✔︎ EANC Remembers Senator John McCain
(Estonian American National Council)
✔︎ "Russian state media created secret companies in order to bankroll websites in the Baltic states …” [The story of Kremlin-funded propaganda channel ‘Baltnews’].
- BuzzFeed
✔︎ Vostok - 2018: Russia announced they will be holding the biggest war games in nearly four decades. The exercise, called Vostok-2018 (East-2018), will take place Sept. 11-15 in central and eastern Russian military districts and reportedly will involve almost 300,000 troops, over 1,000 military aircraft, two naval fleets, and all its airborne units. Units from China and Mongolia will also take part.
- See ‘Vostok - 2018’ news list
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- Ancylus Lake Map:
- A History of the Baltic Sea
(International Journal of Geography - 2002)
- Ancylus Lake on Wiki
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Friday 31. August
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✔︎ ‘Baltnews' This Is How Russian Propaganda Actually Works In The 21st Century
by Inga Springe and Holger Roonemaa
(BuzzFeed News)
"Russian state media created secret companies in order to bankroll websites in the Baltic states — a key battleground between Russia and the West …"
- Inside look at the Russian propaganda factory as it operates in Estonia
(ERR)
"The Russian government has long been funding several apparently-independent news sites in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. The recipient sites apparently propagate pro-Kremlin stories, at the latter's behest. Funding for such Russian-sponsored sites in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, has been channelled through companies in Serbia and Cyprus, it is reported."
- Moscow’s Mouthpieces
(re: Baltica)
"Skype logs and other documents obtained by Re:Baltica, Postimees and Buzzfeed offer a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Kremlin’s propaganda machine."
- Network of pro-Kremlin news outlets in the Baltic states suddenly admits to being run by the Russian state
(Meduza)
"Either immediately before or shortly after the publication on August 29 of an investigative report by BuzzFeed News, Re:Baltica, and Postimees, the news outlet BaltNews finally admitted to being owned and operated by the Russian state through the Rossiya Segodnya media agency."
- Russia propaganda campaign revealed in Baltics
(The National | UNIAN)
https://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/russia-propaganda-campaign-revealed-in-baltic-state-1.765040
—
- Venemaa propaganda Eestis
(Postimees - behind paywall)
✔︎ Jeltsin pakkus Clintonile saladiili: teeme nii, et Balti riigid ja Ukraina NATO-sse ei saa
(Delfi)
- Bill Clinton vastas: „Aga kui me nõustuksime, et ükski endine Nõukogude Liidu riike ei saa NATOga liituda, oleks see halb meie püüetele ehitada üles uus Venemaa. Ma ei ole naiivne. Ma saan aru, et sul on huvid, kes ja millal saab NATOsse tulla /.../, kuid mõtle, kui kohutava sõnumi see saadaks, kui me sõlmiksime, nagu sa soovitad, justkui salajase kokkuleppe.”
—
"Vestlus leidis aset Helsingi tippkohtumisel 1997. aasta 21. märtsi hommikul …"
- Estonians pray and fast on Sept. 1 for Pope’s upcoming visit
(Vatican News)
"Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, September 22 to 25. He is visiting Estonia, August 25."
- Ikea on Eestis ostnud tohutus koguses metsa
(Postimees)
"Ikea kontserni tütarettevõte IRI Investments Estonia OÜ on Eestis ostnud kokku 9600 hektarit metsa, sellest ligi 1400 hektarit viimase aasta jooksul.”
- IKEA mulling over opening Estonian store
(ERR)
- Finland to join France-led defence coalition
(Yle)
"Speaking after a press conference with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, Niinistö said that Finland will sign a letter of intent during the autumn. So far, nine other EU countries have announced their decision to join Macron's coalition of the willing, including France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom."
--
"Paris is seeking a deployable European military crisis force outside of existing EU efforts."
- Belgium, Germany take over NATO air mission in Baltics
(Stars & Stripes)
- Europe's Quest for Financial Independence
(Foreign Policy)
"Brussels Will Find it Hard to Defy Washington—But It Has to Try.”
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Vostok - 2018
(East - 2018)
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- Russia to hold biggest war games in nearly four decades - Sept. 11-15
(Multiple sources)
"Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Vostok-2018 drills were justified given "aggressive and unfriendly" attitudes towards his country."
--
"Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said units from China and Mongolia would take part in the exercise, at military ranges in central and eastern Russia."
—
"The exercise, called Vostok-2018 (East-2018), will take place in central and eastern Russian military districts and involve almost 300,000 troops, over 1,000 military aircraft, two of Russia’s naval fleets, and all its airborne units, Shoigu said in a statement."
—
--
—
"Russia feels under threat and will do what it must to protect itself."
—
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"Russia last held large-scale war games in September 2017, in regions bordering NATO countries in the Baltics."
—
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"In some ways they will repeat aspects of Zapad-81.” - Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
[Exercise Zapad-81 was the largest military exercise ever to be carried out by the USSR, according to NATO and US sources. The 1981 exercise was first and foremost a propaganda show of force to NATO. Propaganda tapes were made of the large scale offensives concluding in a large victory parade.]
- Latest Military Exercise Shows Kremlin is Actively Preparing for a World War
(Window on Eurasia)
"Russia has been preparing for such a war for “at least the last five years.”
- Venemaa teatas oma ajaloo suurima sõjaväeõppuse korraldamisest
(Delfi)
"Venemaa kaitseminister Sergei Šoigu teatas teisipäeval, et tänavu septembris toimuv sõjaväeõppus Vostok-2018 saab olema suurim omanäoline alates Nõukogude Liidu kokkukukkumisest."
- Vostok 2018 war games: China’s chance to learn Russia’s military lessons from Syria
(South China Morning Post)
"China has not been in an armed conflict since Vietnam in the late 1970s."
"Chinese forces begin arriving for the massive Vostok-2018 exercises, involving 300,000 troops and 1,000 aircraft, which will simulate large-scale warfare in Russia’s east.”
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Thursday 30. August
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- Moscow has complex system to run agents of influence abroad
by Paul Goble
(Euromaidan)
"As Moscow’s geopolitical isolation has increased, Dmytro Khmelnytskyi says, the role of its agents of influence abroad and the enormously variegated organizations that recruit and direct them has increased far beyond what they were during the Cold War when anti-communism served as a constraint."
- Memorial to the victims of communism opened in Estonia
by Silver Tambur
(Estonian World)
"The names of over 22,000 people who were murdered or who died due to inhuman living conditions in imprisonment or forced exile are inscribed on the memorial’s name plaques. A separate memorial wall is dedicated to military officers of Estonia who fell victim to the communist terror.”
--
"The memorial has two parts – called the “Journey” and the “Home Garden”. The “Journey” is a corridor of memory with the names of the victims on its walls. This corridor symbolises the mercilessness and hostility towards humanity of the totalitarian regime."
- What Really Lies Behind the Belarusian Crackdown on Independent Media
(Carnegie Moscow)
"Judging by how they are preparing for it, the Belarusian authorities apparently expect that a threat to stability could arise quite soon. It’s not clear how they envisage the source of the danger: economic problems, an information attack from the East or West, or perhaps they are contemplating carrying out painful reforms. But what is clear is that they have serious concerns about how non-state media would behave if something did happen."
- 80% of EU citizens want to scrap daylight savings
(Various sources)
“Some 4.6M EU citizens participated in a European Commission survey."
—
—
—
- John McCain's name suggested for new Nato HQ
(BBC)
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Wednesday 29. August
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- Arvamus: Memoriaal on avatud. Nüüd on järg Patarei käes
Martin Andreller ja Sandra Vokk
(Postimees)
- Mythbreaker: Estonians are fascists
(Propastop)
“… we have already immured the notion that Estonia voluntarily entered the Soviet Union. We also have demolished the misconception that the Estonian citizenship law harasses Russian speaking people. Today we reject the propagandistic meme, (that) Estonians were fascists. ...”
- Müüdimurdja: eestlased olla fašistid
- Eesti jalaväerühm Malis alustas väekaitse ülesannete täitmist
(ERR)
[Estonian troops are in Mali.]
- Lawmakers Want Classified Documents on Trump’s Meeting with Putin
(Foreign Policy)
“We make this request only as a direct result of the extraordinary and, to our knowledge, unprecedented circumstances of President Trump’s … one-on-one meeting with a leader identified as a threat to the United States by President Trump’s own National Security Strategy.”
- The US Senate’s letter to the Secretary of State
- Macron Wants to Create a European Army
(Newsweek)
"After decades of underinvestment, Macron is spearheading a push to revamp France’s military, returning it to its historical position as one of the most well-funded and potent forces in the world. With Europe facing an emboldened Russia and the Western allies battling Islamist threats across Africa and the Middle East, France needs its bite back."
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Tuesday 28. August
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- 'Press Conference': Kersti Kaljulaid Narvas
(Delfi)
- President Kaljulaid alustab tööd Narvas
(Postimees | ERR | Öhtuleht)
"Vabariigi President töötab Narvas tänasest kuni järgmise neljapäevani ning kahel nädalal novembris. Selle aja jooksul on kavas kohtuda kohaliku elu edendajatega, külastada ettevõtteid ja omavalitsusi, koole ja kodanikuühendusi ning riigiasutusi. Samuti toimuvad Narvas mitmed töökohtumised ning tseremooniad, mida tavapäraselt Tallinnas Kadriorus peetakse."
—
—
“… elu Narvas on järjest paremaks läinud."
- Kagu-Eesti võõrustab kõrgeid riigiametnikke
(Lõuna Leht)
"Koostööreisil külastatakse majandusvaldkonna külalistega objekte, mis iseloomustavad Kagu-Eesti omapära ja loomulikke arengusuundasid (Põlva Gümnaasium, Acino Estonia, Koidula piirijaam, Kagu-Eesti Innovatsioonikeskus, Taara militaarlinnak, Toftan, Sangaste piirkond jt)."
- Rail Balticu eelprojekt ja harjumaalaste ettepanekud
(Harju Elu)
[Anvar Salomets, Rail Baltic Estonia Tehniline Juht, kirjutab plaanidest.]
- Medical handling of victims of radiation exposure practiced in Tartu
(Baltic Times)
"Instructors of the course included specialists working at the NATO Center of Excellence for Military Medicine, whose everyday work in addition to carrying out courses is also consultations related to radiation and responding to extraordinary cases of radiation pollution. The four-day course was the first such event to be carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the NATO Center of Excellence for Military Medicine."
- Estonian Navy clears aerial bomb found on route of Balticconnector gas pipeline
(ERR)
"Working at such depths we pay particular attention to safety, so our experienced mine divers were also supported today in the operation area by a underwater medic and a special hyperbaric chamber, the likes of which are not found elsewhere in Estonia," Lt. Sg. Priit Kaasikmäe, head of the divers unit of the Estonian Navy, said.”
—
"Since the recreation of the Estonian Navy over 1,250 pieces of ordnance have been found and cleared within the country's maritime boundaries, most of which were naval mines, torpedoes and aircraft bombs from the two world wars.”
--
"Balticconnector is a 150-km natural gas pipeline currently under construction that will connect the gas networks of Estonia and Finland, with over half of its total length to be located at the bottom of the sea. The project is to be completed by 2020."
- Firms struggle to cope with Finnish military's wind turbine ban
(Yle)
"In south-east Finland, five wind turbines on the coast of the Gulf of Finland churn out electricity for regional utility Haminan Energia. Half of the electricity the firm sells is produced by wind. Demand for renewable energy is rising, but the company says it cannot build any more windmills in the south-east regions of Kymenlaakso and South Karelia."
--
"Since late 2013, the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) has effectively blocked any further wind power projects in south-east Finland, saying that they could interfere with radar signals. At the time, more than 200 projects were planned in the area."
- Novgorodi soost kaevati välja 171 Läti leegionäri säilmed
(Maaleht)
"Läti sõja-arheoloogia selts Leģenda kaevas möödunud nädalal Novgorodi oblastist Venemaal välja II maailmasõjas langenud 171 Läti leegionäri säilmed. … See asus keset sood raskesti ligipääsetava Kretšno küla juures, mis on alates maailmasõjast mahajäetud olnud. Lähim asustatud koht on 25 kilomeetri kaugusel."
- Nord Stream 2 project can become collision point in transatlantic relations
(Baltic Times)
"If built, the 1,200-kilometre Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is scheduled for completion in 2019, will supply around 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, circumventing Poland, the Baltic states and Ukraine. The project is expected to cost an estimated EUR 10 billion."
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Monday 27. August
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- EU 'can no longer rely on US,' says France's Macron
(Deutsche Welle)
"French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said his government would unveil proposals "in the coming months" to boost security across the EU in a bid to diminish the bloc's reliance on the US for its defense needs.”
--
"Europe can no longer rely on the United States for its security," Macron said during a speech to French diplomats and lawmakers. "It is up to us to guarantee European security.” Macron said the EU needed to "take new initiatives, build new alliances" to ensure its preservation."
--
"I want us to launch an exhaustive review of our security with all Europe's partners, which includes Russia."
- The Ukrainian Who Sunk Manafort
(Foreign Policy)
"When a Virginia court convicted Paul Manafort, U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, on charges of tax and bank fraud and concealing foreign bank accounts, a certain Ukrainian politician felt a surge of vindication. Serhiy Leshchenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and a former journalist, revealed the existence in 2016 of the so-called “black ledger”—a list of secret payments made by Ukraine’s pro-Russian Party of Regions to Manafort and others. The list detailed the vast sums Manafort earned as a political consultant abroad, some of which he concealed from U.S. authorities. …"
- Yandex.Taxi: A Kremlin Trojan Horse in Lithuania?
(CEPA)
"The Lithuanian National Cyber Security Center informed the public that the mobile application for Yandex online taxi booking maintains an active connection with eleven unique IP addresses (servers), ten of which are in Russia."
--
"Moreover, the Yandex.Taxi app can connect with these servers without the client’s knowledge, since a device in standby mode still receives and transmits data. Even when a clients phone is not in use, according to experts, the device can activate a camera or microphone, record conversations, access the client’s contacts, manage calls, take messages, identify location, and conduct network access control. The Center advises soldiers, civil servants, journalists, law enforcement officers, as well as those who often travel to Russia and Belarus, against using the Yandex.Taxi mobile application."
- Tallinn kuulub Euroopa kümne targa turismilinna hulka
(Pealinn - 22. august)
"Turistid kulutavad Tallinnas 960 miljonit eurot aastas ja turism loob otseseid töökohti ja kaudseid töökohti erinevates sektorites," ütles abilinnapea Aivar Riisalu."
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Russia
“Trust No One"
_____________
- A Baker’s Dozen of Russian Stories on a Single Day that Shouldn’t Be Missed
by Paul Goble
(Window on Eurasia)
- Russia’s Hawkish Church
(Riddle)
"The Russian Orthodox Church, in spite of its pacifist scriptures, does not oppose war. On the contrary, the ROC has fast become a fountainhead of Russian militarism."
- Putin Has a Pension Problem
(Bloomberg | Newsweek)
"Russians have supported his behavior on the international stage, but a thorny domestic issue has put him on the defensive.”
—
- Putin lubas pensionireformi negatiivset mõju pehmendada
(ERR)
- Putin doubles down on unpopular pension reform but softens blow
(Deutsche Well)
- Putin Announces Concessions in Retirement Age Hike
(The Moscow Times)
- The details behind Putin's plan to reform Russia's pension system
(Meduza)
- Kremlin pushes pension reform, but Russian public pushes back
(Christian Science Monitor)
- Aleksei Navalny, Kremlin Critic, Is Jailed Ahead of Russian Pension Protests
(The Hill | New York Times)
--
- Russian Military isn’t Paying Its Bills – and Suppliers are Increasingly Suing
(Window on Eurasia)
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