Experience of allocating elements of the territorial structure of the modern geoethnocultural space of Estonia

Statistics from Estonia's population censuses provide a unique opportunity to study the ethnic, religious, and linguistic (language and dialect) structure of the population at the municipal level. The systematic nature of this analysis is achieved through the identification of elements of the territorial structure of the country's geoethnocultural space, which is the purpose of this article. A cartographic research method is used for this purpose. Based on the identified set of characteristics, four main elements of Estonia's geoethnocultural space are identified. The identification of two sociocultural centers (Tallinn and Tartu) emphasizes the dual-core structure of the country's geoethnocultural space. The second element is the inner core, dominated by the titular population, the vast majority of whom do not declare their religious affiliation. This inner core is divided into five sectors based on the areas of distribution of Estonian language dialects. The third element of the country's geoethnocultural space is designated as the central core zone, where the population is highly religious, and local Estonians speak dialects that differ significantly from standard Estonian (the Insular dialect of Northern Estonian and the Võro dialect of Southern Estonian). The northeastern and eastern parts of the central core zone serve as a distinct contact zone between the Estonian-speaking and Russian-speaking populations. The fourth element is the outer core zone, which includes the urban municipalities of Ida-Virumaa County, with a predominantly Orthodox Russian-speaking population, and the rural municipality of Setomaa in Võru County, with an Orthodox Seto population.