Eesti ajalugu
HISTORY OF ESTONIA
Estonians are one of the longest-settled European peoples, whose forebears, known as the "comb pottery" people,
lived on the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea over 5,000 years ago. Like other early agricultural societies,
Estonians were organized into economically self-sufficient, male-dominated clans with few differences in wealth or
social power. By the early Middle Ages most Estonians were small landholders, with farmsteads primarily organized
by village.
With the collapse of the Russian empire in World War I, Russia's provisional government granted national autonomy
to Estonia. A popularly elected assembly (Maapaev) was formed but was quickly forced underground by opposing
extremist political forces. The Committee of Elders of the underground Maapaev announced the Republic of Estonia
on February 24, 1918, 1 day before German troops invaded. After the withdrawal of German troops in November
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