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31 March, 2017



✔︎ “I have a wheelchair - I’ll put a goddamn gun on it and go fight Putin personally if America won’t.” 
- General Aleksander Einseln, who passed away 16. March and will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. (quote via WSJ | Fox - 3. Jan. 2017) 
His very impressive career is touched upon in Wiki:

✔︎ The Russian-generated myths of the 'Golden Age of the Baltics’ and 'Ungrateful Balts' are both solidly debunked - (Disinfo Review)

✔︎ De-Forestation: Citizens confront the Estonian state over excessive woodcutting - (Political Critique | ERR)

✔︎ Mida tunnevad Narva noored? - Postimees


- Eesti Post Foto: 


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Friday 31. March
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✔︎ Kindral Aleksander Einseln saadeti viimsele teekonnale, põrm maetakse Arlingtoni
(ERR | Postimees)
"Taastatud kaitseväe esimene juhataja kindral Aleksander Einseln saadeti reedel Tallinnas Jaani kirikus kaitseväeliste austusavaldustega viimsele teekonnale. Einseln maetakse USA Arlingtoni sõjaväekalmistule Korea ja Vietnami sõjas võidelnud võitluskaaslaste kõrvale.”
—
"Kindral Aleksander Einseln sündis 25. oktoobril 1931 Tallinnas. Ta lahkus koos emaga Eestist 1944. aastal Saksamaale ja elas alates 1949. aastast Ameerika Ühendriikides. Aastatel 1950-1985 teenis ta Ühendriikide relvajõududes ning osales Korea ja Vietnami sõjas. 1993. aastal naasis kindral Einseln Eestisse ja teenis kaitseväe juhatajana 1993. aasta maist kuni 1995. aasta detsembrini. Kindral suri 16. märtsil 2017."
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“I have a wheelchair - I’ll put a goddamn gun on it and go fight Putin personally if America won’t.” 
(WSJ | Fox News - 3. Jan.2017)
—



- Rootsi kaitseminister: Rootsi tehtud sammud mõjutavad otseselt Balti riike
(Postimees)
"Rootsi on teinud suuri sõjalisi investeeringuid Gotlandi saarel, mis on oluline terve Balti regiooni jaoks, selgitas (Peter) Hultqvist. "Gotland on sõjastrateegiliselt selles Euroopa osas väga oluline. Seetõttu on oluline osaleda ühistel sõjaväeõppustel Läti armeega. … Meil on ühised huvid - pikaajaline stabiilsus ja rahu."



- Estonian police teddy bears will comfort children
(BBC)
—

- Politseiautodes võtavad kohad sisse kallikarud
(Postimees)



- Lithuania finds lost declaration of independence
(The Guardian)
"A copy of Lithuania’s lost declaration of independence, drawn up in 1918, has been discovered languishing in a German archive … Lithuania had lost track of all copies of the independence declaration, signed on 16 February 1918, in the turmoil that engulfed the region after the end of the first world war. The Lithuanian state was announced with the approval of Germany, whose army controlled the territory at the time, following a successful offensive against the Russian empire in 1915."
\



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Thursday 30. March
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✔︎ Debunked: The myth of the 'Golden Age' of the Baltics in the Soviet Union
(Disinfo Review)

"During the occupation of the Baltic Countries by the Soviet Union, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians were told that investments in people, social needs and construction were priorities. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this myth was twisted and the “ungrateful Baltic countries” were reminded that the Soviet Union “tore a piece of itself off and gave it to them” and that “Estonians, who produced nothing, were fed by the Soviet Union”, or, as heard on a talk show on Russian State TV: “We should submit a bill to Latvia for constructing ports, industry & economy.”
—
"Gatis Krumins, a Latvian historian, has discovered detailed accounting reports of the State Bank of the USSR from 1946 to 1991. After studying about 45,000 pages, Krumins found that during the period in question, the main investments in the Baltic countries went into Soviet military spending and that the Baltic countries were rather subsidising other regions of the Soviet Union. In the case of Latvia, Krumins calculated that a total of 24,684 billion rubles was spent from the USSR budget in Latvia, while 40,645 billion went to the state budget of the USSR. The situation was similar in Estonia and Lithuania.”

—

- The "Ungrateful Baltics" myth explodes
(Latvian Broadcasting)

- Latvian historian debunks myth of 'ungrateful Balts'
(ERR)



✔︎ Paper: The Investments of the USSR Occupying Power in the Baltic Economies - Myths and Reality
(Dr. hist. Gatis Krūmiņš - PDF)
"The three Baltic States were USSR budget donors also during the post-war years that are so often referred to in the Soviet propaganda. During this period, the USSR priorities were not the investment in industry, but the repression of the national resistance movement and the militarization of the territory.”




- De-Forestation: Citizens Confront the Estonian State
(Political Critique)

- Eesti metsi pole kunagi nii intensiivselt raiutud
(Postimees)
"Viimaste metsaseaduse muudatuste tõttu on mets praegu väga kuum teema. Arutelude käigus on väga hästi välja joonistunud see, kui palju on huvigruppe, kes kõik tahavad oma sõna sekka öelda: metsamajandajad tahavad metsa raiuda, looduskaitsjad hoida, tavalised inimesed ihkavad, et oleks metsa, kus matkata ja seenel-marjul käia, jahimehed soovivad, et oleks metsa ja ulukeid, keda küttida jne. ..."
http://arvamus.postimees.ee/4057355/anneli-palo-eesti-metsi-pole-kunagi-nii-intensiivselt-raiutud-kui-praegu?_ga=1.233823127.843444428.1488167542

 - RMK kasum kasvas 40% | RMK's profit rose 40%
(Äripäev)
http://www.aripaev.ee/uudised/2017/01/27/rmk-kasum-kasvas-40-protsenti

 - RMK Koduleht  |  RMK Homepage:
http://www.rmk.ee/et  |  http://www.rmk.ee/en

 - RMK to pay €30 million dividend to state
"RMK sold four million cubic meters of timber in 2016, 10 percent more than during the previous year. Timber prices were stable throughout the year, but thanks to increased sales volumes, the company's revenue grew 8 percent in annual comparison and its profits swelled 40 percent." 
(ERR)
http://news.err.ee/320310/rmk-to-pay-30-million-dividend-to-state

 - Estonian exported birch logs seen for sale in a local New Jersey, USA supermarket in the autumn of 2015:
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Wednesday 29. March
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- 2017 Sony World Photography Awards:

Hendrik Mändla, Estonia: 3rd Place
(The Atlantic)
"The Wanderer: Image taken on a foggy night in November 2016 in Tarvastu"
—
The other winners:



- Video Report: Estonian Defence League
(VICE News Tonight)
https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/estonian-defence-league/5850b9f75a2806a023b1be17

—
- Lavrov: jutt Vene ohust Balti riikidele on absurdne
(ERR)



- Arabic is the third foreign language in Finland
(Yle)
[Russian is 1st followed by Estonian at 2nd.]
—
- Soomes räägitavate võõrkeelte esikolmik muutus
(Äripäev)



- Culture brings people of Belarus and Estonia closer together
(Belarus Daily)
"Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Estonia to Belarus Merike Kokajev … sees great prospects for strengthening the Belarusian-Estonian cooperation, including in culture and tourism."



- Trump's rapid rapprochement plans with Russia fade
(WSJ | Fox News)
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- EU | Brexit -
_____________


- Article 50 and the Great Repeal Bill Are Only the Beginning 
(Chatham House)


- Suurbritannia vahetab välja kõik ELi seadused
(Postimees | ERR)
—


- Pillars of the West Shaken by ‘Brexit,’ but Not Crumbling Yet
(New York Times | Washington Post)
“No one is following Britain out of the E.U.”
—
"Over 6 crisp and unsentimental pages, Britain said goodbye to the EU …"


- All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU
(BBC)


- 6 Huge Brexit Deals Theresa May Now Has Just 2 Years To Make
(Huffington Post-Uk)


- 12 People and Things that Ruined the EU
(Politico-Europe)





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Tuesday 28. March
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✔︎ Mida tunnevad Narva noored? On neid, kelle arust on Narva Peterburi eeslinn
(Postimees)
"Enamik elanikke on venelased ja ma ei tunne, et olen Eesti riigi osa, sest räägin vene keeles ja suhtlen venelastega. Ma tunnen ennast narvalasen," tunnistas Narva kooli 10. klassi õpilane.”
—
"Mul on päris palju tuttavaid, kes tahavad pärast keskkooli Peterburi õppima minna. Nende emakeel on venekeel ja hing ihkab rohkem Venemaale," tõdes 10. klassi õpilane.”
—
"Mingi ajani tundsin, et Tallinn on Narva ära unustanud. Ma ei näinud, et noori üritatakse siin kinni hoida. Aga nüüd on näha, et ehitatakse uusi ehitisi, siia toodi ETV+ toimetus ja tundub, et meid ikkagi mäletatakse," rääkis üks 8. klassi õpilane."



- Jussi Niinistö: Soome tuleks kriisi korral Eestile appi EL-i liikmena
(ERR)
"Soome on üks Eestit kaitsealal enim toetanud riike nii väljaõppe kui ka tehnika alal. Nüüd, kui Soome ja Rootsi on sõlminud koostööleppe NATO-ga ning toimuvad esimesed õppused, tekib küsimus, millisena näeb Soome oma rolli seoses NATO-ga, juhul kui kriis tabab Läänemere riike."








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Monday 27. March
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- Eestlus Venemaal: mõnes Siberi külas kõlab siiani eesti keel
(ERR)
"Viimastel aegadel on Siberi eestlaste suurepärane keeleoskus pälvinud imetlust ja tähelepanu ka ESTO päevadel: nii puhast ja selget eesti keelt polevat läände pagenud eestlased, kelle järeltulijad tihtipeale juba kolmandas põlvkonnas enam eesti keelt ei valda, oodatagi osanud! Siberi eestlaste ilusa eesti keele teeb veelgi erilisemaks asjaolu, et sellest võib kohati aimata, millist keelt räägiti tänase Eesti alal sadakond aastat tagasi."



- Estonia's lessons for fighting Russian disinformation
(Christian Science Monitor)
"The Baltic nation has long had an adversarial relationship with its Russian neighbor. As a result, its press and public have become adept at recognizing and debunking Kremlin propaganda."






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- Russia’s Young Protesters -
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- Vladimir Putin, in First Remarks on Russian Protests, Warns of Potential Chaos
(New York Times)
"Breaking five days of silence - and a virtual Soviet-style blackout on state news media - over the biggest protests in Russia in years, President Vladimir V. Putin responded publicly on Thursday …"



- Russia's weekend protesters were young, organized, and ready to challenge Putin

By focusing his protests on Dmitry Medvedev, Alexei Navalny managed to get turnout on a scale that he’d never before achieved.
(PRI)
"Going into Sunday, no one really knew how many people would show up for the “anti-corruption” rallies across Russia. But show up they did. Independent estimates say some 60,000 Russians defied strict government, anti-assembly laws in more than 90 cities across Russia - the largest turnout against the Kremlin since mass street protests in 2011. Then as now, hundreds of people were arrested for protesting without permission.”
—

“Analyst Feodor Krashenninikov says this is the real story behind Sunday's wave of protests: the emergence of a new generation of students who played little role in the 2011 protest movement. These young Russians have grown up with Vladimir Putin as their president, he says, but they don't share the same level of respect for him as their parents."
--
“For these young people, Putin's not sacred,” Krasheninnikov says. “He's the old guy they show on their parents' television sets. And Kremlin propaganda doesn't work on them.”



- Russia’s Young People ‘Really Different’ than Their Parents, Study Says
(Window on Eurasia - Paul Goble)
 "The study presented 30 conclusions about young people and how different they are from their parents."



- A Map of the 26. March Russian Protests
(Meduza - 29. March)
"According to preliminary calculations about all the cities, the protests on March 26 came to 32,359 to 92,861 people. 1,666 - 1,805 people were arrested."



- Dmitry Medvedev: Most Hated Man in Russia
(Foreign Policy)
"As soon as opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared on Moscow’s central Tverskaya Street, he was immediately detained by police. The next day, a Moscow court fined Navalny $350 for organizing banned protests and sentenced him to 15 days in jail.”
--
"Two weeks earlier, Navalny - Putin’s most prominent critic and the one most devoted to opposing him at the ballot box - had published an investigation into Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s alleged corruption. His team released a video revealing that Medvedev had amassed a collection of palaces, yachts, and vineyards during his time in office.”
--
"“Dimon [Medvedev] Will Answer” became the protest’s slogan. Russians carried banners of ducks, alluding to the expensive home Medvedev allegedly built for waterfowl on a pond at one of his estates, and sneakers around their necks, representing his collection of expensive shoes.”


- Moscow's Pushkin Square Fenced Off For 'Repairs' After Protest
(RFERL - 29. March)


- In Protests, Kremlin Fears a Young Generation Stirring
(New York Times)


- What Is Going On in Russia?
(Slate)
[Interview with the managing editor of the Moscow Times.]


- What the Russian Protests Mean for Putin
(The New Yorker | The Atlantic | Bloomberg)
—
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- Why These Protests Were Different
(RFERL)


- For Its Own Citizens, ‘Russia is Now an Occupied Country’
(Window on Eurasia)
"Moscow journalist Arkady Dubnov in the wake of the protest marches in Russian cities yesterday says that Russia is “an occupied country,” on occupied not by some foreign government but rather by its own nominally “Russian” authorities, an “inadequate” and “cowardly” bunch."






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- Belarus -
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- What to Know About the Protests in Belarus
(Chatham House-Uk)
"Late March saw a heavy-handed government response and mass arrests at a series of protest rallies in Belarus."



- Three Reasons Why Belarus will Never Be the Same Again
(Paul Goble)

- Lukashenko, Putin’s Dictatorship Mentor, Moves to Crush The Opposition
(The Daily Beast)
"It was a sad “Freedom Day” in Minsk, when Belarusians traditionally march for human rights. Over 350 are now in jail. … The KGB, the initials still used by the Belarusian security service, blocked cellphones and hacked the social media accounts of concrete opposition activists. … mass arrests took place in the city center around the Academy of Sciences and elsewhere, with the police collaring “everyone who had a poster or a flag.”

- The authorities got scared of a peaceful demonstration on the Freedom Day
(Charter 97)

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