Until recently, Estonia was considered an economic backwater.
Meshra-er-Rek, the chief station and trading centre of the first European visitors to the country, is on a backwater south of this lake.
There are many rapids, caused by reefs of rock running across the bed, or by a sudden fall of from one to several feet, which produce very rough water below the swift glide; but the most dangerous places for navigation are where a point juts out into the stream, and the current, thrown back, causes a violent double backwater.
During the occupation, the Island remained a rural backwater.
The evidence suggests that the EU is set to become an economic backwater.