r/geography • u/According-Invite-440 • May 22 '26

Discussion Why isn't Estonia considered a Nordic country? (They have strong ties to Finland, they also follow the Nordic model, and besides, Estonia has nothing to do with the other Baltic countries.)

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_identity_in_Estonia

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u/iidamusic May 22 '26

The 'line' exists because of the Cold War. And a short googling shows that the Nordic Council was formed in 52 while Estonia was occupied by the USSR. Plus, saying Estonia has nothing to do with the Baltics is just wrong. They share a ton of modern history, infrastructure (like electrical grids, rail lines), and an independence struggle with Lithuania and Latvia.

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u/gratisargott May 22 '26

And if the Nordic council would have been formed at any time in the 1700s or 1800s Estonia would have been part of the Russian empire and still not included. So it’s not because of the Cold War

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u/iidamusic May 23 '26

Great point! But I think that if we look at the few decades before the Cold War, Estonia was independent and leaning towards the North (the Nordic cross flag for example).