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14 July, 2017


✔︎ Vaasta-Roosa, near the Latvian border: 
Last month I visited the set of the upcoming film "Tõde ja Õigus”, scheduled for release in 2019. The structures were specifically built for the movie using old traditional building techniques. They really appear as if they had been in place since the 18oo's.
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A crew member told me they will be using a facial C.G.I. program in post-production to artificially age the actors - reportedly the first time an Estonian film company has utilized this technology for a movie. 
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A.H. Tammsaare’s Book 1 of "Tõde ja Õigus" was published in 1926, and became a popular five-part novel series.


✔︎ Summer Reading: 
Publisher-authorized free e-book of “Tõde ja Õigus” which was translated into english by Inna Feldbach and Alan Peter Trei 
(©Haute Culture Books, May 2014)

- Mängufilmi "Tõde ja õigus" otsitakse osatäitjaid
(ERR)
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Friday 14. July
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- Dr. Sõrra receives Order of the White Star

During a visit to New York this past week, President Kersti Kaljulaid awarded the Order of the White Star to our very own Dr. Toomas Sõrra for his "efforts to promote the Estonian language and culture in the United States". Dr. Sõrra, a successful Gastroenterologist based in Brooklyn, New York, was the Principal of the New York Estonian School from 1989-2004 and has been the head of the New York Estonian Educational Society since 2005. The Order of the White Star is "bestowed on Estonian citizens throughout the world to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state".  -  Aavo



- Baltic Forest Brothers Did in 1940s What Russians Did in 1991 - They Fought Soviet Power
(Window on Eurasia)



✔︎ Beneath Helsinki, Finns Prepare for Russian Threat
(Wall Street Journal - login)
"A subterranean city beneath Helsinki forms a crucial line of defense for the capital. Finnish soldiers routinely train here, with a mission to keep Finland’s government running and city residents safe in a network that features more than 124 miles of tunnels, passageways and shelters.”
—
"The subterranean defenses have long been in place, but the Finns are now stepping up preparedness as Russia readies for Zapad 2017, the country’s largest military exercise since the end of the Cold War, in September."



- Nädalavahetusel algavad Tallinna merepäevad
(ERR)
"Sellel aastal on merefestival harjumuspärasest veidi teistsugune, sest pidu saab nautida koguni laupäevast teisipäevani."



- A Conversation with Former Estonian President, Toomas Hendrik Ilves
(Thought Economics)
“… today’s Estonia is a thriving, forward-looking member state of the EU and NATO with a fast-growing entrepreneurial economy, and a robust digital democracy; envied by much of the world."



- Valgevene välisminister: Minsk on vastu NATO üksuste viimisele Baltimaadesse, Poola
(Postimees | ERR)
[In an interview, the Belarusian Foreign Minister declared that Minsk is against NATO being in the Baltic States and Poland. Belarus will be participating in September’s Zapad 2017 military exercises with Russia.]
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✔︎ When a Western Leader Spoke the Truth Directly to Putin - and Putin Couldn’t Take It
by Paul Goble
(Window on Eurasia)
"Because the G-20 summit took place in Hamburg this year and because it featured a meeting between Putin and Donald Trump, German and Russian commentators have recalled an earlier meeting in Hamburg, in 1994, when Estonian President Lennart Meri delivered a remarkable address that caused Vladimir Putin to stomp out of the hall."

✔︎ Recommended Reading: 
1994 Address by President Meri at the Matthiae-Supper
(Link mentioned in article)



- Americans in the Baltics

- Interpreting fascism
(DisinfoReview)
“… German democracy was called into question with accusations of fascism coming from the initiative for founding the German Pro Putin party. And we saw Angela Merkel's democratic credentials questioned as she was accused of being a dictator. Estonia was also accused of being a fascist state, along with being blamed for Russophobia. Last time we checked, both Estonia and Germany were doing pretty good on democracy rankings."



- Kaks isejuhtivat mikrobussi jõudsid Tallinna
(Delfi | ERR)
“Paari nädala pärast asuvad need linlasi vedama.”
--



- Four underrated towns to visit in Estonia
(Estonian World)
[Tõrva, Rakvere, Haapsalu, and my personal favorite, Võru.]





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Thursday 13. July
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- Estonia launches campaign for non-permanent seat on UN Security Council
(ERR)
"The UN Security Council has five permanent members that all hold veto power—the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France—as well as ten non-permanent members. The latter change in fives every two years following the principles of regional representation as applied by the UN."

-  A seat as a member of the United Nations Security Council is an opportunity to enhance the visibility of Estonia
(Office of the President)



- Setod pooldasid Võru maakonda jäämist
(Postimees)
"Küsitluses osales 31,5 protsenti loodava Setomaa valla elanikest, kellest 59,1 protsenti pooldas Võrumaad."



- Trump's 'Clear' NATO Pledge Reassures Estonia's Prime Minister
(Bloomberg)
"Trump’s backing for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s mutual-defense pledge is “clear” and “not worth debating anymore.” - Juri Ratas



- Film: Forest Brothers - Fight for the Baltics 
(NATO via Estonian World)

- NATO Film: Metsavennad - Võitlus Baltikumi eest
(Delfi)

- Russian Foreign Ministry Official Slams NATO Film on Baltic Resistance
(Moscow Times via 'Stop Fake')

- Vene Propaganda: NATO videoklipp metsavendadest on vastik
(Postimees)



- Estonia and NATO are closely following Russia's Zapad 2017 exercise
(ERR)
"Estonia’s position is calm and secure, there is no particular reason for worry. We as well as our NATO allies are following the exercises attentively. The exercises don’t markedly increase the danger level in our area, but incidents at sea as well as in the air aren’t impossible.” - Minister of Defence Jüri Luik

- A Window into Russia’s Military Mind?
(Atlantic Council)
“Russians train exactly as they intend to fight, thus Zapad will give up ample information on their military and political thinking as it is right now,” Kristjan Prikk, undersecretary for defense policy at Estonia’s Ministry of Defense, said … “we don’t consider this year’s Zapad exercise in itself to be a direct threat to us [NATO] or a cover for an attack, but we have to keep in mind that the Russians have the nasty habit of hiding their actual military endeavors behind exercises. We have to be calm, vigilant, flexible.” 
(Also on Newsweek)

- NATO voices skepticism over size of Russia's Zapad military exercise
(Deutsche Welle)
"The US Army's top commander in Europe, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, is taking things coolly. "There's nothing evil about Zapad," Hodges told DW. "It's an exercise scheduled every four years and it's certainly Russia's right to exercise." The problem, he emphasizes, is the lack of transparency. "I've never met in three years a single journalist who's covered a Russian exercise," he said. "So if Russia were serious about wanting stability and security along their western border, they would invite journalists out there to demonstrate, 'hey, we're just defensive.'" Hodges notes that instead, Russia has moved in 800 tanks "which exist only to attack." 
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- Waiting for Zapad 2017
(Jamestown Foundation)
"The planned date of the exercise, September 14–20, falls within the usual time period for Russia’s larger yearly exercises like Vostok, etc.”
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"Of particular interest is the specific role Kaliningrad oblast will play during Zapad 2017."
—
"Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia and Belarus have staged the Zapad combined strategic exercise ('sovmestnoe strategicheskoe uchenie') in 1999, 2009 and 2013. Zapad 2017 will be the first in the series since the deterioration of Russia-NATO relations following the Ukraine crisis.”
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“While there is currently a Western preoccupation with the possibility of a Russian offensive operation against the Baltic States, in Moscow’s view the more likely scenario of conflict erupting on Russia’s periphery with NATO stems from an Allied intervention in Belarus."



- The Story of Salauddin Islamov
Chechen Salauddin protected the Estonian ambassador in 2007
(Postimees)
"Salauddin Islamov plays an important role in the history of Estonia’s diplomacy since he was the sole citizen of Russia who physically protected Estonia’s Ambassador Marina Kaljurand during the siege of the embassy ten years ago.”
--
"Islamov, who will be 49 in July, headed the Moscow press center of one of Russia’s largest-selling newspapers, Argumenty i Fakty (AiF). Marina Kaljurand (the Estonian Ambassador to Moscow at the time) held a press conference there on May 2, 2007, which opened with an unprecedented attack of Russian youths on the Estonian diplomats. The ambassador remained unharmed largely thanks to Islamov’s quick action.”



- Ilves among national security figures launching project to counter Russian mischief
(Washington Post)
"The roster of figures who have signed onto the new project, called the Alliance for Securing Democracy, is a who’s who of former senior national security officials from both parties. The advisory council includes former Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff; former acting CIA director Michael Morell; former House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers; Adm. James Stavridis, former NATO supreme Allied commander, Europe; Jake Sullivan, former national security adviser; and former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves."

- Alliance for Securing Democracy





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Wednesday 12. July 
_____________


✔︎ Russia Quietly Gobbled Up a Tiny Chunk of Georgia
(Foreign Policy)
“Russia has been able successfully to play a weak hand very aggressively because it has counted the fact that we are not going to respond in any kind of assertive way.”
- Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO

- Venemaa liigutas Gruusia piiri mitmesaja meetri võrra
(Postimees)
"Kodanikukaitse ja võrdõiguslikkuse ministri Ketevan Tsikhelašvili sõnul pole tegu «varjatud invasiooniga», tema sõnul on tegu «avatud ja dünaamilise okupatsiooniga», mis on toimunud alates Venemaa ja Gruusia konfliktist 2008. aastal, vahendab kohalik meedia."

- Russia quietly moves border hundreds of yards into occupied Georgia
(Independent | Telegraph | others)

"Russian troops are now less than half a kilometer from the highway linking Baku to Tbilisi and the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi, one of the main transportation arteries in the South Caucasus.”
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- Putin’s Donbass Tactics Won’t Work in Baltic Countries for Economic Reasons
by Paul Goble
(Window on Eurasia)
“… the incomes of residents of Estonia are ten times those in Eastern Ukraine, Estonia is a member of the EU and so its residents can move about freely, and “the minimum pension” in Estonia exceeds the average Russian’s pay and that makes all the difference." 



- Niinistö andis mõista, et Soome aitaks sõjalise rünnaku alla jäänud Eestit
(ERR)
Aga: "Me ei saa anda Eestile mingisuguseid julgeolekugarantiisid, sest meil endal ei ole selliseid. See on minu arvates täiesti selge asi."
--



- Estonia Seeks to Digitally Transform the EU
(Wall Street Journal)



- Arvamus: Kas eestlased teevad end eurololliks?
(Postimees)
"Kui vaadata, kes näiteks Lennart Meri konverentsil käivad, siis ikka ühed ja samad üksikud näod. Meil on lähiminevikus olnud erakond, kus ka tippude teadmised EList piirdusid põllumajandustoetuste suurusega."



- Chart: EU Population In Flux
(RFERL)



- NATO bristles at ‘unsafe behavior’ by Russian pilots over Baltic Sea
(Politico-Europe)
“… we are mostly witnessing what we call non-professional behavior in the air.”



- Kas saaksid Euroopa Parlamendis inglise keeles esinemisega hakkama?
(ERR)
"Eile esinesid Eesti ministrid Euroopa Parlamendi ees, tekitades palju vastukaja oma inglise keele oskusega. Pane ennast testis proovile, kas saaksid Euroopa Liidu teemadel rääkimisega inglise keeles hakkama."





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Tuesday 11. July 
_____________


 ✔︎ The Baltics Try to Wall Out Russian Agents, But Moscow’s Message Still Comes Through
By Anna Nemtsova
(The Daily Beast)
"In January 2014 Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia established the Strategic Communications Center of Excellence in Riga together with Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom. StratCom COE, as it’s known, is a NATO-accredited military organization.”
—
“StratCom COE has analyzed the flow of news published by pro-Kremlin websites in the Baltic countries, and the pattern includes the same key messages: “We are told that we are failed states, that we have Nazis, that NATO is occupying the free Baltics with their troops, NATO creates threats by putting forces here, and that for Russian speakers life is terrible … Moscow casts the Baltics as the potential aggressors. This is a real hybrid war. The Baltic countries are like Napoleon or Hitler, wanting to invade and loot Russia; this modern war will not end soon,”
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"About a year ago, the Kremlin-funded Sputnik website opened bureaus with at least 20 reporters in Estonia and nine reporters in Latvia. One of them, a Latvian citizen, Vladimir Dorofeyev, told The Daily Beast that only four people in his bureau write stories under their real family names. … The head of Sputnik in Estonia, Yelena Chernysheva, told The Daily Beast about the hard time she had hiring her staff, since people were concerned that if Sputnik closed their operation no other media would hire them. Chernysheva also said that Estonian authorities did not accredit Sputnik for any official events and the government members avoided giving interviews to the Moscow-funded website."

- Disinformation: Russia’s Old but Effective Weapon of Influence
(Diplomatic)
"The Baltic States have been subjected to a Russian smear campaign since the restoration of their independence."



- USA on riigist tänavu välja saatnud kaheksa eestlasest illegaali
(ERR)

- US deportations of Europeans (1,300 Europeans) could exceed last fiscal year
(AP)



- UN: Estonia on UN Security Council would increase visibility
(ERR)

"Estonia's bid to become a member of the UN Security Council is a brave step—it shows that in addition to questions concerning Estonia and our region, we are ready to take responsibility in or at least have a stance on global matters."



- Uus Eesti kaart: 213 omavalitsuse asemel jääb alles 79
(ERR)

- New map of Estonia: 15 cities, 64 municipalities after autumn elections
(Postimees)





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Monday 10. July 
_____________


- Kaljulaid: President's direct election no issue
(ERR)
"Kaljulaid said that there were no interest groups in Estonia engaged in a discussion about making amendments to the Constitution with regard to direct presidential elections. Estonia recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Constitution, and its authors, the members of the Constitutional Assembly, had carried out an analysis of the Constitution."



- Estonia and Georgia have made the top 10 in latest Global Cybersecurity Index
(BNE)
“… experts assessing that the small nations have responded very effectively since suffering cyber-attacks from Russia.”
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"Roughly a decade ago, Estonia (GCI index ranking: fifth) was swamped by a series of cyber attacks originating in Russia, a country the Estonians were then in dispute with over the relocation of a WWII memorial … The country had suffered the digital equivalent of carpet bombing … Estonia is by now famed for its pioneering initiatives in the cyber-world."

- The Global Cybersecurity Index Report



- Lithuania sentenced Russian man to 10 years for spying for FSB
(Newsweek)
"A district court in Vilnius found Nikolay Filipchenko guilty of espionage … Filipchenko was uncovered while trying to recruit Lithuanian officials, working for the Department of State Security. He sought to find double agents, willing to install bugging devices in the Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite’s office and residence. He was arrested in 2015."



- Finland: Poll shows only 22% support EU membership referendum
(Yle)

- Ligi kolm neljandikku soomlastest ei taha uut EL-i referendumit
(ERR)



- Helsinki woos car owners to give up their autos
(Christian Science Monitor)

"The proportion of Helsinki’s population using public transport reached a peak in 1966, when two-thirds of all Helsinkians’ journeys within the metropolitan area were via public transport. That share declined during the 1970s and ’80s as Finland rebounded from the war and more Finns were able to buy cars. Public transport’s share of total journeys bottomed out in 2008 at 42 percent. Since then, its share has been rising again, a trend the city leaders are happy to encourage."



- Ukraine reaffirms push West in visits by NATO, EU leaders
(Politico-Europe | BBC)
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- Putin -
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- The Putin Obsession
(Politico Magazine)
"The Russian lawyer whose June meeting at Trump Tower is rocking American politics was just the tip of the spear of a massive, years-long effort by the Kremlin against human rights laws named for Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died under mysterious circumstances as a prisoner of the Russian government."
--
"The sweeping Kremlin campaign has included lobbying Congress, the creation and promotion of several slick documentaries, the opening of murder investigations in Russia against the laws’ top advocate, the use of social media bots to promote criticism of the laws and the posting of a suspiciously popular petition calling for repeal on WhiteHouse.gov. And it’s been a personal fixation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has railed against the 2012 Magnitsky Act and its various incarnations for years."

- Background: The Magnitsky affair
(BBC - July 2013)
"Mr Magnitsky was an auditor at a Moscow law firm when he discovered what he said was a massive fraud by Russian tax officials and police officers. … He uncovered the alleged theft of $230m. After reporting it to the authorities, he was himself detained in 2008 on suspicion of aiding tax evasion, and died in custody on 16 November 2009 at the age of 37 - allegedly after beatings - but Russia dropped an investigation into his death.”
—

"Sergei Magnitsky's death had wide public resonance, not only in Russia, but also in the West. His case became a symbol of the fight against corruption in Russia.
In December 2012 the US Congress adopted the Magnitsky Act. It enables the US to withhold visas and freeze financial assets of Russian officials thought to have been involved with human rights violations."



 - Kui hästi räägib Putin inglise keelt?
(Postimees)
"Putinit ei kuule peaaegu kunagi rääkimas inglise keelt, kuid presidendi pressiesindaja Dmitri Peskovi kinnitusel on riigipea keeleoskus sedavõrd hea, et vahepeal parandab ta isegi tõlke."

- Does Putin Speak English?
(Newsweek)
“… he practically understands English completely and sometimes even corrects the translators."

- Yes. Putin speaks English
(CNN - 2013)




- Could Putin Be Ousted the Way Khrushchev Was, and for the Same Reason?
by Paul Goble
(Window on Eurasia)

- Putin Betrays His Ignorance of Russia Beyond the Moscow Ring Road



- ‘I Looked Into Putin’s Eyes and This Is What I Saw’
by photographer Peter Turnley
(The Daily Beast)
"Never-before published photos of Putin in 2000, when he had just come to power."



- Trump and Putin: The Art of Deal
by Robert Reich
(Inequality Media)
 “How Putin stands to gain from Trump's presidency."
and on his blog



- Putin Played Trump Like a Fiddle at G20
(Foreign Policy)
“… while no one expected Putin to admit Russia’s culpability in directing this operation, Trump had an obligation to defend U.S. national security by informing Putin that he was aware of the Kremlin’s interference and that there would be consequences for Russia’s efforts to undermine U.S. institutions. Particularly as evidence mounts that Russia’s intelligence services are continuing to collect information on U.S. electoral databases, systems, and procedures, a clear message to cease and desist (with consequences implied) was absolutely necessary to safeguard the integrity of future U.S. elections."
--
"Instead, Trump appears to have been duped into the futile exercise of creating a joint U.S.-Russian working group on cybersecurity."



- Opinion: Putin Is Not America’s Friend
(Wall Street Journal)
“… there’s Mr. Trump’s Sunday tweet that “Putin & I discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded.” No doubt Mr. Putin, the KGB man, would love to get an insight into America’s cyber secrets, though don’t count on any of those secrets being “guarded,” much less “impenetrable.”
—
"Republican Senator Marco Rubio had it right on Sunday when he tweeted that “partnering with Putin on a ‘Cyber Security Unit’ is akin to partnering with Assad on a ‘Chemical Weapons Unit’.” He added, in advice Mr. Trump could help himself by taking, that “while reality & pragmatism requires that we engage Vladimir Putin, he will never be a trusted ally or a reliable constructive partner.”







_____________

- Russia -
"Trust No One"
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- Russia’s Border Dispute with Belarus
(Carnegie Moscow Center)
"The dispute over newly established security zones on the Russia-Belarus border reveals that Moscow no longer sees Minsk as a reliable defense partner.”
—

"Though Moscow hasn’t publicly discussed its reasons for tightening border controls, there is no question about its intent. First, Russia increasingly sees itself as a besieged fortress encircled by enemies. Such a mindset among elites—and, to a large extent, the general public—steers the regime toward all kinds of protective measures even if they’re not entirely necessary. Second, one gets the distinct impression that Russia is no longer prepared to entrust its border security to Belarusian troops."



- Russia enjoying great success with Trump in White House
(MSNBC - Rachel Maddow)
"Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak is stepping down with a tremendous record of success as Russia's wish list from America is seeing progress under Trump."
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/russia-enjoying-great-success-with-trump-in-white-house-993315395858



- The Russians Will Be Back
(Politico Magazine)

"Coming off his two-hour conversation on Friday with Vladimir Putin in Hamburg, President Donald Trump touted Putin’s personal assurance that there was neither any Russian manipulation of the 2016 election nor any Russian plans to disrupt future American elections. He even floated the prospect of creating a joint U.S.-Russia “impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded.”
--
"As if Putin is trustworthy."



- Anonymous website is identifying Russians who attended Alexey Navalny's June 12 anti-corruption protests
(Meduza)
“In late June, someone launched a website called Je Suis Maidan, identifying people captured in photographs from Moscow’s June 12 anti-corruption protest. On July 7, the website also started identifying demonstrators who attended protests that day in regions throughout the country."
--
"Je Suis Maidan relies on the controversial app “FindFace,” which makes it possible to find a random person's social-media page on Vkontakte with a photograph of that person. "



- Yuri Drozdov, Soviet Superspy Who Planted ‘Illegals’ in Other Countries, Dies at 91
(New York Times)
“… played a role in key events of the Cold War, from Berlin to Kabul, and masterminded a mysterious network of K.G.B. operatives known as the “illegals”.



- How Russian State TV Spun Putin's G20 Meeting With Trump
(The Moscow Times)

“… Trump appeared as if “he had wrung himself loose from a madhouse, leaving behind him in the United States this entire, insane anti-Russian campaign.”
--
"Even in Hamburg, Kiselyov continued, Trump could not escape being asked “idiotic, unsubstantiated questions.” This is why Trump canceled a closing press conference at the last minute, he said."
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"But Putin confronted journalists “calmly and confidently,”

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