اېستونيا

بيرغ نښان
د اېسټونيا نخشه موقعيت
پلازمېنه (او لوی ښار)		Tallinn ۵۹°۲۶′ شمال ۲۴°۴۵′ ختیځ
حکومت		Parliamentary democracy
-	اوبه (%)	4.56%
د وګړو شمېر
-	estimate	1,332,893 (148th)
نا خالص داخلي تولید (PPP)		2006 اټکل
-	ټولټال	$21.81 billion (111th)
-	پر کس	$16,400 (62nd)
بشري پرمختيا (2003)		0.853 (high) (38th)
د وخت سيمه		(UTC+2)
-	اوړی (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
د انټرنټ مخکښ شپول		.ee
پيل ګڼ		372

د اېسټونيا جمهوريت، يا اېسټونيا (اېسټونيايي: Eesti Vabariik يا Eesti) په سهېلي اروپا کې يو هېواد دی چې د ۲۰۰۴ زېږيز کال نه راپدېخوا د اروپايي اتحاديې غړيتوب لري. دا هېواد په سهېل کې د فېنلنډ نه د نري فېنلنډي خليج په مرسته بېل دی او په لويديڅه خوا بالټيک سمندرګی دا هېواد د سويډن نه بېلوي. ددغه هېواد د سمندر غاړه ۳۷۹۴ کيلومتره اوږده ده. همداشان دا هېواد په ختيځ کې د روسيې سره ۲۲۹ کلومتره ګډه پوله لري او په سوېل کې د لاتويا سره ۳۳۹ کيلومتره ګډه پوله لري.

تاريخ

آرنۍ ليکنه: د اېسټونيا تاريخ

According to scientific theory, human settlement in Estonia became possible when the ice, from the last glacial era, melted away 11,000–13,000 years ago. The oldest known settlement in Estonia was located on the Pärnu River, near the town of Sindi (Pulli settlement, by village Pulli - on right bank of Pärnu River). According to radiocarbon dating it is settled 9500 years ago at the middle of the 8th millennium BC.

Estonia was first christianised when the German "Livonian Brothers of the Sword" and Denmark conquered the land by 1227. Subsequent foreign powers that controlled Estonia at various times included Denmark, Sweden, Poland and finally (1710 de facto, 1721 de jure, see Treaty of Nystad) Russia. However, the upper classes and the higher middle class remained primarily Baltic German until roughly 1918. During and immediately after World War II, the remaining Germans were forced out by Hitler and, later, Stalin.

Following the collapse of Imperial Russia after the October Revolution, Estonia declared itself an independent republic on February 24, 1918. After the Estonian Liberation War and Treaty of Tartu signed in February 2, 1920 Estonia maintained this independence for twenty-two years, and the very same parliamentary government was reinstated in 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It included a parliament called Riigikogu, elected by all Estonian citizens aged 18 or above. Riigikogu was disbanded in 1934 and the country was ruled by decree by president Konstantin Päts until the parliamentary elections in 1938.

The country was occupied by Soviet troops in June 1940, as a consequence of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Many of its political and intellectual leaders were killed or repressed, including Estonia's first president Konstantin Päts, who was deported to Russia. The country was occupied by the German Third Reich from 1941 to 1944, when Soviet forces reconquered it. Estonia regained its independence on August 20, 1991, with the Singing Revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union. August 20 is now a national holiday in Estonia.

The last Russian troops left on August 31, 1994, and Estonia joined NATO on March 29, 2004 and the European Union on May 1, 2004.

Estonia signed a border agreement with Russia on May 18, 2005, slightly redefining the border they had been using since 1991, which the Riigikogu, the Estonian parliament, ratified on June 20, 2005. However, Russia took exception to Estonia's preamble to the law, which makes references to the Estonian state's uninterrupted legal continuity during the Soviet period and indirect references to the Soviet occupation of Estonia and announced that it is revoking its signature and that it desires to restart negotiations with Estonia.

Estonia has said that there is no need to renegotiate the border and that it has no land claims against Russia.

آرپوهه

After Estonia regained independence in 1991, a public debate ensued on the chosen English language name for Estonia. The ending –onia in the name Estonia (earlier also Esthonia) is of Latin origin. Many Estonians tend to identify more with Northern Europe, and would prefer the country to have a more Nordic-sounding name. The most widely-known of these alternative English language names is Estland, which is in fact the name for the country in most other Germanic languages (e.g., German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish).

سياست

The Estonian Parliament building in Tallinn

آرنۍ ليکنه: د اېسټونيا سياست

Estonia is a constitutional democracy, with a president elected by its unicameral parliament (elections every four years). The government or the executive branch is formed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and a total of 14 ministers. The government is appointed by the president after approval by the parliament.

Legislative power lies with the unicameral parliament, the Riigikogu or State Assembly, which consists of 101 seats. Members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The supreme judiciary court is the National Court or Riigikohus, with 19 justices whose chairman is appointed by the parliament for life on nomination by the president.

Internet voting has already been used in local elections in Estonia, and the lawmakers in Estonia have authorized internet voting for parliamentary elections as well. (see COM).

NAZI

Counties

آرنۍ ليکنه: Counties of Estonia

Estonia numbers 15 main administrative subdivisions. Due to the geographical and demographic size of these subdivisions, they are to be considered counties rather than states (Estonian: pl. maakonnad; sg. - maakond). Here is a list of them:

Counties of Estonia

• Harju County (Estonian: Harjumaa)
• Hiiu County (Estonian: Hiiumaa)
• Ida-Viru County (Estonian: Ida-Virumaa)
• Järva County (Estonian: Järvamaa)
• Jõgeva County (Estonian: Jõgevamaa)
• Lääne County (Estonian: Läänemaa)
• Lääne-Viru County (Estonian: Lääne-Virumaa)
• Pärnu County (Estonian: Pärnumaa)
• Põlva County (Estonian: Põlvamaa)
• Rapla County (Estonian: Raplamaa)
• Saare County (Estonian: Saaremaa)
• Tartu County (Estonian: Tartumaa)
• Valga County (Estonian: Valgamaa)
• Viljandi County (Estonian: Viljandimaa)
• Võru County (Estonian: Võrumaa)

جغرافيه

Map of Estonia

آرنۍ ليکنه: د اېسټونيا جغرافيه

Estonia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea on the level northwestern part of the rising east European platform between 57.3° and 59.5° N and 21.5° and 28.1° E. Average elevation reaches only 50 metres (164 ft), and the country's highest point is the Suur Munamägi in the southeast at 318 metres (1,043 ft).

Oil shale (or kukersite) and limestone deposits, along with forests which cover 47% of the land, play key economic roles in this generally resource-poor country. Estonia boasts over 1,400 lakes (most very small, with the largest, Lake Peipus, (Peipsi in Estonian) being 3,555 km²; 1372 sq. mi), numerous bogs, and 3,794 kilometers (2,357 mi) of coastline marked by numerous bays, straits, and inlets. The number of islands and islets is estimated at some 1,500, with two of them large enough to constitute their own counties, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.

اقليم

See Weather (English), Ilm (Estonian) or Pogoda (Russian).

اقتصاد

آرنۍ ليکنه: د اېسټونيا اقتصاد

As a member of the European Union, Estonia is part of the world's largest economic zone. In 1999, Estonia experienced its worst year economically since it regained independence in 1991, largely because of the impact of the August 1998 Russian financial crisis. Estonia joined the WTO in November 1999 — the second Baltic state to join — and continued its EU accession talks. Privatization of energy, telecommunications, railways, and other state-owned companies is a continuing process. With assistance from the European Union, the World Bank and the Nordic Bank, Estonia completed most of its preparations for EU membership by the end of 2002 and now has one of the strongest economies of the new member states of the European Union, which Estonia joined on 1 May 2004. The Estonian economy is growing fast, partly due to a number of Scandinavian companies relocating their routine operations and Russian oil transit using Estonian ports. Estonia has a strong information technology (IT) sector. GDP PPP per capita is at $17,672, the highest among the Baltic states.

The north-west coast of Estonia near Nõva, Lääne county

In 1994, Estonia became among the first in the world to adopt a flat tax, with a uniform rate of 26% regardless of the income a person makes. In January 2005 the personal income tax rate was reduced to 24%. A subsequent reduction to 23% followed in January 2006. In the following years the income tax rate will be decreased by 1% annually to reach 20% by January 2009.

Since January 1, 2000, companies have not had to pay income tax on re-invested income. However, tax is due on profit distributions (incl. hidden distributions) at a rate of 24%. Despite the fact that only the moment of taxation was shifted from earning profits to their distribution, leaving the rest of the corporate taxation system mostly unchanged, the current legislation is said to be in violation of one of the fundamental freedoms of the European Union - free movement of capital. Estonia is to remove this hindrance by January 2009 when the temporary derogation expires.

In June 1992, Estonia replaced the ruble with its own freely convertible currency, the Kroon (EEK). A currency board was created and the new currency was pegged to the German Mark at the rate at 8 EEK for 1 DEM. When Germany introduced the Euro the peg was changed to 15.6466 Kroon for 1 Euro. The Estonian government is intending to adopt the Euro as the country's currency on 1 January 2007, and finalised the design of Estonia's Euro coins in late 2004.

Demographics

آرنۍ ليکنه: Demographics of Estonia

Indigenous Estonian-speaking ethnic Estonians constitute nearly 70 percent of the population. First and second generation immigrants from various parts of the former Soviet Union, mainly Russia comprise most of the remaining 30 percent. The latter, mostly Russian-speaking ethnic minorities reside predominantly in the capital city (Tallinn) and the industrial urban areas in northeastern Estonia (Ida-Virumaa county). There is also a small group of Finnish descent.

The country's official language is Estonian, which is closely related to Finnish. Russian is also widely spoken as a secondary language by 30-70 year old ethnic Estonians because Russian was a compulsory second language in school during the Soviet era. Younger people, born at the end of or following the Soviet era, can usually speak English, having learned it as their first foreign language.

Estonia has the second highest HIV adult prevalence rate in Europe after Ukraine (1.1% in 2001).

Ethnicity

According to the most recent national census taken in 2003, the population of Estonia comprised the following self-reported ethnic groups:

• 68.4% Estonians
• 25.7% Russians
• 2.1% Ukrainians
• 1.2% Belarusians
• 0.8% Finns
• 1.7% others

مذهب

Tallinn, churches in the background

The predominant religion of indigenous ethnic Estonians is the Christian belief in the form the Protestant Evangelical Lutheran confession, however less than a quarter of ethnic Estonians define themselves as active believers at present. Most believers amongst the Russian minority are Eastern Orthodox. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has since 1920s recognised a separate national Estonian Orthodox Church, which has led to strained relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, which claimed sole authority over Orthodox believers in the country during the period of Soviet rule.

Today, over 31% of the adult population are active followers of a particular faith, and they are made up of:

• 15% Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
• 14% Orthodox
• 0.5% Baptists
• 0.5% Roman Catholics

There are also a number of smaller Protestant and Jewish groups, as well as some neopagans who revere the local ancient deity Taara. There are nearly 10,000 Muslims in Estonia.

کلتور/فرهڼ

Estonian folk dancing

آرنۍ ليکنه: د اېسټونيا کلتور/فرهڼ

• Estonian mythology
• Estonian rock music
• Music of Estonia
• Tallinn University of Technology
• University of Tartu

Miscellaneous topics

• Baltic Germans
• Communications in Estonia
• Crime in Estonia
• Eesti Skautide Ühing
• Estonian State Decorations
• Foreign relations of Estonia
• List of cities in Estonia
• List of Estonian Americans
• List of Estonian rulers
• List of famous Estonians
• List of islands of Estonia
• List of municipalities of Estonia
• List of national parks of Estonia
• List of people on stamps of Estonia
• Military of Estonia
• Public holidays in Estonia
• Russians in Estonia
• Soviet occupation of Baltic countries
• Tourism in the Baltics
• Transportation in Estonia
• Islam in Estonia

Further reading

• The Baltic Nations and Europe: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the Twentieth Century John Hiden and Patrick Salmon
• The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence Anatol Lieven
• The Baltic States: The National Self-Determination of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Graham Smith
• Bradt Travel Guide: Estonia Neil Taylor
• Estonia and the Estonians Toivo U. Raun
• Estonia: Independence and European Integration David J. Smith
• Estonia: Return to Independence Rein Taagepera
• Lonely Planet World Guide: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Nicola Williams, Cathryn Kemp and Debra Herrmann
• War In The Woods: Estonia's Struggle For Survival 1944-1956 M. Laar, Mart Laar and Tiina Ets

External links

• Estonia at Wikitravel
• Estonia Country Guide
• Estonia Map
• Estonia onLine - website about Estonia
• Pictures of Estonia - with clickable map.
• Estonia Pictures - in French.
• Estonica - from A to Z about Estonia
• Official State Website (eRiik) - in English
• Culture events in Estonia
• Webcam and weather in Tallinn
• Parks in Estonia - National parks, nature reserves and protected areas
• Estonian Air - in English. Cheap flights to Estonia.

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