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| You can see the modern city behind the old-town buildings of Tallinn, Estonia. |
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nTherenwas a lot of chaos in Europe during the first part of the twentiethncentury. World War I was killing millions of soldiers andncivilians. In Estonia, which had been ruled by the Russian Empire,nRussian troops were retreating and German troops were advancing.nEstonia declared its independence onnthis date in 1918, but Germany ignored the declaration and occupiednEstonia. Later in the year, in November, Germany formally handed overnpolitical power to the Estonian government, but the Bolshevikn(Communist) invasion followed. It took another year and a half beforenThe Republic of Estonia was able to establish peace with BolshevistnRussia.
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nEstonianwas a republic for 22 years.
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nAndnthen World War II broke out, and the same two nations tore upnEstonia’s land and people again—Russia (now the Soviet Union) andnGermany fought over, and occupied, Estonia. When that war was over,nEstonia was (unwillingly) part of the Soviet Union. It took until thenend of the twentieth century, when the Soviet Unionncollapsed, for Estonia to regain its independence—which itnre-declared in August of 1991.
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nThenbest part of all this freedom fighting might be the SingingnRevolution, on June 10-11, 1988, when more than two million peoplencreated a human chain that stretched through Lithuania, Latvia, andnEstonia, singing illegal patriotic songs all night long. Actually,nmassive sing-alongs sprang out in Estonia for six nights in a row!nThe Singing Revolution was non-violent—a much better symbolic,ndefining event than the destructive Boston Tea Party or the violentnstorming of the Bastille.
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nSingingnis still important in Estonia. Listen to the crowd singing “The Most Beautiful Songs.”
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| A crater made by a meteorite. |
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nHere‘sna challenging puzzle showing the old-town portion of an Estonianncity. (Click the words “Compose Puzzles” to play. You have to enter annickname—NOT your full name or even, necessarily, a nickname younactually use—and choose your country in order to play.)
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nAlsonon this date:
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nMexico’s Flag Day
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nRobot-building pioneer Vaucanson’s birthday
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