Ethnicity day – October 19, 2024

History of Ethnicity day

Foreign powers dominate a very large part of Estonia’s history. It was incorporated into the U.S.S.R. as one of its constituent republics in 1940 and remained a Soviet republic until 1991, when, along with the other Baltic states, it declared its independence. Estonia and the other Baltic states (Latvia and Lithuania) gained their independence from the Soviet Union on September 6, 1991, and soon joined the United Nations. Estonia then moved to transform its government into a parliamentary democracy and reorient its economy toward market capitalism. The country sought integration with greater Europe and in 2004 joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (E.U.).

Compared to other European countries, Estonia has a large percentage of foreign-born residents. Ethnic Estonians make up about two-thirds of the population. Russians make up the most significant minority, comprising about one-fourth of the citizens. Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Finns are also prominent among other ethnic minorities. Some regional linguistic and cultural differences exist among ethnic Estonians. Notably, the Seto people in southeastern Estonia are part of an Eastern Orthodox religious tradition and speak a distinct dialect of Estonian. The islanders of the Muhu archipelago in the west also have their own dialect and share some cultural affinities with the people of Scandinavia.

Today the ethnic breakdown of Estonia is 69% Estonian, 25% Russian, 2% Ukrainian, 1% Belarusian, 0.8% Finns, and 1.6% making up other minorities. In 2011, the Estonian parliament approved a law stating that Ethnicity Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of October as a national holiday.