Estonia

Republic of Estonia, shortly known as Estonia is a country situated in the East of Europe and is a member of the European Union. It's neighbors are Russia and  Latvia. It has access to the Baltic Sea.

General
The appearance of Estonia is usually winter based with business casual also being a common aesthetic. It fits the aesthetic of modern Estonian cities have: business,modern, cozy and not too crowded with lots of walking space,nature and also some older architecture left.

Male
The male version of Estonia is usually seen with a dark-colored hoodie or a polo shirt with a jumper over it. He wears black or dark blue jeans with it. Estonia can also be seen with a scarf that has the pattern of their flag.

Female
The female version of Estonia is usually seen with a loose a pastel blue jumper that comes off her shoulders. She wears jeans with it and can be seen with a skirt, too. Sometimes, a black hat can be included as a representation of that dark wooden forests, and would also often have a bow. A scarf can be added, by any color they wish.

Due to females being considered "the women of the house" it would make lots of sense to portray Estonia as female. If a woman is seen not doing anything/or not doing handwork it's often said "What're you doing standing around like a man?" And the trope "cowardly weak businessman with strong aggressive woman" is pretty popular in the country.

National Clothing
It's to note that female traditional clothing from Estonia varies from region to region due to Estonia being part of different countries and empires such as the Russian Empire, the German Empire, and Greater Sweden, so it's best just to combine them from different areas of the country.

For the male clothing it's quite consistent and there should be no issue.

Personality
Estonia is considered the new kid of school that quickly turned popular. They aren't well known for much except their relations with Finland ("crush" if you don't consider them family-relatives). They are friendly to most countries.

Interests

 * Alcoholic drinks

Like most Post Soviet states, Estonia has a somewhat high consumption of Alcohol due to propaganda in the USSR. They may even have an addiction, but alcohol is also a way to get closer to Finland, due to lots of Finns going to Estonia for cheaper alcohol.


 * Getting into the Nordic Council

Since being considered "Nordic" is associated with high living standards, high GDP, and overall a positive title, Estonia really wants to be considered Nordic. They are currently labeled as "Baltic" and due to suffering under communism and with lots of post-soviet states having high suicide rates, alcohol addiction, etc. they want to leave their past behind.


 * Skype

Skype was from Estonia so they really like the application and shows they can make an cultural difference.


 * Atheism

Due to how living through many invasions Estonia has lost hope in god. Jokes aside, the atheist policy in the USSR made the chain of religious traditions was broken in most families and being one of the last places in Europe to be christianized probably has a role in Estonia's lack of belief. Religon has never really played a huge role in Estonia and the country also relates Church to aristocratic Swedish and German rule in history. During the time they were considered a part of "Liivimaa" Estonia believed in many Pagan gods, although Paganism has been left behind.


 * Basketball
 * Nature

Lots of Estonians know how to live off the land due to being taught by their parents and teachers. Meaning, they know which plants are poisonous and which ones are not, even eating cooked moss and mushrooms, at an early age. And although Estonians are mostly irreligious, a significant amount believe in a some sort of spirit or life force.


 * Singing

Singing is a huge part of Estonia's culture. Estonians were forced to sing while picking cherries for the rich Germans to make sure they didn't eat any of the harvest, and singing was used to gain their independence through The Singing Revolution.

Estonian coat of arms:
The current coat of arms of Estonia is a golden shield which includes three slim, blue leopards (or lions passant guardant) in the middle, with oak branches along the side of the shield.

The heraldic lions/leopards of the coat of arms are the most ancient of Estonia's symbols. They have been used since the 13th century, when they served as the big coat of arms for the capital city, Tallinn. Tallinn got these slim blue lions from the King of Denmark, Waldemar the Second; Denmark was the ruling power in Northern Estonia at that time. Tallinn was under Danish rule between 1219 and 1346, and, according to one theory, the name "Tallinn" itself meant originally "Danish castle" (Estonian: Taanilinn); the etymology, however, is by no means certain. Various other foreign powers came and went, but the three lions remained to become the coat of arms for most of the Estonian territory. The State Assembly of the independent Republic of Estonia adopted the three lions officially by its resolution on June 19, 1925.

This coat of arms of the Republic of Estonia was in use until the beginning of the Soviet occupation on June 21, 1940.

The rendering on the coat of arms returned to the public in connection with the national amnesty started in 1988. For the first time since a hiatus that lasted decades, the coat of arms adorned by three lions of the city of Tallinn was used as a historical element in the Old Town Days of 1988. The City Arms of Tallinn was reinstated in the same year.

In addition to the three main state symbols, Estonia has chosen her own national flower and national bird. Estonia even has her own national stone and national fish, which seem to be a rarity among other national symbols. All four have gained official status.

Nicknames

 * Esti
 * Est
 * Marlyand/Terraria Marina
 * The desirable bride

Etymology
The name Estonia has been connected to Aesti, which has been first mentioned by Roman historian Tacitus around 98 AD. Some historians believe he was directly referring to Balts (i.e. not Finnic-speaking Estonians), while others have proposed that the name applied to the whole Eastern Baltic region.

History
13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the ice from the last Glacial era made is possible for human to in habit Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating the Pulli settlement, The oldest known settlement in Estonia, was settled around 11,000 years ago. The Pulli settlement, was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia.

Organizations and Affiliations

 * Bank For International Settlements
 * Council of the Baltic Sea States
 * Council of Europe
 * Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
 * United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
 * European Union
 * Food and Agriculture Organization
 * International Atomic Energy Agency
 * International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
 * International Civil Aviation Organization
 * International Finance Corporation
 * International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
 * International Hydrographic Organization
 * International Labour Organization
 * International Monetary Fund
 * International Maritime Organization
 * International Criminal Police Organization
 * International Olympic Committee
 * International Organization for Migration (Observer)
 * International Organization for Standardization (correspondent)
 * International Telecommunication Union
 * International Trade Union Confederation
 * North Atlantic Treaty Organization
 * Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
 * Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
 * Partnership for Peace
 * United Nations
 * United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
 * United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
 * United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina
 * United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
 * United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
 * Universal Postal Union
 * World Customs Organization
 * Western European Union (associate partner)
 * World Health Organization
 * World Intellectual Property Organization
 * World Meteorological Organization
 * World Trade Organization

Diplomacy

 * Finland
 * France
 * Russia
 * WIP

Geography
Photographically, Estonia is shared between the Central European and Eastern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Estonia belongs to the eco-region of Sarmatic mixed forests.

Estonia shares country borders with: Russia and Latvia.

Total area of Estonia is amount 45,277 km2.

Family

 * Russia — Step-parent
 * Latvia — Sibling
 * Lithuania – Sibling
 * Denmark – Step-sibling
 * Finland — Step-sibling
 * Iceland — Step-sibling
 * Norway — Step-sibling
 * Sweden — Step-sibling
 * Hungary — Child

Friends

 * Finland — "My step-sibling and closest ally. They're currently trying to get me in the nordic council. Happy birthday by the way."
 * USA — "They think I'm cute and I'm in NATO! Please don't lose faith in NATO, Russia scares me-" 
 * Lithuania — "Stop calling me a traitor for wanting to be Nordic instead of Baltic! Other than that we're cool."
 * United Kingdom
 * Ukraine
 * Poland
 * Chile

Neutral

 * Sweden — "Let me into the Nordic council!"

Enemies

 * Russia
 * Third Reich
 * USSR
 * North Korea

Past Versions

 * Livonia
 * Duchy of Estonia
 * Estonian SSR

Maryland
Not a very known relationship in the fandom, Maryland, and Estonia are very close! When the Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War ended Estonia once again became independent in 1991 after Soviet Occupation. In the following year, the United States assigned a partner National Guard for each Baltic country through the State Partnership Program. In 1993, Estonia was partnered with Maryland!

Maryland and Estonia were partnered for numerous reasons, one is because lots of Estonians live in Maryland, and Estonia is also known as Maryland! Estonia got the name "Maryland during, 1193. when Pope Celestine III called for a crusade against the pagans in Northern Europe (Which included Estonia). By 1207, the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea were converted, and in 1216, Pope Innocent III called the new Christian territories Terra Mariana, or, the “Land of Mary”. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Terra Mariana has been used as a poetic name for Estonia.

Due to this, the country and the State grew close with many Estonian celebrations being a bit normalized in Maryland and many Maryland cities became partnered with Estonian ones such as Annapolis and Tallinn, the capital of both respectively.

Trivia

 * Estonia is often shipped with Finland and the countries are very similar and close, their national anthems even have the same melody, although the estonian editor of this wiki dissaproves of this ship.
 * Chile is one of Estonia's most important foreign trading partners in South America.