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== Religion ==


The avoidance of any mention of Soviet suppression of religion is so startling as to raise the suspicion of propaganda. ] (]) 04:22, 15 December 2023 (UTC)
When did the ship sink? -]
:], ]. ] 15:18, 28 June 2003 (UTC)


:@] Conversely, it may be due to the absence of ]. —''']''' (]) 04:24, 15 December 2023 (UTC)
hey! someone has messed the whole article up! why is it in estonian now...
:Lithuania was also under soviet domination but stay majorly christian... ] (]) 12:46, 1 April 2024 (UTC)


== "]" listed at ] ==
do we have to start translating it or here's way to recover messed up pages? {{unsigned|Sorent|15:00, 30 April 2005 (UTC)}}
]
The redirect <span class="plainlinks"></span> has been listed at ] to determine whether its use and function meets the ]. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at '''{{slink|Misplaced Pages:Redirects for discussion/Log/2024 April 5#Palojärv (disambiguation)}}''' until a consensus is reached. <!-- Template:RFDNote --> <sub>signed, </sub>] <sup>]</sup> 20:18, 5 April 2024 (UTC)


== RfC - Another "Northern" or "Eastern" issue ==


<!-- ] 16:01, 20 May 2024 (UTC) -->{{User:ClueBot III/DoNotArchiveUntil|1716220866}}
"Estonia has the highest practical rate of literacy in the world."
An IP user added a description like 'geographiclly located in Northern Europe' in the lede. (, , , ) I think it violates "Lithuania solution", the consensus which is made in the previous talk. (]) I request other users' opinions for this issue. Do you support or oppose to add this description? ] (]) 15:13, 15 April 2024 (UTC)


:@] '''Comment'''{{sbb}} Don't see a problem with replacing 'geographically located in Northern Europe' with 'geographically located in Northern and Eastern Europe' --] (]) 19:37, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
what sources are used to support that? Does it really belong here? {{unsigned|212.47.183.52|14:10, 11 May 2005 (UTC)}}
:I haven't participated in the above RfC, but it is not immediately obvious to me that the "Lithuania solution" is the clear consensus.
:In any case, I don't have a problem with Estonia's geographic location being described as "Northern Europe" or "Northern and Eastern Europe" (although "Central Europe" is a bit much). Both options seem a bit more informative to a global audience than simply "Baltic region". Although we could also follow the ] article and write it as "a country in the ] of ]". In fact, that seems like the best option, for the lede at least. ] (]) 05:19, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
:* '''Support''' - In the RfC you linked, there actually seemed to be a strong consensus for designating Estonia as located in Northern Europe specifically. I would also be wary of designating it as in Eastern Europe though, as that may prove way more controversial and debatable (as shown a bit in the RfC actually). I think the phrasing suggested by @] at the end of their reply would be good for the lead. ] (]·]) 21:27, 2 May 2024 (UTC)
'''Comment'''{{sbb}}, the present text seems well phrased, except the "geographically" is - at best - redundant. "Located" ordinarily means "physically ''(ie geographically)'' placed" so the word is acting as a PoV comment on other ways to classify. If Estonia is classified as belonging in various 'broad sweep' world regions, then the who and why of those classifications seems useful. I cannot comment on the present accuracy, since no sources are provided.] (]) 14:00, 18 April 2024 (UTC)


:Agree with Pincrete on the phrasing. We should state that different sources classify the region differently. By the way the OECD term ''Central or Eastern European'' has a different meaning than the current phrasing "''Central'' or ''Eastern European''". I don't think anyone says Estonia is central european. ] (]) 08:49, 21 April 2024 (UTC)
I agree with ] that it is a bit more, if not much more informative to a global audience to state a geographic location other than simply "Baltic region". I'm not against stating in the lede that all three options (Northern, Central and Eastern) have been used (like the previous wording that the lede had) because that would make them all equal but honestly following the ]s article and writing it as "a country in the ] of ]" is the very best option for the lede. The other options used could be in the tiny clickable note thingy since in terms of geography Estonia is obviously in Northern Europe but as I said I'm not against if all three are in a sentence in the lede.
* '''Indrek's solution''' is the best. In my opinion it is clearer. ] (]) 16:43, 7 May 2024 (UTC)


:I agree. ] (]) 16:08, 10 May 2024 (UTC)
PLEASE REPLACE THE MAP - IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE THE CAPITAL CITY ON IT. {{unsigned|213.35.249.211|07:25, 12 June 2006 (UTC)}}
*'''Comment''' - current version at the time of writing this comment, ''"is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe"'', looks best fitting for me.--] (]) 09:41, 15 May 2024 (UTC)


== Cultural Autonomies Act ==


Could we get a summary over copy pasting copyrighted text. This summary article is not the place to highlight one act. ''']''' <span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 12:27, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
Is that flag blue color correct? If yes then why it still differs from http://www.riigikantselei.ee/failid/elipp.jpg? --] 22:50, 12 November 2006 (UTC)


The Estonian Cultural Autonomy Act<ref></ref> grants the freedom to establish cultural autonomy bodies in order to perform culture-related rights granted to them by the Constitution.


The act permits the establishment of cultural autonomy bodies for the following national minorities without any pre-conditions:
Someone has vandalized this article, claiming that Estonia does not exist. May I suggest someone fix it? (anon.) {{unsigned|69.22.250.163|03:16, 8 December 2006 (UTC)}}


* German national minority
== On counties ==
* Swedish national minority
* Jewish national minority
* Russian national minority


Additionally, any national minority with a population of over 3000 persons is granted the same right.
There is a problem with linking to the counties. Estonian counties have pairs of synonymous names. For example, Harjumaa ('Harjuland') is also called ''Harju maakond'' ('Harju County'). On the other hand, Hiiumaa and Saaremaa are islands. At least in the case of Saaremaa the county involves other islands as well, so the name Saaremaa is ambiguous between the island and the county. I am not sure about Hiiumaa. As to now, the articles about Saaremaa and Hiiumaa are about islands. ] 08:21, 20 Aug 2003 (UTC)


'''Persons belonging to a national minority have the right to:'''
:I created the ] entry to replace a bad cut and paste version posted at ''List of Estonian counties''. I'm not proficient in Estonian but I might be able to give some advice based on the work I've done with the ]. In Sweden there were two types of disambiguation issues affecting the naming of the county articles: cities and historical provinces. Two examples:


* form and support national cultural and educational institutions and religious communities;
:*"Stockholms län" needed to be disambiguated from the city of ]. Outcome: ].
* establish national organisations;
:*"Hallands län" needed to be to be disambiguated from the historical province of ]. Outcome: ]
* perform national traditions and religious customs if this does not violate public order, damage health or breach morality;
* use their mother tongue in public administration within the limits established by the Language Act;
* publish printed matter in their national languages;
* conclude cooperation agreements between cultural and educational institutions and religious communities;
* disseminate and exchange information in their mother tongue.


'''Currently active cultural autonomies:'''
:It can be a good idea to construct a uniform template to be used for the separate county articles. This can be done by starting a ], which can be based on ].
Based on the cultural autonomy act, the currently active cultural councils in Estonia, as of 2023, were for the ] and for the ] cultural minorities.<ref></ref> <span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 12:27, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
:: I don't have an issue with summarizing it. In this case you have reverted twice without mentioning that the issue is, in your view, copy-pasting. The first time you claimed it's a "random fact" (it isn't). Second time there was no reasoning given at all. The last part of the text is not a copy-paste, but summarization. I will add this back + sentence about the cultural autonomy act.] (]) 17:08, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
:::I'm thinking we need to start a separate article for this if we have sources stating that it's notable. But this overview article isn't the place to detail one act. What we would bd looking for is the effects in a summary..... Just detailing the ACT leaves us with no r information about actual society...... What are the actual effects of this law are they implemented are they controversial are they actualized equally throughout society?<span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 17:14, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
::::A separate article can also be started. But briefly mentioning the act and the current official cultural minorities / cultural councils of Estonia, under the Culture paragraph, is a no-brainer. Especially considering that specifically the estonian swedish cultural minority is mentioned multiple times in the article in other places. ] (]) 17:22, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
:::::I'm not sure what you're trying to say with this section..... are you trying to say only certain minorities have the right to practice religion and cultural expression? <span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 17:28, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
:::::: I'm specifically referencing the estonian cultural autonomies act, which is a notable law in Estonia, giving every national minority that numbers over 3000, a right to form their own official national cultural bodies. Including a source from the estonian ministry of culture. It's about the furthest from racism you can get, not that it's even relevant to this discussion. You have now reverted this 3 times, in effect breaking the 3-revert rule. ] (]) 17:32, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
:::::::Will read up on this..... I find it shocking any country will not allow some random amount of practitioners to not practice their cultures..... Or is it just you have to have so many to form a social club? Do we have links to like modern amendments? <span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 17:36, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
::::::::Ok... did some reading....could saying something like... {{Green|The Cultural Autonomies Act Estonia, also known as the Language Act, is a legislative framework that grants cultural autonomy to national minorities in the country. The Act first established in 1925, recognizes the rights of minority groups to preserve and develop their language, culture, and traditions within the Estonian society. The Act also provides for the creation of cultural councils, composed of representatives from minority groups, to oversee the implementation of cultural autonomy.<ref name="q618">{{cite journal | last=Lagerspetz | first=Mikko | title=CULTURAL AUTONOMY OF NATIONAL MINORITIES IN ESTONIA: THE EROSION OF A PROMISE | journal=Journal of Baltic Studies | publisher=Taylor & Francis, Ltd. | volume=45 | issue=4 | year=2014 | issn=01629778 | jstor=26764064 | pages=457–475 | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26764064 | access-date=June 17, 2024}}</ref>}} Hower there is some criticism that we may want to about to<span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 17:49, 17 June 2024 (UTC)


You can feel free to add whatever well-cited text there is about it. But you also broke the 3revert rule by reverting something that said the exact same thing, and with direct sources from the estonian constitution and the ministry of culture. What exactly was wrong with the text that you removed? At the very least, the currently registered national minorities should be mentioned, plus the four minority groups that are included in the law by default:
:Are there -- ] 12:58, Aug 30, 2003 (UTC)


{{Green|The Estonian Cultural Autonomy Act<ref></ref> grants the freedom to establish cultural autonomy bodies in order to perform culture-related rights granted to them by the Constitution. The act allows the German, Swedish, Russian and Jewish national minorities to form cultural autonomy bodies without a required minimum number of people belonging to the corresponding minority, and for any other national minority that numbers at least 3000 people. As of 2023, based on the cultural autonomy act, the active cultural councils in Estonia were for the Estonian Finnish (including ]) and for the ] cultural minorities.<ref>.</ref>}}] (]) 18:00, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
::Thank you for your advice. ] 16:18, 31 Aug 2003 (UTC)


:Looking for academic publications..... linking to the act itself not helpful for readers. And trying to move forward..... Is there only these three or four groups? <span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 18:02, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
::My proposal for the nomenclature of counties in titles is: Järva County, Saare County, Ida-Viru County etc. Then the island of Saaremaa could be discriminated from the Saare County. ] 20:22, 6 Dec 2003 (UTC)
::In answer to your question about the different groups, here is the paragraph from the text above, which answers that question: ''"The act allows the '''German''', '''Swedish''', '''Russian''' and '''Jewish''' national minorities to form cultural autonomy bodies without a required minimum number of people belonging to the corresponding minority, '''and for any other national minority that numbers at least 3000 people'''. As of 2023, based on the cultural autonomy act, the active cultural councils in Estonia were for the '''Estonian Finnish''' (including Ingrian Finns) and for the '''Estonian Swedish''' cultural minorities".'' The sources for Estonian Finnish and Estonian Swedish national minorities being the currently official ones are linked to above, with the being from the ministry of culture. Original text in estonian, from the ministry of culture: ''Eestis on kultuurautonoomia soomlastel (alates 2004. a) ja rootslastel (2007. a).'' ] (]) 18:19, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
:::So reviewing another I see things like "Despite the fact that Estonia's Russian and Swedish minorities were larger than the minimum required, only Germans (1925) and Jews.." and "the policy has failed to be implemented". Going to compile some more sources... as this is not clear cut as it sounds... a little bit controversial..... Perhaps exclusionary in nature despite its intent or simply not utilized to its full extent by minority populations. <span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 18:28, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
:::: Obviously, well-sourced criticism / mentioning of issues can / should also be mentioned. But the act receiving criticism or not is not relevant to the question of including it as a topic or not. As it's clearly relevant and notable, not to mention it being mentioned in the article multiple times elsewhere, in the context of the estonian swedish cultural autonomy. ] (]) 18:40, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
:::::It's relevant to how it should be included ]. Being touted as one of the greatest cultural accomplishments may not be representative of the sources.
:::::* {{cite web | title=Estonia: New law banning mother-tongue education for minorities may violate human rights, warn UN experts | website=OHCHR | date=2023-08-17 | url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/estonia-new-law-banning-mother-tongue-education-minorities-may-violate-human | ref={{sfnref | OHCHR | 2023}} | access-date=2024-06-17}}
:::::<span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 19:01, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
: 1) The link you provided above has nothing to do with the cultural autonomies act. It has 0 mention of it. Not sure why you added this here? If you want to connect that to the topic on your own because you think it's related, then that is WP:OR. 2) None of the texts here is touting it as "one of the greatest cultural accomplishments." 3) WP:DUE would absolutely justify the inclusion of a summary of the cultural autonomies act / the currently registered cultural autonomies in the article. Stick to the topic at hand please, if you want to participate. ] (]) 19:05, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
::1) Seems extremely relevant if it's surpasses the old act... or makes parts of it null and void.
::2)... I said it many times... this is not the article to detail one act of many... especially if it's not in the proper manner.
::I am going to keep reviewing this for sources... if you want you're more than welcome to ask for other opinions. <span style="font-weight:bold;color:darkblue">]</span>🍁 19:16, 17 June 2024 (UTC)


::: 1) It does not. These are completely unrelated topics. The article you linked says nowhere that it makes the act void. Furthermore, it does not mention the act at all. Because this is a completely unrelated topic. You're doing WP:OR at this point. These are non-related topics. Starting from the fact that there currently is no registered russian cultural autonomy in estonia. There is nothing to "void". You should re-read the actually relevant sources above that you yourself linked to. You would then know that there is no russian cultural autonomy registered in Estonia. 2) The topic itself is clearly relevant and - again - it is already mentioned on ] multiple times, in the context of the estonian swedish cultural autonomy. A short summary is completely justified. ] (]) 19:19, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
::This also corresponds to the map we have (except that Tallinn is part of Harju County). ] 13:04, 7 Dec 2003 (UTC)


{{Reflist-talk|closed}}
::]


== why no mention of population loss due to free market ? ==
I suggest that ve could make just namelist in here, in the page ], and give link to ]... --] 16:52, 10 Dec 2003 (UTC)


Since Estonia joined the free market system, its population has been reduced around 15%. ] (]) 16:11, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
: My plan is to copy the list here to the page "Counties of Estonia" when all counties have articles and all redirects is done. On this page would be just names in style "Harju County". The link to "Counties of Estonia" alreafy exists. ] 18:06, 10 Dec 2003 (UTC)


:Probably because nobody has proposed it yet and provided a ] for it. <small><sub>''signed'', </sub></small>] (]) 16:38, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
== Infobox ==

I am gonna move the infobox over to a template, keep the main page a bit clean, if anyone has any concerns just not them here. --] 04:14, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)


I assume there's no need in putting english name at the header of infobox. That space is commonly used for native name in local language only, as suggested by ]. --] 21:26, 15 August 2005 (UTC)

==Vote for deletion==

I think people here will be interested to tell their opinion at this vote for deletion: ]. {{unsigned|DeirYassin|09:10, 16 May 2005 (UTC)}}

== Occupation, annexation ==

I don't understand why terms as annexation and occupation are used as they are. if Germans occupied this country in 1941, then why SU annexed it in 1944? I'd consider that SU both occupied it and annexed, for example Eastern Germany was only occupied, but not annexed and remained semi-indepandant. As for 1940 may be possible to consider the issue as unclear, though occupation is most widely used term, at least if to take into account resolution of Parliament Assembly of Council of Europe of 1960 concerning 20 years of Soviet occupation of Baltic states or Europaen Parliament's resolution of 1983 on occupied Baltic States. I propose this should be in line with the other Baltic states {{unsigned|Bete|10:07, 6 June 2005 (UTC)}}


Has somebody messed with this article? Why does it say "Estonia was freed by Red Army in June 1940"? From whom was it freed - from the Estonians? {{unsigned|193.111.133.86|11:00, 27 April 2007 (UTC)}}

== Declaration of independence ==
Estonia's declaration of independence (February 24th 1918), albeit indirectly, makes references only to the sovereign rights previously held over the country by Tsarist Russia. Neither Imperial Germany (which occupied Western Estonian islands since 1917), nor Bolshevist Russia (which occupied Estonian mainland since 1917) had never before even gained full control over Estonia by that moment, regardless of their respective claims of sovereignty over Estonia. Hence, one could argue that de jure Estonia declared independence from the Russian Empire, and de facto from the German Empire and the then "Russian Republic" (or "Soviet Republic", which only later was renamed Russian SFSR). Of course, the Feb. 24th 1918 declaration had very little practical effect at first, as the whole country was in the following few days occupied by the Germans. Estonia became de facto independent only after Germans were forced to hand over power to the provisional government of Estonia according to the terms of the November 1918 armistice that ended WWI.--] 20:48, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

== Photos ==

ok, i deleted few pictures for following reasons: they were of very bad quality; they were absolute stupidity(jõhvi picture)and because we have too little text, too much pictures. if you want to add more pictures let's make this gallery into bottom of the page, as it can be seen for example over here ]. {{unsigned|217.159.175.129|21:20, 15 November 2005 (UTC)}}


Many of the photos illustrating this article look bleak and unprofessional. For example and are good sources for better photos. Doesn't anyone at least have a better pic of the parliament building? Should some other pictures be replaced? ] 22:42, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

== Please take part in the improval of this article ==

Hello. I would like to inform you all here that there is an ongoing discussion at article ] (formerly was known as "Lost territories of the Baltic States", but was recently renamed; some users seems to disagree with that renaming). Recent edits as well were accused of POV, and, in fact, article was disputed for a long time already. There currently seems to be no Estonians editing the article and in order to get the most neutral viewpoint represantatives from all of related nations are needed. It would be nice if you would add that article to your watchlist and continue helping to improve it until a decition will be reached about its future (there is currently a poll about it in the article's talk page). I hope together we all will be able to make that article neutral. ] 10:52, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

==Sport==
Hi, I was hoping to find links to sport and on through to the soccer team. Sport in Estonia surely is worth a mention? Cheers ] 12:10, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

== Confusion with the infobox ==

The infobox currently says Estonia was occupied by USSR 2 February 1920 - 16 June 1940. As far as I know, this was not the case. In fact, isn't this actually the time of Estonias first independence before the Soviet annexation? {{unsigned|88.113.245.55|17:34, 9 March 2006 (UTC)}}

== Anthem ==

Hi! Can someone add the translation of your national anthem in English, please? ] 12:56, 9 April 2006 (UTC)
:The translation is at the article for the anthem, see '']'''. --] | ] 03:23, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

==Border Treaty Section==

I removed the border treaty issue from the general description of Estonian history. I don't see why the article should have two paragraphs devoted to hundreds of years of history and then have two paragraphs describing one current event. Plus it routinely gets hit by vandals...

In the scheme of Estonian history, it is rather unimportant. {{unsigned|67.151.45.226|18:09, 23 May 2006 (UTC)}}

:And I restored the section. THe above are not valid reson for deletion of factual information. `'] ] 20:28, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

::The information is not factual. Estonia has said publicly many times that it has no land claims against Russia. But the version on the website says that it does. And that is incorrect.

::I still believe my reasons for deletion are valid. We could add two paragraphs about the Chechen crisis to the Russian history discussion, or two paragraphs about the Iranian hostage crisis to the general historical description of the US. But that would be silly. {{unsigned|67.151.45.226|16:14, 24 May 2006 (UTC)}}

::ALSO, the metsavennad comprised veterans from all armies. That's a fact that also gets deleted repeatedly.

::FINALLY, your spelling is bad. If you want to insert your politically-skewed interpretation of history into a general article about a country, then spell it correctly. It's Estonian, with a capital 'E', not 'estonien.'

::My advice to the administrator would be to remove both the sections about metsavennad as well as the section on the border treaty. {{unsigned|Polaaroo|17:00, 24 May 2006 (UTC)}}

:::I agree it seems absurd to have as much devoted to a single issue as the whole of the rest of Estonian history. Although in the long run, the best solution would seem to be to expand the rest of Estonian history which as you point out, is rather brief. Maybe the border dispute could be summarised into a single, short paragraph and maybe relocated to say the politics section as personally I think that's what it is. I definatly think some mention of it (however brief) should be in the article though as it's an important piece of information regarding Estonia's foreign relationships. ] 03:04, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

== Counties/States ==

The remark aout counties not being states only showed the idiocy of the author.
(Compare: Federal State/Free State, USA, Germany, Russia, Switzerland/France, Estonia, India, Luxembourg) {{unsigned|88.196.41.185|18:40, 27 May 2006 (UTC)}}

== Religion Section full of contradictions ==

The section on the religion of Estonia seems to be full of contradictions. In the first paragraph it states: "''less than a quarter of ethnic Estonians define themselves as active believers at present.''" but the start of the next paragraph states: "''Today, over 31% of the adult population are active followers of a particular faith''" and then in the last paragraph: "''only 16% of Estonian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God"''".

This strikes me to be the result of multiple surveys being progressibly added, resulting in a fragmented and contradictory reading. In addition, only the 2005 poll in the last paragraph is actually referenced, I don't see anyway of validating the other numbers which (especially with the 31% follow a faith) seem to be out of sync with the EU poll (which appears very professionally sampled and compiled). ] 02:54, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

=== Some comments on the religion section ===

Maybe someone who has time will elaborate it ...

According to 2000 census there were 1 121 582 people over 15 years of age in Estonia; 327 832 of them (29.2%) "followed a particular faith", 152 237 were Lutherans, 143 554 Orthodox, 6 009 Baptists, 5 745 Roman Catholocs, 3 823 Jehova's witnesses, 2 648 Pentecostalists, 2 515 "old believers", 1 561 adventists, 1 455 methodists, 1 387 muslims, 5 008 of "other" religions, 1 890 of "unknown" faith, 381 911 had no religious affiliation, 68 547 were atheists, 163 304 "could not define the affiliation", 89 691 "refused to answer", 90 297 just did not respond.

Reference: ]

Can you give a reference to the "EU poll"? If you mean Eurobarometer then the difference may be the matter of time (2000 vs 2005) or sampling error (almost all people were polled in the census, whereas maybe 1000 people participated in Eurobarometer).

More statistics. The census and polls are about people's opinions, not behavior. So how many actual (and active) members do the churches have?

Lutheran church -- 161 144 members ion 2005, of them 39 879 paid the membership fee. (So many of these 161 144 people may actually be members only in a formal sense.)

Reference: ]

Unfortunately, no similar statistics is available for other churches.

More references. According to ... ] ... a poll among 1000 people in 2000 revealed that only 4% participated regularly at religious services, and 5% considered religion to be "very important" in their lives.

List of religious organisations in Estonia (as of dec., 2006):

http://www.siseministeerium.ee/index.php?id=16682

A poll in 2005 ]

Ethnic issue: Russians consider themselves to be more religious than Estonians (both in 2000 census and 2005 poll). According to the 2000 census, 24.30% of ("ethnic") Estonians were religious (most of them Lutherans), and 38.74% of Russians (most of them Orthodox).


See also:

* a review of sociological polls on religion ] (in Estonian)

* a dissertation on changes in religiosity in Estonia: ] (has a short English summary)

Finally: I'd suggest deleting or shortening the text on 2002 poll and eurobarometer. Official census is more accurate ... maybe only "interesting facts" could be taken from polls. (Like 10% cherishing "Taara usk" or 54% believing in "supernatural forces" or Estonians being the least religious in EU.) <small>—The preceding ] comment was added by ] (]) 14:19, 13 January 2007 (UTC).</small><!-- HagermanBot Auto-Unsigned -->

For 2004 data see European Social Survey, -- see chapter by Alar Kilp. ESS is probably the most reliable poll so far (i.e., before the next census), so I'd suggest mentioning only the 2000 census and ESS data. ] 15:08, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

== History Clean Up ==

OK, I am no expert, but I consulted a variety of general sources including the Estonian Foreign Ministry website - www.vm.ee - and the Estonica website - www.estonica.ee - which has a very detailed history of Estonia. I tried to give info on each era of history and compared the section to similar articles for Sweden and Finland to make sure it conforms to "Wiki" style. I welcome further edits to make it as clean as possible... ] 15:02, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

== Metsavennad ==

I keep having to clean up the general history section which references the forest brothers. Someone keeps posting that the guerillas that fought the Soviets in the woods until 1957 were either all former SS officers or loyal to the Nazi regime (which surrendered in 1945, 12 years before the amnesty of 1957).

Many of the forest brothers were simply TOO YOUNG to participate as SS officers in World War II. It is accurate that there were German army veterans, but it is also accurate that many were Finnish army veterans, and even more had served no army during World War II.

The current article states that they were German and Finnish army veterans as well as thousands loyal to the Republic of Estonia. I find that to be the most accurate. Most historical documents assert this to be the case. - ] 15:02, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

:hello! i'm just letting you know, that i'll delete that stupidity from the motto section! that's the worst place for it. ] 20:53, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

::Metsavennad were from all ages and all armies, they were just people who fought against the sovie order (An estonian) {{unsigned|217.159.253.68|19:29, 11 December 2006 (UTC)}}

==footnote source==
Hmm footnote 4, for the freedom index, leads to a freewebs site, an unreliable source - I'm replacing it with the original source for that data.

] 18:46, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm... tried to put in the appropriate source, but couldn't edit - all I get it this: <br>
Notes and references== <br>
div class="references-small"> <br>
references/> <br>
/div>" <br>

Here it is if anybody can help: http://www.stateofworldliberty.org/report/rankings.html

] 18:55, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

=="Occupation"==

The entering of Soviet forces in Estonia could not be called a "military occupation" in terms of international law, because there's not been a war between the two countries. The entering was in accordance with the alliance pact between them. ] 07:59, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

:The premise that "there was no war" and therefore, according international law, Estonia could not have been "occupied" is completely false. The earliest definition of occupation is found in Article 42 of the Annex to the 1899 Hague Convention No. IV: Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land. It states that “a territory is occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army." A formally declared state of war is not required. If the hostile army controls the territory—meaning, the sovereign institutions of the occupied territory are no longer in control, then this criterion for "occupation" has been met. A state of war does not need to exist.

:You are also incorrect that the Soviet invasion was in accordance with the pact of mutual assistance. It is true that the '''initial''' stationing of Soviet troops in the Baltics under the terms of the "mutual assistance pacts" was not an occupation. However, that circumstance changed when the Soviet Union staged events and intentionally and falsely misrepresented past agreements and meetings among the Baltics to manufacture a reason for invading and then did so--while everyone's attention was focused on the fall of Paris to Hitler. (I should also mention that not putting up armed resistance to an occupying force does '''not''' change the nature of the occupation.) The Soviet Union then began to deport Baltic citizens to Soviet territory while those nations were still "sovereign" (according to the Soviet Union)--which aggression constitutes an act of war. Finally, with respect to the Baltics joining the Soviet Union--the election results were fraudulent and the petitions to join unconstitutional. (I'd have to check the detail on Lithuania and Estonia in terms of the specifics--Latvia's constitution required a plebiscite.) This topic has been dealt with extensively in ]. In addition, the ] covers both the specific (with respect to Latvia) and general (Baltics and Finland) circumstances of the so-called pacts of "mutual assistance." ] 04:20, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

:I responded to a request to deal with this topic, posted on the ] page, section entitled ] If someone has more details on the Estonian particulars of the Soviet takeover, please let me know, I would be glad to update a version for Estonia and repost here. &mdash;] 13:05, 26 September 2006 (UTC)
:P.S. I should add that I was asked to deal with the topic actually relative to the Estonia discussion here, but because this issue was raised in the meantime in ] relative to ] I posted my response to the the occupation Yes/No debate on the ] page there. --] 13:18, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

::I believe, that Estonia needs either its own Soviet occupation-specific page, or if it is relevant to do so, a joint article on Soviet occupation of Baltic states in 1940-1941. These pages should also be linked from the respective country pages (their history sections). It is a topic, which is forming region's contemporary politics and debates and thus needs to be described in detail. ] 13:48, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

==OSTK==
Hi, I'm a graduate student writing a dissertation on the Moldova/Transnistria conflict. Interestingly, the group on which I focus, the ]--the transliteration of the Russian acronym is OSTK--had an analogue in Estonia which was also working against Estonian independence. I am trying to expand the breadth of my project to account for this broader OSTK phenomenon, and I wondered if any of the editors of this page might know of any sources. Russian (or English) is ideal, but I could have friends translate (short) Estonian sources. If anyone has run into any information about the Estonian OSTK and would be willing to share with me where they found it, I would be very appreciative. Thanks! ] 15:05, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

== Non-standard and potentially POV map should be reverted ==

The map for this country has recently been changed to a format which is not standard for Misplaced Pages. Each and every other country identifies that country alone on a contintental or global map; none of them highlight other members of relevant regional blocs or other states which which that country has political or constitutional links. The EU is no different in this respect unless and until it becomes a formal state and replaces all other states which are presently members; the progress and constitutional status of the EU can be properly debated and identified on the page for that organisation; to include other members of the EU on the infobox map for this country is both non-standard and potentially POV.

Please support me in maitaining Estonia's proper map (in Misplaced Pages standard) until we here have debated and agreed this issue? Who is for changing the map and who against? The onus is on those who would seek to digress from Wiki standard to show why a non-standard and potentially POV map should be used. Estonia deserves no less! ] 15:31, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

:This user has decided to remove references to the EU from the page of every member state, and is now spamming this message on every talk page. See his talk page for more details. ] 15:34, 2 November 2006 (UTC)
::Please do not discuss here, but at ] so a uniform decision can be reached. ] ] 15:36, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

The users above are misrepresnting my actions. Certain non-standard items have been included in the infoboxes of the pages of some European states. I have removed the undiscussed and unsupported changes and started a discussion here on the best way forward. I have in no way 'removed references to the EU'! The EU is an important part of the activities of the governmenance of many European states, to the benefit of all. That does not mean that an encyclopedia should go around presenting potentially POV information of the constitutional status of the EU in the infoboxes of states which are supposed to be standardised across Misplaced Pages. I'm interested in what users here feel? Please feel free to comment at any of the various pages Yandman might suggest. ] 15:54, 2 November 2006 (UTC)
:I really do not understand what the problem is. Most articles about nations have maps of the subject nation that show neighboring countries, so that the reader gets an idea for the location of the country and its border sizes. The primary map in this article is one that displays Estonia alone. I also strongly suggest that you stop spamming every European nation's talk page with this message. ] or ] (in this particular case) are the places to bring your concerns. ] ] 18:15, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

::'''PLEASE DISCUSS THIS AT''' ] as it involves more than just this country.
::Thanks, &mdash;] 20:31, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

== Removals ==

Several unregistered users keep removing from this article in the "Culture" and "See also" sections the links to ] and ]. The last unregistered user to do so gave the reasoning that these are "irrelevant" links. I do not believe them to be so for several reasons.

1. They are valid links with valid information and have Misplaced Pages articles.

2. Misplaced Pages does not endorse POV, and while it may be difficult to prove, the users removing these two listings generally always remove both. This leads one to assume it is for POV reasons or to censure information.

3. Given that other listings such as the National Boy Scouts and Islam in Estonia are listed (smaller percentages of the Estonian population, I am sure) then I believe that these two items are just as relevant.

I would also like to note that the last person to remove these two items (]) has previosuly be warned about POV and has been blocked prior. ] 16:08, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

== Map ==

The map of Estonia is strange as it shows some small and not very important places as Kunda and Maardu. On the other hand, several towns much larger than Kunda are omitted: Võru, Paide, Rakvere, Keila, etc. I'd suggest a more informative map, something like this:
] <small>—The preceding ] comment was added by ] (]) 15:39, 13 January 2007 (UTC).</small><!-- HagermanBot Auto-Unsigned -->

== Vandalism ==
The page has been scrutinized by 80.176.254.70
The flag was changed to the english flag and the coat of arms to algerian coat of arms. Additionally, some BS story about american occupation. Also population numbers have been mangled with.I have reverted those changes but request this page be locked. This guy has also mangled the Lithuania page. ] 15.46 UTC, 24. January 2007
:There seems to have been a brief spree by the range 80.176.254.65/71 (see ],],],],],],]). It seems to have stopped for now, though. --] 16:18, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

== The section "Under USSR" has POV issues and lacks sources ==

I've added the NPOV and sources tags to the "Under USSR" section, since it severely lacks sources, especially when stating contoversial facts. Some of these facts were already marked as lacking sources, each individually. I fixed the original marks into working Misplaced Pages tags for easier identification.

An example of such a fact: "Hundreds of political prisoners whom the retreating Soviets had no time to move, were massacred." This is a very serious claim and requires to be backed with some kind of a citation, at least.

The section as a whole treats Soviet period of Estonia as deliberately detrimental to the country. Even though some of the stated facts may indeed be true, some facts that are presented as detrimental, might not be such or, at least, are not quite widely accepted as such. These claims need facts (numbers) to back them and sources to be cited.

The claim of Soviet occupation is also disputed, since the process, which occured at that time may not fit into the formal definition of occupation. This has already been noted in the discussion, I would just like to repeat it, since it seems to be ignored as such. Even if this claim is widely supported in Estonia, especially by its current political leadership, this may not be true as such. A more elaborate article about the process of Estonia ''joining'' or being ''annexed by'' USSR is welcome, but, please, back it up with sources.

Another point is that in that "Return to Independence" and "Politics" only slightly touch such problems as "aliens" or "non-citizens" (former citizen of USSR and their children, that were not given Estonian citizenship automatically, but required to take a series of examinations on the basis of national identity, speaking language and length of residence in the country, in order to get the citizenship, unlike Lithuania), a unique situation in contemporary politics, where a rather big portion of people in a country has no formal citizenship, and thus have limited civil rights as such. I don't have many facts to back some claims up, but I would like to ask other interested parties to elaborate on this and write this in this article, or even create a separate article to be linked from this one (if there is much to say about this). <small>—The preceding ] comment was added by ] (] • ]) 13:25, 25 January 2007 (UTC).</small><!-- HagermanBot Auto-Unsigned -->

Ok, I've found one source, that could shed light on environmental issues in Estonia as a Soviet legacy: http://www.photius.com/countries/estonia/geography/estonia_geography_environmental_issues.html Now the only thing left is to put the citation footnote into the article! ] 14:08, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

=== On Estonia's entry to the USSR ===

I would like to say that altough Estonia was not occupied, we did not join the soviet union freely. The first time the soviet union made us sign a document that let the soviet military bases into our country. Then they made our goverment fall and called an "ellection" Where the only candidates were russians or soviet-minded estonians. When they got to power they signed the document that made Estonia a part of the soviet union. Then the nazis came and took Estonia, then the soviets chased them back to germany (taking estonia in the process) and thats the story.

Im sorry for my grammar/spelling mistakes and/or politically incorrect sayings but thats how it seems to me.

An Estonian {{unsigned|213.35.175.6|20:04, 15 February 2007 (UTC)}}

== Maltese is not a Finnish-Hungarian language! POV? ==

There is a definite mistake in the first paragraph of the article, where it is stated, that:

''Along with Finnish, Hungarian and Maltese, Estonian is one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin.''

Maltese, as it's stated on the ] page, is a Semitic, i.e. arabic language, so it has nothing to do with Estonian, Hungarian and Finnish! <small>—The preceding ] comment was added by ] (] • ]) 13:34, 25 January 2007 (UTC).</small><!-- HagermanBot Auto-Unsigned -->
:The article does not state that Maltese is a Finnish-Hungarian language. It is saying that Maltese, Finnish, Hungarian, AND Estonian are the only languages of the EU that are not Indo-European in origin. ] ] 18:38, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
::Sorry, my bad. I guess, since unlike Maltese, all others are Finnish-Hungarian languages, I got a bit confused.] 13:49, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
:::Hehe, don't worry about it. I got mixed up, too, when I read it quickly the first time. :) ] ] 12:53, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

== Location maps available for infoboxes of European countries ==

<div style="background-color:#e8f0ff;">On the WikiProject Countries talk page, the section ] had shown new maps created by David Liuzzo, that are available for the countries of the ''European continent'', and for countries of the ''European Union'' exist in two versions. From ], ] till ], ], a poll had tried to find a consensus for usage of 'old' or of which and where 'new' version maps. Please note that since ], ] all new maps became updated by David Liuzzo (including a world locator, enlarged cut-out for small countries) and as of ], ] the restricted licence that had jeopardized their availability on Wikimedia Commons, became more free. At its closing, 25 people had spoken in favor of either of the two presented usages of new versions but neither version had reached a consensus (12 and 13), and 18 had preferred old maps.<br/>As this outcome cannot justify reverting of new maps that had become used for some countries, seconds before ], ] a survey started that '''will be closed soon at ], ] 23:59:59'''. It should establish two things:
*whether the new style maps may be applied as soon as some might become available for countries outside the European continent (or such to depend on future discussions),
*which new version (]) should be applied for which countries.
Please read the ] (also in other sections ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]) and in particular the arguments offered by the forementioned poll, while realizing some comments to have been made prior to updating the maps, and all prior to modifying the licences, before carefully reading the ''']. You are invited''' to only then finally make up your mind and vote for only one option.<br/>There mustnot be 'oppose' votes; if none of the options would be appreciated, you could vote for the option you might with some effort find least difficult to live with - rather like elections only allowing to vote ''for'' one of several candidates. Obviously, you are most welcome to leave a brief argumentation with your vote. Kind regards. — ] <span style="font-size:.87em;">]] 00:22&nbsp;(UTC)</span></div>

== Bronze soldier controversy ==
How come nothing about current controvercy in terms of the government trying to remove the memorials to soviet soliders that liberated it when they chased nazis out. ] 23:35, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
:Nothing has and won't be removed. Right now the grave is under a bus stop, all that they want to do is move statue and the dead to the (military) graveyard. Also, not "liberated", but "replaced one occupation with another". ] 13:13, 6 April 2007 (UTC)
I was under the impression that nazi occupation was a bad thing and as such had to go in any case. And you can't say that they suffered severely (being turned from agrarian/fisherman state to an industrialized one. Not to mention that by itself estonia was a passing ground for any kind of invasion dating back to pre-Peter I times. By the way,I was born in Vililandi so, my opinions are not completely from outsider ] 08:07, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
:Sorry, but unless you read some (unbiased) history, I see no reason to continue this discussion. ] 08:20, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
You have a point -- I guess other civilizied countries (including Germany) also planning to put similar memorials under bus stops. Or maybe they are starting to also put up memorials for Waffen-SS soliders. ] 01:18, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
: "Are also planning"? Just what the hell are you talking about? {{unsigned|84.50.38.127|17:47, 26 April 2007 (UTC)}}
I am talking about the whole thing -- placing a memorial partially under a bus stop, denying people access to it as well as currently doing "archeological dig" while arresting protesters that did nothing besides patrolling it against vandalism,etc. ] 05:44, 27 April 2007 (UTC)
:The bus stop has been there since soviet times - since around 1950, I think. So if you want your dead to be trod on... your call. And those "protesters" broke shop windows (to steal stuff), vandalized cars and houses - and, as it came out, at least some of them were paid (around $7/h) to do that (I'll let you draw conclusions who would do that). Two of the vandals got into knife-fight, one of them died later (both were Russian), several by-standers were beat up. This all was captured by TV cameras, both local and international. So... "protesters that did nothing besides patrolling", eh? ] 06:30, 27 April 2007 (UTC)
Don't mix things. Protesters were protesters, vandals were vandals. Among 300 arrested by police 100 were Estonians. {{unsigned|62.65.217.174|18:31, 27 April 2007 (UTC)}}

----

Why hasn't temp lockdown for anonymous/new editors been set in effect here to block current page vandalizing by brainwashed idiots ? {{unsigned|62.65.192.23|12:36, 27 April 2007 (UTC)}}
:Yeah, there are way to many brainwashed fascists on this forum. I second the proposal for preventing such idiots from spreading nazi propaganda on this article. Yeah and by the way, the Estonian fascist goverment prohibited the taking of photos and using the camera in the latest rally to hide their heinous acts. So the above poster is wrong to say that any TV cameras, both local and international could have captured the videos, since only goverment supporting journalists were alowed to shoot. {{unsigned|24.110.131.250|15:07, 27 April 2007 (UTC)}}
::Thank you for showing how much brainwashing is going on in Russia. As you don't seem to know, there were cameramen and journalists from at least Russia (several), Finnish, Swedish and also from some international news agencies. Oh, and by the way, Misplaced Pages isn't a forum. ] 15:26, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

I realy cant believe how people can forget and betray their history. This war and all the moniments about it, soldiers who died for to save europa from facism, must be honuar of you. They deserve to be respected. Estonya must be shame. And Estonian people musnt suport this dirty idea. --] 07:13, 28 April 2007 (UTC)
:Sorry, but the soldiers who came in and killed Estonians and the Russian leaders who ordered the bombing of Tallinn and over 30 000 people to be deported into Siberia won't get my respect. ] 07:21, 28 April 2007 (UTC)
::Lol, I guess Estonia would be a powerful nation right now if the Russians wouldn't save Estonia from German forces. Oh and by the way, is it me or the current situation reminds me of USSR times when people were beaten on streets and jails (Tallinn Sea Port Terminal...and even someone got beaten to death. I sincerely think the police has no right to kill a guy just because of his opinion that he expressed rightfully (This isn't Iraq with Saddam, is it?) Also this reminds me of US soldiers beating Iraq people in jails and just making fun of them, and stangely our goverment is pro-american... Hmm? - ] 12:20, 28 April 2007 (UTC)
:::The victim of the riots was not beaten to death, but STABBED to death. As Estonian police forces aren't armed with ninja swords, it is highly unlikely they had any part in it.
:::As for "rightfully expressing his opinion" .. do please look at the footage before talking. Vandalism and looting is NOT a "rightful expression of opinion".
:::But as someone has mentioned before, wikipedia is not a forum, so this discussion must end. But these "facts" have no place in wikipedia, simply because there is nothing "fact" about them. ] 14:15, 28 April 2007 (UTC)
How can you not understand -- the nice Nazis were improving Estonia with occupation, concentration camps, hunting down non-arian people,etc while the evil USSR was torturing them with industrialization, giving them the huge fishing fleet, modernizing the place --- obviously those evil people had to go. /sarcasm off. ] 02:19, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
:Like one of comedians said - "Russians came here to bring freedom and culture, but in a hurry they forgot to bring them along". While in long term, German occupation might have been worse, fifty years of Russian occupation was definitely worse then three years of German rule. Estonia had economy and living standards comparable to Sweden and Denmark, better then Finland. Now it has taken us 16 years to get near the Portugal.
:Gee, thanks for bringing all that "industrialization" we didn't ask, want or need - still don't need. And as for the huge fishing fleet, it seems it got lost in the mail, as it never arrived. As for modernizing... there were factories in 1988 that used pre-WWII equipment. Why do you Russians always want to rewrite history to suit you? You should try honesty for a change. ] 05:54, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

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Religion

The avoidance of any mention of Soviet suppression of religion is so startling as to raise the suspicion of propaganda. 伟思礼 (talk) 04:22, 15 December 2023 (UTC)

@伟思礼 Conversely, it may be due to the absence of reliable sources. —C.Fred (talk) 04:24, 15 December 2023 (UTC)
Lithuania was also under soviet domination but stay majorly christian... Respublica1810 (talk) 12:46, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

"Palojärv (disambiguation)" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Palojärv (disambiguation) has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Misplaced Pages:Redirects for discussion/Log/2024 April 5 § Palojärv (disambiguation) until a consensus is reached. signed, Rosguill 20:18, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

RfC - Another "Northern" or "Eastern" issue

An IP user added a description like 'geographiclly located in Northern Europe' in the lede. (1, 2, 3, 4) I think it violates "Lithuania solution", the consensus which is made in the previous talk. (#RfC - The geographic locale of Estonia) I request other users' opinions for this issue. Do you support or oppose to add this description? 117.53.77.84 (talk) 15:13, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

@117.53.77.84 Comment(Summoned by bot) Don't see a problem with replacing 'geographically located in Northern Europe' with 'geographically located in Northern and Eastern Europe' --Louis P. Boog (talk) 19:37, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
I haven't participated in the above RfC, but it is not immediately obvious to me that the "Lithuania solution" is the clear consensus.
In any case, I don't have a problem with Estonia's geographic location being described as "Northern Europe" or "Northern and Eastern Europe" (although "Central Europe" is a bit much). Both options seem a bit more informative to a global audience than simply "Baltic region". Although we could also follow the Latvia article and write it as "a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe". In fact, that seems like the best option, for the lede at least. Indrek (talk) 05:19, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
  • Support - In the RfC you linked, there actually seemed to be a strong consensus for designating Estonia as located in Northern Europe specifically. I would also be wary of designating it as in Eastern Europe though, as that may prove way more controversial and debatable (as shown a bit in the RfC actually). I think the phrasing suggested by @Indrek at the end of their reply would be good for the lead. Choucas Bleu (T·C) 21:27, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

Comment(Summoned by bot), the present text seems well phrased, except the "geographically" is - at best - redundant. "Located" ordinarily means "physically (ie geographically) placed" so the word is acting as a PoV comment on other ways to classify. If Estonia is classified as belonging in various 'broad sweep' world regions, then the who and why of those classifications seems useful. I cannot comment on the present accuracy, since no sources are provided.Pincrete (talk) 14:00, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

Agree with Pincrete on the phrasing. We should state that different sources classify the region differently. By the way the OECD term Central or Eastern European has a different meaning than the current phrasing "Central or Eastern European". I don't think anyone says Estonia is central european. HansVonStuttgart (talk) 08:49, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

I agree with Indrek that it is a bit more, if not much more informative to a global audience to state a geographic location other than simply "Baltic region". I'm not against stating in the lede that all three options (Northern, Central and Eastern) have been used (like the previous wording that the lede had) because that would make them all equal but honestly following the Latvias article and writing it as "a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe" is the very best option for the lede. The other options used could be in the tiny clickable note thingy since in terms of geography Estonia is obviously in Northern Europe but as I said I'm not against if all three are in a sentence in the lede.

I agree. 85.254.74.59 (talk) 16:08, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

Cultural Autonomies Act

Could we get a summary over copy pasting copyrighted text. This summary article is not the place to highlight one act. WP:COUNTRYSECTIONS Moxy🍁 12:27, 17 June 2024 (UTC)

The Estonian Cultural Autonomy Act grants the freedom to establish cultural autonomy bodies in order to perform culture-related rights granted to them by the Constitution.

The act permits the establishment of cultural autonomy bodies for the following national minorities without any pre-conditions:

  • German national minority
  • Swedish national minority
  • Jewish national minority
  • Russian national minority

Additionally, any national minority with a population of over 3000 persons is granted the same right.

Persons belonging to a national minority have the right to:

  • form and support national cultural and educational institutions and religious communities;
  • establish national organisations;
  • perform national traditions and religious customs if this does not violate public order, damage health or breach morality;
  • use their mother tongue in public administration within the limits established by the Language Act;
  • publish printed matter in their national languages;
  • conclude cooperation agreements between cultural and educational institutions and religious communities;
  • disseminate and exchange information in their mother tongue.

Currently active cultural autonomies: Based on the cultural autonomy act, the currently active cultural councils in Estonia, as of 2023, were for the Ingrian Finnish and for the Estonian Swedish cultural minorities. Moxy🍁 12:27, 17 June 2024 (UTC)

I don't have an issue with summarizing it. In this case you have reverted twice without mentioning that the issue is, in your view, copy-pasting. The first time you claimed it's a "random fact" (it isn't). Second time there was no reasoning given at all. The last part of the text is not a copy-paste, but summarization. I will add this back + sentence about the cultural autonomy act.Saltsjöbaden (talk) 17:08, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
I'm thinking we need to start a separate article for this if we have sources stating that it's notable. But this overview article isn't the place to detail one act. What we would bd looking for is the effects in a summary..... Just detailing the ACT leaves us with no r information about actual society...... What are the actual effects of this law are they implemented are they controversial are they actualized equally throughout society?Moxy🍁 17:14, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
A separate article can also be started. But briefly mentioning the act and the current official cultural minorities / cultural councils of Estonia, under the Culture paragraph, is a no-brainer. Especially considering that specifically the estonian swedish cultural minority is mentioned multiple times in the article in other places. Saltsjöbaden (talk) 17:22, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
I'm not sure what you're trying to say with this section..... are you trying to say only certain minorities have the right to practice religion and cultural expression? Moxy🍁 17:28, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
I'm specifically referencing the estonian cultural autonomies act, which is a notable law in Estonia, giving every national minority that numbers over 3000, a right to form their own official national cultural bodies. Including a source from the estonian ministry of culture. It's about the furthest from racism you can get, not that it's even relevant to this discussion. You have now reverted this 3 times, in effect breaking the 3-revert rule. Saltsjöbaden (talk) 17:32, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
Will read up on this..... I find it shocking any country will not allow some random amount of practitioners to not practice their cultures..... Or is it just you have to have so many to form a social club? Do we have links to like modern amendments? Moxy🍁 17:36, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
Ok... did some reading....could saying something like... The Cultural Autonomies Act Estonia, also known as the Language Act, is a legislative framework that grants cultural autonomy to national minorities in the country. The Act first established in 1925, recognizes the rights of minority groups to preserve and develop their language, culture, and traditions within the Estonian society. The Act also provides for the creation of cultural councils, composed of representatives from minority groups, to oversee the implementation of cultural autonomy. Hower there is some criticism that we may want to about toMoxy🍁 17:49, 17 June 2024 (UTC)

You can feel free to add whatever well-cited text there is about it. But you also broke the 3revert rule by reverting something that said the exact same thing, and with direct sources from the estonian constitution and the ministry of culture. What exactly was wrong with the text that you removed? At the very least, the currently registered national minorities should be mentioned, plus the four minority groups that are included in the law by default:

The Estonian Cultural Autonomy Act grants the freedom to establish cultural autonomy bodies in order to perform culture-related rights granted to them by the Constitution. The act allows the German, Swedish, Russian and Jewish national minorities to form cultural autonomy bodies without a required minimum number of people belonging to the corresponding minority, and for any other national minority that numbers at least 3000 people. As of 2023, based on the cultural autonomy act, the active cultural councils in Estonia were for the Estonian Finnish (including Ingrian Finns) and for the Estonian Swedish cultural minorities.Saltsjöbaden (talk) 18:00, 17 June 2024 (UTC)

Looking for academic publications..... linking to the act itself not helpful for readers. And trying to move forward..... Is there only these three or four groups? Moxy🍁 18:02, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
In answer to your question about the different groups, here is the paragraph from the text above, which answers that question: "The act allows the German, Swedish, Russian and Jewish national minorities to form cultural autonomy bodies without a required minimum number of people belonging to the corresponding minority, and for any other national minority that numbers at least 3000 people. As of 2023, based on the cultural autonomy act, the active cultural councils in Estonia were for the Estonian Finnish (including Ingrian Finns) and for the Estonian Swedish cultural minorities". The sources for Estonian Finnish and Estonian Swedish national minorities being the currently official ones are linked to above, with the first one being from the ministry of culture. Original text in estonian, from the ministry of culture: Eestis on kultuurautonoomia soomlastel (alates 2004. a) ja rootslastel (2007. a). Saltsjöbaden (talk) 18:19, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
So reviewing another academic release I see things like "Despite the fact that Estonia's Russian and Swedish minorities were larger than the minimum required, only Germans (1925) and Jews.." and "the policy has failed to be implemented". Going to compile some more sources... as this is not clear cut as it sounds... a little bit controversial..... Perhaps exclusionary in nature despite its intent or simply not utilized to its full extent by minority populations. Moxy🍁 18:28, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
Obviously, well-sourced criticism / mentioning of issues can / should also be mentioned. But the act receiving criticism or not is not relevant to the question of including it as a topic or not. As it's clearly relevant and notable, not to mention it being mentioned in the article multiple times elsewhere, in the context of the estonian swedish cultural autonomy. Saltsjöbaden (talk) 18:40, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
It's relevant to how it should be included WP:DUE. Being touted as one of the greatest cultural accomplishments may not be representative of the sources.
Moxy🍁 19:01, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
1) The link you provided above has nothing to do with the cultural autonomies act. It has 0 mention of it. Not sure why you added this here? If you want to connect that to the topic on your own because you think it's related, then that is WP:OR. 2) None of the texts here is touting it as "one of the greatest cultural accomplishments." 3) WP:DUE would absolutely justify the inclusion of a summary of the cultural autonomies act / the currently registered cultural autonomies in the article. Stick to the topic at hand please, if you want to participate. Saltsjöbaden (talk) 19:05, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
1) Seems extremely relevant if it's surpasses the old act... or makes parts of it null and void.
2)... I said it many times... this is not the article to detail one act of many... especially if it's not in the proper manner.
I am going to keep reviewing this for sources... if you want you're more than welcome to ask for other opinions. Moxy🍁 19:16, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
1) It does not. These are completely unrelated topics. The article you linked says nowhere that it makes the act void. Furthermore, it does not mention the act at all. Because this is a completely unrelated topic. You're doing WP:OR at this point. These are non-related topics. Starting from the fact that there currently is no registered russian cultural autonomy in estonia. There is nothing to "void". You should re-read the actually relevant sources above that you yourself linked to. You would then know that there is no russian cultural autonomy registered in Estonia. 2) The topic itself is clearly relevant and - again - it is already mentioned on Estonia multiple times, in the context of the estonian swedish cultural autonomy. A short summary is completely justified. Saltsjöbaden (talk) 19:19, 17 June 2024 (UTC)

References

  1. Lagerspetz, Mikko (2014). "CULTURAL AUTONOMY OF NATIONAL MINORITIES IN ESTONIA: THE EROSION OF A PROMISE". Journal of Baltic Studies. 45 (4). Taylor & Francis, Ltd.: 457–475. ISSN 0162-9778. JSTOR 26764064. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. .[https://www.kul.ee/kultuuriline-mitmekesisus-ja-loimumine/rahvusvahemused-ja-rahvuskaaslased/vahemusrahvuse[

why no mention of population loss due to free market ?

Since Estonia joined the free market system, its population has been reduced around 15%. 79.167.132.76 (talk) 16:11, 29 June 2024 (UTC)

Probably because nobody has proposed it yet and provided a reliable source for it. signed, Willondon (talk) 16:38, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
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