Estonians ( Est. Eestlased ) are the Baltic-Finnish people, most of whom live in Estonia . The total number is about 1.1 million people, including about 925 thousand in Estonia (2012). The main language is the Estonian Baltic-Finnish group of the Finno-Ugric language family .
| Estonians | |
|---|---|
| Modern self-name | est. eestlased |
| Abundance and area | |
| Total: About 1,055,000 (2000) [20] | |
 Iceland :111 [19] | |
| Tongue | Estonian , Võru dialect |
| Religion | Lutheranism , Orthodoxy , Catholicism |
| Included in | Baltic Finnish peoples |
| Related peoples | Finns , Karelians , Vod , Livs , Izhora , Vepsians , Hungarians |
| Ethnic groups | vyru , set |
Until the 18th – 19th centuries Estonians called themselves maarahvas , which literally means "the people of the earth", that is, engaged in agriculture [21] . The term eestlane comes from Latin ( Aesti ). So called Tacitus in " Germany " the people inhabiting the far coast of the Baltic Sea [22] . In the Middle Ages in Russia, the ancestors of the Estonians were called a miracle [23] .
Anthropologically belong to the East Baltic and Atlanto-Baltic races and transitional types between them [24] . As of the beginning of the 21st century, most Estonians are atheists [25] ; believers in the main Lutherans and Orthodox [26] .
Content
Anthropological type
The medieval population of Estonia in its craniological parameters is characterized by pronounced Caucasoid features. The closest proximity to it is demonstrated by the late medieval series of Vologda , as well as the Finns , Karelians and Komi-Zyryans , who generally stand out sharply from the rest of the Finno-Ugric groups. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that the morphological appearance of the Baltic Finns determines the ancient Mesolithic population of Eastern Europe . [27]
History and Ethnography
Estons were formed in the Eastern Baltic on the basis of a mixture of Finno-Ugric tribes and the ancient aboriginal population who came from the east in the 1st millennium BC. Later they absorbed the Eastern Finno-Ugric, Baltic, German and Slavic elements.
Estonian cultural scholars such as Uku Masing , Jaan Kaplinski , and the president and author of popular science books, Lennart Meri, are trying to identify the Finno-Ugric heritage in the traditions of modern Estonians.
Beginning of the 1st Millennium
Starting from the 3rd century, on the territory of Estonia, one can trace the formation of individual ethnic groups according to archaeological data that coincide with the dialectic and ethnographic regions that have survived to this day: Northern, Southern, Western Estonia and the islands. Scandinavia had a noticeable impact on West Estonia. In South Estonia, ancient cultural features have been preserved for the longest time. Due to the influence of the Old Russian nationality, the subethnos of the Estonians of Seto , as well as in the southeast of the Voru , were formed this is most pronounced in buildings and clothing.
Iron Age
CV until the 9th century is the period of the Middle Iron Age, although iron is extremely rare in the Baltic states until the beginning of the 10th century , and the culture of the Bronze Age is preserved there. Starting from the 9th century , villages began to form in the Late Iron Age (several families united their households). As a result, there was a territorial division into parishes and counties. Compared to neighboring countries, Estonian village culture was underdeveloped - the main place of residence of the ancient Estonians was a farm , where a family lived, which was considered a unit of society. [28] The family consisted of 8 to 10 people. All farm buildings were built around the open courtyard, the main building - residential Riga - with the facade facing the courtyard, from north to south.
In the last period of the Iron Age ( IX – XIII centuries), agriculture quickly developed. They also cultivated wheat , oats , peas , beans and flax , later added cabbage and rutabaga . From the second half of the 11th century , winter rye was cultivated, which brought with it the development of a three-field system of field cultivation. A potter’s wheel began to be used. Craft business was not as developed as that of the neighbors.
Tribes of Estons
In the XIII century, German knights attacked the Prussian lands from the west and in the territory of the Estonians, Livs as well as the Curon , Zemgale , Selon , Latgale , from the Gulf of Riga. During this so-called “Holy War”, there was a mass murder of people and the complete destruction and burning of villages.
Towards the end of ancient time (XIII century), the Estonian people and language formed on the basis of the Estonian tribes living in Estonia and their dialects. Estonians were sedentary farmers and called themselves “the people of the earth" [29] .
The most typical ancient elements of Estonian folk culture are residential Riga, brown bread , wedding and Christmas traditions, as well as the autumn commemoration of the dead (it was believed that the souls of dead ancestors came home these days) and a special form of folk music: the so-called runic song ( regilaul ) with a short, but rich in variations motive.
From the 11th – 13th centuries, early reports of Estonian clothing appeared. The main clothes of the woman were linen shirt and woolen frock coat. A woolen skirt was wrapped around the hips, which was fastened with a belt. White linen was bleached, the outer clothing was sheepskin-white or black. Wool for a skirt was painted with vegetable herbs; the most common dye was galangal , from which the red color was obtained.
Knowledge of the religion of ancient Estonians is based on archaeological finds, ancient and medieval chronicles, and folklore materials of the 19th century . Ests believed that every animal, tree and stone has a soul ; believed in guardian spirits who lived in stones, streams and trees. To appease the spirits, they were sacrificed . For the most part, religious rites and rituals were not difficult, there were no professional priests. Sacred places were considered, first of all, sacred oak forests - small separate copses in which it was impossible to tear leaves from trees or pick up anything from the ground - as well as stones, streams and springs. In connection with the development of agriculture in the mythological worldview of the Estonians, gods and personifications of weather phenomena and the sky came to the fore. The main heavenly god was considered Uku ( est. Uku, Ukko ) - grandfather. The popularity of fertility magic , the patron gods of the field and grain, has increased. At the solstice, bonfires were made, as it was believed that fire drives away evil spirits. There were sorcerers, sorcerers and healers, who turned to for help during illness and other troubles. Ancient Ests believed in the power of the word: hunters and fishermen did not name their prey by its belonging to a certain species (bear, deer, perch), but used special "pseudonyms".
In late autumn, all the dead were commemorated - they believed that their souls visited their former homes. For them, tables were laid and a bath was heated, silence and peace reigned everywhere. The word velnias, which is used among the Baltic peoples as the name of the devil or evil spirit, was formed from the designation of the deceased, who returned and began to threaten the living. The main heavenly god was considered Uku ( est. "Grandfather") [30] .
According to the most ancient myths mentioned in folk songs, the ancestors of Estonians believed that the world came from an egg . The Milky Way was represented by the trunk of the tree of the World or the road along which birds accompanied the souls of the deceased to another world.
Estonians in Russia and the USSR
Seto Estonians lived compactly in the territory controlled since the 10th century by Pskov .
The mass migration of Estonians to the territory of modern Russia ( Leningrad Region ) occurred in the first half of the 18th century, after the Baltic annexation to the Russian Empire during the Great Northern War and in connection with the need to develop new territories in Ingermanland .
In the 19th century, a large number of Estonians moved to the underdeveloped lands of Siberia , the North Caucasus , Crimea and the Far East due to low land, Estonian peasants were actively employed to work for industrial enterprises in Riga , St. Petersburg and its suburbs [31] . In 1860, the Lutheran Church of St. John was built in St. Petersburg for the needs of the Estonian community.
In the 1920s, there were Estonian national village councils in the Leningrad Region and Siberia [32] . But in 1936-1937, these village councils were abolished, and a large number of Estonians were repressed [33] .
After Estonia joined the Soviet Union, several thousand Estonians were exiled to the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Kirov Oblast and Kazakhstan . In addition, with the outbreak of World War II, several thousand Estonians were evacuated to the eastern regions of the USSR. In 1949, 20,535 people were deported from Estonia [34] , most of whom were Estonians.
After 1955, the mass rehabilitation of Estonians and their return to the Estonian SSR began . The population of the Estonian population of the RSFSR began to decline - from 78.5 thousand in 1959 to 46.4 thousand in 1989 [35] .
After the collapse of the USSR, the number of Estonians in Russia fell sharply for a number of reasons - repatriation to Estonia, declining birth rates, assimilation with the Russian population. According to the 2010 census, 17,875 Estonians - citizens of Russia ( 28,113 people according to the 2002 census ) lived in Russia.
| Subject of the federation | The number of Estonians in 2002, people [36] | The number of Estonians in 2010, people [37] |
|---|---|---|
| Krasnoyarsk region | 4 104 | 2,346 |
| Omsk region | 3 095 | 2,082 |
| St. Petersburg | 2,266 | 1,534 |
| Leningrad region | 1,409 | 772 |
| Novosibirsk region | 1 399 | 891 |
| Moscow | 1,244 | 1,072 |
| Krasnodar region | 1,136 | 668 |
| Pskov region | 1 122 | 625 |
| Tomsk region | 751 | 528 |
| Chelyabinsk region | 504 | 353 |
| Novgorod region | 307 | 171 |
| Kaliningrad region | 282 | 185 |
| Sverdlovsk region | 437 | 275 |
| Republic of Karelia | 257 | 156 |
Notes
- ↑ Population by ethnic nationality . Statistics Estonia. Date of treatment March 30, 2016.
- ↑ Tilastokeskus - Population . Date of treatment May 4, 2015.
- ↑ Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates . United States Census Bureau . Date of treatment September 2, 2014.
- ↑ Canada-Estonia Relations (unreachable link) . Date of treatment March 17, 2015. Archived November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Eestlased Rootsis unopened (inaccessible link) . Date accessed August 26, 2017. Archived February 17, 2015.
- ↑ 2010 All-Russian Population Census
- ↑ 2054.0 Australian Census Analytic Program: Australians' Ancestries (2001 (Corrigendum)) . Australian Bureau of Statistics . Date of appeal September 17, 2011.
- ↑ Pressemitteilungen - Ausländische Bevölkerung - Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) . www.destatis.de .
- ↑ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, 1 January 2016" . Statistics Norway. Accessed 01 May 2016.
- ↑ United Kingdom . Ethnologue . Date of treatment May 12, 2016.
- ↑ The distribution of the population by nationality and mother tongue . State Statistics Committee of Ukraine. Archived December 5, 2008.
- ↑ Persons usually resident and present in the State on Census Night, classified by place of birth and age group . Central Statistics Office Ireland . Archived on August 6, 2011.
- ↑ Estemb in Belgium and Luxembourg . Date of treatment March 17, 2015.
- ↑ Distribution of the population of the Republic of Lithuania by national composition and state affiliation as of 01.01.2019. (Latvian.)
- ↑ Statistikbanken . www.statistikbanken.dk .
- ↑ 2009 Census
- ↑ According to the Georgian constitution , Abkhazia is part of Georgia as an autonomous republic . In fact, Abkhazia is a partially recognized state , the territory of which is not controlled by Georgia.
- ↑ Ethnic Caucasus. Ethnic composition of Abkhazia according to the 2011 census
- ↑ Dialog . rannsokn.hagstofa.is .
- ↑ Rahvuskaaslased välismaal unopened (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment June 20, 2009. Archived on September 9, 2009.
- ↑ Ariste, Paul (1956). Maakeel ja eesti keel. Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia Toimetised 5: 117-24; Beyer, Jürgen (2007). Ist maarahvas (‚Landvolk '), die alte Selbstbezeichnung der Esten, eine Lehnübersetzung? Eine Studie zur Begriffsgeschichte des Ostseeraums. Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung 56: 566-593.
- ↑ Similarly, the Tacitian ethnonym Fenni was extended to Suomi , giving rise to the modern name Finns .
- ↑ Estonians - an article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia .
- ↑ Atlanto-Baltic race // BDT. T.2. M., 2005.
- ↑ RIA Novosti: Estonia turned out to be the most atheistic country in the world
- ↑ Interview with Metropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia, Cornelius (Jacobs)
- ↑ Moiseev V.G., Shirobokov I.G., Kriiska A., Hartanovich V.I. Craniological characteristics of the medieval population of Estonia // Radlovsky collection. Scientific research and museum projects of the MAE RAS in 2012 St. Petersburg, 2013. C. 71-79.
- ↑ In the old Estonian language, the word “family” ( pere ) had the same meaning as “farm” ( talu )
- ↑ est. maarahvas "people of the earth; rural, rural people. "
- ↑ Finno-Ugric mythology
- ↑ Toivo U. Raun Estonia and the Estonians. 2nd ed. Hoover Press. 2001. Page 72.
- ↑ National minorities of the Leningrad region. P.M. Janson. - L.: Organizational Department of the Leningrad Regional Executive Committee, 1929. - S. 22-24. - 104 p.
- ↑ Multinational Leningrad Region.
- ↑ Alexander Dyukov : Estonian myth of “Soviet occupation” , 5. Deportation of 1949
- ↑ Appendix. Handbook of Statistical Indicators // Demoscope Weekly
- ↑ 2002 All-Russian Census
- ↑ [Results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census]
Literature
- ME ,. Esta // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- Estonians // Peoples of Russia. Atlas of cultures and religions. - M .: Design. Information. Cartography, 2010 .-- 320 p. - ISBN 978-5-287-00718-8 .
- Estonians // Ethnoatlas of the Krasnoyarsk Territory / Council of the Administration of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Public Relations Office; ch. ed. R. G. Rafikov; editorial: V.P. Krivonogov , R.D. Tsokaev. - 2nd ed., Revised. and add. - Krasnoyarsk: Platinum (PLATINA), 2008 .-- 224 p. - ISBN 978-5-98624-092-3 . Archived on November 29, 2014. Archived November 29, 2014 on Wayback Machine
- The peoples of Russia: a picturesque album, St. Petersburg, the printing house of the Partnership "Public Benefit". December 3, 1877.P. 114
Links
- Estonians Encyclopedia of the World Etnolog.ru
- Estonians in Russia , website of the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in the Russian Federation
- French historian: Estonians recognize themselves as a nation through language - Postimees , September 7, 2009
- Photo catalog of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great (Kunstkamera) RAS