Religion in Estonia as well as Latvia, some evangelical Christian clergy attempted to resist the Soviet policy of state atheism by engaging in anti-regime activities such as Bible smuggling. The text titled "World and Its Peoples: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland", published by the Marshall Cavendish, states that in addition to the Soviet antireligious campaign in Estonia, which mandated the confiscation of church property and deportation of theologians to Siberia, many "churches were destroyed in the German occupation of Estonia, from 1941 through 1944, and in World War II (1939-1945)". After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this antireligious legislation was annulled. Less
Estonia establish a larger alliance together with Finland, Poland, and Latvia failed, with only a mutual defence pact being signed with Latvia in 1923, and later was followed up with the Baltic Entente of 1934. In the 1930s, Estonia also engaged in secret military cooperation with Finland. Non-aggression pacts were signed with the Soviet Union in 1932, and with Germany in 1939. In 1938, Estonia declared neutrality, but this proved futile in World War II. On 23 August 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The pact's secret protocol divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence, with Estonia