After the Saint George's Night Uprising, the Danes sold the territory to the Teutonic Order and it became part of the Ordensstaat.
The land was eventually ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad, following its capitulation, during the plague, in the Great Northern War.
The terms of the treaty stated that Russia renounced in perpetuity all rights to the territory of Estonia.
Meanwhile, Viktor Kingissepp had led a communist uprising at Saaremaa in February 1919, which had been suppressed with 81 rebels killed in battle and 82 executed.
[8] The Head of State of Estonia combined some of the functions held by a president and prime minister in most other democracies.
[13] The Vaps Movement emerged in reaction with a demand for a smaller parliament and a directly elected president.
[13] The Movement was a paramilitary anti-socialist organisation led by former officers of the Russian Tsar's Army,[14] with most of its base being veterans of the Estonian War of Independence.
[17] Ahead of the following year's elections for both, a state of emergency was declared on 12 March 1934 to prevent the Vaps candidate from winning, with the vote postponed and political gatherings banned.
[18] During the authoritarian rule following 1934, decision-making was made by Konstantin Päts and his close circle, chosen in large part from his family.
After the German departure, Tallinn was held for four days by a native Estonian government led by Otto Tief.
Both the Congress of Estonia and the Supreme Council dissolved themselves in October 1992, with the swearing-in of the first parliament (Riigikogu) elected under the new constitution in September 1992.
Many Russians in Estonia were disenfranchised from the election, with the question of their citizenship caused ongoing political tensions.
[45] Amid political controversy, in April 2007 the Government of Estonia started final preparations for the relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn stature and reburial of the associated remains, according to the political mandate received from the previous elections (held in March 2007).
[46] Disagreement over the appropriateness of the action led to mass protests and riots (accompanied by looting), lasting for two nights,[47][48] the worst in Estonia since 1944.
[49] In August 2011, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves was re-elected in a vote in parliament for the second five-year term.
Her previous government had lost its parliamentary majority after the center-left Center Party left the coalition.
[59] In March 2023, the Reform party, led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, won the parliamentary election, taking 31,4% of the vote.
[61] In July 2024, Kristen Michal became Estonia’s new prime minister to succeed Kaja Kallas, who resigned as prime minister on 15 July to become the European Union’s new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.