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Estonia Page |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's pages on Estonia
Official Name: Republic of Estonia
Capital: Tallinn
Area: 45,100 square kilometres ( 17,413 square miles )
Major cities (Population)
Tallinn 498,000 (1990 estimate)
Tartu 109,100 (1993 estimate)
Population: 1,530,000 (1995 estimate)
Population growth rate: -0.6 per cent (1990-1995 average)
Type of government: Republic
Independence: 6 September 1991 (from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR])
Constitution: Adopted 28 June 1992
Voting Rights: Universal at age 18
Government
The Republic of Estonia has 15 regions. The president is head of state and the prime minister is head of government. The 101 members of Riigikogu, the parliament, are elected for four-year terms by a system of proportional representation. The voting age is 18.
Recent History
After Communist rule collapsed in the USSR in 1991, the Soviet government formally recognized the independence of the Baltic republic of Estonia on 6 September of that year, and it was admitted to the United Nations (UN) later that month.
The eastern border with Russia remained a matter of dispute between Estonia and Russia following Estonia’s independence. Estonia now seeks the return of territory transferred to the former Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) by the Soviet government in 1945. The practice of issuing passports to Estonian speakers in some of the disputed areas has prompted Russian officials to accuse Estonia of attempting to annex Russian territory. In 1994 Russia began construction of a series of border posts along the Soviet-era border between Estonia and Russia, which inflamed the issue.
The Estonian government has attempted to strengthen ties with other countries, including the other Baltic republics and western European countries. In September 1993 it signed a free-trade agreement with Latvia and Lithuania, removing duties on imports and standardizing visa and customs regulations. In February 1994 Estonia signed the Partnership for Peace accord, an agreement on limited military cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Russian troops were withdrawn from Estonia in August 1994. In exchange, Estonia agreed to allow retired Soviet personnel living in Estonia to apply for residency.
In September 1994, two days before 900 people were killed when a ferry crossing from Tallinn to Stockholm capsized, the Riigikogu passed a vote of no confidence in the government of Mart Laar, a member of the reformist Fatherland party. Andres Tarand, the former environment minister, became interim prime minister. In the March 1995 elections, the post-independence reform parties were ousted and replaced with a coalition of left-wing parties headed by the Coalition party, whose leader, Tiit Vahi, was made prime minister. The vote was seen as a protest against the reform process, despite the fact that reforms had resulted in a 6 per cent rise in the gross domestic product (GDP). In June of that year, Estonia signed an association agreement with the European Union (EU)—an agreement also signed by the other two Baltic republics, Latvia and Lithuania.
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