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German troops left Estonia
When the German troops were leaving Estonia in late 1918, Soviet Russia wanted to invade Estonia and establish Bolshevist power. -
Estonian War of Independence
On 28 November 1918, the Red Army started an attacked Narva and thus began the armed conflict between Soviet Russia and the Republic of Estonia. For the first time in history, the Estonians had their own state, governed via representational democracy by the Estonian people. -
The University of Tartu
After 3 centuries of the establishment of the university, the University of Tartu became the national university. -
Tartu Peace Treaty
On 2 February the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed between Estonia and Soviet Russia. They recognized each other, declared the end of the war and determined the post-war cooperation plans. -
Estonian Independence Day
The Estonian Provisional Government decided on 12 February 1919 to consider 24 February to be the date of the declaration of independence. -
Riigikogu (Constituent Assembly)
Constituent Assembly was on 15 April 1920. The elections proved that the people voted for the independent, democratic Republic of Estonia. Stayed from 23 April 1919 until 20 December 1920. -
Land reform
Land reform was of crucial importance. It ended the hundreds of years of economic and political supremacy of the Baltic German minority and increased the number of loyal smallholders by establishing tens of thousands of new farms. -
Full member of the League of Nations
Estonia’s international status became more secure in 1921 when the leading countries in the world recognized Estonia de jure. Estonia became a full member of the League of Nations the same year. Normal or even friendly relations developed with most countries. -
Failed Coup on 1 December 1924
The attempted coup on 1 December 1924 failed, and after that, the communist movement lost support in Estonia. To secure public order, a voluntary armed organization, the Defence League, was re-established, and the cultural autonomy of national minorities was made legal. The biggest threat to Estonian independence was the Soviet Union, whose foreign policy moves were keenly observed. -
Great Depression in Estonia
The crisis reached Estonia in 1930. Prices in livestock farming, which formed a big proportion of Estonian exports, began falling, and a wave of bankruptcies crippled the banking sector. Estonian economic growth was also encouraged by the improvement of the world economic situation at the same time. -
Authoritarian Estonia
An increasingly widespread disappointment in democratic ideals in Europe caused an internal crisis in Estonia also. In addition, with the movement of var veterans (Vaps), it led Estonia to form an authoritarian regime. However, the authoritarian regime in Estonia meant an encroachment on democratic rights, as interference in the private lives of the citizens, political organizations and the economy increased somewhat unlikely other European countries. -
Military coup d’état
Seeing the great popularity of the Vaps movement, and worried about their own prospects at the elections, the State Elder candidates Konstantin Päts and Johan Laidoner carried out a military coup d’état on 12 March 1934. -
Silent Era
On 2 October 1934, the Riigikogu session was prematurely terminated and the parliament was not allowed to convene again. This was the start of the so-called Silent Era. Power belonged to State Elder Päts, Commander in Chief Laidoner and Prime Minister Kaarel Eenpalu. -
New constitution
The new constitution was adopted on 1 January 1938. It legalized the existing administrative practice, making permanent several temporary restrictions caused by the state of defense and reducing people’s participation in state administration. -
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
The 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact placed Estonia in the Soviet sphere of interest and by military threats forced it to sign the agreement on the bases that considerably weakened the sovereignty of the Republic of Estonia and finally led to the loss of Estonian independence.
