According to Countryaah, in the late 90’s and early 91’s, the Soviet power threatened to use force to impede independence, and it resulted in several clashes between Soviet troops and nationalist groups. In September, conservative forces in Russia carried out a failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachov, Boris Yeltsin had actually taken power, and only now did the Soviet Union recognize the independence of the three Baltic states. The same month they were admitted to the UN.
- According to abbreviationfinder, EE is the 2 letter abbreviation for the country of Estonia.
In January 1992, President Savisaar and his government withdrew after growing criticism of its economic policies. Parliament appointed former Transport Minister Tiit Vahi to lead the new government. Estonia was forced to introduce food and fuel rationing after Russia raised prices and restricted supplies. Prices came up at world market level and at the same time Russia restricted imports of textiles and electrical products from Estonia.
On June 20, 1992, the country’s new constitution – based on the 1938 Constitution – was passed by a referendum. In September, a new Riigikogu (parliament) was elected, declaring on 7 October that the transitional period had ended and that the country’s new constitution was in force. On October 5, the leader of the National Party, Lennart Meri, was elected by the parliament to the country’s president by 59 votes to 31. At the same time, the country was the first country in the former Soviet Union to declare the ruble as currency and introduce its own coin foot, the Crown.
In December 1992, the privatization program was temporarily suspended after a high-ranking official was dismissed for neglect and dishonesty. At the beginning of 1993, it emerged that he had been committed to giving back state property to their former owners, who had been confiscated by the Communists in their 40’s.
In June 1993, strict nationalist guidelines were adopted, which affected foreigners in the country – primarily the Russians, who made up 30% of the country’s population. They either had to obtain a residence permit or be deported. In return, Boris Yeltsin ordered Russian deliveries of natural gas interrupted and at the same time halted the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Baltic. At the end of June, the Russian people conducted a referendum and declared its autonomy, which was nonetheless characterized as illegal by the Estonian government.
The Russian troops completed their withdrawal from Estonia in August 1994, with Estonia already deeply committed to NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. Two months later, the former chairman of the Estonian Communist Party, Indrek Toome, was arrested for corruption.
The March 1995 elections became a major defeat for the coalition that had ruled the country since it disbanded from the Soviet Union. It sparked considerable controversy when the country’s new prime minister Tiit Vahi appointed a “disproportionate” large number of former communists to ministerial posts in his new government. In October, his government was forced to resign following corruption charges against the interior minister. A new government was now formed, which also included members of the Reform Party.
Following a controversial vote in an electoral college, on September 20, 1996, Lennart Meri was re-elected as the country’s president. In December 1997, a report by the European Reconstruction and Development Bank, which had been set up to support the transition of the former socialist countries to the market economy, estimated that Estonian financial sector reforms made it possible for the country to enter the EU quickly. The reforms included has been instrumental in securing the country’s most foreign investments per year. resident among the countries of the region.
In February 1998, Estonia, Latvia and Lithaun signed an Association Agreement with the United States, at which time the superpower also undertook to work for the three countries’ accession to NATO. It triggered a reaction from Russia stating that the country would only normalize relations with the Baltic countries when they guaranteed the rights of the Russian speaking population.