* 1941 – Tallinn, the Capital of Estonia is occupied by Nazi Germany following an occupation by the Soviet Union.

* In another Baltic-Finnic language, Estonian, it is called the West Sea ( Läänemeri ), with the correct geography ( the sea is west of Estonia ).

The Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS ) is a loose alliance or confederation consisting of 10 of the 15 former Soviet Republics, the exceptions being Turkmenistan ( a CIS associate member ), Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Georgia.

Population censuses have been taken in Estonia in 1881, 1897, 1922, 1934, 1959, 1970, 1979, 1989 and 2000, and is being taken in January 2012.

The responsible institution is the Statistics Estonia.

Though no historical support exists for the flag story in the Fellin battle either, it is not difficult to understand how a small and unknown place is replaced with the much grander battle of Reval ( Tallinn ) from the Estonia campaign of King Valdemar II.

It is not mentioned in connection to the campaign of King Valdemar II in Estonia, but in connection with a campaign in Russia.

It is believed that the name of the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, came into existence after the battle.

In Estonia it is the Danish colours, and in Jerusalem the English colours.

The national Coat of Arms of Estonia, three blue lions on a golden shield, is almost identical to the Coat of Arms of Denmark, and its origin can be traced directly back to King Valdemar II and Danish rule in Estonia 1219-1346.

Estonia is a flat country covering.

Estonia is covered by about of forest.

Located in central Estonia, Võrtsjärv is the second-largest lake ().

A small, recent cluster of meteorite craters, the largest of which is called Kaali are found near Saaremaa, Estonia.

Environment – current issues: air heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast ; contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products, chemicals at former Soviet military bases ; Estonia has more than 1, 400 natural and artificial lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas are heavily affected by organic waste ; coastal sea water is polluted in many locations.

Overall, the quality of life indices for Estonia are reflective of a modern industrial state, with one major exception: The population of Estonia is shrinking.

While there are other European countries like Estonia with a birthrate that is at less than replacement levels, Estonia lacks the immigration found, for example, in Germany.

According to data from Statistics Estonia, the population of Estonia is shrinking.

While there are other European countries like Estonia with a birthrate that is below replacement levels, Estonia lacks immigration to compensate for the negative natural growth.

Of the 27 member states of the European Union, there are two with ELDR-affiliated Prime Ministers: Andrus Ansip in Estonia ( Reform Party ), and Mark Rutte in the Netherlands ( VVD ).

Estonia opened accession negotiations with the European Union in 1998 and joined in 2004, shortly after becoming a member of NATO.

The voter turnout in Estonia was one of the lowest of all member countries at only 26. 8 %.

Of the ten new member states, Estonia was the first to unveil its design.

Being a member of the eurozone, NATO and the EU, Estonia is the most integrated in Western European organizations of all Nordic states

After Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union on August 20, 1991, the exiled association of the German Baltic nobility sent an official message to the president-to-be Lennart Meri that no member of the association would claim proprietary rights to their former Estonian lands.

Count Anders Torstenson ( 1641 – 1686 ), Swedish statesman, son of Lennart Torstenson and member of the Privy Council, was from 1674 to 1681 Governor-General of Estonia.

Barclay de Tolly, a member of the Scottish Clan Barclay, was born in Pamūšis, Courland and Semigallia ( in present-day Pakruojis region, Šiauliai County, Lithuania ) and raised in Jõgeveste, Livonia, Russian Empire ( currently in Estonia ).

Since its establishment, more member states have joined through a series of accession treaties, from the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Norway in 1972 ( though Norway did not end up joining ), Greece in 1979, Spain and Portugal 1985, Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden in 1994 ( though again Norway failed to join, because of lack of support in the referendum ), the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia in 2004, and Romania and Bulgaria in 2007.

Except for Chile, Estonia, Iceland, Israel, Mexico, and Slovenia, all OECD member states are members of the IEA.

Of note was his appearance on board one for the USSR in 1952, when the Soviets entered the event for the first time ; Keres was the only Soviet team member with Olympiad experience ( from his previous appearances for Estonia ), and world champion Mikhail Botvinnik was not on the Soviet team.

Rüütel was also a member of the Constitutional Assembly from 1991 to 1992, which drafted the new Constitution of the Republic of Estonia.

He served as Chairman of the People's Union of Estonia from 1994 to 2000, and was elected as a member of the Estonian Parliament, the Riigikogu, in 1995, where he acted as Vice-Chairman until 1997.

ICES today has 20 member nations including the eight original members plus twelve additional nations: Belgium, Canada, Estonia, France, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United States.

Twelve former member states ( Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia ) have subsequently joined NATO.

The Centre Party is also a member of coalitions in 15 other major towns of Estonia like Pärnu, Narva, Haapsalu and Tartu.

He was a member of the gold-medal winning Soviet Union team at the 28th Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki 1988 and played for Estonia in the Chess Olympiads of 1992 – 2004.

Res Publica Party () was a political party in Estonia that self-identified as conservative and therefore member of IDU, but considering its vague platform for 2003 election, the genuineness of this ideology is disputed.

* Estonia ( probationary member )

He was the Vice Chairman of the executive board of Praxis, Estonia ’ s pre-eminent public policy think-tank, and a member of the Innovation Policy Council of the Estonian Ministry of Economics.

In 1991, he was a member of the Estonian Constitutional Assembly, and in 1992, he ran as a presidential candidate against Arnold Rüütel ( 3rd President of the Republic of Estonia, 2001 – 2006 ), and Lennart Meri ( 2nd President of the Republic of Estonia, 1992 – 2001 ), who won the election.

Four out of 15 ex-republics were not members of the CIS: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania did not send their players, Georgia was not a member of the CIS at the time, but Georgian Kakhaber Tskhadadze was a part of the squad.