A/HRC/7/19/Add.2 page 6 7. Estonia’s history, as that of the other Baltic States, was severely affected by the outbreak of the Second World War. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939 assigned Estonia to the Soviet sphere of influence, prompting the beginning of the first Soviet occupation in 1940. A Sovietfriendly government was set up and mass deportations started to take place, affecting a large part of the population. During the first year of occupation, around 60,000 people are believed to have been deported – 10,000 of whom during a single night in June 1941. Soviet control was briefly substituted by a Nazi occupation after the end of the non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union and the advance of German troops. Many Estonians were forcefully conscripted by the Nazi in the war against the Red Army, whereas many others were guided by the failed expectation that a Nazi victory would lead to independence. In particular, as the German-Soviet front reached the region of Narva, massive mobilization carried out by the Nazi and their Estonian collaborators led to the formation of the twentieth Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS in 1944, formed by Estonians. 8. After the German defeat in 1944, the second Soviet occupation started and Estonia became a Soviet republic. The first decade of the occupation, under Stalin, was particularly repressive, as Moscow attempted to implement a policy of Russification of the Baltic states, directly affecting education and cultural activities, including language. Between 1945 and 1953, it is believed that around 80,000 Estonians were deported, mainly to Siberia and Central Asia. The war casualties, massive deportations and migrations from other parts of the Soviet Union drastically changed the ethnic makeup of the population. While before the war 90 per cent of the residents were ethnic Estonians, this proportion fell to 60 per cent by 1990. Most of the political leadership, particularly in the first decades, was made of non-Estonians. 9. The independence of Estonia was restored formally on 20 August 1991, after a process of rapid political changes within the Soviet Union as a whole. Estonia quickly embarked on a policy of rapprochement with the West, engaging in profound economic reforms to integrate into the global markets. In 2004, Estonia acceded to the EU and NATO. The adaptation of legislation to the acquis communautaire led to important changes in policies that directly affect the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. B. Demographic, ethnic and religious composition 10. Estonia has a population of 1,342,409, out of whom 68 per cent are ethnic Estonian. The largest minority is composed of ethnic Russians, which form 25 per cent of the population. Other sizeable minorities are Ukrainians (2 per cent), Byelorussians (1.2 per cent) and Finns (0.8 per cent). Tatars, Latvians, Poles, Jews, Lithuanians and Germans jointly represent some 1 per cent of the population. 11. Evangelical Lutheranism is the dominant religion, with some 13.6 per cent of the population, closely followed by Orthodox, with 12.8 per cent. Some 34.1 per cent of the population are unaffiliated. Thirty-two per cent of the population have unspecified or other religions. Around six per cent of the population has no religious affiliations. 1 1 Census 2000.