TALLINN -- Estonians voted on Sunday in a referendum on European Union entry with opinion polls indicating an emphatic "Yes" response as the small Baltic nation draws the curtain on its painful Soviet past.

Polls show seven out of 10 voters back EU entry despite some fears that Estonia's dynamic and liberal economy might get bogged down in EU red tape.

Supporters and the right-wing ruling coalition argue that membership will not only boost the economy, but also seal Estonia's place in the European mainstream and safeguard its independence regained in 1991.

"I really believe the Estonian people will say 'Yes' today," President Arnold Ruutel, a leader of the freedom movement in the late 1980s, said after voting in the capital Tallinn, Reuters reported.

Polls close at 08: P.M. (1700 GMT), with preliminary results expected to follow three hours later. Parliament is likely to endorse the outcome whatever the vote to make the EU entry decision legally binding.

Estonia is the last but one of eight East European countries invited to join the European Union next May in a historic enlargement to 25 from 15 members.

Neighboring Latvia, also an ex-Soviet republic, votes next week. Analysts say an Estonian "Yes" should boost the pro-EU campaign in Latvia in what looks like a close race.

Eastern states Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic have already held ballots to join the EU, while Malta and Cyprus will join from the Mediterranean. -----------------Troubled Past----------------

Along with other East European states, Estonia proclaimed independence at the end of World War I when the region's three empires -- Russia, Germany and Austria -- crumbled.

World War II put Estonia, along with Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania, at the mercy of the victorious Soviet Union.

They ended up as Soviet republics and memories of Moscow's often cruel rule have played a part in boosting the EU campaign.

"Estonia is too small to survive on its own," Piret, 37, said after voting. "Life can only get better in the EU," she added, hoping living standards would improve.

After starting from scratch in 1991, Estonia is now seen as a showpiece of successful free-market reforms.

GDP per capita almost doubled in the last three years to around $6,000. This is still just one fifth of the EU average, but the economy is one of the fastest growing in Europe and analysts say Estonia will likely catch up in just 15-20 years.