The Great Northern War broke out in 1700 between Russia, Saxony and Denmark-Norway on one side and Sweden and Turkey on the other. In 1710, Swedish forces based in Tallinn surrendered to the forces of Imperial Russia. However, the local German rulers retained their economic and cultural autonomy within the Russian Empire. The city developed between 1714 and 1722, with the Admiralty manufacture at the Old City Harbour. 

The port of Tallinn gained importance through industrialisation in the 19th Century, even as Russian influence became stronger during the last decades of this century. Many factories were built, producing paper and matches, as well as Luther Plywood and furniture. In 1877, Tallinn’s first trams appeared.

The Independence Manifesto was declared in Tallinn in 1918, but afterwards Germans occupied the city. Estonia fought a war to liberate itself from Russia between 1918 and 1920, with Estonia gaining independence upon the two countries signing the Tartu Peace Treaty in1920. Tallinn then became Estonia’s capital.