Estonia - More Than Just Another Baltic State Quiz

Answer: Belarus

The three Baltic states, in general, have had a similar general history: All had been under Russian control since the 1720s, became independent after the Russian Revolution in 1919-20, stayed independent until the outbreak of World War II when they were occupied by Russia, then by the German Third Reich, then under Russian sovereignty, as Soviet Republics until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. All three Baltic states have resisted Sovietization and have tried to maintain their individual identities despite control from their larger eastern neighbour.

The three Baltic States are from North to South: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All have a Baltic Sea coastline. Estonia is the smallest and least populous of the three. Belarus is a landlocked independent nation located south-east of Latvia and Lithuania and has additional borders with Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Belarus, unlike the individual Baltic states, is also a former Soviet Republic but has worked hard to maintain close relations with Russia since independence.

Answer: The three Baltic states declared war on Russia

Folk singing has been an integral part of Baltic state culture since the early Middle Ages. In 1987, especially in Estonia, where there was civil unrest about the Soviet control of the three Baltic states, mass demonstrations started featuring spontaneous singing of national folk songs (illegal under Soviet rule). The Singing Revolution lasted four years until independence was achieved.

The Baltic Way or Baltic Chain was the formation of a human chain containing an estimated two million people, that stretched from Vilnius in the south, northwards to Riga in Latvia and then on to Tallinn in Estonia on August 23, 1989. The date is significant. it was fifty years after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed. (This was ostensibly a non-aggression pact between Russia and Germany signed prior to WWII. However it contained secret clauses, showing how the countries that were situated between the two countries would be partitioned and divided between the two counties). The chain formed for 15 minutes at seven pm local time. It caught the attention of the West and the United Nations and played a large part in Baltic state independence.

On November 16, 1989, the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration was issued declaring financial independence for Estonia, possession of its own mineral and natural resources, and probably most important, re-establishment of Estonian as the official national language. This was followed by a referendum on independence. This was considered a gamble as under Sovietization, many Estonians had been deported to other parts of the Soviet Union and conversely 27% of people who were now living in Estonians were ethnic Russians. However a decision was made to let all citizens to vote not just the registered Estonians and the result was a 64% vote in favour of independence with only 17% registering a "No" vote.

Answer: Finnish

The Estonian language is closely related to the Finnish language (as evidenced by the propensity of double vowels in both languages). It is a Finnish-Uralic language and is one of the few European languages that is not Indo-European in origin. (Helsinki is only a three-hour ferry ride across the Gulf of Finland from Tallinn). Estonian though, does have many Germanic origin words due to the presence of Germanic language-speaking people living in Estonia.

These Germans were the merchant class that stayed (and prospered) in Estonia without challenging for sovereignty and working alongside the foreign power that did have control.

Answer: No

Estonians are culturally and linguistically descended from the Baltic Finns, whereas Latvians and Lithuanians are culturally and linguistically Balts, primary due to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which stretched as far north as Southern Estonia up to the early 1700s.

Estonians, culturally are a Finnic people. They were part of Denmark (Tallinn actually means Danish Town; Estonia's coat of arms is similar to Denmark's and features three purple lions) from the fourteenth century to the seventeenth when they became part of the Swedish Empire in 1645 (The Estonians have a phrase: "The good old Swedish times"). The Russians took over in 1721 and remained in control until independence in 1991 (except for a brief independence 1920-1939 and Nazi occupation in 1941-44).

In 1999, Thomas Ilves, who went on to become President of Estonia in 2005, gave a very important speech in 1999 when Foreign Minster. His speech's title was "Estonia as a Nordic Country". In this speech he stated, "...since what the three Baltic states have in common almost completely derives from shared unhappy experiences imposed upon us from outside: occupations, deportations, ..., [and] sovietization. ...What these countries do not share is a common identity". Today, most Estonian identify themselves as Nordic, recognising their cultural roots.

Answer: Botswana

Estonia's flag is called the "sinimustvalge" which means literally blue, black, white. While there are 51 countries with a three colour horizontal tri-band national flag, having a central black band is unusual as is the bottom band being white. There are many interpretations of the meaning of each band but the most popular explanation is one attributed to Martin Lipp, an Estonian poet: the blue band represents the "vaulted sky above the native earth"; black represents the soil of the homeland and the "fate of Estonians with struggles in the past" and white is for "purity, hard work and commitment". In 2001, an Estonian politician suggested that the flag be re-designed to reflect Estonia as a Nordic nation by using the same three colours but making them into a white Scandinavian Cross with black edging, on a blue field.

The only other national flag with the same colours is Botswana's flag which has a field of blue with a thin black stripe in the middle, which in turn is bordered by two thinner white stripes.

Latvia's tri-color flag is red, white, red. Lithuania's is yellow, green, red.

Answer: Skype

In 2012, Estonia had a population of 1.3 million people yet had over two million cellular phones, a further 450 thousand land-lines and over 1.0 million internet users. Internet usage is extremely widespread with wifi network being almost ubiquitous.

Skype was invented in Estonia in 2003. It is an electronic application that facilitates video and phone calls from computers, tablets and mobile phones to other electronic devices.

Answer: The Old Town of Tallinn including Toompea Castle

Tallinn is a city of around 450,000 people. It is situated on the northern coastline of Estonia on the Gulf of Finland 80km south of Helsinki. The city comprises three parts. Toompea is the fortified upper town and is the traditional administrative centre of the city. It includes Toompea Castle. Adjoining this is the lower town or old town. As Tallinn has never been razed or pillaged it has very well preserved architecture dating back to the thirteenth century. It includes St Olaf's Church which with its spire reaching 520ft, was thought to be the tallest building in the world between 1549 and 1625.

The main Estonian education center is in Tartu, 185 km south east of Tallinn. The University of Tartu is considered Estonia's most prestigious University. The Kernavė Archaeological Site and Fortress of Suomenlinna are both UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites in Lithuania and Finland respectively.

Answer: "May your bread last"

In some ways Estonian cuisine is similar to that of temperate Northern Europe: The staples are built around meat (usually pork or fish if near the sea) and potatoes with seasonal vegetables. Rye bread (leib) is ubiquitous and is served with nearly every meal. (White bread is quite rare and is called "Sai"). Bread in Estonia takes on an almost spiritual property. At the very least it is a symbol of life and/or sustainability. This is illustrated by the many Estonian sayings about (rye) bread:

"Bread is the head of the household otherwise the head of the household ends up in the fields".

"Let's put our bread into one cabinet" (a wedding proposal).

"Salt and Bread" The food basics. A traditional gift when attending a housewarming.

"Liebkond", literally - Bread ties - a clan.

If a piece of bread is dropped, it must be picked up and kissed to show respect to the bread.

If bread goes stale, it is never discarded, it is used in bread soup (leivasupp), a desert with bread and jam (taluneiu) or bread pudding (saiavorm).

Answer: Beach volleyball

Estonia has had little chance to compete as an individual country in the Olympics: five Olympics (between 1920 and 1936) when independent and 1992 onwards after re-establishment of independence in 1991. By the time the London Olympics had concluded in 2012, Estonia had won 49 (summer) Olympic medals and 25 (winter) Olympic medals. The most successful sports were wrestling, (eleven medals, five gold), cross country skiing, (seven medals, four gold), athletics (six medals, two gold) and weightlifting (seven medals, one gold).

In London in 2012, Estonia did not qualify for Olympic beach volleyball and had not qualified for the event since its inclusion as a medal sport in 1996.

Answer: 5 Kroon note depicts Ivangorod Fortress and Herman Castle overlooking Narva River

The five Kroon note features the Russian fortress and the Herman castle built by the Danes in 1246, overlooking the Narva River, economically Estonia's most important river. This depiction shows Estonia as the crossroads of Eastern and Western Europe. This has always been a disadvantage in the past as Estonia was situated between two powerful nations (Russia / Soviet Union and Germany and its predecessors), both of which coveted Estonia's (and the other Baltic states') land. Now Estonia is turning that into an advantage: its economy makes Estonia the "Baltic Tiger" with its ability to trade with Russia and key Western European countries like Germany, Sweden, Finland and France.

Konrad Magi is indeed Estonia's most famous artist, and he is famous for his landscapes but most of these are of other countries' landscapes. ("Veneetsia" is "Venice" in Estonian).

The fact that Estonia changed its currency from the Kroon to the Euro in 2011 (It joined the EU in 2004) was an indication of how they wanted to prosper as part of the Eurozone. The Estonian Euro coins all feature the word "Esti" (Estonia), a silhouette of the country and twelve stars to demonstrate Estonia's commitment to Europe.

Erki Nool is perhaps Estonia's most famous athlete. He won the Olympic gold medal in Sydney in 2000 for the decathlon.