A/HRC/7/19/Add.2 page 5 I. INTRODUCTION 1. At the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur visited Estonia (Tallinn, Tartu and Jõhvi) from 25 to 28 September 2007. He met with the Prime Minister, the Ministers for Interior, Justice, Population Affairs and Social Affairs, officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director-General of the Citizenship and Migration Board, the Director of the Language Inspectorate and the Head of the Prison of Tartu. He also met with the President of the Supreme Court and the Chairman of the Parliament Cultural Affairs Committee. After the formal conclusion of the mission, the Special Rapporteur also met with the Minister for Education and Research on 19 October 2007 in Paris. 2. Apart from the agenda with the government and state institutions, the Special Rapporteur also had extensive meetings with representatives of civil society organizations that are active in the realm of racism and xenophobia, minority communities as well as victims of racism and racial discrimination. He also participated in a roundtable held in Jõhvi with national minorities living in the north-eastern region of Estonia. 3. The Special Rapporteur wishes to express his gratitude to the Government of Estonia for its cooperation and openness throughout the visit and in the preparatory stages. II. GENERAL BACKGROUND A. Historical and political context 4. The historical origins of Estonia date back to many centuries, with specific references to the name of Estonia occurring in the ninth century. Estonia was one of the last regions in Europe to be Christianized during the Northern Crusades in the late twelfth century. Throughout the Middle Ages, Estonia fell under Livonian, Lithuanian-Polish and Swedish control, until Russia defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War in 1721. During the early period of Russian control, a number of reforms were introduced, including abolishing serfdom, granting peasants the right to own property and freedom of movement. In this context, a particularly important period of Estonian history started, traditionally called the “national awakening”, where Estonian language, culture and traditions were revived. However, after Alexander III became the Russian ruler, a deliberate attempt of Russification of Estonia started, which included the introduction of Russian as the official language in 1887. 5. With the outbreak of the Russian revolution of 1905, demands for national autonomy and civil and political rights started to grow. However, independence was only achieved after the Bolshevik Revolution and declared in 1918, after a brief period of German occupation during the First World War. Despite an unsuccessful attempt of invasion by the Soviet Army, the Republic of Estonia was created, adopting a Constitution in 1920, gaining international recognition and joining the League of Nations. 6. During the interwar years, rapid economic, social and cultural changes took place, including in the organization of state structures. In particular, Estonian language schools were widely disseminated. In 1925, a law on the cultural autonomy of minority groups was passed, turning Estonia in one of the first countries to adopt such type of legislation.