Banish 1 Joe Banish Professor Graham MC 492 4 May 2017 Estonia: Energy Security and Sustainability Estonia has undergone momentous changes as a naon. Despite a brief period of independence following the Bolshevik Revoluon of 1917, Estonia was under occupaon for most of its history. This included Swedish and German empires following the crusades, to Tsarist Russia, and lastly a polically and economically repressive Soviet Union. However, when the stability of the USSR declined in the late 1980’s under then president Mikhail Gorbachev, Estonians fought for their independence with a robust display of naonal unity. Although the transion from a command to market economy was indeed difficult, resulng in several years of high inflaon and unemployment, Estonia has made remarkable strides towards full economic integraon with the West. A member of the European Union since 2004, and the Eurozone since 2011, the naon is clearly commied to democrac governance and macroeconomic stability, the precondions for joining said organizaons. Estonia’s smooth transion bodes well for its approach to climate change and energy sustainability. The country is well aware of the environmental and future economic benefits of transioning towards renewable energy sources, as well as the potenal to reduce its already minimal reliance on Russian fossil fuels. Although Estonia’s earlier efforts to achieve energy independence were