Welcome to
A View of Estonian Life

The Republic of Estonia/Eesti Vabariik
Online!

An introduction to Estonian historical-cultural tidbits helps to understand the rapid progress into the internet and globalization arena. Estonia was never strategic because of valuable natural resources, but rather its location between production and consumption areas. Tallinn and Tartu were trade centers in the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages and the economy continues to depend upon commodity transit. The physical, geographic "bridge" moves liquid fuel from east to west along rail lines. The international influence of the many languages of invading cultures, both friend and foe, has provided for a kind of bipolar insight for Estonians. This understanding, coupled with a strong desire for independence and freedom, has culminated in more interest in the service-centered economy, while a smaller segment of the population remains in agriculture and industrialization.

The direction for Estonia is a knowledge society with access for all. The country is relatively small which aids in progress. Nearly everyone lives close to an internet point of access, which is not located in public libraries as in other countries. In 2000, there were 52 computer sites around the country, which provided everyone with access to the internet and are marked by a sign, such as this one to the right.

Internet access point road marker.

I have assembled some links to Estonian indexes and pages, as well as pages created outside the country about Estonia and the people. These serve as examples to the connectivity a country can attain in less than ten years and mostly in the past three years.