TALLInn - In Your Pocket

10 history history
Estonia through the ages
3,000BC
Finno-Ugric tribes arrive from the east and settle along the
north Baltic coast, mixing with Neolithic tribes.
1st Century
Roman historian Tacitus writes of a local tribe called Aestii.
12th Century
In 1154, Arab cartographer al-Idrisi marks Tallinn on his map
as Koluvan, describing it as a seasonal stronghold - the first
mention of the city in historic records.
13th Century
In 1202 the Pope calls for a crusade against the pagans
around the Baltic Sea. Bishop Albert founds the Order of
the Knights of the Sword. This leads to four decades of
bloody battles and shifting alliances among the Germans
(based in Riga), Danes, Swedes, Russians, Lithuanians and
local tribes. In 1219 King Voldemar II of Denmark takes the
stronghold of the north Estonian Rävala people as a base
for his forces (hence the name Tallinn: Taani = Danish, linn
= city). German merchants settle the town, and in 1248
are granted the right to use Lübeck Law, effectively making
Tallinn an autonomous entity. In the 1280s, Tallinn joins the
powerful Hanseatic League of trading cities.
14th Century
Estonian towns become important trading links between East
and West and grow in size and strength. Ethnic Estonians,
however, remain serfs while German landowners reap the
benefits. The bloody St George’s Night Uprising of 1343
convinces the Danish King to sell his provinces to the German
Knights two years later.
16th Century
Estonians suffer another bout of shifting borders and
imposed military service during the Livonian War (1558-
1583). Ivan the Terrible advances claims on Estonia.
Denmark and Poland enter the fray, but Sweden quickly gains
control of the territory. Intermittent warfare with Poland lasts
into the next century.
17th Century
The Swedish period in Estonian history is marked by cultural
advancement. Tartu University opens in 1632 and by the
close of the century nearly every parish has a school. In 1645
Denmark cedes Saaremaa to Sweden, joining Estonia under
a single force for the first time.
18th Century
Sweden battles Russia, Denmark and Poland in the Northern
War (1700-1721), losing Estonia to Russia in 1710. During
the 200 years of tsarist rule that follow, Estonia’s peasants
live in the same conditions of near-slavery as the serfs of
Russia. In 1739 the Bible is published in Estonian.
19th Century
So-called Estophiles study the local language and found
consciousness-raising societies. Literacy spreads and
Estonian-language periodicals appear. The second half of the
century is marked by the National Awakening: the formation
of a national consciousness among Estonians and an active
period of scholarship and literary creation. The first song
festival, held in Tartu in 1869, represents the first public
demonstration of Estonian national identity. Tsar Alexander
III stifles this when he comes to the throne in 1881, initiating
a period of intense Russification.
Tallinn‘s founding legend
Stick around Tallinn long enough and you’re bound to
hear the name Kalev bandied about. There are countless
Kalev sports teams and there’s even a Kalev brand of
chocolate. But just who was this Kalev person?
Kalev is in fact a mythical giant from Tallinn’s distant past
who is credited with founding the city. As the story goes,
Kalev was sailing the seas looking for a spot to land and
establish a kingdom. Eventually a prophecy led him to
what is now Estonia’s capital. Upon Kalev’s death, his
wife Linda was so stricken with grief that she over-did his
burial mound, piling enough stones on his grave to form
Toompea hill, which to this day looms over Old Town. When
the contentious Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral was built
on the hill at the beginning of the 20th century, a rumour
was spread that Kalev’s ghost would haunt anyone who
interfered with the construction. Nobody did.
Arguably an even more important figure in the Estonian
tradition is Kalev’s son, Kalevipoeg. Tales of Kalevipoeg’s
adventures were set down in the form of an epic
poem of the same name by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald
and published in 1857. At the time Estonia was undergoing
a literary and cultural awakening, and Kalevipoeg
became both a focal point for national identity and a
major step in founding an Estonian literary tradition.
The first republic
Estonia takes advantage of the chaos in Russia caused by
WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution, declaring independence
on February 24, 1918. But by the end of February, Germany
takes the infant country by force. When Germany capitulates in
November Red forces move in. The War for Independence lasts
13 months. In the Tartu Peace Treaty, signed February 2, 1920,
Soviet Russia renounces claims to the territory “for all time”.
In 1921 the Republic of Estonia is accepted into the League of
Nations. Reforms progress quickly and social welfare laws are
on a par with those in Europe. A political crisis in the mid-1930s
brings the young republic to the verge of authoritarianism.
President Konstantin Päts bans political parties and restricts
civil rights but maintains popular support.
World War II
On August 23, 1939, the USSR and Germany sign the Molotov-
Ribbentrop pact, in which secret protocols carve Eastern
Europe into spheres of influence. On June 16, 1940, the USSR
accuses the Baltic states of aggression and demands the
right to occupy them. ‘Elections’ take place July 14 - 15, with
Soviet-approved candidates. The phoney parliament applies
for admittance to the USSR, which is granted August 6. WWII
continues to rage across Europe and by the end of 1941 the
Nazis win Estonia from the Soviets. The German occupation
lasts three years. Soviet forces begin air attacks March 15,
Tallinn In Your Pocket tallinn.inyourpocket.com
1942, and cause serious damage in the infamous attack of
March 9, 1944. By September the Germans have fled. Estonia
is declared a Republic again on September 18, but Soviet
forces reach Tallinn four days later.
Soviet occupation
In the first years of the renewed Soviet regime, 36,000
Estonians are arrested and accused of aiding the Nazis.
At the same time 30,000 - 35,000 people flee to the
woods to resist the regime as Forest Brothers. In the years
following, Estonia endures political repression and isolation,
while Estonians who had fled to the West try to keep their
culture alive in exile. During the post-Stalin period, life in
Estonia takes on a bureaucratic routine similar to that
found elsewhere in the USSR. Over the coming decades,
hundreds of thousands of ethnic Russians are sent to live
in the Estonian territory. In the 1970s and 80s, Finnish TV
broadcasts give Tallinn residents a glimpse of life in the
West.
1956
Surviving Estonians who had been deported to Siberia are
allowed to return.
1977
February 24 The blue-black-white flag rises illegally over the
Vanemuine Theatre in Tartu to mark the 59th anniversary of
the first Estonian Republic.
1980
July 19-August 3 Moscow Olympic Games. Tallinn’s Olympic
yachting centre, Pirita and Olümpia hotels and airport
terminal are built for the occasion.
Road to independence
1987
What had started as a series of environmental protests
quickly develops into a new National Awakening as
demonstrations against the system become more open.
1988
June 10-14 Over 100,000 people a night pack the Tallinn
Song Festival Grounds. The events of the summer are
henceforth known as the Singing Revolution.
September 11 More than 300,000 Estonians gather at the
Song Grounds and hear Trivimi Velliste make the first public
demand for independence.
November 16 In a move known as the beginning of the end
for the Soviet Union, the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR
passes a declaration of sovereignty.
1989
February 24 The Estonian flag is raised over Tallinn, inciting
protests and massive strikes.
August 23 Two million people join hands along the
600km road between Tallinn and Vilnius to mark the 50th
anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.
November 12 The Estonian Supreme Soviet nullifies
Estonia’s entry into the USSR.
1990
March 23 The Estonian Communist Party declares
independence from the central party.
May 8 The ESSR is officially renamed the Republic of Estonia,
despite not yet having declared independence.
1991
March 3 78% of voters cast their vote for independence
tallinn.inyourpocket.com
in a referendum.
August 19 During the failed Moscow coup, additional Soviet
military units are moved to Estonia from Pskov, Russia.
August 20 Estonia declares independence.
August 23 Lenin’s statue comes down in Tallinn.
August 24 Russia recognises Estonian independence.
A new republic
1992
After prices rose by 629% in 1991, the government
introduces ration coupons.
June 20 The Estonian kroon becomes the first national
currency introduced in the former Soviet Union.
1994
September 28 852 people perish when the 15,000-tonne
ferry Estonia sinks en route to Stockholm.
1999
November 13 Estonia becomes the 135th member of the
World Trade Organization (WTO).
2004
March 29 Estonia joins NATO.
May 1 Estonia becomes an EU member as the bloc expands
to encompass ten new states.
2007
April 26 - 27 Street riots, mainly involving young, ethnic
Russians, break out after protests over the relocation of a
Soviet Army monument from the city centre.
December 21 Estonia joins Schengen.
2009
June 22 The Freedom Monument is unveiled.
2011
January 1 Estonia joins the common European curreny Euro.
May 10 Microsoft agrees to purchase Estonian-founded
Skype. The $8.5 billion USD purchase is the largest
acquisition in Microsoft history.
What’s in a name?
The evolution of the name Tallinn is a confusing one.
Tallinn’s first world map appearance was in 1154 when
Arabian geographer Abu Abdallah Muhammad al-Idrisi
called it Qaleveni. In ancient Russian chronicles the same
name appears as Kolõvan, supposedly from the word
kaleva or kalõva which means something solid or strong.
In the first half of the 13th century Henric the Lett called
Tallinn Lyndanise in his Livonian Chronicle.
Soon afterwards the more commonly known German
name, Reval. The actual name Tallinn is from the Danish
period (1219-1346). In 1219 the Danish King Waldemar
II conquered northern Estonia and built his own stone fortress
at Toompea. The Danes then referred to Tallinn as
Castrum Danorum, which basically means Danish castle.
Translated into Estonian it became tannin lidna. Abbreviate
this and it’s easy to see how you get Tallinn. Even
after the Danes left, many Estonians continued to use the
name Tallinn while almost everyone else preferred Reval.
It was only in 1918 after independence from Russia that
Reval was totally dropped. For a while both Tallinn and
Tallinna were then used. In 1925 Tallinna was declared
official, but soon after Estonia changed its mind and in
1933 Tallinn became the final name for the capital city.
October - November 2012
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