With a mere 900,000 people living in 45,000 km2 and pressed up against some of history’s most notoriously beligerent countries it’s hard to believe Estonia actually exists. How, over centuries, did this tiny country not get tramppled on, snuffed out or swallowed up by any of the bigger fish in Europe’s ever-choppy pond? Conversely, why aren’t there more countries like Estonia?
I have no idea. But here is a stupid guess.
For most of its history Estonia was subject to whichever colonial power was calling the shots at the time. Whether it was the Swedes, the Germans or the Russians… Estonians were landless second class citizens in their own land slated for absorption. They were given German names and they were denied positions of power. In fact Estonians didn’t even get last names until the late 18th century. Adorably, when Catherine the Great of Russia let them choose for themselves, most chose flora and fauna. This persists today. In the British Council Estonia office the surnames, Luik, Roosmaa, Tamm and Talvoja translate to, Swan, Roseland, Oak and Winterbrook.
Thanks to its remote location Estonia was on the fringe of each of these Empires, thus buying it valuable time to develop a hearty enough nationalist movement to temporarily survive. In the early 20th century as the Soviet Union was picking up steam, and Germany was gobbling up neighbouring territory — all seemed lost for Estonia. Large parts of Ukraine and Belarus were incorporated into the USSR and Estonia appeared to be next.
The Estonians fought back in what is known as their War of Independence. For two years they fought, and with the help of the British Navy they were able to hold off the Red Army and establish their own independent country for the first time. This was probably the moment where Estonia escaped oblivion. The regions which fell under Soviet control prior to WWII suffered a much worse fate than those who were incorporated after. Ukraine, Belarus and the peoples of the Caucasus took it on the chin and their nascent cultural and national identities were suppressed by murder, deportation and starvation.
Another potential reason Estonia even exists is their language. Estonian belongs to the Finno-Ugric language group — a group most widely associated with Finland, Estonia and Hungary. It is not related in any way to Slavic, Germanic or Romance languages. In fact, many Indian languages have more in common with English than English has with Estonian.
There is an old Hungarian joke that all Finno-Ugric people were once one people wandering Europe. One day they arrived at a crossroads with a sign stating one direction would lead south to sunny weather and flat bountiful lands. The other direction led north where it is frozen and dark. The truly clever literate people followed the directions south — to Hungary. The illiterate rabble moved north to Estonia and Finland.
But not all of them… Scores of Finno-Ugric peoples, little potential Estonias and Finlands and Hungarys, once lived freely in Northern and Eastern Europe. Pockets of Finno-Ugric speakers in populations both bigger and smaller than present day Estonia, could be found across Eastern Europe. They enjoyed their cultural uniqueness in the same way that Estonians had for centuries.
Due to fate, geography and will, these Finno-Ugric peoples never formed a nation and were swallowed up by giant neighbours, never to return again. So many potential Estonias snuffed out before they even had a chance.
To varying degrees these communities still exist today, but are really a shell of their former selves. They are potential linguistically distinct states fading and withering away with each passing day.
So in tribute to these aborted Finno-Ugric nations I would like to recognize a few of them…
The Udmurts
Population: 637,000 (and shrinking)
Home: The Udmurt Republic or Udmurtia in the Russian Federation
Size: 42,000 km² (about the same as Estonia)
Links: Udmurtian Wikipedia
Official Website of UdmurtiaClaims to Fame:
The Udmurts have often been described as an extremely red-haired and light-eyed people,[2] and there have been claims that they are the “most red-headed” people in the world.[3] Additionally, the ancient Budini tribe, which is speculated to be an ancestor of the modern Udmurts, were described by Herodotus as being predominantly red-headed.
Izhevsk, the largest city is the ‘home of Russia’s greatest invention — the AK47.
The Karelians
Population: 504,000
Home: Republic of Karelia (though many live in Finland, Belarus, Ukraine )
Size: 172,400 km2
Links:
Claims to Fame: In the totally awesome board game Axis and Allies, Karelia gets its own territory on the board. Usually this is the first space to be conquered in any invasion of the USSR. Also, the Karelian culture and language was a major inspiration for the Fennoman movement, a movement to unite all Finnish speaking peoples. One big knock on the Karelians… their dogs are terrible at tracking German bears.
The Mordvins
Population: 843,350
Home: Republic of Mordovia (though most live outside of this region)
Size: 26,200 km2
Links:
Claims to Fame: NHL superstar Alexander Ovechkin has Mordvin roots which he recognizes. When asked in an interview what his secret to greatness is, he said this:
“I don’t even know” (laughs). “My main principle is to never stop, to work and to improve every day. Mordvinian obstinacy has been a great help to me. (laughs). And another one of my rules is that it is never a shame to study.”
The Mari
Population: 604,000
Home: Republic of Mari El (though many live in Taratstan and Bashkortostan)
Size: 23,200 km2
Links: A great story on the Mari can be found on the English Russia Website
Claims to Fame: Sadly the Mari people are currently bearing the full brunt of attempts to assimilate them. This includes beatings, censorship and the simple fact that young Mari would prefer to try and make their way in the city than tough it out in the countryside.
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