Was Tallinn ever part of Russia?

Tallinn was never formally part of Russia in the way that, for example, Saint Petersburg or Moscow are. However, its history is complex and intertwined with Russia:

* 1710-1917: Tallinn was part of the Russian Empire as part of the Governorate of Estonia. This was after the Great Northern War (1700-1721), when Sweden, which had controlled Estonia (including Tallinn) for centuries, was defeated by Russia.

* 1918-1940: Estonia declared independence from Russia after the Russian Revolution. This period saw Tallinn as the capital of the independent Republic of Estonia.

* 1940-1991: The Soviet Union forcibly annexed Estonia and incorporated it as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. During this time, Tallinn was the capital of the republic.

* 1991: Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union, ending the period of Russian control.

Therefore, while Tallinn was under Russian rule for a significant period of time, it was never part of Russia in the same way that other major Russian cities were. It was a part of the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union, but never a constituent part of the Russian Federation.