"Borders in the Baltic region have changed a lot over time," says Catherine Helen Gibson, a lecturer in Eastern European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Tartu. For example, at the time of the Estonian national awakening, the territory was divided into Estonian and Livonian governorates. The Estonian-Latvian border acquired a more or less modern appearance only in 1917, in the wake of the February Revolution. "Perhaps by the time the border between Estonia and Latvia was finally drawn, there was no need to start from scratch," Gibson points out.

According to the lecturer, when Estonia first appeared on the map depends on what is meant by Estonia: the Estonian people appeared on the map before the territory itself.

"In the tradition of ethnographic mapping, Estonians have been included on maps since the mid-19th century," she notes. However, the uniform territorial division of Estonia has not always been self-evident: 150 years ago, the linguistic regions of northern and southern Estonia were clearly distinct.

Among other peoples, Estonians were described by ethnographers from the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, who, according to Gibson, were acting in the interests of justifying Russia's imperialist ambitions.

"The same was done here by the local Baltic Germans, who made maps of their region. Their interest was part of a broader movement to produce grammars of different languages, vernacular books, and ethnographic studies," she says. The Estonians themselves began to map their own territory only at the end of the 19th century.

The city of Valga had to be cut in half by a Briton.

Unlike Belarus, for example, which is surrounded by land, Gibson says Estonia was easier to define: the northern and western borders are set by the sea. To some extent, Estonia's east is bounded by Lake Peipsi. "The border disputes were therefore mainly about the area behind Narva, where the Balto-Finnic peoples lived. Second, there was a dispute over the Setomaa region and another over the southern border with the Latvians."

At the time of Estonian-Latvian independence in 1917, there were some minor adjustments to the border, such as a shift of a few hundred meters. "In the context of their time, of course, these changes were very important. The Boundary Commission was set up and people sent letters of appeal to them because they felt they were on the wrong side," she says. In particular, locals expressed concern that they would no longer be able to sell their goods on the market in Valga/Valka.

According to the lecturer, drawing the line was primarily based on national self-determination. "As U.S. President Woodrow Wilson said in his keynote speech at the Paris Peace Conference, it was an ideal, but translating it into real life was a challenge." In some situations, the property may have been owned by an Estonian, but the tenant may have been from Latvia. In such circumstances, the argument of economic proximity to the market could have taken precedence.

The main dispute between Estonia and Latvia was over the town of Valga/Valka, which was a railway junction and regional center in addition to the market. The decision to divide the town between the two countries was made in 1920 by the chair of the border commission, British Col. Stephen George Tallents. "He had to mediate in the dispute because the Estonians and Latvians could not agree. The completed border became known as the Tallents Line."

Estonia today

During the Soviet era, Estonia existed on the world map as a federal republic, but since regaining independence, according to Gibson, the country has become increasingly visible on the map. "Many researchers have noticed this shift: Maarja Mälksoo, for example, wrote a rather influential article in 2022 pointing out how the conceptual geography of Europe has been shifting," she says.

The Baltic states and Poland have emerged as experts on Russia, especially since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. They have distinguished themselves with very strong arms assistance and solidarity with Ukraine. Estonia in particular, according to Gibson, has also become more visible in the EU and NATO.

"Of course, this change did not take place until after the war had begun in earnest. It is a longer process in which Eastern Europe is trying to change its image and shake off the image of a peripheral and reactionary New Europe," she says. It's difficult to make broad generalizations, she says, but Gibson has also noticed a growing awareness of the Baltics in her home country, the United Kingdom. "Surely more people know who Kaja Kallas is now. Before, the Estonian prime minister's name was not something you would mention that often," she said.

In Western Europe, she says, most of the history taught in schools, and to a large extent in universities, focuses on Western Europe. "There are many unknown regions to the east that are not covered, except in a few specialized courses. Eastern Europe has not been part of the main narrative of European history," she argues.

Gibson says that when the history of Eastern Europe has been discussed at length, it has usually been through the prism of Russian history: "People spoke of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, but they meant only Russia. The experience of the Baltic states, Poland or Ukraine was lost."

Thinking back on the war in Ukraine, the formation of the territory of the Estonian state was quite different from that of Ukraine. "The main difference is that in the 19th century the Baltic provinces already enjoyed a degree of autonomy within the Russian Empire. They were not subject to the same policy of assimilation as other parts of it." The Grand Duchies of Poland and Finland, whose national identities and borders are not much debated today, enjoyed a similar special status in the days of the Russian Empire.

Ukraine and Belarus, however, were clearly part of the Russian Empire. "From an administrative, ethnic, and linguistic point of view, they were considered part of the great Russian family, as if they were younger siblings: It was a very strong ideology."

So unlike Estonians, Ukrainians could not claim that they were simply very different from Russians. "This Slavic family mentality can still be seen in Vladimir Putin's very imperialistic positions," Gibson says.

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