made based on the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master power.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=58|quote=All four Baltic states, Finland and Latvia in particular, inherited from von
der Goltz corrupt government cliques which converted their
countries into colonies and followed an economic policy of
maximum dependence at first on England, later on Germany.
As is customary in colonial or semicolonial countries, the
economy itself was subordinated to politics. Economic measures
were accepted or rejected on considerations of foreign policy on
the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master
power.}}</ref> Thus, under the influence of its current master power, [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Britain]], Estonia would adopt an [[Agrari|agrarian]] policy in the early 1920s.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=61|quote=The choice was made under the influence of Baltic chiefs of state who enjoyed the powerful support of England and played on the
primitive aspirations born of the agrarian reforms.}}</ref> This would lead to massive industrial decline. <blockquote>The huge Krenholm textile mill in [[Narva]], which employed 12,000 workers in 1914, saw a dramatic reduction to just 2,000. The Russo-Baltic ship-building docks, which used to employ 5,000 workers, were left vacant.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=62|quote=Vacated in Tallinn were the Russo-Baltic shipbuilding docks,
which before the war employed 5,000 workers, and the Dvigatel
car-building works, where 15,000 workers were once engaged,
was closed down in Riga.}}</ref> The number of workers employed in the metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile industry from 19,000 to 9,000 (Comparison made with pre-war numbers).<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=63|quote=The same was true also in Estonia, where, in comparison with
the period before 1914, the number of workers employed in the
metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile
industry from 19,000 to 9,000.|pdf=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf}}</ref></blockquote>The economy would face repeat crises as Estonia was dependent on the export of agricultural goods on the foreign market, a foreign market which had constantly fluctuating price levels and alterations in the political situation.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=66|quote=Since local agriculture was dependent on the foreign market, its development was subject to constantly changing price levels on the world
farm products market and to alterations of the political situation. The opportunity for normal development was absent,
and during all these interwar years the structure of Baltic economy continued to rock on this unstable foundation, more shifting than the sand dunes on the Baltic shores. The curve of agricultural growth in the Baltic countries is not a rising one, as
should be expected from states which have made a "peasant
policy" their watchword. The curve goes from crisis to crisis,
with sweeping drops between, and following each drop it begins again the slow painful climb upward to the next crisis.}}</ref>

====== 1. December 1924 armed revolt ======
On the 1. December 1924, there would be an [[Estonian Communist Party|EKP]] led uprising.

==== Economic collapse ====
In 1931, as a result of the aforementioned dependence on foreign markets, the economy would completely collapse. The Estonian economy could not handle the massive price plunge of the global market. Foreign markets started to restrict imports, causing the export driven Estonian economy to become isolated.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=70|quote=The crisis of 1931 marked the beginning of the third phase
in the development of the Baltic national economy, a phase
in which its semicolonial character and hopeless condition became most clearly evident.
On the world market prices took a catastrophic drop. All
countries began to introduce quotas restricting the import of
farm produce. An era of economic isolation began. In, the Baltic
states the economic system knocked together for better or
worse simply collapsed.}}</ref> The country would face a crisis of unemployment, economic depression and political instability.

===== Konstantin Päts' dictatorship =====
A [[Fascism|fascist]] anti-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] dictatorship took power in 1934. The Soviet Union signed a mutual assistance treaty with Estonia and the other Baltic states in 1939 in an effort to prevent a [[German Reich (1933–1945)|German]] invasion. After Estonia violated the treaty, the Soviet Union required it to hold new elections involving the Communist Party. In 1940, the new Communist-led government asked for incorporation into the Soviet Union.<ref name=":0" />

=== Second World War ===
Estonian capitalists supported the Nazi invasion in 1941, and 6% of the Estonian population fled with the retreating Nazi armies. Soviet power was restored in 1944.<ref name=":0" />

=== Soviet era ===
{{Main article|Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1991)}}
Estonians had the highest enrollment rate in higher education of any nationality in the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Eugene Puryear|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=Nations and Soviets: The National Question in the USSR|date=2022-06-06|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630072437/https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2022-06-30|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

=== Capitalism ===
After seceding from the USSR, Estonia's poverty rate increased from 1% to 37%.<ref>{{Citation|author=Branko Milanovic|year=1998|title=Income, Inequality, and Poverty during the Transition from Planned to Market Economy|chapter=Poverty|section=By How Much Has Poverty Increased?|page=68|pdf=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314180055/https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/LIS/Milanovic/papers/Income_ineq_poverty_book.pdf|city=Washington, D.C.|publisher=World Bank|isbn=082133994X}}</ref> During the 1992 elections, 42% of Estonia's population was barred from voting.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Carey Goldberg|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Estonians Vote--but Russians Are Barred|date=1992/9/21|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-21-mn-839-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923194913/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-21-mn-839-story.html}}</ref> Estonia held In May 2022, 15,000 [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]] troops from 14 countries conducted a military exercise in Estonia.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Al Mayadeen|title=NATO begins military drills near Russian border|date=2022-05-18|url=https://mronline.org/2022/05/18/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629125147/https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border|archive-date=2022-06-29|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

== Politics ==
[[File:Estonia torch march.png|thumb|[[Neo-fascism|Neo-fascist]] torch march in Tallinn organized by EKRE]]
The [[Conservative People's Party of Estonia]] (EKRE), formed in 2012, promotes the [[Great Replacement]] [[conspiracy theory]]. In 2020, it controlled 19 out of 101 seats in the parliament.<ref>{{Web citation|date=2019-07-22|title=Dissecting Identity & Democracy: the EU’s new far-right super group|url=https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|newspaper=[[CovertAction Magazine]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921200918/https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|archive-date=2020-09-21|retrieved=2022-11-23|author=Ellen Rivera, Marsha P. Davis}}</ref>

== Discrimination against Russians ==
Russians in Estonia are paid less and have more [[unemployment]]. They do not have political freedom and there is no Russian-language press. Criticism of the Estonian government is punishable by deportation.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Johan Bäckman|newspaper=[[RT]]|title=“Estonia has an apartheid regime”|date=2009-05-26|url=https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720022307/https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-date=2022-07-20|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref> In 2017, EKRE proposed banning Russians from voting in the following elections.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Imperialist countries]]
[[Category:Global north]]
[[Category:European countries]]
[[Category:Apartheid states]]

Benjamin Netanyahu

2024-11-21T19:26:38Z

Khamasparaglider: Added mention of recent ICC arrest warrant

{{Infobox politician|name=Benjamin Netanyahu|native_name=בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ‎|birth_date=21 October 1949 (age 74)|birth_place=Tel Aviv, [[State of Israel|Occupied Palestine]]|political_orientation=[[Neoliberalism]]<br>[[Zionism]]|political_party=[[Likud]]|image=Netanyahu.png}}

'''Benjamin Netanyahu''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ; born 21 October 1949), commonly nicknamed '''Bibi''', is an [[State of Israel|Israeli]] [[Terrorism|terrorist]], mass murderer, [[genocide]] perpetrator, war criminal,<ref>{{Web citation|author=Miko Peled|newspaper=[[MintPress News]]|title=In Nauseating Netanyahu Interview, Bill Maher Whitewashes a War Criminal|date=2022-10-25|url=https://www.mintpressnews.com/nauseating-netanyahu-interview-bill-maher-whitewashes-war-criminal/282279/|retrieved=2022-10-25}}</ref> and [[Likud]] politician currently serving as [[Prime Minister of Israel|"Prime Minister" of "Israel"]] since late 2022. He previously served as "Prime Minister" from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021, and has held several other ministerial roles. He supports [[Donald Trump]]<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|author=Alexander Rubinstein|newspaper=[[MintPress News]]|title=The Trump-Netanyahu Ticket Wins the Israeli Election|date=2019-04-10|url=https://www.mintpressnews.com/the-trump-netanyahu-ticket-wins-the-israeli-election/257206/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505195148/https://www.mintpressnews.com/the-trump-netanyahu-ticket-wins-the-israeli-election/257206/|archive-date=2022-05-05|retrieved=2022-10-25}}</ref> and [[Ayn Rand]].<ref>{{Web citation|author=Miko Peled|newspaper=[[MintPress News]]|title=Netanyahu’s Days May Be Numbered, but a Cadre of Far-Right Fanatics Wait in the Wings|date=2020-12-14|url=https://www.mintpressnews.com/israel-netanyahu-days-numbered-cadre-far-right-fanatics-wait-in-the-wings/273614/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202072416/https://www.mintpressnews.com/israel-netanyahu-days-numbered-cadre-far-right-fanatics-wait-in-the-wings/273614/|archive-date=2022-02-02|retrieved=2022-10-25}}</ref> In 2019, he threatened to annex the [[West Bank]] of [[State of Palestine|Palestine]].<ref name=":0" />

== Early Life ==
On 21 October 1949 Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv in the year following the declaration of independence of the supposed "State of Israel". He was the second of three children born to [[Benzion Netanyahu]] and Tzila Segal, a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family of [[Eastern Europe|Eastern European]] origin, and was registered as both a citizen of Israel and the [[United States of America|United States]].<ref>{{Citation|author=Anshel Pfeffer|year=2018|title=Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu|title-url=https://annas-archive.org/md5/06e86d48a9f98080af6e3a4ac1371148|chapter=Life within sharp borders|publisher=Hurst & Company|isbn=978-1-84904-988-7}}</ref> His family name was originally '''Mileikowsky''', but this was changed by his father as part of a [[Zionism|Zionist]] trend of hebraizing surnames, obscuring their European origins.<ref>{{web citation|newspaper=HuffPost|title=Benjamin Netanyahu: A Man Shaped By His Family|date=2009-05-02|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/benjamin-netanyahu-a-man_n_181918|retrieved=2023-11-07}}</ref>

== Political career ==
During his first term as "Prime Minister" from 1996 to 1999, Netanyahu implemented [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] economic policies and [[Privatization|privatized]] resources. He continued these policies as "Finance Minister" from 2003 to 2005, leading to an increase in living costs.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Naim Mousa|newspaper=Mondoweiss|title=The Communist Party is the only force capable of challenging ultra-nationalism in Israeli society|date=2022-11-12|url=https://mondoweiss.net/2022/11/the-communist-party-is-the-only-force-capable-of-challenging-ultra-nationalism-in-israeli-society/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124040941/https://mondoweiss.net/2022/11/the-communist-party-is-the-only-force-capable-of-challenging-ultra-nationalism-in-israeli-society/|archive-date=2022-11-24|retrieved=2022-11-24}}</ref> In December 2022, after becoming "Prime Minister" for a third time, he released a document stating that his government's priority is to advance [[Settler colonialism|settlement]] of all Zionist-occupied regions.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Richard Becker|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=Undisguised fascists hold balance of power in new Israeli annexationist regime|date=2022-12-28|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/undisguised-fascists-hold-balance-of-power-in-new-israeli-annexationist-regime/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230040101/https://www.liberationnews.org/undisguised-fascists-hold-balance-of-power-in-new-israeli-annexationist-regime/|archive-date=2022-12-30|retrieved=2022-12-30}}</ref> On the 21st of November, 2024, the [[International criminal court|ICC]] issued arrest warrants for both him and [[Yoav gallant|Yoav Gallant]], the former "Defense Minister", for their actions in the [[2023 Israel-Gaza war and genocide|Gaza genocide]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Al Jazeera|title=ICC issues arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu for ‘war crimes’ in Gaza|date=2024-11-21|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/21/icc-issues-arrest-warrant-for-israeli-pm-netanyahu-for-war-crimes-in-gaza}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Netanyahu, Benjamin}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:Current heads of government]]
[[Category:Genocide perpetrators]]
[[Category:Israelis of Belarusian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Israelis of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Israelis of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Prime Ministers of Israel]]
[[Category:Zionists]]

Ultra-imperialism

2024-10-30T21:24:50Z

Khamasparaglider: added link

'''Ultra-imperialism''' is a hypothetical higher state of [[capitalism]] proposed by [[Karl Kautsky]] that would occur after [[imperialism]]. Kautsky claimed that [[war]] would end when all the imperialist countries formed a single union to exploit the world. He used this theory to justify the [[Multipolarity|multipolar]] imperialism that existed during his time.<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Vladimir Lenin]]|year=1916|title=Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism|chapter=Imperialism as a Special Stage of Capitalism|chapter-url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/ch07.htm|city=[[Moscow]]|publisher=Progress Publishers|mia=https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/index.htm}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Neocolonialism]]
* [[United States imperialism]]

== References ==
[[Category:Revisionism]]

Hyperimperialism

2024-10-30T21:19:18Z

Khamasparaglider: removed redirect

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Hyper-imperialism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyper-imperialism}}
__NOINDEX__

Republic of Latvia

2024-10-29T20:11:44Z

Khamasparaglider: Small addition to the 'Capitalist counterrevolution' section

{{Infobox country
| name = Republic of Latvia
| native_name = Latvijas Republika<br>Latvejas Republika<br>Leţmō Vabāmō
| image_flag = Flag of Latvia.svg
| image_coat = Latvian coat of arms.svg
| capital = Riga
| largest_city = Riga
|government_type=Unitary parliamentary republic|leader_title1=President|leader_name1=[[Edgars Rinkēvičs]]|leader_title2=Prime Minister|leader_name2=[[Evika Siliņa]]|leader_title3=Speaker of the Saeima|leader_name3=[[Daiga Mieriņa]]| image_map = Latvia map.png
| map_width = 290
| map_caption = Latvia (dark green) in the [[European Union]] (light green)
| official_languages = Latvian
| recognized_languages = Livonian<br>Latgalian
|demonym=Latvian|legislature=Saeima| area_km2 = 64,589
| population_estimate = 1,842,226
| population_estimate_year = 2022
}}

'''Latvia''', officially the '''Republic of Latvia''', is a country in the [[Baltic]] region of [[Eastern Europe]]. It is bordered by [[Republic of Estonia|Estonia]] to the north, [[Republic of Lithuania|Lithuania]] to the south and [[Russian Federation|Russia]] to the east. Modern Latvia is an [[Imperialism|imperialist]] country with membership of the [[European Union]] and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]]. Latvia is currently ruled by an [[Ethnonationalism|ethnonationalist]] [[Dictatorship of the bourgeoisie|bourgeois dictatorship]] and has outlawed celebrating the victory of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Azərbaycan24|title=EU state bans WW2 victory celebration|date=2023-04-20|url=https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/eu-state-bans-ww2-victory-celebration/|retrieved=2023-04-22}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early history ===
Like Estonia but unlike Lithuania, Latvia did not exist as an independent entity until the [[Russian revolution of 1917|October Revolution]]. Between the 13th and 18th centuries, [[Holy Roman Empire (800–1806)|Germany]], [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland]], and [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]] controlled various parts of the region, and the [[ruling class]] consisted of German [[Nobility|nobles]]. The [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|Russian Empire]] gradually conquered Latvia between 1721 and 1795.<ref name=":02">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The European Nationalities in the USSR|page=81–83|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd.|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref>

=== Revolution and interwar period ===
The [[Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party]] was founded in 1904 and had 14,000 members by 1905. During the [[Russian revolution of 1905|1905 revolution]], Latvia had a higher percentage of [[Strike action|striking]] workers than any other part of the empire. [[German Empire (1871–1918)|Germany]] invaded Latvia in the spring of 1918 and overthrew the [[Soviet (governmental body)|Soviets]]. The [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] returned to Latvia in 1919 after the German defeat, beginning a civil war between [[Communism|communists]] and [[Nationalism|nationalists]]. Western-funded [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] forces defeated the Red Army in 1920, leading many Latvians to flee to [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917–1991)|Soviet Russia]]. A [[Fascism|fascist]] dictatorship inspired by [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]]'s [[Kingdom of Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]] took power in Latvia in 1934.<ref name=":02" />

=== Second World War and Soviet era ===
{{Main article|Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1990)}}
The Red Army entered Latvia in 1939 to defend the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] from the oncoming [[German Reich (1933–1945)|German]] invasion. The Soviets removed the Latvian fascists from power and established a communist government that requested incorporation into the USSR. When the Nazis invaded in 1941, Latvia had less Nazi collaborators than the other Baltic states.<ref name=":02" />

=== Capitalist counterrevolution ===
Latvia seceded from the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] in 1991. As a result of the [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] [[counterrevolution]], Latvia's poverty rate increased from 1% in the late 1980s to 22% in 1995.<ref>{{Citation|author=Branko Milanovic|year=1998|title=Income, Inequality, and Poverty during the Transition from Planned to Market Economy|chapter=Poverty|section=By How Much Has Poverty Increased?|page=68|pdf=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314180055/https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/LIS/Milanovic/papers/Income_ineq_poverty_book.pdf|city=Washington, D.C.|publisher=World Bank|isbn=082133994X}}</ref> In 1995, communist activist [[Alfrēds Rubiks]], was arrested and jailed. Latvia joined the European Union in 2004.<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|author=Gilbert Doctorow|newspaper=[[Monthly Review]]|title=Republic of Latvia, Apartheid State within the EU|date=2018-08-04|url=https://mronline.org/2018/08/04/republic-of-latvia-apartheid-state-within-the-eu/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804194315/https://mronline.org/2018/08/04/republic-of-latvia-apartheid-state-within-the-eu/|archive-date=2021-08-04|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

== Anti-Russian discrimination ==
In 1992, Latvia passed a law revoking citizenship for more than half of its Russian population. 300,000 people, or 15% of the total population, are not allowed to own land or work in law or banking. Despite a quarter of Latvia's population being Russians, the Russian language is not allowed in public schools,<ref name=":0" /> and people can be sent to prison for 3 to 25 years for speaking in favor of Russia.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Patricia Gorky|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=East European governments pledge loyalty to U.S. war drive|date=2022-06-19|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/east-european-governments-pledge-loyalty-to-u-s-war-drive/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630072432/https://www.liberationnews.org/east-european-governments-pledge-loyalty-to-u-s-war-drive/|archive-date=2022-06-30|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

===Destruction of Soviet Monument===

In 25 August 2022, the Latvian government destroyed the [[Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders|Victory Monument]] obelisk.<ref name="Demolition">{{News citation|url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/environment/demolition-of-soviet-victory-monument-in-riga.a470869|title=Demolition of Soviet Victory monument in Rīga |date=2022-08-25|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting of Latvia]]|access-date=2022-08-25}}</ref><ref name="Demolition (3)">{{News citation|url=https://www.baltictimes.com/largest_soviet_monument_in_baltics_dismantled_in_riga/|title=Largest Soviet monument in Baltics dismantled in Riga|date=2022-08-26|newspaper=The Baltic Times|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>
== References ==
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Imperialist countries]]
[[Category:Global north]]
[[Category:European countries]]
<references />
[[Category:Apartheid states]]

Republic of Lithuania

2024-10-28T12:52:02Z

Khamasparaglider: Added mention of the suppression of communist leaders

{{Infobox country|name=Republic of Lithuania|native_name=Lietuvos Respublika|image_flag=Flag of Lithuania.svg|image_coat=Coat of arms of Lithuania.svg|capital=Vilnius|largest_city=Vilnius|mode_of_production=[[Capitalism]]|government_type=Unitary semi-presidential republic|leader_title1=President|leader_name1=[[Gitanas Nausėda]]|leader_title2=Prime Minister|leader_name2=[[Ingrida Šimonytė]]|leader_title3=Seimas Speaker|leader_name3=[[Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen]]|image_map=Lithuania map.png|map_width=290|map_caption=Lithuania (dark green) in the [[European Union]] (light green)|official_languages=Lithuanian|demonym=Lithuanian|legislature=Seimas|area_km2=65,300|population_estimate=2,885,891|population_estimate_year=2024}}

'''Lithuania''', officially the '''Republic of Lithuania''', is a country in the [[Baltic]] region of [[Europe]] with a coast on the [[Baltic Sea]] to the west. It borders [[Republic of Latvia|Latvia]] to the north, [[Republic of Belarus|Belarus]] to the east, [[Republic of Poland|Poland]] to the south and the [[Russian Federation|Russian]] semi-exclave of [[Kaliningrad]] to the southwest. It was a republic of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] from the [[Second World War]] until the [[Overthrow of the Soviet Union|counterrevolution of 1991]]. The [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] has had secret prisons in Lithuania since 2001, although the [[United States of America|U.S.]] government did not admit it until 2006.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Derek Jennings|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=Re-open investigation of secret CIA prisons in Lithuania!|date=2011-02-03|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/lithuania-cia-prisons-html/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714124619/https://www.liberationnews.org/lithuania-cia-prisons-html/|archive-date=2019-07-14|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref> Modern Lithuania is an [[Imperialism|imperialist]] country with membership of [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]] and the [[European Union|EU]].

== History ==

=== Medieval history ===
{{Main article|Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1236–1795)}}

=== Interwar period ===
The [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] took Vilnius in January 1919 but was driven out by Western-backed [[Nationalism|nationalists]]. After a coalition of [[Socialism|socialists]] and populists won the 1926 election, a military coup established a [[Fascism|fascist]] dictatorship led by [[Antanas Smetona]], an admirer of [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]]. After Lithuania violated a mutual assistance treaty with the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] in 1940, communist forces in Lithuania organized its incorporation into the USSR.<ref name=":0" />

=== Second World War ===
[[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] invaded Lithuania in 1941 following a nationalist rebellion in Vilnius. The [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] drove the Nazis out in 1944 with support from Lithuanian guerrillas, but scattered fighting against the Soviet Union continued until 1953.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The European Nationalities in the USSR|page=80–81|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd.|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref>

=== Soviet era ===
{{Main article|Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940-1990)}}
During the Soviet era, a higher percentage of Lithuanians were enrolled in higher education that ethnic [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917–1991)|Russians]].<ref>{{Web citation|author=Eugene Puryear|newspaper=Liberation News|title=Nations and Soviets: The National Question in the USSR|date=2022-06-06|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630072437/https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2022-06-30|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref> Living standards and the economy improved rapidly under socialism.<ref name=":0" />

=== Capitalist era ===
Due to the capitalist counterrevolution, poverty increased from 1% in the late 1980s to 30% in 1994.<ref>{{Citation|author=Branko Milanovic|year=1998|title=Income, Inequality, and Poverty during the Transition from Planned to Market Economy|chapter=Poverty|section=By How Much Has Poverty Increased?|page=68|pdf=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314180055/https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/LIS/Milanovic/papers/Income_ineq_poverty_book.pdf|city=Washington, D.C.|publisher=World Bank|isbn=082133994X}}</ref> Communist leaders were tortured and then imprisoned.<ref>{{Citation|author=Michael Parenti|year=1997|title=Blackshirts & reds|title-url=https://welshundergroundnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/blackshirts-and-reds-by-michael-parenti.pdf|chapter=The free-market paradise goes east (I)|section=Suppression of the Left|page=93|pdf=https://welshundergroundnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/blackshirts-and-reds-by-michael-parenti.pdf}}</ref> In 2004, the [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] Lithuanian regime joined NATO.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Richard Becker|newspaper=Liberation News|title=Right on NATO’s doorstep?|date=2022-01-25|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/right-on-natos-doorstep/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225114046/https://www.liberationnews.org/right-on-natos-doorstep/|archive-date=2022-02-25|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref> In 2009, the [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]] cut wages for Lithuanian health and education workers by 20% to 40%.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Radhika Miller|newspaper=Liberation News|title=Lithuanian workers latest victims of IMF, capitalism|date=2009-05-16|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/09-05-16-lithuanian-workers-latest-victim-html/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714142712/https://www.liberationnews.org/09-05-16-lithuanian-workers-latest-victim-html/|archive-date=2019-07-14|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

== References ==
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:European countries]]
[[Category:Imperialist countries]]
[[Category:Global north]]

Republic of Estonia

2024-10-28T12:45:25Z

Khamasparaglider: Added citation

{{Infobox country
| name = Republic of Estonia
| native_name = Eesti Vabariik
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Estonia.svg
| capital = [[Tallinn]]
| largest_city = [[Tallinn]]
| image_map = Estonia map.png
| map_width = 290
| map_caption = Estonia (dark green) in the [[European Union]] (light green)
| official_languages = Estonian
|demonym=Estonian| area_km2 = 45,339
| population_estimate = 1,373,101
| population_estimate_year = 2024
|legislature=Riigikogu| established_event1 = Secession from [[USSR]]
| established_date1 = 8 May 1990
| established_event2 = Secession recognized
| established_date2 = 20 August 1991
| image_flag = Estonian flag.png.png
| mode_of_production = [[Capitalism]]
| government_type = Unitary parliamentary republic under a [[dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]]
| leader_title1 = President
| leader_name1 = [[Alar Kalis]]
| leader_title2 = Prime Minister
| leader_name2 = [[Kristen Michal]]
}}

'''Estonia''', officially the '''Republic of Estonia''', is a small country in the [[Baltic states|Baltic]] region of Europe with a coast on the [[Baltic Sea]] to the northwest. It borders [[Russian Federation|Russia]] to the east and [[Republic of Latvia|Latvia]] to the west while also being separated from [[Republic of Finland|Finland]] to the north by the [[Gulf of Finland]]. Although previously Estonia was a socialist republic of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]], modern Estonia is an [[Imperialism|imperialist]] country with membership in the [[European Union|EU]] and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]]. Ethnic Russians in Estonia live under an [[apartheid]] system and have discriminatory non-citizen passports.<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik]]|title=Apartheid, Estonian-Style: Lawmakers Propose Stripping Russians of Right to Vote|date=2017-05-22|url=https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127000838/https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-date=2022-01-27|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early history ===
[[Germany|German]] [[Landlord|landowners]] and merchants dominated Estonia from the 13th through 19th centuries. [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] conquered the region in 1710. In the 1917 elections, the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolsheviks]] received 37% of the vote in Estonia compared to 25% throughout the [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|Russian Empire]]. In early 1918, the Estonian [[ruling class]] declared independence from Russia and fought a two-year civil war with major Western support.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The European Nationalities in the USSR|page=78–79|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd.|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref>

=== Interwar period ===

==== Early 1920s ====
In 1920, Estonia established a parliamentary government. Despite declaring itself an independent nation, in reality, the Estonian state operated as a [[Neocolony|semi-colony]] under the influence of the foreign powers. Economic decisions were made based on the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master power.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=58|quote=All four Baltic states, Finland and Latvia in particular, inherited from von
der Goltz corrupt government cliques which converted their
countries into colonies and followed an economic policy of
maximum dependence at first on England, later on Germany.
As is customary in colonial or semicolonial countries, the
economy itself was subordinated to politics. Economic measures
were accepted or rejected on considerations of foreign policy on
the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master
power.}}</ref> Thus, under the influence of its current master power, [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Britain]], Estonia would adopt an [[Agrari|agrarian]] policy in the early 1920s.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=61|quote=The choice was made under the influence of Baltic chiefs of state who enjoyed the powerful support of England and played on the
primitive aspirations born of the agrarian reforms.}}</ref> This would lead to massive industrial decline. <blockquote>The huge Krenholm textile mill in [[Narva]], which employed 12,000 workers in 1914, saw a dramatic reduction to just 2,000. The Russo-Baltic ship-building docks, which used to employ 5,000 workers, were left vacant.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=62|quote=Vacated in Tallinn were the Russo-Baltic shipbuilding docks,
which before the war employed 5,000 workers, and the Dvigatel
car-building works, where 15,000 workers were once engaged,
was closed down in Riga.}}</ref> The number of workers employed in the metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile industry from 19,000 to 9,000 (Comparison made with pre-war numbers).<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=63|quote=The same was true also in Estonia, where, in comparison with
the period before 1914, the number of workers employed in the
metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile
industry from 19,000 to 9,000.|pdf=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf}}</ref></blockquote>The economy would face repeat crises as Estonia was dependent on the export of agricultural goods on the foreign market, a foreign market which had constantly fluctuating price levels and alterations in the political situation.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=66|quote=Since local agriculture was dependent on the foreign market, its development was subject to constantly changing price levels on the world
farm products market and to alterations of the political situation. The opportunity for normal development was absent,
and during all these interwar years the structure of Baltic economy continued to rock on this unstable foundation, more shifting than the sand dunes on the Baltic shores. The curve of agricultural growth in the Baltic countries is not a rising one, as
should be expected from states which have made a "peasant
policy" their watchword. The curve goes from crisis to crisis,
with sweeping drops between, and following each drop it begins again the slow painful climb upward to the next crisis.}}</ref>

====== 1. December 1924 armed revolt ======
On the 1. December 1924, there would be an attempt to seize power by the [[EKP]]. The government banned the [[Estonian Communist Party]] in 1924 and arrested its leaders. The government would execute [[Viktor Kingisepp]] without trial.

==== Economic collapse ====
In 1931, as a result of the aforementioned dependence on foreign markets, the economy would completely collapse. The Estonian economy could not handle the massive price plunge of the global market. Foreign markets started to restrict imports, causing the export driven Estonian economy to become isolated.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=70|quote=The crisis of 1931 marked the beginning of the third phase
in the development of the Baltic national economy, a phase
in which its semicolonial character and hopeless condition became most clearly evident.
On the world market prices took a catastrophic drop. All
countries began to introduce quotas restricting the import of
farm produce. An era of economic isolation began. In, the Baltic
states the economic system knocked together for better or
worse simply collapsed.}}</ref> The country would face a crisis of unemployment, economic depression and political instability.

===== Konstantin Päts' dictatorship =====
A [[Fascism|fascist]] anti-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] dictatorship took power in 1934. The Soviet Union signed a mutual assistance treaty with Estonia and the other Baltic states in 1939 in an effort to prevent a [[German Reich (1933–1945)|German]] invasion. After Estonia violated the treaty, the Soviet Union required it to hold new elections involving the Communist Party. In 1940, the new Communist-led government asked for incorporation into the Soviet Union.<ref name=":0" />

=== Second World War ===
Estonian capitalists supported the Nazi invasion in 1941, and 6% of the Estonian population fled with the retreating Nazi armies. Soviet power was restored in 1944.<ref name=":0" />

=== Soviet era ===
{{Main article|Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1991)}}
Estonians had the highest enrollment rate in higher education of any nationality in the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Eugene Puryear|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=Nations and Soviets: The National Question in the USSR|date=2022-06-06|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630072437/https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2022-06-30|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

=== Capitalism ===
After seceding from the USSR, Estonia's poverty rate increased from 1% to 37%.<ref>{{Citation|author=Branko Milanovic|year=1998|title=Income, Inequality, and Poverty during the Transition from Planned to Market Economy|chapter=Poverty|section=By How Much Has Poverty Increased?|page=68|pdf=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314180055/https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/LIS/Milanovic/papers/Income_ineq_poverty_book.pdf|city=Washington, D.C.|publisher=World Bank|isbn=082133994X}}</ref> During the 1992 elections, 42% of Estonia's population was barred from voting.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Carey Goldberg|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Estonians Vote--but Russians Are Barred|date=1992/9/21|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-21-mn-839-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923194913/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-21-mn-839-story.html}}</ref> Estonia held In May 2022, 15,000 [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]] troops from 14 countries conducted a military exercise in Estonia.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Al Mayadeen|title=NATO begins military drills near Russian border|date=2022-05-18|url=https://mronline.org/2022/05/18/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629125147/https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border|archive-date=2022-06-29|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

== Politics ==
[[File:Estonia torch march.png|thumb|[[Neo-fascism|Neo-fascist]] torch march in Tallinn organized by EKRE]]
The [[Conservative People's Party of Estonia]] (EKRE), formed in 2012, promotes the [[Great Replacement]] [[conspiracy theory]]. In 2020, it controlled 19 out of 101 seats in the parliament.<ref>{{Web citation|date=2019-07-22|title=Dissecting Identity & Democracy: the EU’s new far-right super group|url=https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|newspaper=[[CovertAction Magazine]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921200918/https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|archive-date=2020-09-21|retrieved=2022-11-23|author=Ellen Rivera, Marsha P. Davis}}</ref>

== Discrimination against Russians ==
Russians in Estonia are paid less and have more [[unemployment]]. They do not have political freedom and there is no Russian-language press. Criticism of the Estonian government is punishable by deportation.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Johan Bäckman|newspaper=[[RT]]|title=“Estonia has an apartheid regime”|date=2009-05-26|url=https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720022307/https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-date=2022-07-20|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref> In 2017, EKRE proposed banning Russians from voting in the following elections.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Imperialist countries]]
[[Category:Global north]]
[[Category:European countries]]
[[Category:Apartheid states]]

Republic of Estonia

2024-10-28T12:41:10Z

Khamasparaglider: Added mention of the 1992 election controversy

{{Infobox country
| name = Republic of Estonia
| native_name = Eesti Vabariik
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Estonia.svg
| capital = [[Tallinn]]
| largest_city = [[Tallinn]]
| image_map = Estonia map.png
| map_width = 290
| map_caption = Estonia (dark green) in the [[European Union]] (light green)
| official_languages = Estonian
|demonym=Estonian| area_km2 = 45,339
| population_estimate = 1,373,101
| population_estimate_year = 2024
|legislature=Riigikogu| established_event1 = Secession from [[USSR]]
| established_date1 = 8 May 1990
| established_event2 = Secession recognized
| established_date2 = 20 August 1991
| image_flag = Estonian flag.png.png
| mode_of_production = [[Capitalism]]
| government_type = Unitary parliamentary republic under a [[dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]]
| leader_title1 = President
| leader_name1 = [[Alar Kalis]]
| leader_title2 = Prime Minister
| leader_name2 = [[Kristen Michal]]
}}

'''Estonia''', officially the '''Republic of Estonia''', is a small country in the [[Baltic states|Baltic]] region of Europe with a coast on the [[Baltic Sea]] to the northwest. It borders [[Russian Federation|Russia]] to the east and [[Republic of Latvia|Latvia]] to the west while also being separated from [[Republic of Finland|Finland]] to the north by the [[Gulf of Finland]]. Although previously Estonia was a socialist republic of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]], modern Estonia is an [[Imperialism|imperialist]] country with membership in the [[European Union|EU]] and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]]. Ethnic Russians in Estonia live under an [[apartheid]] system and have discriminatory non-citizen passports.<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik]]|title=Apartheid, Estonian-Style: Lawmakers Propose Stripping Russians of Right to Vote|date=2017-05-22|url=https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127000838/https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-date=2022-01-27|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early history ===
[[Germany|German]] [[Landlord|landowners]] and merchants dominated Estonia from the 13th through 19th centuries. [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] conquered the region in 1710. In the 1917 elections, the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolsheviks]] received 37% of the vote in Estonia compared to 25% throughout the [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|Russian Empire]]. In early 1918, the Estonian [[ruling class]] declared independence from Russia and fought a two-year civil war with major Western support.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The European Nationalities in the USSR|page=78–79|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd.|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref>

=== Interwar period ===

==== Early 1920s ====
In 1920, Estonia established a parliamentary government. Despite declaring itself an independent nation, in reality, the Estonian state operated as a [[Neocolony|semi-colony]] under the influence of the foreign powers. Economic decisions were made based on the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master power.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=58|quote=All four Baltic states, Finland and Latvia in particular, inherited from von
der Goltz corrupt government cliques which converted their
countries into colonies and followed an economic policy of
maximum dependence at first on England, later on Germany.
As is customary in colonial or semicolonial countries, the
economy itself was subordinated to politics. Economic measures
were accepted or rejected on considerations of foreign policy on
the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master
power.}}</ref> Thus, under the influence of its current master power, [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Britain]], Estonia would adopt an [[Agrari|agrarian]] policy in the early 1920s.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=61|quote=The choice was made under the influence of Baltic chiefs of state who enjoyed the powerful support of England and played on the
primitive aspirations born of the agrarian reforms.}}</ref> This would lead to massive industrial decline. <blockquote>The huge Krenholm textile mill in [[Narva]], which employed 12,000 workers in 1914, saw a dramatic reduction to just 2,000. The Russo-Baltic ship-building docks, which used to employ 5,000 workers, were left vacant.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=62|quote=Vacated in Tallinn were the Russo-Baltic shipbuilding docks,
which before the war employed 5,000 workers, and the Dvigatel
car-building works, where 15,000 workers were once engaged,
was closed down in Riga.}}</ref> The number of workers employed in the metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile industry from 19,000 to 9,000 (Comparison made with pre-war numbers).<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=63|quote=The same was true also in Estonia, where, in comparison with
the period before 1914, the number of workers employed in the
metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile
industry from 19,000 to 9,000.|pdf=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf}}</ref></blockquote>The economy would face repeat crises as Estonia was dependent on the export of agricultural goods on the foreign market, a foreign market which had constantly fluctuating price levels and alterations in the political situation.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=66|quote=Since local agriculture was dependent on the foreign market, its development was subject to constantly changing price levels on the world
farm products market and to alterations of the political situation. The opportunity for normal development was absent,
and during all these interwar years the structure of Baltic economy continued to rock on this unstable foundation, more shifting than the sand dunes on the Baltic shores. The curve of agricultural growth in the Baltic countries is not a rising one, as
should be expected from states which have made a "peasant
policy" their watchword. The curve goes from crisis to crisis,
with sweeping drops between, and following each drop it begins again the slow painful climb upward to the next crisis.}}</ref>

====== 1. December 1924 armed revolt ======
On the 1. December 1924, there would be an attempt to seize power by the [[EKP]]. The government banned the [[Estonian Communist Party]] in 1924 and arrested its leaders. The government would execute [[Viktor Kingisepp]] without trial.

==== Economic collapse ====
In 1931, as a result of the aforementioned dependence on foreign markets, the economy would completely collapse. The Estonian economy could not handle the massive price plunge of the global market. Foreign markets started to restrict imports, causing the export driven Estonian economy to become isolated.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=70|quote=The crisis of 1931 marked the beginning of the third phase
in the development of the Baltic national economy, a phase
in which its semicolonial character and hopeless condition became most clearly evident.
On the world market prices took a catastrophic drop. All
countries began to introduce quotas restricting the import of
farm produce. An era of economic isolation began. In, the Baltic
states the economic system knocked together for better or
worse simply collapsed.}}</ref> The country would face a crisis of unemployment, economic depression and political instability.

===== Konstantin Päts' dictatorship =====
A [[Fascism|fascist]] anti-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] dictatorship took power in 1934. The Soviet Union signed a mutual assistance treaty with Estonia and the other Baltic states in 1939 in an effort to prevent a [[German Reich (1933–1945)|German]] invasion. After Estonia violated the treaty, the Soviet Union required it to hold new elections involving the Communist Party. In 1940, the new Communist-led government asked for incorporation into the Soviet Union.<ref name=":0" />

=== Second World War ===
Estonian capitalists supported the Nazi invasion in 1941, and 6% of the Estonian population fled with the retreating Nazi armies. Soviet power was restored in 1944.<ref name=":0" />

=== Soviet era ===
{{Main article|Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1991)}}
Estonians had the highest enrollment rate in higher education of any nationality in the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Eugene Puryear|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=Nations and Soviets: The National Question in the USSR|date=2022-06-06|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630072437/https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2022-06-30|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

=== Capitalism ===
After seceding from the USSR, Estonia's poverty rate increased from 1% to 37%.<ref>{{Citation|author=Branko Milanovic|year=1998|title=Income, Inequality, and Poverty during the Transition from Planned to Market Economy|chapter=Poverty|section=By How Much Has Poverty Increased?|page=68|pdf=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314180055/https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/LIS/Milanovic/papers/Income_ineq_poverty_book.pdf|city=Washington, D.C.|publisher=World Bank|isbn=082133994X}}</ref> During the 1992 elections, 42% of Estonia's population was barred from voting. Estonia held In May 2022, 15,000 [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]] troops from 14 countries conducted a military exercise in Estonia.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Al Mayadeen|title=NATO begins military drills near Russian border|date=2022-05-18|url=https://mronline.org/2022/05/18/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629125147/https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border|archive-date=2022-06-29|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

== Politics ==
[[File:Estonia torch march.png|thumb|[[Neo-fascism|Neo-fascist]] torch march in Tallinn organized by EKRE]]
The [[Conservative People's Party of Estonia]] (EKRE), formed in 2012, promotes the [[Great Replacement]] [[conspiracy theory]]. In 2020, it controlled 19 out of 101 seats in the parliament.<ref>{{Web citation|date=2019-07-22|title=Dissecting Identity & Democracy: the EU’s new far-right super group|url=https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|newspaper=[[CovertAction Magazine]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921200918/https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|archive-date=2020-09-21|retrieved=2022-11-23|author=Ellen Rivera, Marsha P. Davis}}</ref>

== Discrimination against Russians ==
Russians in Estonia are paid less and have more [[unemployment]]. They do not have political freedom and there is no Russian-language press. Criticism of the Estonian government is punishable by deportation.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Johan Bäckman|newspaper=[[RT]]|title=“Estonia has an apartheid regime”|date=2009-05-26|url=https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720022307/https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-date=2022-07-20|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref> In 2017, EKRE proposed banning Russians from voting in the following elections.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Imperialist countries]]
[[Category:Global north]]
[[Category:European countries]]
[[Category:Apartheid states]]

Republic of Estonia

2024-10-20T15:45:11Z

Khamasparaglider: edited subheadings

{{Infobox country
| name = Republic of Estonia
| native_name = Eesti Vabariik
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Estonia.svg
| capital = [[Tallinn]]
| largest_city = [[Tallinn]]
| image_map = Estonia map.png
| map_width = 290
| map_caption = Estonia (dark green) in the [[European Union]] (light green)
| official_languages = Estonian
|demonym=Estonian| area_km2 = 45,339
| population_estimate = 1,373,101
| population_estimate_year = 2024
|legislature=Riigikogu| established_event1 = Secession from [[USSR]]
| established_date1 = 8 May 1990
| established_event2 = Secession recognized
| established_date2 = 20 August 1991
| image_flag = Estonian flag.png.png
| mode_of_production = [[Capitalism]]
| government_type = Unitary parliamentary republic under a [[dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]]
| leader_title1 = President
| leader_name1 = [[Alar Kalis]]
| leader_title2 = Prime Minister
| leader_name2 = [[Kristen Michal]]
}}

'''Estonia''', officially the '''Republic of Estonia''', is a small country in the [[Baltic states|Baltic]] region of Europe with a coast on the [[Baltic Sea]] to the northwest. It borders [[Russian Federation|Russia]] to the east and [[Republic of Latvia|Latvia]] to the west while also being separated from [[Republic of Finland|Finland]] to the north by the [[Gulf of Finland]]. Although previously Estonia was a socialist republic of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]], modern Estonia is an [[Imperialism|imperialist]] country with membership in the [[European Union|EU]] and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]]. Ethnic Russians in Estonia live under an [[apartheid]] system and have discriminatory non-citizen passports.<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik]]|title=Apartheid, Estonian-Style: Lawmakers Propose Stripping Russians of Right to Vote|date=2017-05-22|url=https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127000838/https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-date=2022-01-27|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early history ===
[[Germany|German]] [[Landlord|landowners]] and merchants dominated Estonia from the 13th through 19th centuries. [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] conquered the region in 1710. In the 1917 elections, the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolsheviks]] received 37% of the vote in Estonia compared to 25% throughout the [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|Russian Empire]]. In early 1918, the Estonian [[ruling class]] declared independence from Russia and fought a two-year civil war with major Western support.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The European Nationalities in the USSR|page=78–79|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd.|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref>

=== Interwar period ===

==== Early 1920s ====
In 1920, Estonia established a parliamentary government. Despite declaring itself an independent nation, in reality, the Estonian state operated as a [[Neocolony|semi-colony]] under the influence of the foreign powers. Economic decisions were made based on the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master power.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=58|quote=All four Baltic states, Finland and Latvia in particular, inherited from von
der Goltz corrupt government cliques which converted their
countries into colonies and followed an economic policy of
maximum dependence at first on England, later on Germany.
As is customary in colonial or semicolonial countries, the
economy itself was subordinated to politics. Economic measures
were accepted or rejected on considerations of foreign policy on
the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master
power.}}</ref> Thus, under the influence of its current master power, [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Britain]], Estonia would adopt an [[Agrari|agrarian]] policy in the early 1920s.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=61|quote=The choice was made under the influence of Baltic chiefs of state who enjoyed the powerful support of England and played on the
primitive aspirations born of the agrarian reforms.}}</ref> This would lead to massive industrial decline. <blockquote>The huge Krenholm textile mill in [[Narva]], which employed 12,000 workers in 1914, saw a dramatic reduction to just 2,000. The Russo-Baltic ship-building docks, which used to employ 5,000 workers, were left vacant.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=62|quote=Vacated in Tallinn were the Russo-Baltic shipbuilding docks,
which before the war employed 5,000 workers, and the Dvigatel
car-building works, where 15,000 workers were once engaged,
was closed down in Riga.}}</ref> The number of workers employed in the metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile industry from 19,000 to 9,000 (Comparison made with pre-war numbers).<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=63|quote=The same was true also in Estonia, where, in comparison with
the period before 1914, the number of workers employed in the
metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile
industry from 19,000 to 9,000.|pdf=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf}}</ref></blockquote>The economy would face repeat crises as Estonia was dependent on the export of agricultural goods on the foreign market, a foreign market which had constantly fluctuating price levels and alterations in the political situation.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=66|quote=Since local agriculture was dependent on the foreign market, its development was subject to constantly changing price levels on the world
farm products market and to alterations of the political situation. The opportunity for normal development was absent,
and during all these interwar years the structure of Baltic economy continued to rock on this unstable foundation, more shifting than the sand dunes on the Baltic shores. The curve of agricultural growth in the Baltic countries is not a rising one, as
should be expected from states which have made a "peasant
policy" their watchword. The curve goes from crisis to crisis,
with sweeping drops between, and following each drop it begins again the slow painful climb upward to the next crisis.}}</ref>

====== 1. December 1924 armed revolt ======
On the 1. December 1924, there would be an attempt to seize power by the [[EKP]]. The government banned the [[Estonian Communist Party]] in 1924 and arrested its leaders. The government would execute [[Viktor Kingisepp]] without trial.

==== Economic collapse ====
In 1931, as a result of the aforementioned dependence on foreign markets, the economy would completely collapse. The Estonian economy could not handle the massive price plunge of the global market. Foreign markets started to restrict imports, causing the export driven Estonian economy to become isolated.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=70|quote=The crisis of 1931 marked the beginning of the third phase
in the development of the Baltic national economy, a phase
in which its semicolonial character and hopeless condition became most clearly evident.
On the world market prices took a catastrophic drop. All
countries began to introduce quotas restricting the import of
farm produce. An era of economic isolation began. In, the Baltic
states the economic system knocked together for better or
worse simply collapsed.}}</ref> The country would face a crisis of unemployment, economic depression and political instability.

===== Konstantin Päts' dictatorship =====
A [[Fascism|fascist]] anti-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] dictatorship took power in 1934. The Soviet Union signed a mutual assistance treaty with Estonia and the other Baltic states in 1939 in an effort to prevent a [[German Reich (1933–1945)|German]] invasion. After Estonia violated the treaty, the Soviet Union required it to hold new elections involving the Communist Party. In 1940, the new Communist-led government asked for incorporation into the Soviet Union.<ref name=":0" />

=== Second World War ===
Estonian capitalists supported the Nazi invasion in 1941, and 6% of the Estonian population fled with the retreating Nazi armies. Soviet power was restored in 1944.<ref name=":0" />

=== Soviet era ===
{{Main article|Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1991)}}
Estonians had the highest enrollment rate in higher education of any nationality in the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Eugene Puryear|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=Nations and Soviets: The National Question in the USSR|date=2022-06-06|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630072437/https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2022-06-30|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

=== Capitalism ===
After seceding from the USSR, Estonia's poverty rate increased from 1% to 37%.<ref>{{Citation|author=Branko Milanovic|year=1998|title=Income, Inequality, and Poverty during the Transition from Planned to Market Economy|chapter=Poverty|section=By How Much Has Poverty Increased?|page=68|pdf=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314180055/https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/LIS/Milanovic/papers/Income_ineq_poverty_book.pdf|city=Washington, D.C.|publisher=World Bank|isbn=082133994X}}</ref> In May 2022, 15,000 [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]] troops from 14 countries conducted a military exercise in Estonia.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Al Mayadeen|title=NATO begins military drills near Russian border|date=2022-05-18|url=https://mronline.org/2022/05/18/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629125147/https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border|archive-date=2022-06-29|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

== Politics ==
[[File:Estonia torch march.png|thumb|[[Neo-fascism|Neo-fascist]] torch march in Tallinn organized by EKRE]]
The [[Conservative People's Party of Estonia]] (EKRE), formed in 2012, promotes the [[Great Replacement]] [[conspiracy theory]]. In 2020, it controlled 19 out of 101 seats in the parliament.<ref>{{Web citation|date=2019-07-22|title=Dissecting Identity & Democracy: the EU’s new far-right super group|url=https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|newspaper=[[CovertAction Magazine]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921200918/https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|archive-date=2020-09-21|retrieved=2022-11-23|author=Ellen Rivera, Marsha P. Davis}}</ref>

== Discrimination against Russians ==
Russians in Estonia are paid less and have more [[unemployment]]. They do not have political freedom and there is no Russian-language press. Criticism of the Estonian government is punishable by deportation.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Johan Bäckman|newspaper=[[RT]]|title=“Estonia has an apartheid regime”|date=2009-05-26|url=https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720022307/https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-date=2022-07-20|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref> In 2017, EKRE proposed banning Russians from voting in the following elections.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Imperialist countries]]
[[Category:Global north]]
[[Category:European countries]]
[[Category:Apartheid states]]

Republic of Estonia

2024-10-20T15:41:00Z

Khamasparaglider: Added more insight into the interwar period

{{Infobox country
| name = Republic of Estonia
| native_name = Eesti Vabariik
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Estonia.svg
| capital = [[Tallinn]]
| largest_city = [[Tallinn]]
| image_map = Estonia map.png
| map_width = 290
| map_caption = Estonia (dark green) in the [[European Union]] (light green)
| official_languages = Estonian
|demonym=Estonian| area_km2 = 45,339
| population_estimate = 1,373,101
| population_estimate_year = 2024
|legislature=Riigikogu| established_event1 = Secession from [[USSR]]
| established_date1 = 8 May 1990
| established_event2 = Secession recognized
| established_date2 = 20 August 1991
| image_flag = Estonian flag.png.png
| mode_of_production = [[Capitalism]]
| government_type = Unitary parliamentary republic under a [[dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]]
| leader_title1 = President
| leader_name1 = [[Alar Kalis]]
| leader_title2 = Prime Minister
| leader_name2 = [[Kristen Michal]]
}}

'''Estonia''', officially the '''Republic of Estonia''', is a small country in the [[Baltic states|Baltic]] region of Europe with a coast on the [[Baltic Sea]] to the northwest. It borders [[Russian Federation|Russia]] to the east and [[Republic of Latvia|Latvia]] to the west while also being separated from [[Republic of Finland|Finland]] to the north by the [[Gulf of Finland]]. Although previously Estonia was a socialist republic of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]], modern Estonia is an [[Imperialism|imperialist]] country with membership in the [[European Union|EU]] and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]]. Ethnic Russians in Estonia live under an [[apartheid]] system and have discriminatory non-citizen passports.<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik]]|title=Apartheid, Estonian-Style: Lawmakers Propose Stripping Russians of Right to Vote|date=2017-05-22|url=https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127000838/https://sputniknews.com/20170522/estonia-local-elections-initiative-1053858214.html|archive-date=2022-01-27|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early history ===
[[Germany|German]] [[Landlord|landowners]] and merchants dominated Estonia from the 13th through 19th centuries. [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] conquered the region in 1710. In the 1917 elections, the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Bolsheviks]] received 37% of the vote in Estonia compared to 25% throughout the [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|Russian Empire]]. In early 1918, the Estonian [[ruling class]] declared independence from Russia and fought a two-year civil war with major Western support.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The European Nationalities in the USSR|page=78–79|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd.|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref>

=== Interwar period ===

==== Early 1920s ====
In 1920, Estonia established a parliamentary government. Despite declaring itself an independent nation, in reality, the Estonian state operated as a [[Neocolony|semi-colony]] under the influence of the foreign powers. Economic decisions were made based on the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master power.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=58|quote=All four Baltic states, Finland and Latvia in particular, inherited from von
der Goltz corrupt government cliques which converted their
countries into colonies and followed an economic policy of
maximum dependence at first on England, later on Germany.
As is customary in colonial or semicolonial countries, the
economy itself was subordinated to politics. Economic measures
were accepted or rejected on considerations of foreign policy on
the approval or disapproval expressed by the current master
power.}}</ref> Thus, under the influence of its current master power, [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Britain]], Estonia would adopt an [[Agrari|agrarian]] policy in the early 1920s.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Meiksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=61|quote=The choice was made under the influence of Baltic chiefs of state who enjoyed the powerful support of England and played on the
primitive aspirations born of the agrarian reforms.}}</ref> This would lead to massive industrial decline. <blockquote>The huge Krenholm textile mill in [[Narva]], which employed 12,000 workers in 1914, saw a dramatic reduction to just 2,000. The Russo-Baltic ship-building docks, which used to employ 5,000 workers, were left vacant.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=62|quote=Vacated in Tallinn were the Russo-Baltic shipbuilding docks,
which before the war employed 5,000 workers, and the Dvigatel
car-building works, where 15,000 workers were once engaged,
was closed down in Riga.}}</ref> The number of workers employed in the metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile industry from 19,000 to 9,000 (Comparison made with pre-war numbers).<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=63|quote=The same was true also in Estonia, where, in comparison with
the period before 1914, the number of workers employed in the
metal industry was reduced from 17,000 to 4,000, in the textile
industry from 19,000 to 9,000.|pdf=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf}}</ref></blockquote>The economy would face repeat crises as Estonia was dependent on the export of agricultural goods on the foreign market, a foreign market which had constantly fluctuating price levels and alterations in the political situation.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=66|quote=Since local agriculture was dependent on the foreign market, its development was subject to constantly changing price levels on the world
farm products market and to alterations of the political situation. The opportunity for normal development was absent,
and during all these interwar years the structure of Baltic economy continued to rock on this unstable foundation, more shifting than the sand dunes on the Baltic shores. The curve of agricultural growth in the Baltic countries is not a rising one, as
should be expected from states which have made a "peasant
policy" their watchword. The curve goes from crisis to crisis,
with sweeping drops between, and following each drop it begins again the slow painful climb upward to the next crisis.}}</ref>

====== 1. December 1924 armed revolt ======
On the 1. December 1924, there would be an attempt to seize power by the [[EKP]]. The government banned the [[Estonian Communist Party]] in 1924 and arrested its leaders. The government would execute [[Viktor Kingisepp]] without trial.

====== Economic collapse ======
In 1931, as a result of the aforementioned dependence on foreign markets, the economy would completely collapse. The Estonian economy could not handle the massive price plunge of the global market. Foreign markets started to restrict imports, causing the export driven Estonian economy to become isolated.<ref>{{Citation|author=Gregory Mieksins|year=1943|title=The Baltic Riddle|title-url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/18549393.pdf|chapter=Between Two World Wars|section=The Baltic Lungs|page=70|quote=The crisis of 1931 marked the beginning of the third phase
in the development of the Baltic national economy, a phase
in which its semicolonial character and hopeless condition became most clearly evident.
On the world market prices took a catastrophic drop. All
countries began to introduce quotas restricting the import of
farm produce. An era of economic isolation began. In, the Baltic
states the economic system knocked together for better or
worse simply collapsed.}}</ref> The country would face a crisis of unemployment, economic depression and political instability.

==== Konstantin Päts' dictatorship ====
A [[Fascism|fascist]] anti-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] dictatorship took power in 1934. The Soviet Union signed a mutual assistance treaty with Estonia and the other Baltic states in 1939 in an effort to prevent a [[German Reich (1933–1945)|German]] invasion. After Estonia violated the treaty, the Soviet Union required it to hold new elections involving the Communist Party. In 1940, the new Communist-led government asked for incorporation into the Soviet Union.<ref name=":0" />

=== Second World War ===
Estonian capitalists supported the Nazi invasion in 1941, and 6% of the Estonian population fled with the retreating Nazi armies. Soviet power was restored in 1944.<ref name=":0" />

=== Soviet era ===
{{Main article|Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1991)}}
Estonians had the highest enrollment rate in higher education of any nationality in the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Eugene Puryear|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=Nations and Soviets: The National Question in the USSR|date=2022-06-06|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630072437/https://www.liberationnews.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2022-06-30|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

=== Capitalism ===
After seceding from the USSR, Estonia's poverty rate increased from 1% to 37%.<ref>{{Citation|author=Branko Milanovic|year=1998|title=Income, Inequality, and Poverty during the Transition from Planned to Market Economy|chapter=Poverty|section=By How Much Has Poverty Increased?|page=68|pdf=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314180055/https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/LIS/Milanovic/papers/Income_ineq_poverty_book.pdf|city=Washington, D.C.|publisher=World Bank|isbn=082133994X}}</ref> In May 2022, 15,000 [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]] troops from 14 countries conducted a military exercise in Estonia.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Al Mayadeen|title=NATO begins military drills near Russian border|date=2022-05-18|url=https://mronline.org/2022/05/18/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629125147/https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/nato-begins-military-drills-near-russian-border|archive-date=2022-06-29|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

== Politics ==
[[File:Estonia torch march.png|thumb|[[Neo-fascism|Neo-fascist]] torch march in Tallinn organized by EKRE]]
The [[Conservative People's Party of Estonia]] (EKRE), formed in 2012, promotes the [[Great Replacement]] [[conspiracy theory]]. In 2020, it controlled 19 out of 101 seats in the parliament.<ref>{{Web citation|date=2019-07-22|title=Dissecting Identity & Democracy: the EU’s new far-right super group|url=https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|newspaper=[[CovertAction Magazine]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921200918/https://covertactionmagazine.com/2019/07/22/dissecting-identity-democracy-the-eus-new-far-right-super-group/|archive-date=2020-09-21|retrieved=2022-11-23|author=Ellen Rivera, Marsha P. Davis}}</ref>

== Discrimination against Russians ==
Russians in Estonia are paid less and have more [[unemployment]]. They do not have political freedom and there is no Russian-language press. Criticism of the Estonian government is punishable by deportation.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Johan Bäckman|newspaper=[[RT]]|title=“Estonia has an apartheid regime”|date=2009-05-26|url=https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720022307/https://www.rt.com/russia/estonia-has-an-apartheid-regime/|archive-date=2022-07-20|retrieved=2023-01-08}}</ref> In 2017, EKRE proposed banning Russians from voting in the following elections.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Imperialist countries]]
[[Category:Global north]]
[[Category:European countries]]
[[Category:Apartheid states]]