Estonian SSR

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Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Eesti Nõukogude Sotsialistlik Vabariik

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1940 — 1991

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(In Detail)	(In Detail)

State motto:
Estonian: Kõigi maade proletaarlased, ühinege!
Translation: Workers of the world, unite!

Capital

Tallinn

Official language

Estonian and Russian

Established
In the USSR:
- Since
- Until

July 21, 1940

August 6, 1940
August 20, 1991

Area
- Total
- Water (%)

Ranked 13th in the USSR
45,226 km²
4.56%

Population
- Total
- Density

Ranked 15th in the USSR
1,565,662 (1989)
31.6/km²

Currency

rouble (rubla)

Time zone

UTC + 3

Anthem

Anthem of Estonian SSR

Medals

{{{medals}}}

The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, short: Estonian SSR (in Estonian: Eesti Nõukogude Sotsialistlik Vabariik, short: Eesti NSV) was the name given on July 21, 1940 to the puppet state created during World War II in the territory of the previously independent Republic of Estonia after it had been occupied by the Soviet army on June 17, 1940. The Estonian SSR was formally annexed into the Soviet Union (USSR) on August 6, 1940, when it nominally became the 16th constituent republic of the USSR. Its territory was subsequently conquered by Nazi Germany in 1941, before being reconquered and re-annexed by the Soviets in 1944.

The United States, United Kingdom and other western powers considered the annexation of Estonia by USSR illegal. They retained diplomatic relations with the representatives of the independent Republic of Estonia, never recognized the existence of the Estonian SSR de jure, and never recognized Estonia as a legal constituent part of the Soviet Union^[1].

The leadership of the 'Estonian SSR' renamed the state the 'Republic of Estonia' again on May 8, 1990. All legal ties of sovereignty were cut with the Soviet Union on August 20, 1991, when Estonia officially declared the regaining of its independence, full international recognition of which followed over the next couple of weeks.

In addition to the human and material losses suffered due to war, thousands of civilians were killed and tens of thousands of people deported from Estonia by the Soviet authorities until Joseph Stalin's death in 1953. The Soviet rule significantly slowed Estonia's economic growth, resulting in a wide "wealth gap" in comparison with its neighboring democratic countries (e.g., Finland, Sweden).^{[citation needed]} Estonia's power output per year raised from 190 million KWh in 1940 to 16,712 million in 1975.^[2] In comparison with other parts of the USSR its economy fared better and today Estonia remains the wealthiest of the formerly Soviet-controlled states.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ European Parliament (January 13, 1983). "Resolution on the situation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania". Official Journal of the European Communities C 42/78. "whereas the Soviet annexias of the three Baltic States still has not been formally recognized by most European States and the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Vatican still adhere to the concept of the Baltic States".
^ Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd edition, entry on "Эстонская ССР", available online here