Covers the 1918 declaration of independence, the 1940 Soviet annexation, the 1988-89 Singing Revolution and Baltic Way, the 1991 restoration resolution, and UN admission on 17 September 1991. It does not cover the Estonian War of Independence (1918-1920), the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty, or the German occupation during the Second World War in detail.
The Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia, published 24 February 1918, proclaimed an independent and democratic Republic of Estonia.[1] Following the secret protocols of the August 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and a forced September 1939 mutual-assistance agreement, the Soviet Union militarily occupied and forcibly annexed Estonia in summer 1940, overthrowing its lawful government.[2] A mass nonviolent movement, the Singing Revolution, began with public singing gatherings from June 1988 and culminated in the 23 August 1989 "Baltic Way," a human chain of over two million people across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.[3] On 20 August 1991, amid the attempted Soviet coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia resolved "to confirm the Republic of Estonia's national independence," restoring Estonian statehood.[4] The Republic of Estonia was admitted to the United Nations on 17 September 1991, following a unanimous Security Council recommendation.[5][6]
Status verified as of
Estonia has been an independent, UN-member state since 1991 (independence first proclaimed in 1918).[6]
History
From the 1918 Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia, through Soviet annexation and occupation, to the restoration of independence in 1991 and UN admission that September.
179 words · 1 min read
· Declaration
The Estonian Salvation Committee proclaimed an independent and democratic Republic of Estonia in the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia, published 24 February 1918, amid the withdrawal of Russian and advance of German forces during the First World War.
Significance here: The founding declaration of the Republic of Estonia, though full independence was secured only after the subsequent War of Independence.
· Administrative change
Following the secret protocols of the August 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and a forced September 1939 mutual-assistance agreement, the Soviet Union militarily occupied and forcibly annexed Estonia in the summer of 1940, overthrowing its lawful government.
Significance here: The event Estonia's own legal position treats as an unlawful occupation rather than a lawful transfer of sovereignty, underpinning the 1991 restoration (rather than founding) of independence.
· Protest
A wave of mass public singing gatherings from June 1988, and the 23 August 1989 Baltic Way human chain of over two million people across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, became the defining nonviolent movement for restoring Baltic independence.
Significance here: The mass nonviolent movement that built the political conditions for the 1991 restoration of independence.
· Declaration
The Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia resolved on 20 August 1991 to confirm Estonia's national independence and seek the restoration of diplomatic relations, ending the Soviet occupation that had begun in 1940.
Significance here: The resolution restoring Estonian independence after decades of Soviet annexation and occupation.
· Recognition
The Security Council recommended Estonia's admission to the United Nations on 12 September 1991, and the General Assembly admitted it on 17 September 1991.
Significance here: Formal international recognition of the restored Estonian state.
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
Claim: On 24 February 1918, the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia was published, declaring an independent and democratic Republic of Estonia; it had first been read publicly the previous evening in Pärnu, and was signed by the three members of the Estonian Salvation Committee: Konstantin Päts, Jüri Vilms and Konstantin Konik.
Claim: On 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, whose secret protocols assigned Estonia to the Soviet sphere of influence; on 28 September 1939, under threat of military force, Estonia was compelled to sign a mutual-assistance pact permitting Soviet military bases on its territory. In summer 1940 the Soviet Union militarily occupied and forcibly annexed Estonia, together with Latvia and Lithuania, overthrowing the lawful government and imposing Soviet rule by force.
Claim: The Singing Revolution began with a night-time public singing gathering on 10 June 1988; a September 1988 song festival in Tallinn drew roughly 300,000 people, nearly a quarter of the Estonian population, with the first open public calls for restoring independence. On 23 August 1989, the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, over two million people across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania formed a continuous human chain, the "Baltic Way," from Tallinn to Vilnius.
Claim: On 20 August 1991, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia adopted a resolution whose operative clause read: "To confirm the Republic of Estonia's national independence and seek the restoration of the Republic of Estonia's diplomatic relations." The resolution passed with 69 members voting in favour and also provided for a Constitutional Assembly and new parliamentary elections.
Claim: On 12 September 1991, at its 3007th meeting, the Security Council, having examined the application of the Republic of Estonia, recommended without a vote that the General Assembly admit it to UN membership, alongside identical recommendations for Latvia and Lithuania. The Council's President stated that "the independence of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania was regained peacefully, by means of dialogue, with the consent of the parties concerned, and in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the three peoples."
Claim: The General Assembly, at its 1st plenary meeting on 17 September 1991, having received the Security Council's recommendation and considered Estonia's application, decided to admit the Republic of Estonia to United Nations membership.