Treaty of Tartu (Estonia–Russia)

The building , Vanemuise Street 35, where the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed

The Tartu Peace Treaty is an international agreement signed between Estonia and Soviet Russia in Tartu on February 2, 1920. It marked the end of the War of Independence. It fixed Estonia's eastern border, and Soviet Russia recognized the independence of the Republic of Estonia. This was the first time that Estonia was recognised as an independent country. It was the first treaty the soviets signed.

Before that Estonia had been a province of Imperial Russia since 1721.

Russia gave up "forever all sovereign rights that Russia had regarding the people and land of Estonia". Estonia got rid of all obligations to Russia and got 15 million gold rubles or 11.6 tons of gold from the Russian gold fund. In the 1920s, Soviet Russia sold a large part of the huge reserves of gold and precious metals taken from people and churches to Western countries through the Estonian bank G. Scheel & Co. Many Estonian businessmen and the Estonian state became rich because of this. The Russians did not do everything they agreed to. The things they took from the collections of the University of Tartu were not returned - and still havent been. Some land granted to Estonia by the Treaty is still under Russian control.

After the treaty about 38,000 Estonians moved from Russia to Estonia. More people wanted to move and were stopped by the Russians.