✔︎ Tallinn has Successfully Integrated Nearly 90 Percent of Its Ethnic Russians - Paul Goble
✔︎ Rail Baltica route finalised at last - Latvian Broadcasting
✔︎ Metsavendade laul lööb Kremli meedias laineid - Propastop
✔︎ Putin family and FSB used Danske Bank branch in Estonia to launder substantial amounts of money - Berlingske Media, Denmark
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- NB! I will be on vacation for the next several weeks to recover from internet-information-overload. EstoNews emails will return 23. March.
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- Hõbedast postmargi grafik:
- EstoNews Archive:
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Friday 2.
March
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✔︎ Tallinn has Successfully Integrated Nearly 90 Percent of Its Ethnic Russians, Experts Say
by Paul Goble
(Window on Eurasia - 24. Feb.)
"The 340,000 ethnic Russians in Estonia are an extremely diverse group. Many have learned Estonian and become Estonian citizens, tying their future to that country. Approximately 90,000 have the so-called “gray passports” of non-citizens who have permanent residence and who are overwhelmingly interested in being part of Estonia and Europe. … only 90,000 have acquired passports of the Russian Federation, and most of these want to remain in Estonia and within the EU. Estonia thus faces a far smaller “ethnic Russian” problem than many assume."
- As Estonia turns 100, a new embrace of its Russian speakers
by Isabelle de Pommereau
(Christian Science Monitor)
"Estonia's relationship with its Russian-speaking population, who arrived after WWII, has long been strained. But spurred by tensions with Russia, the country is making efforts to better integrate and acknowledge the minority group."
--
(Deutsche Welle)
- Report: Putin family and FSB used Danske Bank branch in Estonia to launder substantial amounts of money
(Berlingske - Denmark, 26. Feb.)
"The information stems from a whistle-blowing report which was written by an executive within Danske Bank and sent directly to the bank’s top management in Copenhagen in December 2013.”
—
"… staff at the Estonian branch were contacted by Russian-speaking individuals who refused to state their identities and instead threatened staff: “The bank will sink after this” and “Do you really feel you can walk home safely at night?”
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"Madis Reimand, the head of Estonia’s Financial Intelligence Unit, said he is unable to comment on specific companies and transactions but recognizes the methods and mode of operation used in this case: "Generally speaking the purpose of such money laundering schemes is to move the funds out of Russia, to get the money in to the western financial system and do it in an untransparent and secretive manner. “
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A senior economist said, “The money may have been stolen from state companies or stem from bribery or extortion. It may also have been an attempt to bypass international sanctions which Russia’s rich oligarchs have been subjected to for a number of years.”
✔︎ Answering provocations
by Edward Lucas
(CEPA)
"Given enough warning and a clear problem, NATO will defend its members mightily. But suppose the alliance has to decide in a hurry, amid confusion. In that case, its response may be to slow or weak. We will need other answers, involving deterrence from countries with greater capability, decisiveness, flexibility, and speed."
- Intervjuu: Peaminister Jüri Ratas
Toomas Sildam
(ERR)
- Interview: President Kersti Kaljulaid
Silver Tambur
(Estonian World - 24. Feb.)
- Estonia in February: Coldest in decades
(ERR | Delfi)
"The average air temperature in Estonia in the final third of the month was -13.2 degrees Celsius, compared to the average of -4.1 degrees, marking the second-lowest average since 1961."
- Why the Kremlin publishes uncensored translations of Western news
by Fred Weir
(Christian Science Monitor)
“State-sponsored InoSMI gets hundreds of thousands of Russian readers each day, who generally seem to view Western coverage of Russia as selective and simplistic. But the site also highlights how important cultural context is to understanding the news.”
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“… originally started in 2001 with the specific purpose of illustrating the relentless hostility and and anti-Russian bias with which Western reporters cover Russia, according to former InoSMI editor Alexey Kovalev. That still seems to be a major focus, and Russian commenters vent their displeasure on the site over the bias they see in the foreign coverage of their country. But the criticism – which mirrors American criticism of Russia's coverage of the US in Kremlin-funded news station RT – also illustrates the limits of news translation's value without understanding the context in which the articles is published."
- InoSMI
(In Russian)
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Thursday 1.
March
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- Uuring: Saaremaa sillale "jah", tselluloositehasele “ei"
(ERR)
"Eesti elanikud pooldavad Saaremaa silda ja Helsingi tunnelit, kuid on vastu Tartu lähedale rajatavale puidurafineerimise tehasele. Rail Balticu puhul on pooldajaid veidi enam kui vastaseid."
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| ERR |
- Putin: Venemaal töötati välja tabamatud kiired tuumaallveedroonid
(ERR)
"Venemaal on töötatud välja allveedroonid, mis suudavad liikuda mandrite vahel väga sügaval allveelaevadest, kõige moodsamatest torpeedodest ja pealveelaevadest mitu korda kiiremini, ütles Vene president Vladimir Putin neljapäeval.”
--
"Lihtsalt ulmeline," sõnas Putin aastakõnes föderaalkogule."
- Tselluloositehas 100,000 elanikuga Tartu lähedusse ei sobi
(ERR)
"Tartu linnapea Urmas Klaasi (Reformierakond) sõnul ei saa rajada tselluloositehast 100 000 inimesega linna ja selle lähiümbruse väljatossutamise ning linna senise majandusmudeli löögi alla seadmisega. Tartlastele ei sobi, et tehas võib 54 päeva aastas levitada haisu, leiab Klaas."
- Tartu doesn't want billion-euro pulp mill
(ERR)
- Propaganda: Forest Brother’s song causes ‘alarm' in the Kremlin media
(Propastop)
"On Monday, February 26. information began to be circulated that the „Forest Brothers Song“ was being used in the Estonian Defence Forces as a marching song, where one version has lines that are insulting to Russians living in Estonia. The story began with the Facebook postings of Mstislav Russakov, director of the Kitež Center for Human Rights in Estonia. He later also prepared the posting for the news website of rubaltics.ru. Russakov has also been a lecturer at the NGO Russian School in Estonia and has previously gained attention by Propastop."
- Propagandahäire: Metsavendade laul lööb Kremli meedias laineid
(Propastop)
"Esmaspäeval, 26. veebruaril hakkas levima info, et Eesti Kaitseväes kasutatakse rivilauluna „Metsavendade laulu“, mille ühes versioonis on Eestimaal elavaid venelasi solvavaid ridu. Lugu sai alguse Eestis tegutseva inimõiguste keskuse Kiteži direktori Mstislav Russakovi Facebooki postitusest, mille autor vormistas postituse hiljem ka uudiseks rubaltics.ru portaalis. Russakov on olnud MTÜ Vene Kool Eestis üks eestkõnelejaid ning ka varem pälvinud Propastopi tähelepanu.”
--
"Sama päeva jooksul levis lugu esmaspäeva jooksul kanalitesse TVZvezda, Ria.ru, Lenta.ru, Life.ru ja mitmetesse sotsiaalmeediakanalitesse."
- Estonia plans to introduce a visa to allow digital nomads work for a year
(Lonely Planet)
"As working remotely becomes an increasingly popular option for people who want to travel the world while keeping a steady job, Estonia is courting travellers with plans for a digital nomad visa.”
- Latvian Financial Corruption Scandals Open Opportunity for Russian Information Warfare
(Jamestown Org.)
"Latvia’s security-sector personnel have raised the alarm that outside actors could be using these current financial and banking scandals against Riga. The Latvian Ministry of Defense has pointed out that the AP news agency’s reporting on Latvia’s connection to various international financial corruption schemes has been reposted with unusual frequency on numerous websites known for distributing messages supporting Russia. As such, the defense ministry has called this media blitz a possible “hybrid”-style operation within a broader information war against Latvia."
- How Resilient Is Latvia's Information Space To Kremlin Propaganda?
(CEPA)
“A study focused on eight controversial topics that have dominated Latvian media over the last five years: Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea in 2014; the 2014 shootdown of the MH17 jet over Ukraine; Western sanctions against Russia; the refugee crisis in Europe; Brexit; the Russian Olympic doping scandal; Russian involvement in Syria’s civil war; and the NATO summit in Warsaw.”
- Lithuania calls for 'cyber Schengen’ zone
(Deutsche Welle)
"Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite has called on fellow EU leaders to support the creation of a "cyber Schengen," modeled on the area of free movement of people within the European Union, to better battle online crime and aggression which operate border-free.”
—
"It's not surprising a Baltic state is driving this development; the Kremlin has never quite gotten over losing these jewels in its empire. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were dealing with Moscow's disinformation warfare long before institutions in Brussels started fighting back. … NATO crafted its first cyberdefense policy only after Russia attacked Estonia's infrastructure in 2007."
- Belarus: A Bridge Collapses and Bus Routes End, and Officials Don’t Care
by Paul Goble
(Window on Eurasia)
"A bridge across the Pripet has collapsed making it impossible for residents on one side to reach their jobs on the other. The only alternative left to them is a 300 kilometer detour one-way, a route that takes so long that many can’t get to and from their jobs or medical appointments … A local news agency reports that “the lack of automobile and pedestrian paths across the Pripet has paralyzed the life and economy in the region.”
—
"People waiting in line for bread in St. Petersburg in February 1917 grumbled and sparked a revolution in the Russian Empire. People waiting in line for buses or for some way around collapsed bridges could easily spark one in Belarus, something officials who think nothing will ever change would do well to remember."
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Wednesday 28.
February
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- Vene maffia rajas endale Eestis staabi
(Radar - video)
"Venemaalt juhitud kuritegelik grupeering teenis nelja aasta jooksul salasuitsuäriga miljonitesse ulatuvat kasu ja pettis Eesti ettevõtteid laene ning kaupu välja meelitades veel kümnete tuhandete eurodega. Piiriüleseid kuritegusid aitas jooksutada see, et grupiliikmetel oli taskus nii Vene kui Eesti pass."
- Võrumaa külapood püüab Eesti-Läti alkorallist kasu lõigata
(ERR)
"Kui paljud väikekaupmehed kurdavad, et on Eesti-Läti alkoralli tõttu sunnitud oma piirilähedase poe kinni panema, siis Metsavenna talu Võrumaal on sellest hoopis kasu lõiganud."
- Poll: Estonians' will to defend their country remains high
(Baltic Times)
"Sixty-eight percent of Estonian citizens would be ready to participate in the defense of the country in accordance with their abilities and skills should the need arise, compared with 67 percent in a similar survey last year and 66 percent in 2016, it appears from the findings of a survey commissioned by the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (Uhiskonnauuringute Instituut).”
- Rail Baltica route finalised at last
(Latvian Broadcasting)
"Rail Baltic is an attempt to provide a high-speed rail link using European-gauge tracks connecting Warsaw to Helsinki via the Baltic states. It is expected to cost nearly 6 billion euros with the majority of funds coming from the European Union."
"The European Commission has said that all three Baltic States have to agree on a number of issues related to the organization and structure of the Rail Baltica railway project by March 21st."
- Rail Baltica Survey
- German Cities To Follow Tallinn’s Lead on Free Transportation
(Huffington Post)
"Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, introduced fareless public transport for residents in 2013, although people from outside the city and tourists must still pay. Allan Alaküla, head of the Tallinn EU office and official spokesman for the project, says that five years later, “no one seriously thinks it can be reversed.” There are 140 million trips a year, the vast majority by Tallinn’s 450,000 residents."
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Tuesday 27.
February
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✔︎ Kuidas Lääs reageeriks, kui Poola territooriumile satuks “kogemata" Vene rakett?
Edward Lucas
(Postimees)
- Salvaging Trump’s Legacy In Europe: Fixing Nato Burden-Sharing
(War on the Rocks)
"The 2 percent goal for defense spending is fine as an abstract aspiration, but NATO needs to develop a more sophisticated way of measuring contributions to the alliance."
- Latvia-sized hole in European banking supervision
(Politico-Europe)
"The EU’s watchdogs didn’t foresee the collapse of a Latvian lender from money-laundering allegations. … The many post-crisis rules currently in force did not prevent Latvia’s third-largest bank from collapsing, as the European Central Bank’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) framework does not cover money laundering.”
—
"ABLV will now be liquidated under Latvian law … ABLV is a relatively minor lender with total assets of just €3.6 billion as of September, meaning the ripple effects from its failure are limited. But Brussels may not get so lucky next time if a more systemically important bank collapses for similar reasons."
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Monday 26.
February
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- Saja aasta eest murti Eesti-Vene piirijoone nimel piike kõvasti
(ERR)
"100 aastat tagasi, vabariigi väljakuulutamise aegu, oli Eesti kaart teistsugune. Tartu rahuleping oli esimene ametlik dokument, millega Eesti idapiir paika pandi. Kuigi lõpuks jõuti nii Eesti kui Vene poolt rahuldava kokkuleppeni, olid vaidlused läbirääkimislaua taga tulised ja piike murti kõvasti."
- Hirm Venemaa ees on pannud USA relvaäri Euroopas õitsema
(Postimees)
"Müügitehing on paljuski vastuseks Venemaa otsusele tuua Kaliningradi Iskander raketid. Ballistilised raketid Kaliningradis ei ole midagi uut, kuid Iskander pikendab kõvasti tuumalõhkepeade kohale toimetamise ulatust. Samuti on asunud Venemaa väga kiiresti moderniseerima oma õhuväge."
- Rajoonivõim keelas ära Eesti Pihkva konsulaadi aastapäeva vastuvõtu
(ERR)
"Aare Hõrn, kes on setode peavanem järgmised kolm aastat, ütles ERR-ile, et rajoonivõimu otsus tekitab nukrust, aga neil on pakkuda Pihkva kultuurimajale mitmeid näitusi, samuti on plaanis korraldada talgud kohalikus luterlikus surnuaias ja aasta jooksul häid näitusi. "Mõtteid ja plaane on palju. Ulatame oma sõbrakäe Pihkva- ja Petserimaale."
- Russian district bans Estonian Pskov chancery's centennial reception
(ERR)
- EU: Facebook's Policies Pressed From All Sides as Europe Cracks Down
(Lawfare)
"A German court ruled that Facebook’s 'real name' policy is unlawful.”
—
"The ruling itself may not have enduring effect. Both sides intend to appeal. Facebook has said it has already made a number of changes to its terms of use since the case was first brought in 2015 and it will continue to make changes in preparation for when the EU-wide General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on May 25 of this year. The GDPR will be the biggest overhaul of data protection laws in decades and aims to harmonize laws across Europe; it might render this case moot by superseding the German law at issue."
- Opinion: Western Balkans joining EU would be wrong move for wrong reasons
(Deutsche Welle)
"Fear is the overriding reaction to the planned EU accession of Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Some critics have warned it will expand the economic and political influence of Russia, China and Saudi Arabia in Brussels. Others point to dangers endemic to the western Balkans, which could spread to the rest of the EU: nationalism, populism, corruption and organized crime."
--
"The western Balkan countries are unanimous in their desire to join the EU — their ruling elites especially so, hoping for financial support for their inaction and incompetence. They will amend their national laws to conform with EU demands as necessary, and they will make cosmetic changes here and there. However, power structures will not change. That would require their resignations, which is hardly to be expected."
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Russia
“Listen To Us Now"
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✔︎ Arvamus: Putini Wunderwaffe
(Postimees Juhtkiri)
"Putini esinemine oli küll mõeldud siseauditooriumile, näitamaks, et kogu selle tohutu sõjalise potentsiaali eest on võimeline vastutama vaid üks inimene – tema ise, kuid oluline on, kuidas see läänes vastu võetakse. Kogu kõne refrääniks olid presidendi sõnad: «Meid ei ole kaua kuulatud, kuulake nüüd!» Tegelikku poliitilist seisu arvestades on selge, et Kreml viskas lauale oma viimase trumbi – Nõukogude Liidult päranduseks saadud tuumaarsenali, mis Putini kinnitusel pole ära roostetanud, vaid seda on viimastel aastatel oluliselt uuendatud ja tugevdatud."
✔︎ Vladimir Putin Is Campaigning on the Threat of Nuclear War
By Masha Gessen
(The New Yorker)
"On March 18th, Russia will hold an event that it calls an election, which it isn’t, considering that its execution is tightly controlled, and its outcome is preordained. But, still, an “election” day has a way of focussing Russian politics, or what passes for politics, in response to the perceived threat to Putin’s continued power.
Where might such a threat come from? Obviously not from Russian voters; their actual votes are separated from the outcome of the so-called election by layers of bureaucrats, who insure that the vote outcome matches the perceived expectations of their higher-ups. Nor does the threat come from Russian opposition activists, most of whom have been killed, jailed, or forced into exile. The threat, judging from Putin’s speech, comes from the United States."
✔︎ Putin's Fiery Annual Address
(Various sources)
"Speaking before hundreds of top officials and lawmakers 17 days before an election that seems certain to hand him a new six-year term, Putin set out ambitious domestic goals and issued defiant warnings to the West, which he accused of trying to hold Russia back."
—
"Armed to the Teeth but Poor …"
—
"Putin spent almost 40 percent of his state-of-the-nation speech talking about Russia's military … (but) … reminded listeners that Moscow has no plans to attack anyone."
—
"Putin must decide whether to invest in Russia's society or its military; there is not enough money for both."
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- Vene teadlane: ma ei ole tuumajõul töötavast raketist kuulnud
(Postimees)
- The arrival of post-Putin Russia
(ECFR)
“… the behaviour of Russia’s major political and economic players will be defined not by the president’s presence in the system but by the expectation of his departure.
Despite widespread expectations that the regime will undergo a major transformation, it is unlikely that post-Putin Russia will be an anti-Putin Russia."
✔︎ Putin lubas aastakõnes reforme ja demonstreeris uusi relvi
(Postimees)
"Putin hoiatas, et Venemaa riskib oma suveräänsuse kaotamisega, kui ta jääb teistest maha ning noored kolivad mujale, rohkem arenenud riikidesse. Putin nimetas arengus maha jäämist Venemaale suuremaks ohuks kui välisrünnakut."
- Americans and Russians Fought a Battle in Syria - It’s Time to Care
(National Review)
"Did American and Russian forces just engage in a deadly clash in Syria, and was that clash the direct result of a Putin-approved effort to test American defenses? While Americans were arguing over Russian Facebook posts, did American air power and artillery leave up to 300 Russians dead on a Syrian battlefield?”
—
"While we wait for answers, at least two things are clear. First, both Russia and the United States are downplaying the incident. … Second, the situation in Syria is extraordinarily dangerous. ... If reports of hundreds of Russian dead are correct, the American military just killed more Russians than it did in any single encounter throughout the entirety of the Cold War. That’s stunning."
- ‘Why Did No One Lift a Finger to Save the USSR?’
(Window on Eurasia)
“At the end of 1991, the USSR was liquidated simply and overnight: the president of the USSR was driven out of the Kremlin, the flags were lowered, the coat of arms taken off, a multi-million party was dissolved, a piece of paper was signed somewhere in the Beloveshchaya wilds about liquidation … And that was it!”
--
“No one even tried to undertake something for the preservation of the Union – not the five-million strong Soviet army, not the communist party, in which there were about 20 million members, and not the powerful state security service which only a little earlier the entire world feared.”
- Russia’s Sakha Republic: The Coldest People On Earth
(RFERL - Photo essay)
“… winters that regularly drop below -50C."
- Is Russia Ruining the World’s Oldest and Deepest Lake?
by Anna Nemtsova
(The Daily Beast)
"For centuries, ancient Baikal has inspired art and religion among all ethnic groups living peacefully around Baikal—Shamanists and Buddhists here tie up colorful ribbons to trees in gratitude, with wishes whispered; Orthodox believers build churches on the lake’s banks. Some residents pray to the planet’s holy jewel, to preservation of their Siberian sea. Others do not care whether the lake will stay clean for thousands of years, and have taken to dumping sewage into it. …"
- ‘Russian Pride’ Getting in the Way of Building a Modern Aircraft Carrier, Chinese Expert Says
(Window on Eurasia)
“… this same “pride” which 'does not allow Russia to learn from others' means that not only any future aircraft carrier will lag behind those of other countries but that many of its other military and indeed civilian projects will lag behind as well …”
--
"Russians have long dreams of being a great naval power, the Chinese author concludes, but “unfortunately, a Russian pride which does not permit them to learn from others keeps getting in the way. This will ruin them.”
- The Far-Right Book Every Russian General Reads
(The Daily Beast)
"Alexander Dugin is a far-right Russian theorist who might be dismissed as a crackpot if his ideas for a fascist empire weren’t required reading for Russia’s military high command.”
—
"Fascist or not, Dugin’s theories are influential, at least in Russia. In 1999, he became special adviser to then-Duma speaker Gennady Seleznev. More important, his seminal work, The Foundations of Geopolitics, in which he promotes the idea of a vast Eurasian empire that looks east, not west, is required reading at the General Staff Academy for every Russian military officer above the rank of colonel.”
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