Estonia, properly known as the Republic of Estonia, is a country that is located in the Baltic Region of North Europe. It is bordered by the Gulf of Finland in the North, the Baltic Sea in the West, Latvia in the South, and Russia in the East. It also shares a portion of its border in the East with Lake Peipus. Estonia’s political structure is that of a Parliamentary Republic meaning the executive branch receives its power and its legitimacy from the legislature. The country has a population of, roughly, 1,257,900 people, and an area of 45,228 square kilometers. Estonia first gained its independence in 1918 when it was liberated from Soviet Russia after winning the Estonian War of Independence. However, twenty-two years later it was taken over by the Soviet Union. Estonia gained official independence from the Soviet Union on September 6, 1991; as recognized by the Soviet Union.