The
Republic of Estonia is one of the Baltic States, where much conflict in the
Scandinavian region has occurred over the years. It was originally owned by the
Danes but then passed to the Swedish Empire. Eventually the Russians, as part
of the Russian Swedish conflicts, captured it. Ironically it was attempts by
the Russian Empire to engage in Russification of the area, which lead to an
increase in an Estonian identity and a nascent nationalist movement began to
take shape.
Estonia
finally managed to declare independence for itself in 1918, as a sovereign
nation in its own right, in the tumultuous aftermath of World War 1. The newly
formed Soviet forces briefly occupied them after the Germans withdrew from the
area but they were able to win a war for full independence by 1920. During
World War 2 they were reoccupied by the Soviets and became a part of the Soviet
Empire for a large part of the rest of the century.
It
was in Estonia that the final collapse of the Soviet Empire was to be triggered,
half a century later. At the height of the economic and political chaos, which swept
the Soviet Union in the late 1980’s, the National Front of Estonia was able to
mount a successful nationalist movement that eventually saw Estonia once again declaring
its independence. The great statesman Gorbachev chose to take the correct
action and allowed Estonia to more or less peacefully secede, although some
clashes did occur.
Once
Estonia was able to prove that a state could safely remove itself from the
Soviet grip a wave of secessions took place, across the failing Soviet Union.
It is an enormous irony that many of the people who hailed this moment as
historic and who viewed the Estonian nationalists of the National Front as
great heroes, for having dissolved this giant Imperial Union, are the same who
are now currently declaring Nationalist movements trying to end the European
Union as some horrible thing.
These
people put down the French National Front, for trying the same move to
independence in France, from Brussels, as Estonia achieved with its nationalist
movement against Moscow. They also get outraged at the British, for their
similar and somewhat successful Brexit move. It is a great irony of modern day
anti Imperialist movements, that they seem more than happy to say ‘the other
guys empire is totally evil; our empire is totally good’. Instead of realizing
the deeper truth that ALL Empires are inherently evil, abusive and exploitative
in their structure. All empires should be destroyed and thwarted.
The
United Nations declares that the right to self-determination of sovereign peoples
should be recognized around the world. Ironically this ideal comes from the Liberal
rebellions of the 1800’s, which gave us the universal rights of man and other
great concepts from the French and American Revolutions. Empire is the anathema
of these ideas. Therefore British and French nationalists should be viewed as
every bit heroic, in trying to end the Transatlantic Empire, as Estonian and Latvians
were in ending the Soviet Empire.
It
is strange then, that after fighting for their independence from the Soviets, Estonian
politicians lead their populations astray and forced them into the European
Union and NATO empires, thus once again ending their true sovereignty. As the
EU disintegrates therefore it should not be hard to imagine that Estonian nationalists,
of the original groups who helped win freedom from the Soviets, will once again
come to the fore and liberate Estonia from the clutches of the madmen in Brussels.
Because
of its recent history, in finding its own national identity, the borders of
Estonia are fairly stable and other than removing the overlaying bureaucracy of
Brussels from their nation there should be no territorial changes to this
country.
This
will leave an Estonia made up of Harju, Hiiu, Ida-Viru, Jogeva, Jarva, Laane,
Laane-Viru, Polva, Parnu, Rapla, Saare, Tartu, Valga, Viljandi and Voru Counties,
all currently a part of Estonia.
The
flag of Estonia came from a student movement that began in the 1880’s, which
was experiencing a reawakening of Estonian culture. The Estonian University
Student Association adopted the blue black white tricolor. When the wider
nationalist movement gained strength in 1918 it adopted this flag as well. It
became the national flag after they gained independence in 1920. During the
Soviet occupation the flag was banned however when they restored themselves as
a nation, in 1991, the flag was restored along with the nation.
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