NB! Due to a huge volume of stories regarding the upcoming Zapad 2017 military exercises which will be held close to the border of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, a separate email containing Zapad articles will be sent out. Subscribers will receive a separate "Zapad edition" of EstoNews in their email inbox soon. Aitäh!
- Huvitav Neitsitorni ajalugu
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✔︎ September 6, 1991: Soviet Union recognized the independence of the Baltic States
✔︎ Security risk detected in Estonian ID cards (see Weds. list)
✔︎ Russia's bridge link with Crimea moves nearer to completion (see stories in the ‘Ukraine' list)
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Friday 8. Sept.
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- Oscars: Estonia Selects 'November' for Foreign-Language Category
(Hollywood Reporter)
"The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and will be released in North America by Oscilloscope."
- Photos: Linnahall's Artwork, Graffiti, Rot
(Postimees Photos)
Tallinn’s Linnahall was completed for Moscow's 1980 Summer Olympics. It suffered over the years due to poor construction - common during Soviet times. This week “controversy" erupted - artists had covered one side of the facility with a huge mural, against the Heritage Conservation Act. The artists have been told to wash it off.
—
Postimees took a series of photos showing that the rest of the Linnahall exterior suffered with ugly graffiti and decay anyway.
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| Foto: Postimees |
- Enne ja Nüüd: Vaata, kuidas on linnahalli nägu muutunud läbi aastate
(Delfi)
- Sults peab Linnahalli seina puhtaks küürima
(Postimees)
"Riigikogu liikme Märt Sultsi eestvedamisel tehti linnahalli seintele suuremõõtmelised seinamaalingud – lubamatu käitumine arhitektuurimälestise kallal on muinsuskaitsjad ärevile ajanud."
- Renovation of Tallinn’s ‘Linnahall’ requires state aid permission
(ERR - 26. July 2017)
"The city wants to turn Linnahall into a conference center, concert venue, and commercial space."
- Eestlane Miamis
(Delfi)
“Meeleolu on esmaspäevast saadik olnud paaniline, olen katnud kinni kõik aknad ja uksed."
- Liitlasvägede liigutamise kiirust Euroopas tuleb parandada
(Postimees)
"Me peame saama oma vägede liigutamisel kiiremaks ning see nõuab nii vastavat planeerimist, harjutamist, taristu arendamist kui paberimajanduse lihtsustamist. Viimase osas näeme suurt potentsiaali just Euroopa Liidul."
- Sa oled tõeline eestlane kui…
(Delfi)
"Sa vaatad mõlemale poole enne tee ületamist, isegi kui see on ühesuunaline.” Või:
"Kui sa külastad oma välismaal elavaid sõpru, võtad sa kaasa Kalevi šokolaadi või Vana Tallinna.” jne...
- The Forefathers of Estonians
(Youtube video)
✔︎ US assumes control of Baltic air policing - larger than usual number of jets
(Stars and Stripes - 31. August)
“... the U.S. assumed the lead in NATO’s Baltic air policing mission here Wednesday, committing to safeguarding the airspace over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for the next 120 days. The hand-over from Poland to the U.S. Air Force took place ahead of large Russian war games set to kick off in September across the border from Lithuania, which have worried allies in the Baltics and Poland."
- 175th Wing, Estonia Integrate For Operation Atlantic Resolve
(DVIDS)
- Boris Johnson sõitis Tapal tankiga
(Postimees)
- Boris Johnson rides a tank during visit to UK troops in Estonia - and is mocked by the Russian Embassy
(Evening Standard-Uk)
- Estonia’s dream for a state-issued cryptocurrency is dashed
(Quartz)
"The president of the European Central Bank yesterday rejected the idea that Estonia, which is part of the euro zone, could issue and manage its own state-backed cryptocurrency. … “No member state can introduce its own currency; the currency of the euro zone is the euro.”
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Thursday 7. Sept.
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- Raadio Intervjuu: President Kersti Kaljulaid
(Vikerraadio)
"Kommunismidebatt ei vii meid edasi."
- Disinfo Goes Nuclear in the Baltics
(CEPA)
Pro-Kremlin media outlets use selective facts to claim that “ … the Russian-Belarus Ostrovets Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), situated less than 30 km from the Lithuanian—and the European Union—border, met international safety standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency …”. In reality, it doesn’t.
- Russia’s Infamous ‘Troll Factory’ Is Now Posing as a Media Empire
(The Moscow Times)
- The Agency
(New York Times - June 2015)
"From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid “trolls” has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet …"
- EU: Turkey Can Forget About EU Membership
(World Affairs)
"Turkey will never become a member of the European Union, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel finally said so in public.”
—
"The notion that Turkey might conceivably fit inside the EU has always been a bit of a stretch, and it has been especially ludicrous since last summer when a botched coup attempt triggered a Stalinist spasm in Ankara. Within just a couple of weeks, Erdogan fired more than 20,000 private school teachers and almost 10,000 police officers. He suspended nearly 3,000 judges and arrested more than 10,000 soldiers. He canned tens of thousands of officials from the Ministry of Education and ousted 1,500 university deans. He closed more than 100 media outlets and suspended more than 1,500 officials in the Ministry of Finance. And from there, it only got worse."
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Wednesday 6. Sept.
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- Security risk detected in Estonian ID cards
(Baltic Times | ERR)
"According to current information, this security risk has not materialized and nobody's digital identity has been thereby misused. … No actual identity theft has taken place. Cards issued before Oct. 16, 2014 use a different microchip and are not affected by the fault."
--
"The risk does not affect Mobile ID and ID cards continue to be functional."
--
"The scientists were not looking at the Estonian ID-card or even its technology, but rather at one of the chips manufactured by Swiss company Gemalto AG. While the chip in question has several applications, the lion’s share lie at the heart of Estonian ID-cards.”
- Ratas: jõuame iga tunniga ID-kaardi turvariski lahendusele lähemale
(ERR)
- Ilves: ühe identiteedi varastamisele kuluv raha ei ole seda väärt
(Delfi)
"Ma väga loodan, et me ei lange hüsteeriasse, mida kasutaksid ära need inimesed, kes tehnoloogiast midagi ei tea."
- Valimiskomisjon: e-hääletamine toimub
(ERR)
"Elektrooniline hääletamine toimub vastavalt seadusele," võttis komisjoni esimees Meelis Eerik vastu otsuse."
- Electoral committee: Online voting in October elections still on
(ERR)
- Red faces in Estonia over ID card security flaw
(Financial Times - login required)
"International scientists have informed Estonian officials that they have found a security risk that affects almost 750,000 ID cards and that would enable a hacker to steal a person’s identity."
- KGB man in Manor Savisaar-election coalition
(ERR)
"The October local elections list of Savisaar’s Election Coalition and Active Tallinn includes former Soviet security officer Valeri Konovalov."
- History: Soviets Recognize Baltic Independence, Ending 51-year Occupation of 3 Nations
(New York Times - 1991)
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Tuesday 5. Sept.
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- Ranked 418th, Estonia’s Kanepi reaches U.S. Open quarterfinals
(Washington Post | AP)
“... the first female qualifier to do that in 36 years."
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- U.S. Unprepared to deal with Russia in Europe
(Politico)
"A self-assessment by the 173rd Airborne Brigade is called ‘a real eye-opener’ to how some critical capabilities to deter Russia have eroded."
—
- U.S. small units are no longer as well trained as those of our allies
(Foreign Policy)
- Why NATO Can’t Move Forces Like Russia Is About To
(Defense One)
"From mismatched rail lines to red tape, a host of obstacles show why NATO needs its own version of Russia's upcoming Zapad 2017 exercise.”
http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2017/09/nato-russia-military-mobilization-zapad/140747/?oref=d-river
- Defending the frontline
(CEPA)
- Arvamus: Aeg lõpetada karuteene venelastele
(Postimees)
- Belgia hävitajad asusid Ämarist valvama Balti riikide õhuruumi
(ERR)
In English:
- Finland: Growing old as a migrant
(Yle)
"Finland’s population of elderly immigrants is still relatively small, but that will change in the coming decades as larger numbers of migrants reach retirement age."
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Monday 4. Sept.
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- Britain to defend Nordic and Baltic states from Russia
(EU Observer)
"British foreign secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement on Monday the UK was a "reassuring presence" for allies facing "Russian antagonism”. He said the fact British soldiers had been sent to Estonia as part of a Nato force to deter Russia was a firm demonstration that Britain will always stand by its allies in the face of outside aggression, and a message to others that the unity that Nato provides and sustains will never be broken."
- UK remains committed to Nordic, Baltic defense after Brexit
(ERR)
- Study reveals average 75% of Europeans trust their national army
(RFERL - Graph)
- Opinion: Germany should take initiative against Russian meddling
(ERR)
"It was now up to Germany and Angela Merkel to decide if Russian president Vladimir Putin would be challenged "in a serious enough way" to make him stop disrupting Western democracy, Ilves wrote in a contribution to the Financial Times."
- Merkel must stand up to Putin over the hacking of democracy
by Toomas Hendrik Ilves
(Financial Times - login required)
- Ilves kannustab Financial Timesis Merkelit Putinile vastu astuma
(ERR)
- Lessons Learned on Frosty Roads Help Estonian Kaia Kanepi Gain Traction at U.S. Open
(New York Times)
"Kanepi was on the verge of quitting the sport at the end of last year …"
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- Ukraine -
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- Putin’s threat: "Other conflict zones" may be attacked if U.S. gives lethal aid to Kyiv
(UNIAN)
—
- Rumor: New "little green men" up and ready
(UAZMI)
- Ukraine's Azov militia children's camp
(The Guardian)
- Ukraine Accuses Russia of the Unthinkable: Terror Attacks Against Its Own People
(Observer)
"Vasyl Hrytsak, Ukraine’s secret service chief, gave an interview jam-packed with bombshells about the nasty SpyWar between Kyiv and Moscow. That clandestine struggle is an appendage to the low-boil conflict being waged in Eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and “rebels” who are in fact the Russian military. …"
- Russia's controversial Crimea bridge
(BBC)
- Recent images from the Kerch Strait show work moving apace to connect Russia with the annexed Crimean Peninsula
(RFERL)
"The Kerch Strait is a notoriously difficult place to build, with undersea mud volcanoes, seismic activity, and drifting ice floes in winter. Some Western analysts have forecast the "collapse" of the Kerch Bridge project."
- Russia’s illegal Crimean Bridge construction will cost Ukraine
(Kyiv Post | BNE)
"When completed by 2019, the 19-kilometer, $3 billion span will cross the Kerch Straight and connect the Russian mainland with the illegally seized peninsula."
--
"Part of the problem is the new railway bridge section is too low to allow big ships through and so will significantly constrain access to the Azov sea for many Ukrainian ships, potentially causing a loss of up to 43% of traffic for the Mariupol Sea Port, the study found."
- Dutch companies help build bridge to occupied Crimea, violating sanctions
(Euromaidan Press)
- Closure of Kerch Strait Is Russia’s Latest Attack on Ukrainian Sovereignty
(Daily Signal)
- Russia's bridge link with Crimea moves nearer to completion
(The Guardian)
- Does Putin’s $4 Billion ‘Super Bridge’ Into Europe Violate Law?
(Vocativ)
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- Russia -
"Trust No One"
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- Facebook Blocks 470 Fake Accounts Linked to Russian 'Troll Factory’
(Moscow Times)
- Facebook Admits Russia-Tied Election Ad Buy
(MSNBC | Facebook)
[Ads, posts, etc. are being tied to the infamous St. Petersburg “troll factory”.]
—
"Our analysis suggests these accounts and Pages were affiliated with one another and likely operated out of Russia."
- Facebooki teatel on ilmselt Venemaalt ostetud tuhandeid USA-sse suunatud lõhestavaid poliitilisi reklaame
(Delfi)
"Facebook andis oma andmed üle ka Venemaa väidetavat sekkumist USA eelmise aasta presidendivalimistesse uurivale eriprokurörile Robert Muellerile, teatas allikas. Facebook esitas reklaamide koopiad ja andmed nende ostjate kohta."
- Russian Facebook accounts spent $100,000 on election ads
(Deutsche Welle | RFERL)
"Between June 2015 and May 2017, 470 accounts bought ads touting fake or misleading news or directed users to pages with such content. The 3,000 ads did not specifically reference the election, a candidate or voting, but they did allow the amplification of "divisive messages" on issues such as immigration, race and gay rights, according to Facebook."
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- Twitter: Robotrolling
(NATO StratCom COE - Riga)
“Two in three Twitter users who write in Russian about the NATO presence in Eastern Europe are robotic or ‘bot’ accounts. Together, these accounts created
84% of the total Russian-language messages. The English language space is also heavily affected: 1 in 4 active accounts were likely automated and were responsible for 46% of all English-language content."
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"Of the four states considered—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland—Estonia has disproportionately frequently been targeted by bots, whereas Poland and Lithuania have seen the least automated activity."
- What to Expect When You're Expecting Bots
(CEPA)
- The Gerasimov Doctrine
(Politico-Europe)
"Russia’s new chaos theory of political warfare."
- The Value of Science Is in the Foresight
(Military Review)
[Valery Gerasimov’s writing as mentioned in the above article.]
- Three Instructive Russian Anniversaries
(Paul Goble)
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