Congress of Estonia

The Congress of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Kongress) was a grassroots parliament elected in February 1990 in then Soviet-occupied Estonia and actively participating in the popular nonviolent resistance to the Soviet rule, which resulted in the restoration of the country's independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991.

The aim of the Congress was to restore Estonian independence based on the principle of legal continuity, with the pre-1940 Republic of Estonia, which had been established in 1918, as the foundation.

In February 1990, the election of a body of representatives of these citizens – the Congress of Estonia – was conducted by those who had been registered.

A small number of the members of the Congress of Estonia were Estonians who had gone into exile during World War II, or children of such refugees.

The American Committees of Correspondence played an important role in the events that led to the formation of the United States of America.