aastakümned
Aastakümned are ten-year periods used as a unit of time in calendars, history, and many social sciences. They group years into manageable blocks to observe long-term changes while still being specific enough to reflect recent developments. In everyday Estonian usage, decades are commonly identified by calendar ranges, such as the 1990s (1990–1999) or the 2000s (2000–2009).
The term stems from combining the words for year (aasta) and ten (kümned), and it functions similarly
While decades offer a useful convention, they are inherently arbitrary boundaries. Important events may cross decade
In practice, discussions of aastakümned appear in academic writing, journalism, and public discourse to frame changes