Estonians
eestlased

File:00Estonians.png
Lydia Koidula, Kristjan Palusalu, Konrad Mägi and Lennart Meri
Total population
c. 1.1 million
Regions with significant populations
Estonia: 924,966[1] Other significant population centers:
Finland 34,006[2]  United States 25,000  Canada 23,930[3]  Sweden 23,000  Russia 17,875[4]  United Kingdom 14,000[5]  Australia 7,543[6]  Germany 5,000  Norway 2,871[7]  Ukraine 2,868[8]  Ireland 2,373[9]  Latvia 2,000[10]  Belgium 2,000[11]
Languages
Estonian Võro Seto
Religion
Mostly Non-religious and Evangelical Lutheran Historically Finnish paganism
Related ethnic groups
Baltic Finns

Estonians (Estonian: eestlased) are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian. Although Estonia is traditionally grouped as one of the Baltic countries, Estonians are linguistically unrelated to the Baltic peoples of Latvia and Lithuania.

History[link]

Prehistoric roots[link]

Estonia was first inhabited about 10,000 years ago, just after the Baltic ice lake had retreated from Estonia. While it is not certain what languages were spoken by the first settlers, it is often maintained that speakers of early Uralic languages related to modern Estonian had arrived in what is now Estonia by about 5000 years ago.^[12] Living in the same area for more than 5000 years would put the ancestors of Estonians among the oldest permanent inhabitants in Europe.^[13] On the other hand, some recent linguistic estimations suggest that Fenno-Ugrian language arrived around the Baltic Sea considerably later, perhaps during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 1800 BCE).^[14][15]

The name "Eesti", or Estonia, is thought to be derived from the word Aestii, the name given by the ancient Germanic people to the Baltic people living northeast of the Vistula River. The Roman historian Tacitus in 98 A.D. was the first to mention the "Aestii" people, and early Scandinavians called the land south of the Gulf of Finland "Eistland" ("Eistland" is also the current word in Icelandic for Estonia), and the people "eistr". Proto-Estonians (as well as other speakers of the Finnish language group) were also called Chuds (чудь) in Old East Slavic chronicles.

The Estonian language belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic family of languages, as does the Finnish language. The first known book in Estonian was printed in 1525, while the oldest known examples of written Estonian originate in 13th-century chronicles.

National consciousness[link]

Although Estonian national consciousness spread in the course of the 19th century during the Estonian national awakening,^[16] some degree of ethnic awareness preceded this development.^[17] By the 18th century the self-denomination eestlane spread among Estonians along with the older maarahvas.^[18] The Bible was translated in 1739, and the number of books and brochures published in Estonian increased from 18 in the 1750s to 54 in the 1790s. By the end of the century more than a half of adult peasants were able to read. The first university-educated intellectuals identifying themselves as Estonians, including Friedrich Robert Faehlmann (1798–1850), Kristjan Jaak Peterson (1801–22) and Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald (1803–82), appeared in the 1820s. The ruling elites had remained predominantly German in language and culture since the conquest of the early 13th century. Garlieb Merkel (1769–1850), a Baltic German Estophile, was the first author to treat the Estonians as a nationality equal to others and became a source of inspiration for the Estonian national movement, modelled on Baltic German cultural world before the middle of the 19th century. However, in the middle of the century, the Estonians became more ambitious and started leaning toward the Finns as a successful model of national movement and, to some extent, the neighbouring Latvian national movement. By the end of 1860 the Estonians became unwilling to reconcile with German cultural and political hegemony. Before the attempts at Russification in the 1880s, their view of Imperial Russia remained positive.^[17]

Estonians have strong ties to the Nordic countries stemming from important cultural and religious influences gained over centuries during Scandinavian and German rule and settlement.^[19] Indeed, Estonians consider themselves Nordic rather than Baltic,^[20][21] in particular because of a close ethnic and linguistic affinity with the Finns.

After Estonia gained independence from Russia in 1918, based on Tartu peace treaty, ethnic Estonians residing in Russia gained the option of opting for Estonian citizenship (those who opted, were called optandid - 'optants') and returning to the motherland. The number of Estonians living in Russia in 1920 is estimated to have been 40,000. In sum, 37,578 people moved from Soviet Russia to Estonia (1920–1923).^[22]

Recent developments[link]

1940-1991

Many Estonians were subject to the deportations organised by the Soviet regime and the Soviet mass immigration program from Russia and other parts of the former USSR into industrial urban areas of Estonia, as well as by wartime emigration and Stalin's mass deportations^[23].

Estonian national costumes:
1. Kadrina 2. Mihkli 3. Seto 4. Paistu

Estonian national costumes:
5. Muhu 6. Karja 7. Tõstamaa 8. Pärnu-Jaagupi

Since 1991 Estonians became the majority nation in the country after regaining independence, and founded a nation state that due to the small numbers of the population has been wary of embracing multinational identity and has followed strict rules when it comes to acquiring citizenship. Dual citizenship is not allowed in Estonia and individuals who relinquish their status as an Estonian citizen have no right to regain the citizenship.

Emigration[link]

During World War II, when Estonia was invaded by the Soviet Army in 1944, large numbers of Estonians fled their homeland on ships or smaller boats over the Baltic Sea. Many refugees who survived the risky sea voyage to Sweden or Germany later moved from there to Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States or Australia. Some of these refugees and their descendants returned to Estonia after the nation regained its independence in 1991.

Over the years of independence, increasing numbers of Estonians have chosen to work abroad, primarily in Finland, but also in other European countries, making Estonia the country with the highest emigration rate in Europe^[24]. This is at least partly due to the easy access to oscillating migration to Finland.

Recognising the problems arising from both low birth rate and emigration, the country has launched various measures to both increase the birth rate and to lure the migrant Estonians back to Estonia. President Toomas Hendrik Ilves has lent his support to the campaign Talendid koju! (Bringing talents home)^[25] which aims to coordinate and promote the return of Estonians who have particular skills needed in Estonia.

Estonians in Canada[link]

The largest permanent Estonian community outside Estonia is in Canada with about 24,000 people^[3] (according to some sources up to 50,000 people).^[26] In the late 1940s and early 1950s, about 17,000 arrived in Canada.^[27] Toronto is the city with the largest population of Estonians outside of Estonia. The first Estonian World Festival was held in Toronto in 1972. Some famous Estonian Canadians include Endel Tulving and Elmar Tampõld.

See also[link]

• List of notable Estonians
• Demographics of Estonia
• List of Estonian Americans
• Estonian national awakening

Notes and references[link]

Further reading[link]

• Petersoo, Pille (January 2007). "Reconsidering otherness: constructing Estonian identity". Nations and Nationalism 13 (1): 117–133. DOI:10.1111/j.1469-8129.2007.00276.x. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-8129.2007.00276.x. 

External links[link]

• Office of the Minister for Population and Ethnic Affairs: Estonians abroad
• From Estonia To Thirlmere (online exhibition)
• Our New Home Meie Uus Kodu: Estonian-Australian Stories (online exhibition)

v t e Estonian diaspora Europe Finland · Sweden · Germany · Latvia · Lithuania · Russia · United Kingdom  · Ireland  · Ukraine Americas United States · Canada Oceania Australia

Wasted Penguinz
The Wasted Penguinz perfoming at Intents Festival in June, 2011
Background information
Origin	Helsingborg, Sweden
Genres	Hard Dance Hardstyle
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Bazz Implant Records Scantraxx (2010–2012)
Website	www.wastedpenguinz.com

The Wasted Penguinz are a Hardstyle duo from Helsingborg, Sweden, consisting of Pontus Bergman & Jon Brandt-Cederhäll. They began producing together in 2006, after meeting each other on a message board and originally being rivals.

Originally producing Eurodance, the two decided to switch to producing Hardstyle in 2008. After two successful releases on Bazz Implant Records in 2008,^[1] the Wasted Penguinz were signed to major Dutch label Scantraxx in the summer of 2010.^[2] Their first Scantraxx release was on June 18, 2010. This release contained two tracks, "I'm Free" and "Anxiety", and was released on Scantraxx Silver.^[3] Their second release on Scantraxx Silver was in October 2010, containing the tracks "Hate Mondayz" and "Resistance".

All the tracks on both of their first two Scantraxx releases reached the "Hardstyle Top 100 of 2010" list from Fear.fm, the largest radio station devoted to harder styles of dance music. "Resistance" reached position 11, "Anxiety" reached position 23, "I'm Free" at 37, and finally "Hate Mondayz" at position 49.^[4] They also won the "Best New Face" award from Fear.fm.^[5] Fear.fm interviewed Pontus & Jon, who revealed that they were in contact with Scantraxx since December 2009, and it was only made official in the summer of 2010.^[6]

The image created around their music is centred around consuming large amounts of beer, with their motto/tagline being "Get Wasted N' Do It". The Wasted Penguinz' YouTube account is used to upload previews, as well as videos of drinking contests & drinking games.^[7]

In 2011, they were booked for three major Dutch festivals in the summer: Intents Festival in Oisterwijk,^[8] Defqon.1 in Biddinghuizen^[9] and Q-Base.^[10] The summer saw many new releases from the duo, all of which were released on Scantraxx.

In May 2012, the duo left Scantraxx as stated by "Wasted Penguinz Official Fan Page" on Facebook. It is not known yet if Wasted Penguinz are with a new record label company.

Releases[link]

(white labels are not listed)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Wasted Penguinz Website
• Wasted Penguinz at Discogs

Greek Cypriots
Ελληνοκύπριοι
Ellinokyprioi

Tassos Papadopoulos • Makarios III • Anna Vissi • Dimitris Christofias
Total population
c. up to 1,150,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Cyprus 650,000[1]  United Kingdom 350,000[1]  Greece 60,000[citation needed]  United States 50,000[citation needed]  Australia 80,000[citation needed]  Canada 35,000[citation needed]  South Africa 25,000[citation needed]
Languages
Greek (Cypriot and standard)
Religion
† Orthodox Christianity (Church of Cyprus, belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church)

Greek Cypriots (Greek: Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi; Turkish: Kıbrıslı Rumlar) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus,^[2][3][4][5] forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community at 77% of the population.^[6] Greek Cypriots are mostly members of the Church of Cyprus, an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity.^[4][7] In regards to the 1960 Constitution of Cyprus, the term also includes Arabic-speaking Maronites, Armenians and Latin Rite Catholics ("Latins"), who were given the option of being included in one or other of the two constituent communities (Greek or Turkish) and voted to join the Greek Cypriot community.

History[link]

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Zeno of Citium, founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.

Empress Theodora, wife of Justinian I.

Ioannis Kigalas (c. 1622 – 1687) was a Nicosia born Greek Cypriot scholar and professor of Philosophy who was largely active in Padova and Venice.^[8]

Bronze statue of Grigoris Afxentiou.

The Greek Cypriots trace their origins to the descendants of the Mycenaean Greeks who settled on the island during the second half of the second millennium BC. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia, and the largest island in the eastern Mediterranean. Mount Olympus (also known as Chionistra), the highest point of the Troodos Mountains (1952 m), is the highest point on the island. The island gradually became part of the Hellenic world as the settlers prospered over the next centuries. Alexander the Great liberated the island from the Persians in 333 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in 285 AD, Cypriots enjoyed home rule for almost nine centuries under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Empire, something not seen again until 1960. Perhaps the most important event of the early Byzantine period was the local church's independence from the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East in 431. The bishop of the ancient capital Salamis (renamed Constantia by Emperor Constantius II) was constituted metropolitan by Emperor Zeno, with the title archbishop.

The Byzantine era profoundly molded Greek Cypriot culture. The Greek Orthodox Christian legacy bestowed on Greek Cypriots in this period would live on during the succeeding centuries of foreign domination. Because Cyprus was never the final goal of any external ambition, but simply fell under the domination of whichever power was dominant in the eastern Mediterranean, destroying its civilization was never a military objective or necessity.

The Cypriots did however endure the oppressive rule of first the Lusignans and then the Venetians from the 1190s through to 1570. King Amaury, who succeeded his brother Guy de Lusignan in 1194, was particularly intolerant of the Orthodox Church. Greek Cypriot land was appropriated for the Latin churches after they were established in the major towns on the island. In addition, tax collection was also part of the heavy oppressive attitude of the occupiers to the locals of the island, in that it was now being conducted by the Latin churches themselves.

The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571 delivered the Greek population from serfdom and servitude to the Latin church. Cypriot Greeks were now able to take control of the land they had been working on for centuries. The local Christians resumed practicing their religion in the only acceptable way they knew. The patriarch serving the Ottoman sultan also acted as ethnarch, or leader of the Greek nation, thus enabling the local Orthodox representative to practice decidedly secular powers, for instance in adjudicating justice and in the collection of taxes.

Despite the inherent oppression of foreign subjugation, the period of Ottoman rule (1570-1878) had a limited impact on Greek Cypriot culture. The Ottomans tended to administer their multicultural empire with the help of their subject millets, or religious communities. The tolerance of the millet system permitted the Greek Cypriot community to survive, administered on behalf of Constantinople by the Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus, who became the community's head, or ethnarch. Although religiously tolerant, Ottoman rule was generally harsh and inefficient. Turkish settlers suffered alongside their Greek Cypriot neighbors, and the two groups together endured centuries of oppressive governance from Constantinople. A minority of Greek Cypriots converted to Islam during this period, and are sometimes referred to as "neo-Muslims" by historians.^[9][10]

Cypriot cuisine, as with Greek cuisine, was imprinted with the spices and herbs made common as a result of extensive trade links within the Ottoman Empire. Names of many dishes came to reflect the sources of the ingredients from the many lands under the Ottoman rule. Coffee houses pervasively spread throughout the island into all major towns and countless villages.

Politically, the concept of enosis — unification with the Greek "motherland" — became important to literate Greek Cypriots after Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. A movement for the realization of enosis gradually formed, in which the Church of Cyprus played a dominant role (see "Cyprus dispute").

During British rule (1878–1960), the British brought an efficient colonial administration, but government and education were administered along ethnic lines, accentuating differences. For example, the education system was organized with two Boards of Education, one Greek and one Turkish, controlled by Athens and Istanbul, respectively.^{[citation needed]} The resulting education emphasized linguistic, religious, cultural, and ethnic differences and ignored traditional ties between the two Cypriot communities.^{[citation needed]} The two groups were encouraged to view themselves as extensions of their respective motherlands, and the development of two distinct nationalities with antagonistic loyalties was ensured.^{[citation needed]}

The importance of religion within the Greek Cypriot community was reinforced when the Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus, Makarios III, was elected the first president of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960. For the next decade and a half, enosis was a key issue for Greek Cypriots, and a key cause of events leading up to 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern part of the island. The island remains divided today, with the two communities almost completely separated. Many Greek Cypriots, most of whom lost their homes, lands and possessions during the Turkish invasion, emigrated mainly to the UK, USA, Australia, South Africa and Europe. There are today estimated to be 335,000 Greek Cypriot emigrants living in Great Britain. The majority of the Greek Cypriots in Great Britain currently live in England; there is an estimate of around 3,000 in Wales and 1,000 in Scotland. By the early 1990s, Greek Cypriot society enjoyed a high standard of living. Economic modernization created a more flexible and open society and caused Greek Cypriots to share the concerns and hopes of other secularized West European societies. The Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, officially representing the entire island, but suspended for the time being in the Turkish occupied north.

Greek Cypriot dialect[link]

Ethnic distribution in 1973. The yellow colour shows land with predominantly Greek population, while purple shows predominantly Turkish population.

The beige areas are administered by Greek Cypriots.

The Greek Cypriot dialect is a member of the south-eastern group of modern Greek dialects. It shares common characteristics with the dialects of the Dodecanese islands as well as those of Asia Minor. The dialect does not have a common form but is divided into a number of distinct local varieties.

Notable Greek Cypriots[link]

• Evagoras
• Clearchus of Soli
• Zeno of Citium
• Apollonios of Kition
• Demonax
• Theodora (wife of Justinian I)
• Vasilis Michaelides
• Georgios Grivas
• Grigoris Afxentiou
• Makarios III
• Michael Cacoyannis
• Mihalis Violaris
• Sotiris Moustakas
• Anna Vissi
• Michalis Hatzigiannis
• Alkinoos Ioannidis
• Kyriakos Charalambides

[edit] Greek Cypriots of the diaspora

Notable Greek Cypriots of the diaspora (including also anchestry):

• Ioannis Kigalas
• George Michael
• Tulisa Contostavlos
• Cat Stevens
• Stelios Haji-Ioannou
• Christopher A. Pissarides
• Marcos Baghdatis

See also[link]

• Greek Cypriot diaspora
• Turkish Cypriots
• Greek Britons
• List of Cypriots
• Greeks in New Zealand

External links[link]

• Reassessing what we collect website – Greek Cypriot London History of Greek Cypriot London with objects and images
• Cyprus: Historical Setting

References[link]

The Ottoman Empire 1700–1922, Donald Quataert, ISBN 0-521-83910-6

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IImar Reepalu (born 11 October 1943) is a Swedish Social Democrat politician and currently the mayor of the city of Malmö. After a professional life as a urban planner in Borås and Malmö, he became a municipal commissioner of Malmö in 1985. In the beginning for the opposition, but since the 1994 election he serves as the chairman of the municipal board - a position equal to that of mayor.

During his mayoralty, Reepualu has been lauded as being instrumental in the transformation of Malmö from an industrial town in decline towards being a centre of culture and green technology.^{[citation needed]} He has also been accused of anti-Semitism in his response to attacks on Jews in Malmö.^[1]

Biography[link]

Ilmar Reepalu was born in October 1943 in Nõva, present day Estonia. In August 1944 his family fled the advancing Soviet forces in a open boat, heading towards Sweden. Outside the island of Svenska Högarna their boat capsized, but they were saved by the patrolling Swedish navy. He and the rest of his family was at first interned at a refugee camp at Medevi Brunn, but they could later esablish themselves in Motala where Reepalu grew up.

Reepalu's political life started in 1958, when he as a student at the gymnasium where involved with starting the local branch of Social Democratic Youth League. After serving his draft time as a combat diver with the Costal Rangers, he moved to Gothenburg where he took a degree in Civil engineering (1968) and trained as an architect (1970), both at Chalmers University of Technology. During his time in Gothenburg, he where also involved in political groups that fought the proposed demolitions in the Haga district of Gothenburg.

From 1970 to 1973 Reepalu was employed by VBB, a building consultant firm. From 1973 he was employed as a urban planner in Malmö, except between 1977 and 1979 when he was the acting head of urban planning in Borås.

Reepalu's stated position was that he did not want to combine political assignments with his career as an urban planner, and when, in 1973, he was offered to sit on Malmö's Town Planning Committee as a Social Democratic representative by the mayor at the time Nils Yngvesson he declined.

In 1984 he got his first political assignment, as a alternate member for the health board. The year after he was employed full-time as a politician, becoming a municipal commissioner and in 1994 he was elected chairman of the municipal board.

Mayoralty[link]

This section requires expansion.

Reepalu has been credited with helping to revive Malmö architecturally from its roots as a fading industrial city. Architectural projects that he helped to bring into existence during his mayoralty include the Øresund Bridge (completed in 2000), the Turning Torso building (completed in 2005) and the City Tunnel (completed in 2010).

During Reepalu's mayoralty, Malmö intensified its reputation as a haven for the smuggling of drugs and illegal weapons, and for criminal activity, a trend that had begun in the 1970s and 80s.^[2] In 2011 and 2012, Malmö experienced eight execution-style killings, all of which remain unsolved, along with a bombing of its police headquarters, which led local newspapers to dub the city "Sweden's Chicago".^[2]

Anti-Semitism controversy[link]

In 2010, Malmö saw a sharp rise in anti-Semitic attacks, with 79 attacks reported by police, which was double the previous year's figures. The bulk of the filed incidences are harassment and threats, but they also include arson, vandalism of synagogues and arguably one case of violence.^[3][4][5] In response, at least 30 Jewish families had left Malmö before 2010.^[6] Reepalu denied that there was a problem entirely in several interviews, including one with The Sunday Telegraph in which he stated, "There have not been any attacks on Jewish people."^[6] In January 2010, when asked to explain why Jewish religious services often require security guards and even police protection, Reepalu claimed that the violence directed toward Malmö’s Jewish community is from right-wing extremists, and not Muslims.^[7]

When confronted with the issue during an interview in 2010 with Skånska Dagbladet, Reepalu stated: “We accept neither Zionism nor anti-Semitism. They are extremes that put themselves above other groups, and believe they have a lower value." He also criticized Malmo's Jewish community, stating that “I would wish for the Jewish community to denounce Israeli violations against the civilian population in Gaza. Instead it decides to hold a [pro-Israeli] demonstration in the Grand Square [of Malmö], which could send the wrong signals.”^[8] Jewish leaders responded that the demonstration Reepalu was referring to was "pro-peace rally" arranged by the Jewish Community in Malmö "which came under attack from members of a violent counter demonstration" and accused Reepalu of "suggesting that the violence directed towards us is our own fault simply because we didn’t speak out against Israel."^[9]

Reepalu added on Danish television that the criticisms against his statement were a product of pro-Israel lobbying.^[10]

The then Leader of the Swedish Social-Democratic Party, Mona Sahlin, described Reepalu's comments as "unfortunate."^[11]

Awards and honors[link]

Reepalu was named one of 25 finalists for the World Mayor 2010 prize in October 2010. His nomination was criticized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who stated that Reepalu should have been removed from contention "due to what he has said and done to the Jews of Malmö".^[12] The prize was ultimately given to Marcelo Ebrard of Mexico City.

References[link]

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