Rahvuse sünd

Just as every human being is important at the moment of his or her birth, so is the birth of nationalities. In Estonia it is buried under half truths and myths that still haunt us. On the one hand, it is affirmed that the national awakening of Estonians was determined and understood, so there is nothing to study here. Others, however, claim that the awakening of Estonians was something extraordinary. In fact, it was neither. There was nothing predetermined in the national awakening of Estonians – it could have easily not happened. The special features of the national awakening of Estonians do not stand closer inspection. The same goes for the beginning of the nationalist movement, which can be moved forward for almost half a century, noting that the first nationalists here were often German intellectuals. In a nutshell, the book talks about the Russification period, while trying to get rid of the myths.

This book also includes the biographies of several hundred revival activists and is based on the author’s thesis.

This book is in estonian.

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