Estonia: Nordic with a twist.

Now, this heading was the name of an exhibit made by Estonian foreign ministry. "Recently, Estonia has also projected itself as a Nordic country, although it is widely considered to be a Baltic State. Estonia has close linguistic, ethnic and cultural ties with Finland, some cultural ties with Sweden and Denmark, and most of its investment and trade is with the Nordic countries.""Estonians consider themselves a Nordic people rather than Balts,[2][3] based on strong linguistic, cultural and historical ties with Finland in particular, and also with Sweden and Denmark. The Estonian language is closely related to the Finnish language and Estonians, as an ethnic group, are a Finnic people. Estonia was part of the Danish and Swedish empires for many centuries: it is generally thought that the name of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, derives from the Estonian taani linn, meaning 'Danish town.'
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Estonia was part of the Swedish and Danish Empires for centuries prior to its absorption into the Russian Empire. Historically, large parts of Estonia's north-western coast and islands have been populated by an indigenous ethnically Swedish population (Estonian Swedes). The majority of Estonia's Swedish population fled to Sweden in 1944, escaping the advancing Soviet Army. Only about a thousand Swedes were left.
Since regaining independence in 1991, Estonia has expressed interest in identifying with the Nordic community. In 1999, Estonian Foreign Minister — and current president since 2006 — Toomas Hendrik Ilves delivered a speech entitled "Estonia as a Nordic Country" to the Swedish Institute for International Affairs.[4] In 2003, the foreign ministry also hosted an exhibit called "Estonia: Nordic with a Twist."[5] In 2005, Estonia also joined the European Union's Nordic Battle Group and shows interest in joining the Nordic Council.Today there is a great deal of economic interdependence between Estonia and some of its Nordic neighbors. Three quarters of investments into Estonia come from Nordic states (principally Finland and Sweden), to which Estonia sends 58% of its exports." Copied from Wikipedia.I had to write it in here because I am overwhelmed right now. Not that I didn't know that before, I did, but I just needed to see it written down^^. As a fiery (icy?) north-a-holic I obsess about everything concerning the North.

All the best,
Kadi.