Pskov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Pskov Oblast borders the European Union countries of Estonia and Latvia, as well as Belarus. It is the westernmost federal subject of contiguous Russia . Its major cities are the administrative center Pskov and Velikiye Luki Pskov Oblast , and far northeastern Germany. During this migration north the Slavic tribes interbred with several Finnic and Finno-Uralic tribes in the southern habitation areas of the indigenous Finnics and Finno-Uralics. The first significant event that separated Setos from Estonians was forced conversion of the latter into
CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
in the 13th century, while Setos who lived in Novgorod Land remained
pagansPagans may mean:* Paganism, a group of religions* Order of the Vine, a druidic faction in the "Thief" video game series* Pagans Motorcycle Club, a motorcycle club* The Pagans, a 1970s American punk band...
. In the 15th century Setos were converted into
Orthodox ChristianityThe term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* Correct theology or belief, such as the ancient, majority, or Trinitarian theologies of Christianity...
but kept vernacular beliefs. Later elements of Catholic culture were brought to Setos by Estonian colonists, while in Estonia itself they eventually nearly disappeared after the Lutherification of Estonia. With the
peace treaty of TartuTartu Peace Treaty or Treaty of Tartu was a peace treaty between Estonia and Russian SFSR signed in February 2, 1920 ending the Estonian War of Independence...
, the area Setomaa (Setoland) was ceded to the newly created Republic of Estonia and it was included into
PetseriPechory is a town in Pskov Oblast, Russia. According to the 2002 population census, the town had 13,056 citizens, including a few hundred ethnic Estonians....
County (Petserimaa). As a result of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Republic of Estonia was forcefully annexed to the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. And in the years after the war, the border between the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic was revised by Moscow authorities to what it is now. The issue became topical as the Republic of Estonia was restored in the borders of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991 and a national border was established soon afterwards. The establishment of the border brought about the division of Setomaa between two countries for the first time in history.
Representative organisations
The Seto Congress, a body comprising representatives of Seto villages and organisations, is regularly convened every three years and elects a permanent Council of Elders. The Society for Seto Congress is a member of the Estonian Bureau for Lesser Used Languages.
The
Setomaa federation of municipalities in Estonia (
Setomaa Valdade Liit, comprising the communes of
Mikitämäe,
Verska,
Meremäe and
Misso) publishes
the newspaper Setomaa, partly in the
SetoSeto or Setu language is a dialect of the Finnic South Estonian or Võro language , spoken by about 5,000 people...
, partly in
EstonianEstonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
.
External links