Northern Europe · EST

Estonia

The story · 10 chapters

How it was drawn

Conquered by crusaders in the thirteenth century, then ruled by Denmark, the Teutonic Order, Sweden and Russia, Estonia became a state in 1918 and again in 1991.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Estonia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kievan Rus'1030 to 1061
Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev took Tarbatu in 1030 and built the fort of Yuryev, today's Tartu. Estonians burned it and drove the Rus out in 1061, and later raids from Novgorod and Pskov gained no lasting hold.
Livonian Brothers of the Sword1208 to 1227
German crusading knights, allied with converted Livonians and Latvians, invaded southern Estonia in 1208. The Estonian leader Lembitu was killed at the Battle of St Matthew's Day in 1217, and by 1227 the knights had taken Saaremaa, the last free land.
Kingdom of Denmark1219 to 1346
King Valdemar II landed at Lyndanisse, today's Tallinn, in 1219 and built a castle there. Denmark held northern Estonia until the St George's Night Uprising of 1343 to 1345, after which it sold the region to the Teutonic Order in 1346.
Teutonic Order1343 to 1561
The Order's knights crushed the St George's Night Uprising of Estonian peasants in 1343 and took over northern Estonia. With the bishops, the Order ruled Old Livonia until defeat in the Livonian War forced it to dissolve in 1561.
Tsardom of Russia1558 to 1583
Ivan the Terrible invaded Livonia in 1558, taking Tartu and Narva. Sweden, Poland-Lithuania and Denmark then joined the fight. By the Truce of Plussa in 1583 Russia gave up its gains in Estonia to Sweden.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth1600 to 1629
Poland-Lithuania held southern Estonia after the Livonian War. Sweden and the Commonwealth fought over it from 1600, and the Swedes took Tartu in 1625. The Truce of Altmark in 1629 left southern Estonia to Sweden.
Tsardom of Russia1700 to 1721
Peter the Great lost to Sweden at Narva in 1700 but returned to take Tartu in 1704 and Tallinn in 1710. War and plague emptied much of the country. The Treaty of Nystad in 1721 made Estonia a Russian province.
Soviet Russia1918 to 1920
The Red Army invaded in November 1918 and came within about 30 kilometres of Tallinn. Estonian forces, helped by Finnish volunteers and a British naval squadron, pushed it back. In the Treaty of Tartu in 1920 Russia recognised Estonia in perpetuity.
Baltic German Landeswehr1919
In June 1919 Estonian and Latvian troops defeated the Baltic German Landeswehr near Cesis, in Latvia, ending German hopes of keeping control of the region. Estonia celebrates 23 June as Victory Day.
Soviet Union1940 to 1991
Under the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop protocol, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia in June 1940. Mass deportations to Siberia followed in 1941 and 1949. Soviet rule returned in 1944 and lasted until 1991.
Nazi Germany1941 to 1944
German forces took Estonia from the Soviets in 1941 and occupied it for three years. Nearly all of the Jews who had not fled were murdered. The Red Army retook Tallinn in September 1944.
Russian FederationSince 1991Still open
Estonia and Russia signed border treaties in 2005 and 2014, but neither has entered into force. Relations worsened after the 2007 riots over the moving of a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn, and again after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Today

Estonia now

After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 -- an action never recognized by the US and many other countries -- it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with the West.

Capital: Tallinn
Government: parliamentary republic
Head of government: Kristen Michal
Head of state: Ülle Madise
Languages: Estonian
Area: 45,340 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population1.4 million2023 · 1.1 million in 1950
Life expectancy79.2 years2023 · 66.4 years in 1950
GDP per person$30,0672022 · $11,458 in 1950
Living in cities71%2025 · 48% in 1950
Literacy100%2011
Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending3.4% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
France
Russian Federation
Germany
Ukraine

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Estonia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kievan Rus'1030 to 1061

Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev took Tarbatu in 1030 and built the fort of Yuryev, today's Tartu. Estonians burned it and drove the Rus out in 1061, and later raids from Novgorod and Pskov gained no lasting hold.

Livonian Brothers of the Sword1208 to 1227

German crusading knights, allied with converted Livonians and Latvians, invaded southern Estonia in 1208. The Estonian leader Lembitu was killed at the Battle of St Matthew's Day in 1217, and by 1227 the knights had taken Saaremaa, the last free land.

Kingdom of Denmark1219 to 1346

King Valdemar II landed at Lyndanisse, today's Tallinn, in 1219 and built a castle there. Denmark held northern Estonia until the St George's Night Uprising of 1343 to 1345, after which it sold the region to the Teutonic Order in 1346.

Teutonic Order1343 to 1561

The Order's knights crushed the St George's Night Uprising of Estonian peasants in 1343 and took over northern Estonia. With the bishops, the Order ruled Old Livonia until defeat in the Livonian War forced it to dissolve in 1561.

Tsardom of Russia1558 to 1583

Ivan the Terrible invaded Livonia in 1558, taking Tartu and Narva. Sweden, Poland-Lithuania and Denmark then joined the fight. By the Truce of Plussa in 1583 Russia gave up its gains in Estonia to Sweden.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth1600 to 1629

Poland-Lithuania held southern Estonia after the Livonian War. Sweden and the Commonwealth fought over it from 1600, and the Swedes took Tartu in 1625. The Truce of Altmark in 1629 left southern Estonia to Sweden.

Tsardom of Russia1700 to 1721

Peter the Great lost to Sweden at Narva in 1700 but returned to take Tartu in 1704 and Tallinn in 1710. War and plague emptied much of the country. The Treaty of Nystad in 1721 made Estonia a Russian province.

Soviet Russia1918 to 1920

The Red Army invaded in November 1918 and came within about 30 kilometres of Tallinn. Estonian forces, helped by Finnish volunteers and a British naval squadron, pushed it back. In the Treaty of Tartu in 1920 Russia recognised Estonia in perpetuity.

Baltic German Landeswehr1919

In June 1919 Estonian and Latvian troops defeated the Baltic German Landeswehr near Cesis, in Latvia, ending German hopes of keeping control of the region. Estonia celebrates 23 June as Victory Day.

Soviet Union1940 to 1991

Under the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop protocol, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia in June 1940. Mass deportations to Siberia followed in 1941 and 1949. Soviet rule returned in 1944 and lasted until 1991.

Nazi Germany1941 to 1944

German forces took Estonia from the Soviets in 1941 and occupied it for three years. Nearly all of the Jews who had not fled were murdered. The Red Army retook Tallinn in September 1944.

Russian FederationSince 1991Still open

Estonia and Russia signed border treaties in 2005 and 2014, but neither has entered into force. Relations worsened after the 2007 riots over the moving of a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn, and again after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Estonia now

Capital

Tallinn

Government

parliamentary republic

Head of government

Kristen Michal

Head of state

Ülle Madise

Languages

Estonian

Area

45,340 km²

Then and now

Population1.4 million2023 · 1.1 million in 1950

Life expectancy79.2 years2023 · 66.4 years in 1950

GDP per person$30,0672022 · $11,458 in 1950

Living in cities71%2025 · 48% in 1950

Literacy100%2011

Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending3.4% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025