Estonia is one of the most successful countries in the post-Soviet space. Our neighbors and residents of this country differ from the Russians not only in mentality, but also in appearance. Estonians live calmly and measuredly, are in no hurry, because they are not late. The country is commensurate in area with the Rostov Region, there are cities with a population of 100 people. Phlegmatic Estonians, whose appearance is very different from a typical Russian, are the heroes of many funny stories that are discussed in this article.
History reference
Mention of the "people of the earth" (maarahvas) are found in the writings of Tacitus (1st century AD). They mention the people (aestii), who are engaged in agriculture on the lands near the Baltic Sea, who live east of the Germans and differ in language and appearance from them. Estonians (photos in national costumes below) had their own traditions and customs, led a sedentary lifestyle.
Modern Estonian residents, who number about 925 thousand, belong to the Eastern or Atlanto-Baltic anthropological group, speak the Estonian language of the Finno-Ugric language family.
Tribe of ests
By the end of the Middle Ages, in the 8th century, on the territory of modern Estonia there is already an original ethnic group with an established language and traditions. Among the latter, the most important are residential Riga, rye bread. In folk culture, wedding, Christmas traditions appear. In addition, traditions associated with the commemoration of the departed are a very important element of the ethnos.
And also a peculiar runic song, which is characterized by the presence of a short, but with variations of motive.
It was during this period that the Estonian national costume was formed. For women, this is a whitened bleached linen shirt, a woolen frock coat and a skirt that is wrapped in a belt.
The main deity was Uku (grandfather), religious rites were not complicated, there were no priests. The sacred place was oak forests, streams, springs.
Anthropological evidence
As already mentioned, anthropologically modern Estonians are a transitional type between two races of the European type: the East Baltic and Atlanto-Baltic. In the Estonian appearance, the signs of these races are found in a pure and mixed form.
Representatives of the East Baltic race, which is also called East European, are considered descendants of the Ladoga type, which is found in eastern Germany, the Baltic countries, and Finland. Their hair color is light, their eyes are gray or light, their nose is straight (often with a concave back) and they have a narrow face, very fair skin, tall stature and a mesocephalic head. Such Estonians men (photo above) have dense vegetation on the face and chest.
The Atlanto-Baltic race is a Northern European local race, which differs from the previous one in higher growth, a narrower face, a nose with a high nose, and a slightly darker skin pigmentation. In addition, Estonian men (photo below) of this type have average beard growth. Tertiary body hair is medium-weak.
Estonian appearance: features
Anthropologically, ests are very different from representatives of the Finno-Ugrian race. Their skull is mesocephalic. A long and narrow nose, quadrangular superciliary arches and prominent zygomatic bones are pronounced in Estonian men. The appearance of women is characterized by a smaller skull and a wider front part.
Most Estonians are taller than 170 centimeters and have a strong, stocky physique. Their skin color is white, their hair is light brown or light brown. Eye color is light, gray or blue.
Character Features
Stubborn and vindictive, but patient and mentally mild - such are the conflicting Estonians. Appearance is often deceiving, and behind the pretty appearance of a soft blonde, a jealous and suspicious Othello can hide.
An angry est will become a tough and vengeful opponent. Especially when you consider that ests are decisive, courageous, honest and resourceful in danger.
But at the same time, for the most part they are phlegmatic, slow (or rather, not hasty), not averse to being too lazy and showing carelessness.
Collective image of the Baltic states
For Russians, when mentioning their northern neighbors, the image of a Finn from the cult films about national features (“Features of national hunting”, “Features of national fishing”) immediately pops up. Nevertheless, this collective image does not fully illustrate the appearance of an Estonian.
Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, in the understanding of the Russian, are all Baltic. Unfortunately, representatives of Estonian nationality are not so common in cinema.
Nevertheless, here are a few names of Estonians, whose appearance is familiar to everyone: TV presenter Urmas Ott, pop singers Jaak Jolla and Anne Veski (below in the photo). There are not many Estonians whose appearance is recognizable. But there are not so many representatives of this nationality themselves.
You can't fool genetics
Recent studies of the genome of the inhabitants of the Baltic states indicate a close relationship between Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians. Appearance (phenotype) confirms this.
These data indicate that during the formation of these ethnic groups the same anthropological races (Eastern European and Northern European) participated in this process, however, at different times. And the appearance of Estonians (photo of children above), Latvians and Latvians leaves no doubt about this.
How to distinguish an Estonian
Despite the commonality of appearance, an Estonian among the Baltic states can be distinguished.
So, among the considered ethnic groups, Estonians are the highest, Latvians and Lithuanians are on average 3 centimeters lower. Estonians men (the main photo), like women, are almost de-segmented. This means that their hair, eyebrows and eyes are fair.
An Estonian brunette is very rare, and there are only 2% of outright blondes among them. Most have brown hair and gray eyes. One third of Estonians have a mixed iris. The hair is straight, and if curly, then with soft curls. Eyebrows are weak.
Unlike other Baltic nations, Ests have a straight forehead, but with a pronounced slope. Pronounced superciliary arches, jaws, wide mouth, relatively medium thickness lips and protruding chin are typical features of the Estonian appearance.
Estonian brand
Estonian beauty is Kristina Heynments and Yana Kuvaitseva. These are the winners of the Miss Estonia contest of different years. Although the standards of beauty largely depend on world fashion, a Nordic beauty with long blonde hair, large and fair eyes, rounded shapes has always been liked and will be liked by men. And not only to Estonians. The culture and rules of such contests are changing, but just the blonde Barbie is no longer the standard of a successful man.
70 signs that you are an Estonian
Do not be surprised, there is such a list on the net. Of course, we will not give all of them in this article, but we will quote the first ten. So, you are exactly est if:
- As a gift to a friend from another country, you take a box of Kalev chocolates.
- At the festivals of the song (which was attended by almost everyone) you even recognize the audience.
- Are you sure that Estonia is strategically located optimally.
- Before going out, you return to the thermometer several times to see the temperature.
- When asked about the national dish, you only smile mysteriously.
- When you are asked what to see in Estonia, you reply: “It's interesting everywhere!”
- You are absolutely sure that 14 cases in the language are quite normal.
- If a car number of 4 signs turns off the brain - you are an Estonian.
- When the bus is delayed for 2 minutes, you are sure that a misfortune happened with the driver.
- Silence is fun for you.
Russian Estonians
On the territory of Russia, Estonians from the 10th century lived in the Pskov region.
In the Leningrad Region, Estonians appeared after the Great Northern War (1700-1721) between Sweden and Russia, as a result of which the Baltic States became part of our Fatherland.
After August 1940, when Estonia became one of the republics of the USSR, many indigenous people were exiled to Kazakhstan, the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and Siberia. During the Second World War, thousands of people were evacuated deep into Russia. During the period of repression, in 1949, about 20.5 thousand Estonians were deported.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Estonians returned to their historical homeland.
Today, up to 20 thousand Estonians live in Russia, most in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Estonians who changed the world
This country has presented many outstanding people who have played a role in a wide variety of fields. We list only some of the famous Estonians.
Arvo Pärt is a modern composer, who for the last six years has confidently taken the top lines in the list of those whose works are performed most often.
An original street artist whom all of Europe knows - Edward von Lingus. His graffiti adorn the streets of Berlin, Rome, Amsterdam and Paris, but no one saw his face. His works can be seen in Tallinn and Tartu.
But the clothing designer Robert Einer dresses Madonna, Lady Gaga, Rihanna. They talked about this talented Estonian after her triumphant Who's Next show in Paris.
The singer who collects millions of fans on YouTube is Curly Kyyev (pictured). This young vocalist is predicted by the brilliance of Madonna, in the troupe of which another talented Estonian Jaan Roose danced (known for her unique slacking skills - slackline).
One cannot fail to mention another singer who was known throughout the Soviet Union along with Alla Pugacheva and Laima Vaikule. This is Anna Tynisovna Veski. By the way, she received the order of Mikhailo Lomonosov for her contribution to the development of culture from the all-Russian public organization “Academy of Security, Defense and Law and Order” (2007) and the Order of Friendship for her contribution to the development of the Russian-Estonian partnership in the field of culture and the popularization of Russian cultural heritage in Estonia Republic (2011).
