Estonia Political System, Famous People, Animals and Plants

By | January 15, 2023

Estonia: Political System

According to COMPUTERMINUS.COM, Estonia is a parliamentary democracy. At the head of the state there is a president who is elected every 5 years directly by parliament (or in the second ballot by the electoral assembly). The country’s parliament – Riigikogu – is a unicameral system with 101 members. The legislative period lasts 4 years. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Estonia politics, and acronyms as well.

The official name of the country is:

Republic of Estonia (Eesti Vabariik)

National anthem

The national anthem of Estonia was written by Johann Voldemar Jannsen (1819-1890) and set to music in 1848 by Hamburg-born Friedrich Pacius (1809-1891). Incidentally, the Finnish anthem has the same melody. The song was first sung in front of a large audience in 1869 at the great Estonian Song Festival. With independence in 1920, the song became the country’s national anthem. But in the course of the occupation by the Soviet Union and the Nazi regime between 1939 and 1990, Estonia had different hymns. The song was reintroduced as the national anthem in 1990.

In Estonian In the English translation
Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõmMu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm,

Kui kaunis oled sa!

Ei leia mina iial taäl

See suure laia ilma pääl,

Mis mull ‘nii armas oleks ka

Kui sa, mu isamaa!Sa oled mind ju sünnitand

Ja üles kasvatand;

Are tänan mina alati

Ja jään sul truuks surmani!

Mul kõige armsam oled sa,

Mu kallis isamaa!Su üle Jumal valvaku,

Mu armas isamaa!

Ta olgu sinu kaitseja

Ja võtku rohkest ‘õnnista’

Mis iial ette võtad sa,

Mu kallis isamaa!

My homeland, my happiness and joy,how beautiful you are!

I can’t find anything

in this big wide world that

I would love as much

as you, my homeland!You gave birth

and raised me;

I always thank you

and remain true to you until death,

you are the most dear to

me, my dear homeland! God watch over you,

my dear homeland! May

he be your protector

and may generously bless

whatever you do,

my dear homeland!

National flag

The national flag (national flag) of Estonia was reintroduced in the course of independence from Russia in 1917, and confirmed with the constitution of 04.07.1920. On August 7, 1990, shortly before Estonian regained independence, it was officially declared the national flag by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia. Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the meaning of the colors from top to bottom:

– Blue stands for loyalty and trust

– Black for the ancestors and the past

– White for the snow and the future

  • Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Estonia.

Estonia: Known People

Musician

Eda-Ines Etti (born 1981)

Singer. She became known through the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden in 2000, where she took 4th place.

Neeme Järvi (born 1937)

World-famous conductor

Arvo Pärt (born 1935)

Composer of sacred and spiritual music

Erkki-Sven Tüür (born 1959)

Composer

Politicians and rulers

Andrus Ansip (born 1956)

Acting Prime Minister of Estonia

Toomas Hendrik Ilves (born 1953)

politician. Since October 9, 2006 (election on September 23), he has been the 4th President of Estonia. His parents emigrated to Sweden before the Soviets in 1944, where he was born in Stockholm. From Sweden they went to the USA, where he grew up and later studied. After reunification he returned to Estonia and was then from 1993 to 1996 the country’s ambassador to the USA, Canada and Mexico. He was also the country’s foreign minister from 1996 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2002.

Lennart Georg Meri (born 1929)

Writer and politician. From 1992 to 2001 Lennart Meri was President of Estonia.

Arnold Rüütel (born 1928)

Rüütel was President of Estonia from 1990 to 1992 and from 2001 to 2006.

Writer and poet

Artur Alliksaar (1923-1966)

With his strongly surrealist works he had a great influence on the more recent Estonian poetry.

Betti Alver (1906-1989)

Writer. She wrote philosophical-ethical poetry in the style of neoclassicism.

Enst Enno (1875-1934)

mystical lyric poet

Johann Voldemar Jannsen (1819-1890)

He is considered the founder of Estonian journalism. Among other things, he wrote the text for the Estonian national anthem.

Lydia Koidula (1843-1886)

daughter of Jannsen. She wrote numerous natural poems and patriotic songs during the time of Estonia’s national awakening. Many of her works went into the Estonian folk song tradition. Their village comedies prepared the ground for an independent Estonian theater landscape.

Jaan Kross (born 1920)

Writer. His best-known and most extensive work is the historical novel “The Life of Balthasar Rüssow”.

Juhan Liiv (1864-1913)

Writer. He is one of the representatives of the modern poetry of the 2O. Century. A poetry award was named after him.

Karl Ristikivi (1912-1977) In

exile he wrote novels on the philosophy of history, of which the novel “Hingede öö” (Night of Souls) is particularly worth mentioning.

Gustav Suits (1883-1956)

poet

Anton Hansen Tammsaare (1878-1940)

Writer. He is referred to as the Estonian Goethe. His image can be seen on the 25-krone note.

Friedebert Tuglas (1886-1971)

prose writer

Athlete

Aleksander Aberg (1881-1920)

wrestler. He hasn’t lost a fight in 17 years.

Paul Keres (1916-1975)

chess player and one of the best players of the last century.

Erki Nool (born 1970)

athlete. At the 2001 World Athletics Championships in Edmonton, he was runner-up. His greatest success was the Olympic victory at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Kristina Šmigun (born 1977)

cross-country skier. She won silver over 15 km freestyle and bronze over 30 km classic at the 1999 World Cup, and gold in the 10 km pursuit at the 2003 World Cup.

Andrus Värnik (born 1977)

athlete. He won the gold medal in the javelin throw at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 2005.

More people

Friedrich Robert Fählmann (1798-1850)

philologist, doctor and co-founder of the Estonian learned society from 1838.

Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald (1803-1882)

doctor and writer

Heinrich Stahl (1600-1657)

German-Estonian pastor and writer. He is considered to be the founder of Estonian church literature.

Adam Johann von Krusenstern (1770-1846)

Krusenstern was an admiral of the Russian fleet from today’s Estonia and was the first circumnavigator under the Russian flag. His sister, Christiane, was the second wife of the German writer August von Kotzebue (1761-1819).

Jakob Johann Baron von Uexküll (1864-1944)

biologist and philosopher. He was one of the most important zoologists of the last century.

Estonia: animals

Mammals

The Estonian predators include bears, wolves and lynxes that live in lonely forest and moorland areas. These can still be hunted with restrictions.

Other forest residents are deer, roe deer, foxes and wild boars. Moose in particular can be found in the swamp lowlands of the northeast.

The mountain hare is one of the rare mammals in Estonia, and the beaver and red deer are also protected species.

A special feature is the approximately 14-20 cm large European flying squirrel. Characteristic are its large eyes, which it needs due to its nocturnal lifestyle, as well as the flight membrane stretching between the wrist and the ankle. In Estonia it is on the national red list and is the symbol of the Estonian Nature Conservation Fund.

The flying squirrel is not the only “attraction” of the Estonian animal world. Badgers and wolverines can also be met very rarely, although the latter mainly migrate to Estonia from Russia.

In the Vilsandi National Park, on the island of Imaharu, you can even see Baltic gray seals that raise their offspring here.

Reptiles

The forest lizards are one of the few reptiles in the country, and as the name suggests, they are mostly found in the forests. Amphibians are strongly represented in the form of frogs, which is particularly important for the rare storks, as frogs are their main food. These are most common on the small islands such as Ruhnu and Manilaid, although some protected species are also native here. These include the crested newt, the green toad, the natterjack toad and the pond frog.

Two snake species occur in Estonia, one of them is harmless to humans grass snake. It is mainly found in open landscapes and on islands near the water, the other is the poisonous adder.

Birds

For ornithologists, Estonia, especially the islands, should be a very interesting experience.

In the coastal regions you can find numerous blackbirds, marsh harriers, wagtails, warblers and oystercatchers.

Hooded crows also live here, as do barn swallows (Estonia’s national bird), little grebes, orioles, white and black storks. Typical residents of the bog lakes are ear grebes, wigeons and pintails. Numerous birds are under nature protection.

These include the grouse, the barnacle goose, the humped and whooper swan, eider ducks and shelduck.

The rough-footed owls, which have retreated into the dense coniferous forests and are more likely to be heard than seen, are a rarity.

The birds of prey that are native here include the sea eagle, the lesser spotted eagle and the golden eagle, although the sea eagle can often be seen in the Lakemaa National Park on the northern coast. The screeching of seagulls and terns can be heard along the coast.

insects

Most of the annoying mosquitoes will be encountered near the lakes, but there are also numerous other species of beetles, butterflies and flies. Bees, wasps, bumblebees, hornets and dragonflies also live here. The mosquitoes often become a real nuisance, especially in the warmer months.

Underwater world

Of the numerous lakes in Estonia, Lake Peipus and Lake Võrtsjärv are the largest and the richest in fish. Lake Peipus, which is the largest of all Estonian lakes, is home to the very rare dwarf vendace and the Peipus smelt, and Lake Võrtsjärv is proud of the breeding of pikeperch and eel. In Estonia’s inland lakes in the south of the country, anglers can also look forward to bream, roach, salmon and trout. Cod, plaice, herring and killos swim in the sea.

Estonia: plants

Trees

What immediately catches the eye about Estonia is the large wooded portion of the country (approx. 45%), as well as the preserved naturalness and originality of the landscape. Most of Estonia’s forests are made up of pine, birch, aspen, fir and spruce. The most common tree is the birch, which is also a national symbol of the country. On the other hand, black alder and peat birch trees are more common in wetter locations, and dwarf birch trees in the raised bogs.

Crops

Mainly grain, potatoes and rapeseed are grown, but these only make a negligible contribution to the gross domestic product, as agriculture plays a rather subordinate role in the Estonian economy.

Medicinal plants

The pasque flower is not used as a medicinal plant due to its toxicity, but is chosen in homeopathy as a remedy for gout, rheumatism, migraines and colds. The cornflower, which is also the national flower of the country, is occasionally used for digestive problems. More often, however, the blue flowers are used for inflamed and tired eyes.

Poisonous plants

The poisonous peony was previously used as an antispasmodic and against epilepsy. However, this effect has not been proven. It can allegedly also be used for skin and mucous membrane inflammation, fissures, gout, rheumatism and diseases of the respiratory tract. However, the effectiveness has not been proven in these areas of application either. In homeopathy, it is used for hemorrhoids.

The marsh marigold, which grows predominantly in damp locations, belongs to the buttercup family and contains toxins that can trigger symptoms of poisoning both when touched and when consumed. If the skin is very sensitive, direct skin contact can cause inflammation of the skin and mucous membranes, which in turn can lead to rashes and swelling of the face. Consumption of plant parts causes dizziness. Vomiting, cramps and water retention in the tissues. The plant can be recognized by its characteristic deep yellow flowers with five petals. In the past, their leaves were used for smoking when they were dry, which is where the Estonian name “Conna rubak” – “frog tobacco” comes from.

Also from the buttercup family is the pasque flower, which has a purple-yellow flower and, like the marigold, can cause skin rashes.

More plants

Wherever you do not come across forests and the mushrooms that grow there, pastures, fields and raised bogs dominate the landscape, which is particularly the case in the north of the country.

Juniper bushes, herbs and heather such as the heather Erika are typical of these areas. Especially in the swamp and moor areas you can find numerous berries such as the cranberry, lingonberry and marsh bilberry.

The wooded meadows are the richest in species and only exist in Estonia in Europe. In addition to orchids such as the lady’s slipper, pasque flowers, liverworts and anemones bloom here, all of which start to unfold their flowers particularly early. Furthermore, there are 35 of the 36 orchid species growing in Estonia on Saaremaa, the country’s largest island.

In general, 120 species growing here are protected, including the only endemic plant in Estonia, the Saaremaa rattle pot, which can be found mostly in swampy areas.

On the island of Sörve there are special plants that have been adapted to the prevailing soil, called alvare.

These include the pasque flower, the sand thyme, the rock sedum and the Baltic orchid.

Estonia Politics