Treaty of Peace between Russia and Estonia

Estonia of the one part and Russia of the other part,

actuated by the firm desire to bring to an end the war which has broken out between them,

have resolved to enter into Peace Negotiations and to conclude as rapidly as possible, a just, honourable and durable peace,

and to this end have appointed as plenipotentiaries:

The Government of the Democratic Republic of Estonia:

Jaan Poska, Member of the Constituent Assembly,

Ants Piip, Member of the Constituent Assembly,

Mait Püümann, Member of the Constituent Assembly,

Julius Seljamaa, Member of the Constituent Assembly, and

Jaan Soots, Major-General of the General Staff.

And the Council of the People’s Commissaries of the Socialist and Federative Republic of the Russian Soviets:

Adolphe Abramovitch Joffe, Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets, of Deputies of the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers of the Red Army and of the Cossacks, and,

Isidor Emmanuelovitch Goukovski, Member of the Collegium of the People’s Commissariat for State Control.

The plenipotentiaries appointed having assembled at Tartu, after mutual presentation of their credentials which have been recognised as valid and in due form,

have agreed on the following:

Article I

The state of war between the Contracting Parties will end on the day on which the present Treaty of Peace comes into force.

Article II

In consequence of the right of all peoples to self-determination, to the point of seceding completely from the State of which they form part, a right proclaimed by the Socialist and Federal Russian Republic of the Soviets, Russia unreservedly recognises the independence and sovereignty of the State of Estonia, and renounces voluntarily and for ever all sovereign rights possessed by Russia over the Estonian people and territory whether these rights be based on the juridical position that formerly existed in public law, or in the international treaties which, in the sense here indicated, lose their validity in future.

From the fact that Estonia has belonged to Russia, no obligation whatsoever will fall on the Estonian people and land to Russia.

Article III

1. The frontier between Esthonia and Russia follows the following line:

Starting from the Bay of Narva, one verst south of the Fishers’ House, it turns toward Ropscha, then follows the course of the Rivers Mertvitskaja and Rosson, as far as the village of Ilkino, from Ilkino one verst west of the village Keikino, half a verst west of the village of Isvosi and turns towards the village of Kobõljaki; it then crosses the mouth of the river Schtschutschka, passes by Krivaja Luka, by the estate of Petschurki, to the confluence of three sources of the river Vtroja, follows the southern boundary of the village of Kuritschek with its dependences, then turns in a straight line as far as the centre line of the Lake Peipus, follows it in a southern direction, and thus passes one verst to the east of Piirisaar (Pork); follows the narrow strip of the lake dividing it along the middle as far as the island of Salu, thence passes through Lake Pihkva (Pskov) between the Islands of Talabski and the Island of Kamonka, then to the east of the village of Poddubje (on the southern bank of Lake Pihkva) and to the outlook post on the railway situated near to Grjardischtsche, then passes successively to the west of the Village of Schahintsõi, to the east of Novaja, across the Lake Poganova, between the villages of Babina and Vomorski, to one verst and a half to the south of the Forestry keeper’s house (which is situated to the north of Glybotschina) to Sprechtitschi and to the Farm Kudepi.

Note 1. The Frontier described in this Article is shown in red on the map, scale of three versts to the inch (0.0254 metre), which constitutes the first Annex to Article 3. In case of difference between the text and the map, it is to the text that one must adhere.

Note 2. The tracing of the boundary between the two contracting countries and the placing in position of the frontier signs will be carried out under the direction of a special mixed commission composed of an equal number of members from both parties. In marking the boundary line this mixed commission will decide the allocation of inhabited areas on the frontier to one or other of the parties according to ethnographical indications and bearing in mind economic agreements and agricultural consideration.

2. The portion of the territory of Esthonia to the east of the Narova, the River Narova itself, and the islands in the midst of the stream, as well as the zone to the south of Lake Pihkva, which is situated between the boundary above mentioned and the line of villages, Borok-Smolni-Belkova-Sprechtitschi, will be, from a military point of view, considered as neutral until 1 January 1922.

Esthonia undertakes to maintain no troops of any kind in the neutralized zones other than those which are necessary for the frontier service and the maintenance of order, and of which the strength is laid down in Annex 2 of the present Article; not to construct fortifications or observation posts, nor to constitute military depots, nor to deposit any kind of war material whatsoever with the exception of what is indispensable for the effectives allowed for; nor to establish ther bases or depots for the use of any kind of vessels, or of any kind of aerial fleet.

3. Russia for her part undertakes not to maintain troops in the region of Pskov to the west of the line: western bank of the mouth of Velikaja, the villages of Sivtseva, Luhnova, Samulina, Schalki and Sprechtitschi until 1 January 1922, which are indispensable for the frontier service and for the maintenance of order and for the effectives provided for in Annex 2 of the present Article.

4. The contracting parties undertake to have no armed vessels whatsoever on Lakes Peipus and Pihkva.

Annex 1 to Art. III. (Map)

Annex 2

The two contracting parties undertake:

1. To withdraw their troops within their respective frontiers in the sector situated between the Gulf of Finland and the mouth of the River Schtschutschka, within the twenty-eight days following the ratification of the Treaty of Peace.

2. To withdraw their troops with all their material and stores from the neutralised zones, in which, in accordance with the Points 2 and 3 of Article III, no troops are allowed to be maintained, except those which are necessary for frontier duty and for maintenance of order, within the forty-two days following the ratification of the Treaty of Peace.

3. To withdraw, in execution of Point 4 of Article III, the armed vessels of Lakes Peipus and Pihkva within the forty-two days following the ratification of the Treaty of Peace, or to remove their artillery, mines and mine-laying apparatus, and every kind of munitions of war.

4. To maintain for frontier duty in the neutralised zones (in which the maintenance of troops is forbidden) only forty men per verst during the first six months following the ratification of the Treaty of Peace, and afterwards only thirty per verst. On the condition the placing of barbed wire the whole length of the frontier is authorised. The number of men for the maintenance of order in the interior should not exceed five hundred in each zone.

5. Not to maintain vessels on Lakes Peipus or Pihkva for the customs defence, except patrol-ships armed with guns of a maximum calibre of 47 millimetres, with a maximum of two guns and two machine guns per vessel. The number of these patrol-ships should not exceed five.

Article IV

During one year from the day of ratification of the present Treaty, persons of non-Estonian origin living in Estonia, and over eighteen years of age, have the right to opt for Russian nationality; women, and children, less than eighteen years of age, take the nationality of the husband or the father, unless there exists between man and wife any contrary agreement. The people who have opted for Russian nationality must, within a year from the date of their choice, leave Estonian territory; but they maintain their rights over the property and can take with them their movable property. In the same way persons of Estonian origin living in Russia can opt for Estonian nationality within the same length of time and under the same conditions.

Each of the contracting Governments reserves the right to refuse acceptance to its citizenship of such persons.

Note. In case of doubt about tho origin of persons, all those who could have been personally registered or whose parents would have been registered in a rural or urban community, or in a “class” on the territory now composing the State of Estonia, shall be considered as Estonians.

Article V

In case the perpetual neutrality of Estonia should be internationally recognised, Russia undertakes to respect this neutrality and to take part in guaranteeing it.

Article VI

Should the Gulf of Finland be neutralised, the two contracting Parties undertake to accede to this neutralisation, on conditions determined by common agreement by all the States concerned, and established by the international acts relating thereto; should the international convention referred to be concluded, they also undertake to put their naval forces, or part thereof, into such conditions as this international convention may require.

Article VII

The two Contracting Parties undertake:

1. To prohibit the presence in their territory of any troops with the exception of those of their own Government or of friendly States with whom one of the Contracting Parties may have concluded a military convention, but which are not de facto in a state of war with one of the Contracting Parties, and also to prohibit within the limits of their territory, the recruiting and mobilisation of particular corps by States, organisations and groups, intended for armed conflict against the other Contracting Parties.

2. To disarm those military and naval forces within their territory which did not belong to one of the Contracting Parties on the first of October, One thousand nine hundred and nineteen; to neutralise and immobilise, until the first of January, One thousand nine hundred and twenty-two, all property, artillery and commissariat material (exclusive of food and clothing), engineering and aviational material, i. e., guns, machine guns, rifles, side-arms, munitions, aeroplanes, armoured vehicles, tanks, armoured trains, etc., belonging to the military and naval forces referred to with the exception of such technical and war material as was handed over to these forces, but which belongs to the Contracting Parties or to other States, any portion of this material which belongs to other States shall be returned within six months from the date of the ratification of this Treaty. The disarmament of the above-mentioned irregular military and naval forces, and the immobilisation and neutralisation of their military stocks and of all their technical and war material must be completed: the first 30 per cent. of men and material within the first seven days after the ratification of the present Treaty of Peace, and the remainder within the two following weeks at the rate of thirty-five per cent per week.

3. To prohibit the soldiers and officers of the irregular troops who are subject to disarmament under the conditions laid down by the prececing Point (2) from joining in any capacity whatsoever, as volunteers, the ranks of the Government troops of the Contracting Parties, with the exception of:

(a) Persons of Estonian nationality who reside outside Estonia, but who have opted for that country;

(b) Persons not of Estonian nationality who resided in Estonia before the first of May, One thousand nine hundred and nineteen, and who have not opted to Russia;

(c) Persons not of Estonian nationality who have not opted for Russia and who served in the Estonian army before the twenty-seventh of November, One thousand nine hundred and nineteen.

Persons belonging to the classes mentioned in sub-divisions (a), (b), and (c), may serve with the armies of the Estonian Government.

4. (a) To prohibit any State, which is de facto in a state of war with one of the Contracting Parties, and any organisations or groups intended for an armed conflict with one of the Contracting Parties, for transporting through their ports or their territories anything which might be used for attacking the other Contracting Party, particularly armed forces belonging to these States, organisations or groups, and any article and war material used for artillery, commissariat, engineering, aviation, etc., which may belong to these military formations.

4. (b) To prohibit, exclusive of cases provided for by international law, the launching and navigation in their territorial waters of any warships, gun-boats, mine-layers, etc., belonging either to organisations or groups which are intended to fight against the other Contracting Party or to States which are in a state of war with this party, if those ships are intended to attack it, and if this intention is known to the Contracting Party to whose territory the ports and territorial waters so used belong.

5. Not to authorise the formation or presence in their territory of any organisation or groups whatsoever, which claim to govern the whole or part of the territory of the other Contracting Party, or the presence of representatives or officials of organisations and groups, whose object it is to overthrow the Government of the other party to the Treaty.

6. The Governments of the two Contracting Parties undertake, upon exchanging the ratification of this Treaty of Peace to furnish each other with precise information regarding the strength of the non-Governmental and also of military stocks (stationary or mobile), and of the military and technical material belonging to those irregular forces, which were on their territory at the time when the Armistice was concluded, that is to say, on the thirty-first of December, One thousand nine hundred and nineteen.

7. In order to superintend the carrying out of the military guarantees conceded to each other by the Contracting Parties, a mixed commission is to be established whose composition, rights and obligations shall be determined by “Instructions” which are annxed to the present Article.

Annex to Article VII

Instructions for the Mixed Commission, established in accordance with Paragraph 7 of Article VII.

1. In order to superintend the carrying out of the military guarantees provided for in Article VII, a Mixed Commission, composed of representatives of both Contracting Parties, has to be established.

2. Composition of the Commission: four members of each of the parties, i. e., a President, two representatives of the War Department, one representative of the Naval Administration.

3. It will be the duty of the Commission to control effectively the carrying out of all the conditions indicated in Paragraph 2 of Article VII in the manner laid down in the following Articles of these Instructions and within the periods indicated in Paragraph 2 of Article VII.

Note. Any information relating to Point 3 of Article VII which might be required to settle any disagreement which might arise, shall be furnished to the Commission by the Government concerned.

4. The Commission shall receive from the Government concerned, or from local bodies which it may indicate, all information necessary for the carrying out of the military guarantees.

5. In order to exercise an effective control over the carrying out of the military guarantees, the Commission has the right to proceed to the verification on the spot of the information furnished in accordance with the preceding Paragraph 4, and, if necessary, to superintend on the spot the fulfilment of the obligations laid down in Paragraph 2 of Article VII.

6. In order to ensure to the members of the Commission free communication with their Government, a direct telegraph line (Hughes’ apparatus) is to be laid between the town of Rakvere (Wesenberg), the seat of the Commission, and Petrograd or Moscow. During its labours on Russian territory, the seat of the Commission shall be at Pskov, and a direct telegraph line (Hughes’ apparatus) shall connect that town with Tallinn (Reval). The members of the Commission shall have the right to make free use of the telegraph and to send special messengers. Any correspondence sent by special messenger shall enjoy diplomatic privileges.

7. The Commission shall draw up a Protocol (in Estonian and in Russian) on its labours and its decisions, which shall be submitted to the two Governments concerned.

8. When all duties laid upon the Commission by Paragraph 3 of these “Instructions” have been accomplished, and the facts have been duly verified, as laid down in Paragraph 5 of these “Instructions,” and in any case no later than one month from the day on which the members of the Commission shall have been informed by their respective Governments that all the conditions of the guarantees entrusted to the Commission have been fulfilled, the latter shall be dissolved. An extension of the work of the Commission, should the need arise, may be decided on by mutual agreement between the two Governments.

Article VIII

The two Parties shall waive any right to mutual repayment of their war cost, that is to say their military expenditure, as well as to compensation for war losses, i. e., those incurred by the State or by private individuals in consequence of military measures, including losses from requisitions of any kind whatsoever, made in enemy country.

Article IX

The prisoners of war of both countries shall be set free as soon as possible. The formalities with regard to the exchange of prisoners are laid down in the Annex to the present Article.

Note 1. Those individuals shall be considered prisoners of war who have been captured and have not served in the armies of the State which have captured them.

Note 2. Prisoners of war who have been captured by irregular troops and who have not served in the ranks of these troops shall be repatriated in the usual way.

Annex to Article IX

1. The prisoners of war of both Contracting Parties shall be repatriated, unless they wish to remain in the country in which, at the time they may be with the consent of the Government of that country, or to go to some other country.

2. The period within which the exchange of prisoners must be effected, shall be settled by the two Governments after ratification of the Treaty of Peace.

3. At the moment of their liberation, everything shall be returned to the prisoners which had been taken from them, by virtue of measures enforced by the Authorities of the Government which captured them, and they shall also receive the pay due to them or any part of this pay which may have been withheld.

4. Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes to reimburse the cost of maintenance of its citizens who have been prisoners, in so far as this cost has no been covered by the prisoners themselves by work on State or private undertakings. The payment must be made in the money of the State which has maintained the prisoners.

Note. The cost of maintenance which is subject to reimbursement is made up of the cost of feeding the prisoner, supplies in kind with which he has been furnished and of his pay.

5. The prisoners will be sent by columns towards the frontier at the expense of the Government that has been captured them; the surrender of these prisoners is in conformity with the lists drawn up, which must give the Christian name, the patronymic and the Family name of the prisoner, the date of his capture, the formation in which he served before his capture, and if he has been condemned to detention for an act described as a crime, must state precisely the nature of this crime and the date of its perpetration.

6. Immediately after the ratification of the Treaty of Peace, a Commision for the exchange of prisoners of war, composed of four representatives of each of the Contracting Parties, will be instituted. This Commission will superintend the carrying out of the clauses of the present annex, will organize the repatriation of the prisoners and will also decide the total amount of their expenses of maintenance from accounts presented by the party concerned at the time of the handing over the prisoners.

Article X

With regard of prisoners of war and interned civilians, the Contracting Parties shall, at the moment of their return to their own country, remit all penalties to which they may have been condemned for criminal acts committed in favour of the opposing party, as well as all disciplinary penalties.

Those persons shall be excluded from the amnesty who have committed one of the above-mentioned crimes or any breach of discipline after the signature of the Treaty of Peace.

The prisoners of war and interned civilians who have been condemned by a criminal court before ratification of this Treaty or even after this ratification, but within one year from the date of the ratification, for a crime which does not fall under the amnesty, shall only be repatriated after they have served their sentence.

Any of these prisoners or interned civilians who may be prosecuted for criminal acts excluded from the amnesty, but against whom no verdict has been given within one year from the date of ratification of this Treaty of Peace shall be handed over to the authorities of their country at the end of that period, with all documents relevant to the prosecution which has been brought against him.

Article XI

Russia waives the transfer or repayment of the value of the property of the former Russian Empire, real as well as personal, situated in Estonia, and which is common to the whole nation, of whatever nature such as property may be. This includes military or other constructions, forts, harbours, ships of every kind, including war-ships, the cargo, etc. Russia also waives all the rights of the Russian State over real and personal property belonging to private persons who formerly were her subjects, in so far as this is situated on Estonian territory within the frontiers which have been laid down by the Treaty, or within her territorial waters, or which was there at the time of German occupation, that is to say, on 24 February 1918; Russia also renounced all her rights over the ships, including warships, which were there at the time of German occupation, and also over those which during the war between Estonia and Russia, were captured either by the Estonian forces themselves or by the other forces and then handed over to the Estonian Government. All the property mentioned above passes into the exclusive possession of Estonia and shall be free from any (obligations) charges as from 15 November 1917, or if it has been acquired by Russia after this date, from the date of acquisition.

All the debts due the Russian Treasury from Estonian nationals, if they are payable in Estonia, shall pass into the possession of Estonia, but only to the extent to which they are not covered by the converse claims of the debtors.

The documents and acts establishing the rights mentioned in this Article shall be handed over by the Russian Government to the Estonian Government, and if this transfer is not completed within six months of the date of ratification of this Treaty, the documents shall be considered lost.

On the other hand, Estonia may not prefer any claim against Russia on account of the fact that at one time she formed part of the Russian Empire.

Article XII

Independently of the agreements established by Article XI:

1. Russia grants Estonia fifteen million gold roubles of which eight million will be paid within a month, and the last seven millions within two months, dating from the day of the ratification of the Treaty of Peace.

2. Estonia will bear no responsibility for any debts or any other obligations of Russia, and in particular for those which arise from the issue of paper money. Treasury bonds, foreign or international loans, or for guarantees of loans issued by various institutions, or undertakings, etc.; all claims of the creditors of Russia for the share of the debts regarding Estonia should be addressed to Russia only.

3. As regards the payment of Russian State Bonds, or those which have been guaranteed by the State and are in circulation on Estonian territory, as well as the payment of such other securities as have been issued by companies or institutions which have been nationalised by the Russian Government, and also with regard to the satisfaction of the claims of Estonian subjects on the Russian Treasury, Russia undertakes to grant to Estonia and to Estonian subjects all rights, privileges and facilities which either Government has directly or indirectly granted or may grant to any foreign State or to the subjects, companies, or institutions of such State.

Note. With regard to the claims of Estonian subjects against those branches in Estonia of banks which were nationalised as a result of the Central Executive Committee’s Decree of 14 December 1917 regarding the nationalisation of banks: if these claims were made before the publication of this Decree, they will be examined as claims against the Russian Treasury, in so far as they cannot be met out of such estate as remains in possession of these banking firms.

4. The Russian Government will restore to the Government of Estonia all the property of the University of Tartu as well as of the other educational establishments which are or were situated in Estonian territory, and which have been removed to Russia. This property will include libraries, archives, documents and, in general, all other objects which are of scientific or historical interest to Estonia. This property can only be restored in so far as its situation is known to or may be revealed to the Russian Government or public institutions.

5. The Russian Government will restore to the Government of Estonia, and the latter will forward to the owners, all articles of value (with the exception of gold and precious stones), moveable estate and notes of hand, such as deeds and mortgage, bills of exchange, etc., which were removed from Estonian territory by means of banks and educational and other Government institutions, if the Estonian Government will indicate the places where this property is to be found. If these indications are not forthcoming or if the property in question is not discovered in the places indicated the Russian Government, in accordance with Point 3 of the present Article, declares itself prepared to recognise as holders of moveable and other estate those persons who give sufficient proofs of the removal of their securities during the war. A special mixed commission must be formed to consider these claims.

6. With a view to fulfilling the conditions stated in Points 3, 4 and 5 of the present Article, the Russian Government undertakes to furnish to the Government of Estonia all necessary information and to act in complete collaboration with it in searching for property, objects, archives, documents, etc., to be restored. The solution of questions which may arise regarding this matter will be entrusted to the special mixed Commission, which will consist an equal number of members of the two Contracting Parties.

Article XIII

Russia declares that the excemptions, rights and privileges granted by the present Treaty to Estonia and its subjects shall in no case and under no conditions serve as precedent whenever Treaties of Peace may be concluded between Russia and the other States which have arisen out of the former Russian Empire; on the other hand, if, when such Treaties are concluded, Russia grants to any one of these new States or to its subjects special exemptions, rights or privileges, these shall be extended in full immediately and without special agreement to Estonia and its subjects.

Article XIV

Questions of public or private law which may arise between the subjects of the Contracting Parties, and also some special questions between the two Governments or between one of the Contracting Governments and the subjects of the other, will be settled by special mixed Commissions which will be appointed immediately after the ratification of the present Treaty. The composition, rights, and duties, of these Commissions will be determined by an “Instruction” which will be confirmed in the case of each Commission by agreement between the two Contracting Parties.

The duties of these Commission will include:

1. The drawing-up of a commercial treaty, as well as the study of all questions of an economic character;
2. The solution of questions relating to the distribution of the archives pertaining to organisations of the former central authority, of the offices of administrative and judiciary organisms and of identity papers (actes d’etat-civil); and also to the despatch of the current business of those administrative or judiciary organisations;
3. The solution of questions relating to the handing over and delivery of property situated in Russia of Estonian subjects; of property situated in Estonia, of Russian subjects and also of other questions regarding the protection of the interests of subjects of either country when they are situated in the other country which is a party to the Treaty;
4. The solution of the questions concerning the property of rural and other associations which have been divided in two by the new frontiers.

Article XV

Diplomatic and consular relations between Estonia and Russia will be established after a period to be fixed by subsequent agreement.

Article XVI

Economic relations between Estonia and Russia will be regulated in accordance with the provisions contained in the Annex to the present Article.

Annex I to Article XVI

1. The Contracting Parties agree that the conclusion of peace ends a state of war between them also with regard to economic and financial affairs.

2. The Contracting Parties agree to undertake as soon as possible after the ratification of the present Treaty of Peace, negotiations for the conclusion of a Treaty of Commerce, which should be based on the following principles:

(a) To apply the condition of most favoured nation upon their territory to the citizens, the commercial, industrial or financial undertakings and companies, vessels and their cargoes, the products of the soil and of the rural industry of the other Contracting Party, and also to the export of goods from one of the Contracting Party to the other;

(b) Goods crossing the territory of the one of the Contracting Parties should not be charged with any entrance duty nor pay any transit duty;

(c) The transport charges for goods in transit should not be higher than local transport charges for the same classes of goods.

Note. Until the conclusion of the Treaty of Commerce commercial relations between Estonia and Russia shall be governed by these principles.

3. In the free docks in the port of Tallinn (Reval) and in the other free ports to be opened in Estonia, sites will be reserved for Russia for the reloading and warehousing and repacking of goods from or for Russia and the dimensions of the sites will vary according to the size of the port and of the importance of Russian trade; further, the taxes charged for these sites should not be greater than the duty collected from Estonian citizens.

4. The Contracting Parties will lay no claim to the privileges which one of the parties may grant to a third State by a Customs or other agreement.

5. Moveable property left after death in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties by citizens of the other party should be handed over in its entirely to the consular representative or to some other representative of the State of which the deceased was a subject for disposal in the accordance with the laws of his country.

Annex 2 to Article XVI

1. The artifical derivation of the water of the Lakes Peipsi and Pihkva so as to cause a fall of more than a foot in the average level of the water of these Lakes, as well as steps to raise this level, can only be undertaken after a special agreement between Estonia and Russia.

2. A special agreement with regard to fishing on the Lakes Peipsi and Pihkva, which may only be pursued by methods which will not destroy the piscatorial wealth of these lakes, and dealing also with the merchant navigation of these lakes has to been drawn up between the two parties.

Annex 3 to Article XVI

1. Estonia agrees to allow Russia the privilege of the electric power produced by the falls of the Narova; the sum to be paid to Estonia in exchange for this privilege as well as the other conditions will be determined by a special agreement.

2. Russia agrees to grant to Estonia the privilege of a concession for the construction and exploitation of a railway line, the most direct possible, of normal track (single or double) connecting Moscow with one of the points of the Russo-Esthonian frontiers, with right of re-purchase before the expiration of this concession, the duration of the concession, the date of re-purchase, and all the other conditions of the concession will be settled by a special agreement.

3. Russia consents to grant to Estonia the privilege of the exploitation of forests of an area of 100,000 desiatines in the Governments of Petrograd, of Pskov, of Tver, of Novgorod, of Olonets, of Vologda, and of Arkangelski; the conditions of this concession will be settled by a special agreement.

Article XVII

The two Contracting Parties mutually pledge themselves to take such measures as are in their power to ensure the security of mercantile shipping in their territorial waters by engaging the necessary number of pilots to conduct such shipping, by placing beacons and signals, and by making special arrangements to enclose mine-fields until the sea is completely cleared of them.

The two parties declare that they agree to collaborate in clearing the Baltic Sea of mine-fields, with regard to which a special agreement is to be concluded between them. In case this agreement should not be concluded, the share to be taken by each of the parties in clearing the sea is to be defined by a tribunal of arbitration.

Article XVIII

The rights granted by the present Treaty and its annexes to Estonian citizens, extend to institutions of local self-government, to towns, to associations and establishments for relief, to churches, to ecclesiastical and educational institutions and to all juridical persons.

Article XIX

The Russian and Estonian texts of the present Treaty are of equal authenticity.

Article XX

The present Treaty is to be submitted to both parties for ratification. The exchange of ratifications is to take place at Moscow with as little delay as possible.

The Treaty will become valid immediately it has been ratified.

Whenever, in the present Treaty, the moment of ratification is mentioned as the date on which the Treaty becomes valid, it is thereby understood that such moment is to be that at which the two Contracting Parties are mutually informed of its ratification.

In testimony whereof the Plenipotentary Envoys of the two parties have signed the present Treaty with their own hand and have sealed it with their own Seal.

The original, in duplicate, has been drawn up and signed in the town of Tartu on 2 February 1920.

Seal. J. Poska.	Seal. A. Joffe.
Seal. Ants Piip.	Seal. I. Goukovski.
Seal. M. Püümann.
Seal. Jul. Seljamaa.
Seal. Major-General J. Soots.