Estonia Latvia Lithuania map (Chinese and English comparison)

Author: Zhou Min, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-01-01
Features: Estonia is located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, bordering Russia to the east and the Republic of Latvia to the south. It faces the Baltic Sea and Riga Bay to the west, and is separated from Finland to the north by the Gulf of Finland. The capital, Tallinn, is also one of the famous ports along the Baltic Sea coast. Estonia is a small country with a total area of only 45,200 square kilometers and a population of 1.36 million (as of January 1, 2002), of which 65% are ethnic Estonians and 28% are Russians. Estonia primarily has a maritime climate. Influenced by latitude and the climate of the North Atlantic, Estonia has long winters, short summers, frequent overcast skies, abundant rainfall, and humid air. The country is rich in forests and lakes. Its main resources include oil shale, peat, forests, and marine fish. Historically, Estonia has been occupied and ruled by countries such as Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and the Russian Empire. In November 1917, Russia experienced the "October Revolution," and Estonia seized the opportunity to declare independence from Russian rule. The following year, the Republic of Estonia was established. During its brief period of independence lasting over 20 years, Estonia implemented a bourgeois parliamentary democracy. In June 1940, the Soviet Union, based on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, invaded and occupied Estonia, eventually making it one of the 15 constituent republics of the former Soviet Union. On August 19, 1991, the Soviet Union experienced the world-shaking "August 19 Incident," and the country faced intense political turmoil. On August 20, Estonia's parliament declared its renewed independence. Later that year, on September 17, the United Nations admitted Estonia as a member state. After gaining independence, Estonia quickly abandoned the former Soviet Union's state-planned economy model, effectively controlled the chaos of the early transition period, fully adopted Western political and economic systems, and established a free and fully open market economy. This led the country to embark on a new path of development. Over the past decade, every Estonian head of state and government leader has made "joining the EU" a fundamental national policy. As a result, Estonia has strengthened its ties with the EU in foreign policy, worked hard to meet the EU's requirements, reformed government functions, improved economic legislation, and established a sound social and economic order to achieve its goal of returning to Europe as soon as possible. In 1995, Estonia formally submitted its application to join the EU. As of November 1, 2002, Estonia had completed 28 out of 31 negotiations with the EU. The Estonian government plans to complete all negotiations and preparations for EU membership within the years 2002-2003, with the goal of joining the EU in 2004.