Estonia/Tallinn (Baltic States) 2016 Part 1
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Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia (338.6 km). Across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea,covering 45,339 km2 (17,505 sq mi) of land, and is influenced by a humid continental climate.
After centuries of successive Teutonic, Danish, and Swedish rule, Estonians experienced a national awakening that culminated in independence from the Russian Empire towards the end of World War I on 24 February 1918. During World War II, Estonia was then occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, then Nazi Germany a year later and again in 1944 establishing the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian SSR issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of the illegal Soviet rule. Estonia then restored its independence during the 1991 coup by the Soviets on the night of 20 August 1991.
Estonia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea immediately across the Gulf of Finland from Finland on the level northwestern part of the rising East European platform between 57.3° and 59.5° N and 21.5° and 28.1° E. Average elevation reaches only 50 metres (164 ft) and the country's highest point is the Suur Munamägi in the southeast at 318 metres (1,043 ft). There is 3,794 kilometres (2,357 mi) of coastline marked by numerous bays, straits, and inlets. The number of islands and islets is estimated at some 2,355 (including those in lakes). Two of them are large enough to constitute separate counties: Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.A small, recent cluster of meteorite craters, the largest of which is called Kaali is found on Saaremaa, Estonia.
Estonia is situated in the northern part of the temperate climate zone and in the transition zone between maritime and continental climate. Estonia has four seasons of near-equal length. Average temperatures range from 16.3 °C (61.3 °F) on the Baltic islands to 18.1 °C (64.6 °F) inland in July, the warmest month, and from −3.5 °C (25.7 °F) on the Baltic islands to −7.6 °C (18.3 °F) inland in February, the coldest month. The average annual temperature in Estonia is 5.2 °C (41.4 °F).[97] The average precipitation in 1961–1990 ranged from 535 to 727 mm (21.1 to 28.6 in) per year
Snow cover, which is deepest in the south-eastern part of Estonia, usually lasts from mid-December to late March. Estonia has over 1,400 lakes. Most are very small, with the largest, Lake Peipus, being 3,555 km2 (1,373 sq mi). There are many rivers in the country. The longest of them are Võhandu (162 km or 101 mi), Pärnu (144 km or 89 mi), and Põltsamaa (135 km or 84 mi). Estonia has numerous fens and bogs. Forests cover 61% of Estonia. The most common tree species are pine, spruce and birch.
Phytogeographically, Estonia is shared between the Central European and Eastern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Estonia belongs to the ecoregion of Sarmatic mixed forests.Wikipedia
Estonia in World War II | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:02:52 1 Preface
00:03:09 1.1 Kellogg-Briand Pact
00:03:32 1.2 Non-aggression treaty
00:03:46 1.3 The Convention for the Definition of Aggression
00:04:35 1.4 Declaration of neutrality
00:05:27 1.5 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
00:06:37 2 The beginning of World War II
00:10:39 3 Soviet occupation
00:17:53 3.1 Soviet terror
00:20:55 3.2 Soviet repression of ethnic Russians
00:21:46 3.3 Historical Soviet sources
00:25:30 4 Summer War
00:30:05 4.1 Damages
00:32:49 5 German occupation
00:36:52 5.1 The Holocaust
00:41:02 6 Estonian military units in 1941–1943
00:41:16 6.1 Estonian units in German forces
00:44:18 6.2 Estonian Rifle Corps in the Red Army
00:46:11 7 Battles in 1944
00:48:14 7.1 Formation of bridgeheads in Narva
00:50:00 7.2 Narva Offensives, February and March
00:54:15 7.3 Sinimäed Hills
00:56:39 7.4 Southeastern Estonia
00:59:15 7.5 Baltic Offensive
01:01:57 8 Attempt to restore independence
01:03:40 9 Soviet return
01:07:39 10 Controversies
01:07:53 10.1 The position of the European Court of Human Rights
01:09:44 10.2 The position of the Estonian government
01:10:48 10.3 The position of the Russian government
01:11:48 10.4 Positions of the veterans
01:13:09 11 Notes
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Speaking Rate: 0.8758266150043176
Voice name: en-US-Wavenet-D
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, concerning the partition and disposition of sovereign states, including Estonia, and in particular its Secret Additional Protocol of August 1939.The Republic of Estonia declared neutrality in the war but fell under the Soviet sphere of influence due to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Mass political arrests, deportations, and executions followed. In the Summer War during the German Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the pro-independence Forest Brothers captured South Estonia from the NKVD and the 8th Army before the arrival of the German 18th Army. At the same time, Soviet paramilitary destruction battalions carried out punitive operations, including looting and killing, based on the tactics of scorched earth proclaimed by Joseph Stalin. Estonia was occupied by Germany and incorporated into Reichskommissariat Ostland.
In 1941, Estonians were conscripted into the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps and in 1941–1944 to the Nazi German forces. Men who avoided these mobilisations fled to Finland to be formed into the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200. About 40% of the Estonian pre-war fleet was requisitioned by British authorities and used in Atlantic convoys. Approximately 1000 Estonian sailors served in the British Merchant Navy, 200 of them as officers. A small number of Estonians served in the Royal Air Force, in the British Army and in the U.S. Army.From February to September 1944, the German army detachment Narwa held back the Soviet Estonian Operation. After breaching the defence of II Army Corps across the Emajõgi river and clashing with the pro-independence Estonian troops, Soviet forces reoccupied mainland Estonia in September 1944. After the war, Estonia remained incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Estonian SSR until 1991, although the Atlantic Charter stated that no territorial arrangements would be made.
World War II losses in Estonia, estimated at around 25% of the population, were among the highest proportion in Europe. War and occupation deaths listed in the current reports total at 81,000. These include deaths in Soviet deportations in 1941, Soviet executions, German deportations, and victims of the Holocaust in Estonia.
Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (Estonian SSR or ESSR; Estonian: Eesti Nõukogude Sotsialistlik Vabariik ENSV; Russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика ЭССР, Estonskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika ESSR), also known as Soviet Estonia or Estonia was an unrecognized republic of the Soviet Union, administered by a subordinate of the government of the Soviet Union. The ESSR was initially established on the territory of the Republic of Estonia on July 21, 1940, following the invasion of Soviet troops on June 17, 1940, and the installation of a puppet government backed by the Soviet Union, which declared Estonia a Soviet constituency. The Estonian SSR was subsequently incorporated into the Soviet state on August 9, 1940. The territory was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944 and administered as a part of Reichskommissariat Ostland.
Most countries did not recognize the incorporation of Estonia de jure and only recognized its Soviet government de facto or not at all. A number of these countries continued to recognize Estonian diplomats and consuls who still functioned in the name of their former government. This policy of non-recognition gave rise to the principle of legal continuity, which held that de jure, Estonia remained an independent state under occupation throughout the period 1940–91.On 16 November 1988, the Estonian SSR became the first republic within the Soviet sphere of influence to declare state sovereignty from Moscow. On 30 March 1990, the Estonian SSR declared that Estonia had been occupied since 1940 and declared a transitional period for the country's full independence. The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic was renamed as the Republic of Estonia on May 8, 1990. The independence of the Republic of Estonia was re-established on August 20 during the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt the following year and the Soviet Union itself recognized the independence of Estonia on September 6, 1991.
German occupation of Estonia during World War II | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:00:54 1 Occupation
00:06:29 2 Political resistance
00:08:29 3 Estonians in Nazi German military units
00:16:36 4 German administrators
00:17:08 4.1 Generalkommissar
00:17:27 4.2 S.S. und Polizeiführer
00:18:02 4.3 Lagerkommandant
00:18:23 5 Collaboration
00:18:32 5.1 Estonian Self-Administration
00:19:23 5.1.1 Directors
00:20:04 5.2 Holocaust
00:24:35 5.3 Estonian military units' involvement in crimes against humanity
00:25:42 6 Controversies
00:28:05 7 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.9663017084802362
Voice name: en-AU-Wavenet-A
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
After Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Army Group North reached Estonia in July. Initially the Germans were perceived by most Estonians as liberators from the USSR and its repressions, having arrived only a week after the first mass deportations from the Baltic States. Although hopes were raised for the restoration of the country's independence, it was soon realized that they were but another occupying power. The Germans pillaged the country for their war effort and unleashed The Holocaust in Estonia during which they and their collaborators murdered tens of thousands of people (including ethnic Estonians, Estonian Jews, Estonian Gypsies, Estonian Russians, Soviet prisoners of war, Jews from other countries and others). For the duration of the occupation, Estonia was incorporated into the German province of Ostland.