Nordic identity in Estonia

An Estonian cross flag on the island of Vormsi
Estonian cross flag proposal from 1919

Nordic identity in Estonia refers to the concept that Estonia is, or ought to be considered, one of the Nordic countries. The current mainstream view outside of Estonia does not usually include Estonia among Nordic countries, but categorizing it as a Nordic or Northern European country is common in Estonia.[1]

A push towards being defined as a "Nordic" has existed in independent Estonia since the war of independence in 1918, however, gaining "official membership" of the Nordic region was interrupted by their annexation by the Soviet Union during World War II.[2][3] Estonia has been interested in joining the Nordic region again since 1991, when it regained its independence from the Soviet Union's occupation. The Estonian language is closely related to the Finnish language; both are Finnic languages. The Swedish indigenous minority called eestirootslased or rannarootslased in Estonian, and estlandssvenskar or aibofolket in Swedish, has attestably lived in Estonia since the 13th century, similarly to Finnish Swedes in Finland. The extensive settlement of Swedes in Northern and Western Estonia, especially in the islands and coastal areas, has had a significant impact on Estonian culture and also language. Historically, Swedes made up about 25% of the population of Tallinn (Reval), the capital, and even more in Haapsalu (Hapsal). The number of Swedes in Estonia, including in these cities, fell sharply due to the Soviet occupation.[4] The Scandinavian connection from the Estonian Viking Age and later from being a part of the Danish and Swedish Empires for few centuries, especially Northern Estonia (historically called Estland), left a lasting influence on the creation of the Estonian identity during the national awakening period of the 19th century.[5]

Among the most important trade partners of Estonia are the Nordic countries. Estonia's largest import and export partners from the Nordic countries are Finland and Sweden (23% of all export and 20% of all import in July 2020). Three quarters of the investments that go to Estonia come from the Nordic countries, especially from Finland.[6]

  1. ^ Kuldkepp, Mart (2017). "Eesti põhjamaise identiteedi ajaloost". In Tiia Kõnnussaar; Triin Paaver; Mari-Liisa Parder; Margit Sutrop; Liisi Veski (eds.). Eesti JA Põhjamaad - Eesti KUI Põhjamaa? (in Estonian). Tallinn. pp. 31–42. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2020 – via www.academia.edu.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ "Tiia Kõnnussaar: Eesti kui põhjamaa – elujõuline unistus | Eetikaveeb". Eetika.ee (in Estonian). 22 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  3. ^ Mart Kuldkepp (2014). Estonia Gravitates Towards Sweden: Nordic Identity and Activist Regionalism in World War I (PhD thesis). University of Tartu. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2016 – via Academia.edu.
  4. ^ "Tallinn's Swedish St Michael's Church – Estonian Swedes". Archived from the original on 29 October 2020.
  5. ^ Kuldkepp, Mart (2013). "The Scandinavian Connection in Early Estonian Nationalism". Journal of Baltic Studies. 44 (3): 313–338. doi:10.1080/01629778.2012.744911. S2CID 145407154.
  6. ^ "Statistics Estonia". Archived from the original on 28 September 2020.