Everything you need to know about Estonia: news, reviews, in-depth analysis, opinion and more
Estonia: A small and heavily forested EU country
In 1346 the Danes sold Estonia to the Teutonic Knights of Germany. The Teutonic Knights makes the Estonia the land of slaves. In 1526, the Swedes took over that removed the power of Teutonic Knights. But in 1721 the Russia overtook Estonia from Sweden under the Peace Treaty of Nystad. During the World War I Estonia gained independence for short period. But soon Russia occupied it and incorporated as the 16th republic of the USSR in 1940. Germany occupied the nation from 1941 to 1944 but it was retaken by the Soviets. During 1990 the shift of global power balance favored Estonia in gaining independence from collapsing Soviet Republic. Finally on Sept. 6, 1991 Estonia became an independent nation. The newly independent nation Estonia embraced free-market economy soon after that resulted in foreign investments, economic advances continued in order to have presence near to another power block. In 2004, Estonia became a member of the European Union as well as of NATO.
Estonia Profile: Overview of Facts and Figures
National Name: Republic of Estonia
Geographical Information on Estonia :
Estonia is mainly a lowland country that is bordered by the Baltic Sea, Latvia, and Russia. It has numerous lakes and forests and many rivers. Lake Peipus is the largest lake of Estonia.
Estonia lies in the northern part of the temperate climate zone and in the transitional zone between maritime and continental climate. The Atlantic Ocean, the North-Atlantic Stream and the Icelandic Minimum also influence the climate of this country. Estonia is located in a humid zone that result greater amount of precipitation than evaporation.
Culture, Cuisine and Tradition Of Estonia:
Estonian culture as an identity is very strong. Oral traditions have played a key role in preserving traditions, stories and customs during Soviet administration. The exception of Estonia culture can be seen from the facts that it has one of the biggest collections of folk songs in the world, with written records of about 133,000 folk songs. It is fact that some influence of Russia, Spain and German can be seen in the vibrant life Estonian. But the preserved cultural legacy of Estonia is still in practice.
The cuisine of Estonia is a bit similar to Finnish. The national foods of Estonia are often thought to be black pudding, sauerkraut, mulgipuder, kanepitemp, Kama, jellied meat and rye bread. Estonians used to improve their foods and drinks with honey. The pattern of food on table varies from season to season for example in winter meat and fish dominates the menu while in summer lots of vegetables, root vegetables and fruits are consumed.
Tourist Attraction of Estonia:
Estonia is relatively small sized with its rich natural vegetation and the beautiful picturesque scenery makes it an amazing country. Estonia landmass is covered with lush green forests and wetlands. It has more than 1000 lakes, 7000 rivers and streams that attract tourists from all corners of the world to this place of breathtaking scenery.
Tallinn is a city where the aura and sensation of the 14th and 15th centuries still survives. It is as intact as it was in those ancient times. Tallinn's old town is a mixture of chivalric walls and towers and paved streets. It is also the capital city of Estonia. The city of today has become an important port on the Gulf of Finland and a preferred destination stoppage for cruise ships.
Pärnu is considered proudly as the Summer Capital of Estonia. It is a town that is specially designed for relaxation, for getting away all stress and for entertainment. It attracts the tourists by the beauty of its pristine beaches and extensive range of enjoyable activities.
Major Sight-seeing Places in Estonia include:
• Tallinn
• Pärnu
• Kohtla-Jarve
• Narva
• Tartu
Baku, May 14 (IANS) Azerbaijan won the right to stage the 42nd edition of the 2016 Chess Olympiad in the capital city of Baku from May 17 to 30.
Madrid, May 11 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia's Maria Sharapova advanced to the semifinals at the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.
Washington, May 7 (ANI): The second flight of ESA's newest launch vehicle, Vega, has been completed from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, releasing 3 satellites into different orbits.
Oeiras (Portugal), May 3 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russian tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova failed to reach the Portugal Open semifinals after suffering a straight-sets defeat to World No.53 Romina Oprandi.
Lisbon, May 2 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova has reached the quarterfinals of the Portugal Open tennis event beating Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva.
Karachi, April 22 (ANI): An aeronautical engineer has turned his back on his profession and set out across Europe to learn 33 more trades instead.
Tunis, April 21 (IANS) Tunisia's women team qualified for Group I of the Europe/Africa tennis Fed Cup after beating Lithuania 2-0 in Montenegro.
Washington, April 19 (ANI): A new research has refuted the idea that all children under the age of ten have the same taste in food and highlighted the importance of the country of residence, culture and age in these preferences.
Amsterdam, March 27 (IANS) The Netherlands continued their winning streak in World Cup qualification Group D by beating Romania 4-0 here, taking a major step towards the tournament in Brazil.
Amsterdam, March 23 (IANS) The Netherlands recorded their fifth consecutive win in the UEFA World Cup qualifying Group D by beating Estonia 3-0 here.
There's a scene in one of the Lord of the Rings movies when Bilbo Baggins blows a perfect smoke ring. "Your grandfather used to do that," I told the kids. My daughter's eyes widened: "He stole a magic ring from Gollum?" After a moment's thought, I nodded. Kids need to learn to respect their ancestors.
The Hague, March 16 (IANS) Tonny Vilhena was named in The Netherlands squad by coach Louis van Gaal for the 2014 World Cup qualifying matches against Estonia and Romania March 22 and 26 respectively.
Tallinn, March 8 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Estonia's air defence forces have dismantled their last obsolete Soviet-made radars, the country's armed forces said.
Washington, March 7 (ANI): Plumbers, spray painters and hair stylists are some of the high-risk occupations for asthma, a new study has revealed.
Dubai, Feb 26 (IANS/WAM) The UAE has lifted a ban on importing live cows from some European countries including Iceland, Norway, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Estonia, Malta and Hungary.
Yangon, Feb 8 (IANS) Myanmar has established diplomatic ties with Armenia, official media reported Friday.
Washington, January 25 (ANI): A team of astronomers has reconstructed the journey of the gas emitted by a powerful explosion of GK Persei - that has not stopped growing and astonishing ever since - in 3D.
New Delhi, Jan.22 (ANI): Eight envoys presented their credentials to President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
London, Jan 2 (IANS) Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, has become the first European capital to offer free public transport for its registered residents, a media report said Wednesday.
Yangon, Dec 26 (IANS) Myanmar has established diplomatic ties with Iceland, official media said Wednesday.
London, Dec. 5 (ANI): The number of Eastern Europeans living in Britain is equal to 1.5 percent of the population of their homelands, British MPs have been told.
New Delhi, Dec 3 (ANI): An inter-continental team of scientists from Asia, Europe and the USA has found that the ancestors of the European Roma are the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) from north-western India.
Moscow, Dec 1 (IANS/EFE) Russian soccer authorities say they want to revive the old Soviet league, an idea that has received support from leagues in former Soviet republics such as Ukraine, Belarus and Armenia.
New York, Nov 13 (IANS) Limited competition in elections for the UN Human Rights Council undermines membership standards set for the body by the UN General Assembly, Human Rights Watch has said.
Tallinn (Estonia), Nov 12 (IANS/RIA Novosti) World No.19 Kaia Kanepi is set to miss the Australian Open in January as she struggles to return from injury.
Kathmandu, Nov 1 (ANI): The decreasing turn out in elections in most of the established democracies has been a matter of concern in recent years. The former Chief Election Commissioner of India S.Y. Quraishi had said in an interview that the low voter turnout had emerged as a fundamental threat to the country's democracy.
Chennai, Oct 20 (IANS) As many as 50 films from 18 countries will be screened at the Seven Islands International Film Festival (SIIFF), to be held here Oct 26-29. The theme of the festival is 'Women rising, against all odds'.
London, Oct. 16 (ANI): Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is set to become the third youngest footballer in Europe to reach 100 caps.
Seoul, Sep 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) World No.11 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark dispatched Russia's Ekaterina Makarova to reach the final of the Korea Open tennis here.
Washington, Sep 18 (IANS) iPhone 5 has emerged as the fastest pre-booked device Apple has ever released with more than two million first-day orders, twice the one million orders iPhone 4S racked up on its launch last October.
Washington, Sep 18 (IANS) iPhone 5 has emerged as the fastest-selling device Apple has ever released with more than two million first-day orders, twice the one million orders iPhone 4S racked up on its launch last October.
Cupertino (California), Sep 17 (IANS) The pre-orders for Apple's iPhone 5 have crossed two million in just 24 hours, the company said Monday.
Washington, Sep 11 (ANI): An Estonian newspaper has provoked global outrage after it published an advertisement for diet pills, mocking the gaunt and scrawny victims of Buchenwald, Germany's largest death camp.
Moscow, Aug 21 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will miss the upcoming US Open to recover from injury.
London, Aug 16 (IANS) Argentina beat 10-man hosts Germany 3-1 in an international soccer friendly at Frankfurt Arena Wednesday while Alexandre Pato scored a brace to help Brazil breeze past Sweden 3-0.
London, Aug 13 (IANS) The following is the final medal table at the 2012 London Olympic Games which concluded here Sunday. India finished 55th.
London, Aug 12 (IANS) The following is the medals tally of the 2012 London Games here Saturday.
London, Aug 11 (IANS) The following is the medals tally of the 2012 London Games here Saturday.
London, Aug 9 (IANS) The latest meda's tally of the 2012 London Olympics here Thursday.
London, Aug 9 (IANS) The following is the latest medal standings of the 2012 London Games here Thursday.
London, Aug 8 (IANS) Sally Pearson of Australia set a new Olympics record to win the gold in the women's 100 metres hurdles while reinstated Algerian Taoufik Makhloufi produced a stunning burst in the last 300 meters to be proclaimed the men's 1,500 metres champion.
London, Aug 8 (IANS) Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda finished eighth while the gold was clinched by German Robert Harting and the silver went to Iranian Ehsan Hadadi in the men's event at the 2012 London Games here Tuesday.
London, Aug 8 (IANS) The following is the latest medal standings of the 2012 London
London, Aug 7 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Cuba's Mijain Lopez Nunez won gold for Cuba in the men's 120 kg Greco-Roman wrestling Monday, beating Estonia's Heiki Nabi on points in the final.
New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) The 12th Osian's Cinefan Film Festival, kicked off here Friday with a tribute to the late actor Rajesh Khanna. A short film chronicling the career of Bollywood's first superstar, who passed away July 18, was played at the opening ceremony of the 10-day cine extravanganza.
London, July 16 (ANI): Women now have a higher IQ than men, a new study has revealed.
New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) From infamous Japanese movie "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" to "Karma" featuring Devika Rani-Himanshu Rai's lip-lock to crime thriller "Gangs Of Wasseypur" - the Osian's-Cinefan Film Festival, which returns after a two-year-hiatus, promises to be an eclectic platter for the capital's movie buffs.
London, July 3 (ANI): Eurovision organisers have defended the contest against claims that racism had been a factor in the UK's poor record in recent years.
London, July 2(ANI): Teenage British girls are the biggest binge drinkers in the whole of Europe as more than half of 15-year-olds drink to excess at least once a month, according to a report by drawn up by UK's Department of Health.
US president Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have agreed to work together for strengthening of resilience of global economy.
Washington, June 15 (IANS) US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have agreed to work together for strengthening the "resilience of the global economy" to deal with the Eurozone shocks and boost global growth.
London, June 4 (ANI): Dubai, which is one of the world's most devoutly Muslim countries, still manages to attract a number of people from Britain with three things in mind - to strip off and get a tan, get trashed and have sex.
Rome, June 3 (IANS) Days away from the Euro 2012 opener, a police raid on Italy's pre-tournament training camp has cast a shadow on the team's fate.
Warsaw, June 3 (IANS) Whatever happens to his side in the European Championships, Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni deserves a vote of thanks from his adopted country for doing a magnificent job.
Kiev, May 30 (IANS) Ukraine's manager Oleg Blokhin announced his final squad for Euro 2012, trimming his initial choice from 26 players to 23 ahead of the June 8-July 1 tournament.
Belgrade, May 29 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Serbian midfielder Adem Ljajic has been suspended from the national team for refusing to sing the national anthem before his country's friendly against Spain, the Serbian Football Federation announced.
Paris, May 28 (IANS) France struggled in their first warm-up for Euro 2012 as they came back from two goals down to beat Iceland 3-2 at Valenciennes, France.
Madrid, May 27 (IANS) The Spanish national team enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win over Serbia in their first preparation game for the European football championship.
Islamabad, May 21 (ANI): Pakistan's efforts to have former president Pervez Musharraf extradited from the UK are unlikely to come to fruition as he is facing the possibility of capital punishment in the home country, according to areport.
London, May 4 (ANI): Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude has warned that the London Olympics "will not be immune" from cyber-attacks.
London, April 25 (IANS) American agency FBI will block internet services in over 350,000 personal computers across the world - including 80,000 in US and 20,000 in Britain - after they were infected with an invisible and undetectable Trojan computer virus.
New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) Easter just went by with people the world over celebrating the resurrection of Christ three days after being crucified on Good Friday. It also provided an opportunity to the hospitality industry to showcase various kinds of goodies including some innovative confections - a tradition that is fast catching up in India as well.
Moscow, April 4 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A former Russian serviceman has been charged with selling classified maps of Russia to the US Defense Department.
Washington, Mar 10(ANI): An eventual full-scale cyber-attack on the U.S. by a terrorist organization is "a certitude," and "cyberterrorists" are utilizing technology to steal money and move it around to finance their operations, a former senior intelligence official has warned.
Washington, Nov 30 (ANI): Pakistan might have cut its supply lines for the US military in Afghanistan following last Saturday's NATO attack that claimed around 28 Pakistani soldier's lives, but this is not the end for Washington to make sure that their soldiers there are safe in the war-torn country.
London, Oct 26(ANI): India, Bangladesh and Congo are among 30 countries with "extreme" exposure to climate shift, according to a British firm specializing in risk analysis.
London, Oct 19 (ANI): Cyber war, long considered by many experts within the defence establishment to be a significant threat, may never take place, Dr Thomas Rid of King's College London has claimed.
Nevada (US), Sept 4 (ANI): The Hindus and Jews have urged the world to wake up and improve the plight of about 15 million stateless people worldwide who suffer rejection day after day.
Godollo (Hungary), June 7 (ANI): Stating that India has been an active participant of Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) over the last five years, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna today announced his country's offer to host the next ASEM Foreign Ministers' meeting in 2013.
London, Mar 23 (ANI): A new study has found that women in India working for news media are under-represented.
London, Feb 8 (ANI): Floating pyramids filled with suspended skyscrapers, a 'solar valley' that has streetlights and swimming pools heated by the sun, buildings filled by tree towers, and houses floating on water-all these may sound like far-fetched things, but they are already here.
New Delhi, Dec.8 (ANI): Envoys of eight nations presented credentials to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Wednesday.
New Delhi, Dec.8 (ANI): Envoys of eight nations presented credentials to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Wednesday.
Washington, Dec 7 (ANI): NATO has drawn up contingency plans, for the first time since the end of the cold war, to defend the most vulnerable parts of eastern Europe from Russian military aggression, according to confidential US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks.
Nevada (US), Oct 21 (ANI): Eminent Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has stressed the urgent need of bridging the continuing broadband divide among developed and developing countries.
Kabul, Sept.7 (ANI): With Afghans bickering over who should run a 250 million dollar program to lure low-level Taliban fighters away from the insurgency, international donors have decided to go slow on putting up the money they had promised.
London, Aug.24 (ANI): An Estonian naval vessel has found the wrecks of three British warships that were sunk by the Germans after the end of World War One.
Wellington, June 18 (ANI): A study has found that even a single alcoholic drink can triple the chances of a driver dying in a car accident, as it can increase a driver's blood-alcohol level by more than half the legal limit.
Wellington, June 18 (ANI): A study has found that even a single alcoholic drink can triple the chances of a driver dying in a car accident, as it can increase a driver's blood-alcohol level by more than half the legal limit.
Melbourne, June 1 (ANI): The Jumbo Jet 747 may not be flying anymore, but it is still not defunct - it has been converted into a 25-room hotel, with the top suite in the cockpit.
Tallinn (Estonia), Apr.24 (ANI): U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has admitted that Washington is aware of there being a 'shortfall of trainers' for local troops in Afghanistan, but believes that with sufficient mentoring the latter can support themselves against the Taliban.
London, February 13 (ANI): A pharmacy in Estonia, which opened its doors in 1422, claims to have a wonder drug for those struggling with broken hearts.
London, Feb 8(ANI): An easy draw for the Euro 2012 has made England the favourites in the bookies eyes, who are so convinced of the Three Lions getting through to the finals that they have been immediately installed at an incredibly short-price of 1-10.
Istanbul (Turkey), Dec.9 (ANI): Only 5.4 percent of the world's population was covered by comprehensive smoke-free laws in 2008, up from 3.1 percent in 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today in its second report on the global tobacco epidemic.
Washington, September 25 (ANI): Cardiovascular disease (CVD) still remains number one killer worldwide, even though heart disease mortality has reduced in the last 30 years.
Washington, August 11 (ANI): Australian researchers from the University of New South Wales and the University of Western Sydney have warned that new strains of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) may become widespread.
London, Aug 5 (ANI): A third of people in the European Union say they have never used the internet, according to an EU report, which examined the region's digital landscape over the last five years.
Dublin, July 13 (ANI): Soon, with the help of a swimming robotic fish, scientists would be able to understand how fish swim upstream.
London, June 10 (ANI): Football star David Beckham, 34, is in line to replace suspended Gareth Barry in central midfield for England's Wembley World Cup qualifier against Andorra tonight. It is more than two years since Becks last started a competitive game for his country - in the 3-0 win in Estonia under Steve McClaren back in June 2007.
London, June 9 (ANI): Portuguese and Manchester United Cristiano Ronaldo has pulled out of Portugal's friendly clash in Estonia tomorrow amid fears he could need a hernia operation.
London, May 20 (IANS) More and more East European migrants are leaving Britain lured by increasing prosperity in their home countries, the British immigration minster said Wednesday.
London, May 18 (ANI): Dita Von Teese has expressed her shock after landing a lowly 20th position in the Eurovision Song Contest on May 16.
Rome, May 8 (DPA) Top seed Dinara Safina stamped her authority over Spaniard Maria-Jose Martinez Sanchez, beating her 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, to storm into the semi-finals of the Rome International tennis.
Tbilisi (Georgia), May 6 (RIA Novosti) NATO started an exercise in Georgia Wednesday despite Russia's fierce criticism and following a revolt at a military base outside the capital Tuesday.
Brussels, April 3 (IANS) Former president of the erstwhile Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev has criticised NATO for its expansion to the east of Europe, Prensa Latina reported Friday.
Indian Wells (California), March 16 (DPA) Defending champion Novak Djokovic continued to rebuild his fragile confidence with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Argentine Marcel Vassallo Arguello to move into the third round of the Indian Wells Masters.
Indian Wells (California), March 16 (DPA) Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, winners of the past two editions of the Indian Wells Masters, both advanced to the third round in commanding style.
New Delhi, Feb 27 (ANI): Five envoys presented their credentials to the President of India Pratibha Patil at a ceremony here on Friday.
London, January 25 (ANI): British youths feel most estranged as compared to their European counterparts, reveals a new study.
Melbourne, Jan 22 (DPA) The following is the order of play on show courts Friday at the Australian Open.
