In the last blogpost we spoke about how Estonia became a digital nation. It only seemed fit to give a bit more background about Estonia’s history. Stay with us and you will find out what has cultivated us to become who we are today.
How we became who we are today
Estonians are fighters – there is no doubt in that. Losing our independence for centuries and living under the power of several different countries has sure had its impact on the country as well as the people.
The history of Estonia has not been easy. There were times when we couldn’t speak a word of Estonian. If somebody was caught doing otherwise, they were severely punished for doing so. Thankfully our predecessors were already as stubborn (or even more) than we are today, and kept the language alive in secret.
’’We have two independence days!’’
After the World War I, Estonia gained its independence on the 24th of February, 1918. This had not happened in more than 10 centuries! For the first time Estonians felt safe again to speak our mother tongue. Furthermore, we could waive our blue-black-white flag for the first time! Unfortunately, such an idyllic life did not last long. When the World War II started in 1939, we were back in square one with our independence, our hopes for a better tomorrow and today. During the war Estonia was occupied yet again by the Russians and this was the start of the Soviet Union era.
Living behind the Iron Curtain for decades left our ancestors rather vulnerable. Amongst other reasons, the consequences of countless deportations of our people to Siberia. People were dragged away from their homes without any hope to ever return to our Motherland. Many died from illness, thirst or hunger. People were put on the animal carriages and many of them never even got to the prison camps. Listening to the stories of our grandparents, it was a very difficult time that impacted Estonia, Estonia's history and its people very badly. Empty shelves in the shops and living in houses with snow inside living space was typical.
’’We sang ourselves free!’’
After almost half a century of suffering, the desire of independence was still in the heart of each and every person in Estonia. The whole Baltic Region (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) were all in the same boat. In the late 80s, we all joined hands in several different movements and riots. The main goal was to protest against the Soviet Union.
The ’Singing Revolution’ lasted longer than 4 years, amongst many protests was the ’Baltic Way’. This is where over 2 million people from the Baltics came together to hold hands from Tallinn to Vilnius, making a human chain that was 600 km (~372 miles) long. The people of our nation gathered for years to sing patriotic songs together until the dawn. In the end hundreds of thousands Estonians succeeded against millions of Russian occupiers by singing. The magical day where the independence was finally regained was 20th of August, 1991.
Due to all the desperation and hopelessness in the past, we are proud to celebrate our victory and independence twice a year now. And hopefully this is the way it is always going to be!
If you are curious to find out more about Estonia and our history, we have great news for you! There is a lot more about Estonia in Nomad Business Solutions' blog, go check it out here.
