Estonia and the Estonians: Second Edition, Updated

By Toivo U. Raun

Estonia and the Estonians provides the first compendious survey in any language of Estonian history, from prehistoric times to the twenty-first century. Estonia's strategic geopolitical location—a crossroads where the major powers of northeastern Europe have struggled for influence—and the small number of ethnic Estonians are crucial factors that have shaped the history of the area and its inhabitants.

The book emphasizes the period since the mid-nineteenth century, when a national movement calling for Estonian cultural and political autonomy began to emerge. During the two world wars, Estonia gained and lost political self-determination. Yet a modern Estonian culture was firmly established, and a strong sense of national identity survived the Soviet era.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Feb 1, 2002
• ISBN: 9780817928537

Book preview

ESTONIA AND THE ESTONIANS

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ESTONIA AND THE ESTONIANS

UPDATED SECOND EDITION

Toivo U. Raun

HOOVER INSTITUTION PRESS

Stanford University

Stanford, California

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For my parents

List of Maps

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Foreword

A highly welcome addition to the Hoover Institution's series on Studies of Nationalities is this updated second edition of Professor Toivo U. Raun's Estonia and the Estonians. The first and second editions of Professor Raun's book appeared in 1987 and 1991, respectively, and were praised by scholars and other readers alike. Since that time, the author has remained a close observer of developments in Estonia, and he provides us here with a masterful analysis of the new situation that unravels the complexities of the recent past of this country.

The timing of the restoration of Estonian independence in August-September 1991 caught nearly all observers by surprise. Although a renewal of Estonia's independent status seemed increasingly likely in the waning years of the Soviet Union, in the fluid and revolutionary situation that prevailed in the late 1980s and early 1990s it was not at all clear how the process would transpire. In the end it was the unforeseen failed coup by desperate hard-line forces who sought the chimera of a recentralized state that ironically began the breakup of the USSR. In this situation Estonia and the other two Baltic states greatly benefited from the bitter rivalry between Boris Yeltsin, as president of the Russian Federation, and Mikhail Gorbachev, as president of the Soviet Union.

Building on its past experience with democracy in the interwar era and its awareness of developments in the West through its close ties with Finland during Soviet rule, Estonia moved quickly to restore a parliamentary system of government, based on a new constitution that largely followed the liberal model of 1920. The reestablished unicameral parliamentary body was designated by the same name as in the interwar years, the Riigikogu (State Assembly), and as in the earlier period, the executive branch was clearly intended to be subordinate to the legislative one. In practice, the country's political system displayed numerous growing pains, but nevertheless democratic consolidation advanced substantially in the decade of the I 990s, especially in comparison to most postcommunist countries. Above all, both during the process of de-Sovietization up to August 1991 and in the ensuing decade, Estonians and non-Estonians alike proved capable of addressing a wide range of difficult political and social issues by nonviolent means.

Following the restoration of independence, Estonia faced a similar security dilemma to the one it confronted in the 1920s and 1930s. Relations with the successor to the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation, remained chilly, especially since much of Russia's recycled political and military leadership continued to view Estonia and the other two Baltic states as part of its rightful sphere of influence. However, tensions gradually subsided during the 1990s, and a major sticking point was removed with the withdrawal of former Soviet troops in l 994. On the other hand, Estonia rapidly rejoined the international community of states, gaining almost immediate membership in the United Nations and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the country made considerable progress toward closer integration with the West, although not yet including membership in the European Union and NATO. A welcome development was Estonia's growing participation in regional cooperation, including the Council of Baltic Sea States and intensive Nordic-Baltic ties, especially at the grass-roots level.

Perhaps because of its relative openness to the West through the window of Finland, Estonia adopted bold and innovative economic policies, including the introduction of its own currency in June 1992 and an aggressive free market approach that stressed liberalization and noninterference by the government. These steps also encouraged a diversification of the country's foreign trade, allowing it to escape economic dependence on Russia. Indeed, because of its macroeconomic success by the second half of the 1990s, Estonia gained the admiration of various Western economic organizations as a kind of model postcommunist state. Nevertheless, the harsh reality and pain of economic transition was unavoidable, and socioeconomic divisions increased, posing a new challenge for Estonia's political leaders.

As Professor Raun shows in several chapters, Soviet rule led to sweeping changes in Estonia's ethnic composition, perhaps the most difficult legacy of this era that the country faced. Although the ethnic Estonian share of the total population gradually inched upward in the 1990s, largely because of some emigration by East Slavs, a diverse and multiethnic society had become a permanent fact of life in Estonia. During the Soviet decades any frank discussion of ethnic relations was taboo since the official ideology proclaimed that internationalism had triumphed in the USSR. Under the circumstances Estonia's recent record of peaceful relations among its various nationalities is particularly noteworthy.

Throughout the book and in the new chapter on the 1990s, the author offers a balanced view of the Estonian past and pays important attention to cultural issues, which are often neglected by scholars. He stresses the key role of the interwar era in the modernization of the Estonian language and culture, including the firm establishment of a native-language educational system from kindergarten through advanced degrees at the university level. These developments allowed Estonian to withstand the Russification of the Soviet era relatively intact. Following the restoration of independence, as they sought to integrate with the rest of Europe and rejoin a globalizing world, the Estonians had to reassess their own cultural identity while also coming to terms with the minority cultures in their midst.

In a little more than a decade Estonia has undergone a remarkable transformation that might have seemed impossible even a short time ago. The country is no longer an isolated and suppressed corner of the Soviet empire but an active participant in the whole range of dynamic changes that are taking place in Europe today. Professor Raun is to be commended for his skillful coverage and assessment of Estonia's emergence from darkness into light.

Wayne S. Vucinich

Preface to the Updated Second Edition

I am very pleased that Hoover Institution Press is issuing an updated second edition of Estonia and the Estonians. It contains the following additions and changes: an entirely new chapter 15 on the decade of the 1990s, minor changes in chapter 14 on the late 1980s and the start of the 1990s, and corrections and updates in various parts of the text, appendixes, notes, bibliography, and the index. I am grateful to Rein Taagepera for valuable comments on the manuscript of the new chapter. Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Pat Baker, Executive Editor, and the entire staff of the Hoover Institution Press for their friendly and efficient support with the various editions of this book.

Bloomington, Indiana                                                              Toivo U. Raun

April 2000

Preface

This volume is a survey history of Estonia from the first signs of human habitation to the present day. As the title implies, the emphasis is on the ethnic Estonians although other groups—for example, the Baltic Germans—are covered as well. The approach is chronological, but within each period or chapter the major political, economic, social, and cultural developments are treated. Because of space limitations, the cultural sections deal almost exclusively with the ethnic Estonians. Thus, for example, the important achievements of Baltic German culture in the nineteenth century are not included here. Moreover, the stress is on the modern period, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. Although various aspects and periods of Estonian history have been studied in depth by both Soviet and non-Soviet scholars, no such detailed overview as presented here exists in any language. Furthermore, much of Estonian historiography has remained inaccessible to Western readers because of the language barrier, and it is one of the purposes of the present work to make the results of this body of literature available to a wider public. Evald Uustalu's useful survey, The History of Estonian People (1952), does not go beyond World War II, and a great deal of research has been done on earlier topics as well in the past three decades.

In order to keep the development of Estonian history in proper perspective, certain crucial historical factors should be emphasized at the outset. It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of Estonia's geopolitical location in shaping its history. The eastern Baltic region—with important ports such as Riga, Tallinn (Reval), Narva, and Pärnu (Pernau)—has been highly coveted by all northern European powers, especially since the thirteenth century. In economic terms, Estonia has offered a natural and excellent way station for trade across the Baltic Sea. The strategic importance of the eastern Baltic area has grown steadily in modern times (with the possible exception of the most recent period involving the emergence of nuclear arsenals). A balance-of-power principle has operated during the entire historical era (beginning c. 1200); any crisis situation has invited the intervention of the major European powers in the area. This assertion is graphically demonstrated by the periods 1208-1227, 1558-1629, 1700-1721, 1917-1920, and 1939-1944. In all of these cases, two or more European powers vied for control of Estonia with devastating consequences for the native population.

The small number of Estonians has also been a fundamental factor in their history. The periodic onslaughts of war, famine, and disease would not have been so ruinous had it not been for Estonia's small population. It is worth noting that around 1550 the number of Estonians and Finns was roughly comparable, whereas in 1980 there were nearly five times as many Finns as Estonians living in their respective native countries. From the viewpoint of national security, the limited number of Estonians has been a major factor in their inability to ward off foreign invaders. At the same time, the consciousness of being a small people has significantly affected Estonian thinking. Although there is evidence of an aggressive Estonian naval policy in the twelfth century, the historical era witnessed an end to political and military activism. By the time historical conditions fostered the emergence of a modern Estonian nation, it had long since been surrounded by much larger and more powerful neighbors.

Finally, it is important to note Estonia's role as a multinational crossroads, which is a complement of the country's geopolitical position. The favorable location has attracted neighboring as well as more remote peoples. Nevertheless, it is striking that, with the notable exception of the Baltic Germans and small, isolated pockets of Swedes and Russians, the Estonians have succeeded over the centuries in assimilating the immigrant population. The compactness of the Estonian people has clearly been decisive, along with the small size of any given wave of immigrants. Only in the Soviet period has a large non-Estonian minority emerged in the country. The historical survival of the Estonian people has been predicated on the achievement and maintenance of a minimum critical size; the alternative is shown by the fate of other southern Balto-Finnic ethnic groups—for example, the Livonians and the Votes.

A few comments on usage are necessary. For the sake of convenience, the term Estonia is used in discussing earlier historical periods although, strictly speaking, no such entity existed before the twentieth century. The bewildering array of place names in a multiethnic society always presents a problem to the historian. In this volume, geographical terms are given in their Estonian form and the German equivalent is included in parentheses at the first occurrence in the text. In addition, Appendix A provides a comprehensive list of parallel Estonian, German, and pre-1917 Russian place names. Up to February 1 (14), 1918, dates are given according to the prevailing Julian Calendar, which was thirteen days behind the Gregorian Calendar in the twentieth century. For transliterations from Russian, the Library of Congress system without diacritical marks is used.

In writing this book I have had the aid of a number of institutions and individuals whose role I gratefully acknowledge. I wish to thank the libraries at California State University, Long Beach; the University of California, Los Angeles; Indiana University, Bloomington; Helsinki University; the Institute of History, Helsinki University; and the Finnish Literary Society for their help in assembling the materials to prepare this volume. California State University, Long Beach also provided funds for research, and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University defrayed the costs of typing the final manuscript. The late Aksel Linkhorst provided valuable source materials, and I profited from several discussions with Seppo Zetterberg on certain aspects of Estonian history. Parts of the manuscript were read by the late Evald Blumfeldt, Aleksander Loit, Andrejs Plakans, and the late Evald Uustalu. The entire manuscript was read by Alo Raun, Rein Taagepera, and Edward C. Thaden. All made valuable comments that have improved this work considerably, although I alone remain responsible for the views presented here. Joan Mortenson typed the final text and notes quickly and accurately. Patricia Warren typed the bibliography, proofread the entire manuscript, and performed various necessary tasks with dispatch and aplomb. I also wish to thank Eileen Johansen for expertly drawing the maps. My greatest debt of gratitude is to my wife, Epp, without whose encouragement and support this book could not have been written.

Long Beach, California                                                       Toivo U. Raun

ESTONIA BEFORE 1710

PART ONE

1 The Prehistoric Era

The prehistoric era—from the first signs of human habitation to the emergence of written records—in the region that would become modern Estonia lasted nearly nine millennia. Little is known about this long period; however, a growing number of archaeological finds and evidence from other disciplines provide the basis for cautious generalizations. Before turning to such issues as the origins of the Estonians and the arrival of their ancestors in the Baltic, it will be useful to make some brief geographical comments.

The area populated by the Estonian people and their ancestors has not changed appreciably in the last 1500 years. Twentieth-century Estonia is approximately the size of the states of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. In comparison to other European states, it is larger than Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, or Belgium. To the west and north, Estonia borders on the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, affording an avenue of contact with Central Europe and Scandinavia. Other nationalities located on the Baltic, especially the Germans, Swedes, and Danes, have used this open waterway to penetrate Estonian territory. To the east, Lake Peipsi has formed a natural dividing line between Slavic and Finnic worlds for centuries. Only in the twentieth century has the Slavic element moved significantly farther west into traditionally Estonian areas. To the south, Estonia has a land border with the Latvians that gradually moved north until it stabilized in early modern times.

Geographically, Estonia is part of the great East European plain and can be divided into two major regions. Lower Estonia consists of the western and northern coastal regions, including the islands as well as the areas around Lakes Peipsi and Vorts (the two largest inland bodies of water). Upper Estonia includes the central and southern regions, excluding the lake districts, and is perhaps best pictured as the areas surrounding the urban centers of Rakvere (Wesenberg), Paide (Weissenstein), Viljandi (Fellin), Tartu (Dorpat), and Peru (Werro). Ninety percent of the country is less than 100 meters above sea level, although the higest point in Estonia at Suur Munamagi in the extreme southeast reaches nearly 318 meters. Whereas Lower Estonia is almost completely flat and often marshy, Upper Estonia is characterized by a more varied landscape and, as a result of glacial deposits, is by far the more agriculturally fertile of the two regions. Estonia possesses no great natural resources. The only mineral wealth of note is oil shale and phosphorite; abundant supplies of limestone and dolomite are available as building materials.

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Estonia's climate is characteristic of the continental mixed forest zone, but it is tempered in the winter by the Baltic Sea and the Gulf Stream. The vegetation period (average temperature above 5°C) ranges from 145 to 165 days per year, and the active growing season (average temperature above 10°C) is 110-135 days per year. The warmest areas of the country are the western coastal regions and accompanying islands; there the nights are frost free from four to six months of the year. Average annual precipitation ranges from 21.7 to 25.6 inches.

THE ORIGINS OF THE ESTONIANS

The Estonian language belongs to the Uralic or Finno-Ugric linguistic groups. Uralic, the broader of the two terms, subsumes both FinnoUgric and the Samoyed languages of western Siberia. The Ugric branch of Finno-Ugric includes Hungarian and the Ob-Ugric subgroup (Vogul [Mansi] and Ostyak [Khanty]), while the Finnic category consists of Perm-Finnic (Votyak [Udmurt] and Zyrian [Komi and Komi-Permiak]), Volga-Finnic (Mordvin and Cheremis [Mari]), Lapp (Sami), and Balto-Finnic. Estonian belongs to the Balto-Finnic subgroup, which can be divided into the two following branches:

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It should be noted that there is disagreement among linguists with regard to distinguishing among dialects and languages in the Balto-Finnic group. For example, Soviet Estonian linguists recognize Izhorian (Est. isuri) as a language spoken in Ingria. Among the Balto-Finns, only the Finns and Estonians have achieved modern cultures. Of the others, only Livonian has a written language, but in the mid-1980s only some 90-100 Livonian speakers (all of them elderly) still remained.¹

The origins of the Uralic and Finno-Ugric peoples are obscure, but linguistic, archaeological, and anthropological evidence provide important clues upon which credible theoretical constructions can be based. The first major theory on this question was offered by the Finnish scholar M. A. Castren in the mid-nineteenth century. His so-called Altaic theory postulated a common homeland for the Uralic and Altaic (Turco-Tatar, Mongol, Tungus) peoples in the Altaic mountains of southeastern Siberia. This view is now obsolete, since the alleged connections between Uralic and Altaic have proved problematic. The nineteenth-century mind equated language and race and thus reached the unwarranted conclusion that the Finno-Ugrians were anthropologically Mongoloid. In the 1870s a counterargument to that of Castren appeared and was later forcefully expounded by the Finnish linguists E. N. Setala and Heikki Paasonen. Known as the Uralic theory, this view placed the original homeland of the Finno-Ugrians and Samoyeds in the middle Volga region between the Kama and Oka rivers. Gradually the various subgroups broke off: the Samoyeds left first, followed by the Ugrians, Perm-Finns, and Balto-Finns. With certain significant modifications, the Uralic theory has been accepted by most twentieth-century scholars. The archaeologist Richard Indreko has argued that the Finno-Ugrians originated in Western Europe,² but his views have not found appreciable acceptance.

There is substantial agreement among Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian scholars that the original homeland of the Finno-Ugrians is to be found in the forest zone of Eastern Europe west of the Ural mountains. The Hungarian linguist Peter Hajdu places the Uralic homeland on the eastern side of the Urals (6000-4000 B.c.), and he suggests that the Finno-Ugrians crossed over to the European side by 3000 B.c. while the Samoyeds remained in Siberia.³The major differences of opinion today concern how and when the Finno-Ugrians split apart and finally reached their later destinations. In particular, archaeologists have tended to push the stages of migration much farther back in time than linguists. However, in recent decades Soviet Estonian scholars from various disciplines have agreed that the ancestors of the Balto-Finns were already in the Baltic area during the third millennium B.C.⁴

It must be remembered that the notion of a compact original homeland with later neat severances by various subgroups is only a theoretical construct based on linguistic data and hardly does justice to the complexity of actual events. The Finnish ethnologist Kustaa Vilkuna has suggested that the concept of an original homeland is itself obsolete and that attempts to locate one are pure speculation. If the idea of a narrow homeland is abandoned, it becomes possible to postulate the Finno-Ugrian region as a long band of thinly populated settlements, perhaps stretching from the Urals to the Baltic area in northeastern Europe.⁵ It is also probable that the westward migration of the Finno-Ugrians took place gradually in small waves rather than in any large single movement. Although the Ob-Ugrians show strong Mongoloid characteristics, an anthropological study by the Estonian scholar Karin Mark indicates that the Balto-Finns have overwhelmingly Caucasoid physical features.⁶

PERIODIZATION

The northeastern Baltic area was freed from the last Ice Age in the period 10,000-8000 B.c., and the first signs of human life appear to date from about 7500 B.c. The oldest archaeological find to date is located at Pulli on the Pa'rnu River. However, the Kunda culture, named for a north Estonian coastal settlement of this period, left few clues about the origins of its founders. It seems reasonable to assume that these early inhabitants, who were hunters and fishermen, came from the south and were probably later assimilated by Finnic elements.⁷ The prehistoric era in Estonian history can be divided as follows:

Early Stone Age: 7500-4000 B.c.

Late Stone Age: 4000-1500 B.c.

Bronze Age: 1500-500 B.c.

Pre-Roman Iron Age: 500 B.c.-Birth of Christ

Roman Iron Age: Birth of Christ-400 A.D.

Middle Iron Age: 400-800 A.d.

Late Iron Age: 800-1200 A.d.

Although any such periodization remains artificial to a degree, these approximate dates clearly indicate that the northern Baltic region lagged centuries behind developments in the more favorable climates of Asia, northern Africa, and southern Europe.

The Late Stone Age is the first period for which large numbers of artifacts are available. The greater part of this era was dominated by the so-called combceramic culture, named for the distinctive pottery decorations that suggest the use of a comb-like tool. Today there is substantial agreement that the bearers of this culture were ancestors of the Balto-Finns and that the spread of the combceramic culture all over northeastern Europe to the Urals is likely to be associated with Finno-Ugrian elements. The nomadic nature of the life of the inhabitants, who lived by hunting, fishing, and plant gathering, would also explain the wide geographical spread of the comb-ceramic culture. Around 2000 B.c. a new wave of settlers appears to have entered the Baltic area from the southwest; their most distinctive feature was the use of a previously unknown ax-head in the shape of a boat. Although some linguists have argued that BalticFinnic linguistic contact began much later (perhaps 500 B.c.), the Estonian archaeologists Harri Moora and Lembit Jaanits feel that the boat-ax culture was borne by Indo-European or, more specifically, Baltic tribes, who were the ancestors of the Latvians and Lithuanians.⁸ Soil cultivation and cattle raising appeared for the first time toward the end of the Late Stone Age and received a major impulse from the boat-ax culture.

The traditional term Bronze Age is something of a misnomer when applied to the northern Baltic area. The elements for making bronze—copper and tin—are not native to the region, and few bronze objects have been found from this period. Stone, bone, and wood continued to prevail as the sources for implements and building materials. The period from 1500 B.c. to the birth of Christ was one of a long, gradual transition from nomadic hunting and fishing to agriculture; neither the new nor the old economic system dominated. By the middle of the first millennium B.C., two distinct cultural and ethnic regions had emerged in the area through the process of gradual assimilation. North of the Daugava (Diina, Russ. Dvina) River were the Balto-Finns; to the south were the ancestors of the Latvians and Lithuanians.

Like bronze, iron generally had to be imported to the Baltic region, although a certain amount was produced locally. It was only around the birth of Christ that iron replaced stone as the primary material for implements. The Roman Iron Age witnessed a definite surge in economic activity and was substantially aided by commercial contacts with the south and west. At the same time the process of gradual change to agriculture as the dominant economic system finally reached culmination. This shift can be documented in part by the movement of population centers to the more fertile Upper Estonia and by evidence of more numerous and sophisticated agricultural tools. Before agriculture could dominate in the relatively infertile soil and harsh northern climate, sturdy ploughing implements and some knowledge of fertilizer were necessary. Linguistic evidence indicates that barley was probably the main crop in the first centuries after the birth of Christ. Wheat was also cultivated to a degree, but rye, the later staple crop of Estonia, appears to have played only a minor role.⁹

The Middle Iron Age is generally regarded as a period of economic decline. Previous contacts with the West were then hampered by the unsettling effects of the great European migrations. Whereas earlier contacts had been with Baltic and Germanic peoples to the south and west, toward the middle of the first millennium A.d. Slavs appeared for the first time on Estonia's southeastern border. At the same time, Baltic tribes to the south were pushing the cultural dividing line farther north, perhaps very close to the modern Estonian-Latvian border. An economic upturn began at the start of the last prehistoric period, the Late Iron Age, in the ninth century. The major causal factor was a revival of commercial contacts with the West, especially with Scandinavia. Estonia became an important transit station on the Varangian (or Viking) trade route through Russia to Byzantium in the ninth and tenth centuries. The most important imports were iron, copper, bronze, precious metals, and finished products; the major exported items were bearskins, wax, grain, and cattle. In the twelfth century (and perhaps already in the eleventh), when the Varangian route to the east fell into disuse, the Estonians pursued an active trading and plundering policy to the west on the Baltic Sea. At the same time Estonia retained its importance in the transit trade between Novgorod and the West.¹⁰

THE ECONOMY AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

Due to the paucity of sources, Estonian social and economic life in the prehistoric era remains relatively obscure. Although agriculture was the dominant economic way of life for some 1,200 years before the German conquest in the thirteenth century, it is not clear what level of technology was achieved by the Estonian farmers and their ancestors. Traditionally, both Baltic German and pre-Soviet Estonian scholars have posited the prevalence of the two-field system and the use of rather primitive implements in this period. However, recent work by Soviet Estonian archaeologists and historians suggests that the more advanced three-field system predated German control in the Baltic. The thirteenth century may well have been a transition period to the new method of cultivation. Furthermore, agricultural implements were not as rudimentary as was once believed; for example, iron ploughshares probably dominated in the Baltic from the eleventh century onward.¹¹ The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, the unparalleled source for the German conquest of Estonia in the early thirteenth century, suggests the existence of significant expanses of permanent agricultural fields as well as large herds of cattle.¹² Nevertheless, in comparison to the areas populated by the emerging Latvian and Lithuanian nations to the south, where more favorable agricultural conditions prevailed, Estonia was no doubt less developed economically.

Estonian farmsteads in prehistoric times were almost never individual ones, but instead were grouped in two types of villages. On the island of Saaremaa (Osel) and the western coastal region of Laanemaa (Wiek), a circular or bunched village (sumbkula) prevailed. Elsewhere in Estonia row villages were typical—that is, rows of dwellings all located on one side of a road. Whereas the cultivated land was probably divided into irregular patches by household, the meadow, forest, and pasture lands were held in common. Little is known for certain about rural dwellings in this period, but two noted scholars, Gustav Rank and Harri Moora, both argue that the distinctive Estonian barn-dwelling (rehielamu or rehetare) was used even before the thirteenth century. In contrast to the rural housing of neighboring peoples (usually smoke huts), the Estonian rehielamu was a much larger structure (about 20 meters long) that served as both living and working quarters. The building consisted of three main parts: (1) the threshing room, which also served as a granary and, in winter, as a livestock barn; (2) the drying room, located in the middle of the house, which was the only heated room and used for drying grain and for housing the family during the colder months; and (3) the smaller living chambers used during the warmer months. The development of this form of rural housing probably began at least by the twelfth century.¹³ With the transition to a more sedentary population, some villages began to be fortified around 750-500 B.c. and others built special fortresses to which the villagers could retreat in times of trouble. Urban life appears to have been in the early stages of development, although it is now known that an Estonian village and trading center existed on the site of the future city of Tallinn at least two centuries before the Danish conquest of 1219.

There is no reason to assume that the nature of Balto-Finnic and Estonian society differed appreciably from that of other cultures at a similar level of development. The Balto-Finns passed through clan and tribal stages while evolving toward distinct ethnic groups; the Estonians probably separated from the other Balto-Finns by about 500 A.d. Estonian family structure in the prehistoric era was probably typical of nomadic and early agricultural societies. In the Stone Age large extended families prevailed, and each family or clan was economically self-sufficient. With the coming of agriculture, families probably declined somewhat in size but did not change their basically extended form. Following Friedrich Engels's theory on the development of family structure, Soviet Estonian scholars posit a matriarchal basis for society in the Baltic area during the nomadic stage of development. According to this view, a patriarchal family structure only developed with the emergence of livestock breeding. Recent studies in folklore and advances in archaeological dating have suggested that the role of women in early prehistoric societies, including Europe, should not be underestimated.¹⁴ Nevertheless, no convincing theory is available on sex roles in early Balto-Finnic society. In any event, it is clear that Estonian society in the early agricultural stage was a fully male-dominated one. The male head of the rural household directed the activity and controlled the property of the family. The position of women was not enviable. Marriage was based entirely on the will of the male (or males). In the early thirteenth century, Henry of Livonia noted the practice of polygamy among some of the Estonians.¹⁵

The structure of Estonian society in the last centuries before the German conquest was relatively simple. Leaving out the class of slaves (who were primarily non-Estonians), the Estonian population did not show great differences in wealth or social power. There was no concept of a nobility nor of princes or kings in the usual sense of these terms.¹⁶ The elite of Estonian society were what Henry of Livonia called the seniores and meliores and most likely included the elders at the village, parish, and district levels as well as anyone whose accumulation of wealth (measured mainly in terms of landholdings) placed him above the average level. However, the great majority of the Estonian population probably lived as small landed farmers who were not legally or socially dependent on the will of the elite. These free individuals were men who could own land, bear weapons, and play some role in the societal decisionmaking processes. Virtually nothing is known about the position of women, but it was most likely a strictly subordinate one. At the bottom of the social ladder came a fairly large group of slaves. It appears that the origins of slavery in Estonia go back to the emergence of agriculture as the dominant economic way of life. With the waning of a nomadic lifestyle, the need for inexpensive labor grew. Following what was apparently common practice in northeastern Europe at the time, the Estonians made slaves out of prisoners of war; the male victims of a conquest were usually killed, but the women and children formed a pool for the slave category. Although the existence of a class of slaves is beyond doubt, there is no direct evidence regarding the size of this group. Jiiri Uluots has suggested that slaves were the largest social category in prehistoric Estonia, but Soviet scholars have placed their numbers at a much lower level.¹⁷

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

The crucial factor in Estonian political history before the German conquest was the lack of a centralized system. On the local level, however, political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge in the first centuries after the birth of Christ. Above the village level, two larger subdivisions appeared: the parish (kihelkond) and the district (maakond). The parish consisted of several villages, and the term kihelkond is clearly a Scandinavian loan, perhaps originally referring to an area that paid tribute to Viking invaders. It appears that nearly all parishes had at least one fortress, and the defense of the local area was directed by the highest official, the parish elder.