<text><span class="style42"></span><span class="style12">ESTONIA</span><span class="style14"></span><span class="style42">Official name: </span><span class="style13">Eesti Vabariik (Republic of Estonia)</span><span class="style42">Member of: </span><span class="style13">UN, OSCE</span><span class="style42">Area: </span><span class="style13">45226 km2 (17462 sq mi)</span><span class="style42">Population: </span><span class="style13">1536000 (1993 est)</span><span class="style42">Capital: </span><span class="style13">Tallinn 505000 (city 498000; 1991 est)</span><span class="style42">Other major cities: </span><span class="style13"> Tartu 114000, Narva 87000 (1991 est)</span><span class="style42">Languages: </span><span class="style13">Estonian (63%), Russian (31%)</span><span class="style42">Religions: </span><span class="style13">Lutheran (30%), Orthodox (10%)</span><span class="style42">GOVERNMENT</span><span class="style13">A 101-member Assembly (Riigokogu) is elected by universal adult suffrage for four years. A President ΓÇô who appoints a Prime Minister and a Council of Ministers who are responsible to the Assembly ΓÇô is directly elected for five years.</span><span class="style42">GEOGRAPHY</span><span class="style13">Estonia comprises a low-lying gently undulating mainland ΓÇô rising in the southeast to 318 m (1042 ft) ΓÇô and two main islands. </span><span class="style42">Climate: </span><span class="style13">The moist temperate climate is characterized by mild summers and cold winters.</span><span class="style42">ECONOMY</span><span class="style13">Major industries include engineering and food processing. Gas for heating and industry is extracted from bituminous shale. The important agricultural sector is dominated by dairying. After 1991, severe economic difficulties resulted from EstoniaΓÇÖs heavy dependency upon trade with Russia. However, the adoption of a separate, stable Estonian currency increased trade with Scandinavian countries and the start of privatization halted the decline. </span><span class="style42">Currency: </span><span class="style13">Kroon.</span><span class="style42">HISTORY</span><span class="style13">Estonia was ruled by Denmark (1227ΓÇô1346), the (German) Teutonic Knights (1346ΓÇô1558) and by Sweden (1558ΓÇô1712) before becoming part of Russia. Estonian national consciousness increased throughout the 19th century. When the Communists took power in Russia (1917), Estonia seceded, but a German occupation and two Russian invasions delayed independence until 1919. EstoniaΓÇÖs fragile democracy was replaced by a dictatorship in 1934. The Non-Aggression Pact (1939) between Hitler and Stalin assigned Estonia to the USSR, which invaded and annexed the republic (1940). Estonia was occupied by Nazi Germany (1941ΓÇô44). When Soviet rule was reimposed (1945), large-scale Russian settlement replaced over 120000 Estonians who had been killed or deported to Siberia. In 1988, reforms in the USSR allowed Estonian nationalists to operate openly. Nationalists won a majority in the republicΓÇÖs parliament and seceded following the failed coup by Communist hardliners in Moscow (1991). The USSR quickly recognized EstoniaΓÇÖs independence. The introduction of strict Estonian citizenship laws (1992) that denied full rights to most ethnic Russians increased tension with Russia. Although the citizenship law was eased in 1993, relations with Russia remain difficult. In 1994ΓÇô95 Estonia negotiated an associate agreement with the EU/EC.</span></text>
