- “We cannot turn into yet another failed Eastern European state.”
- “Submerged Finnic Identities Re-Emerging in Russia’s Northwest.”
- “Roots of the Latvian anti-Soviet resistance in 1940.”
- “Euroskeptic nationalists set to enter government in Estonia.”
- “Estonia Blocks $1.9 Billion Wind Park at Sea on Security Concern.”
__________
Friday 12. April
__________
Soviet Secret Police Card Files Released in Latvia Only Tip of the Iceberg, per retired KGB Colonel
by Paul Goble - Window on Eurasia
“Far more serious records, called “the journals of the KGB” are scheduled to be released next month; and they will show far more than just a list of names but contain details on what specific individuals did. Such records will be harder to dismiss or ignore and are likely to lead to even more soul searching and even a political crisis.”
✔︎ Kaitsepolitseiamet 2018 Aastaraamat
Internal Security Service (KAPO) Annual Report:
Estonia’s Risky Political Experiment
by Kristi Raik - ICDS
“Following the parliamentary elections of 3 March, Estonian politics has been through an exceptionally troubling period. The winner of the elections, the Reform Party, looks set to stay in opposition, although formally its leader Kaja Kallas is making an effort to form a coalition by 15 April. In case she fails to gather majority support in Riigikogu, which looks most probable at the moment, the process will move on to a vote over the three-party coalition.”
Estonia red-flags Saaremaa offshore wind project citing national security concerns
(Renewables Now)
“The wind farm was to consist of 100 turbines of 6 MW each 10 to 27 kilometers off the western coast of the island. … Estonian authorities did not say what specifically prompted them to red-flag the much-anticipated wind project. Urmas Reinsalu, minister of Justice said, referring to the findings of Estonia’s Internal Security Service, that the reason for the thumbs-down was the suspicion that, with the construction permit granted, the applicant may “threaten public order, social security and national security.”
Estonia Blocks $1.9 Billion Wind Park at Sea on Security Concern
(Bloomberg)
Former Estonian Security Agent Suspected Of 'Cooperating' With Russian Intelligence
(RFERL)
__________
Thursday 11. April
__________
Eesti Rahvusvahelises Julgeolekukeskkonnas: 2019
(Välisluureametist)
“Kremli välispoliitikat mõjutavad üha kuhjuvad riigisisesed probleemid, nagu rahva kasvav rahulolematus ja pinged võimueliidi sees . Tugev sõjaline jõud ning end ohustatuna tundev riigi juht- kond võib osutuda ohtlikuks kombinat- siooniks.”
Report: International Security and Estonia 2019
(Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service)
Kaljulaid loodab kohtumisest Putiniga Eesti-Vene dialoogi käivitumist
(ERR)
“Tema sõnul on palju tasandeid, kus Eesti ja Venemaa inimesed võiksid ja peaksid suhtlema ning lahendama igapäevaseid tehnilisi küsimusi.”
Telekanal Rossija 1 üritas Eestis Jehoova tunnistajaid kiusata
(Postimees)
“Kapo kinnitusel jätkab Kreml sissetöötatud nõukogudeaegset poliitikat, kus meediatöötajad viivad täpsete võimu juhtnööride järgi ellu vaenulikku mõjutustegevust, et lõhestada ühiskonnarühmi ja luua konflikte.”
Vene telekanal saatis võttegrupi Eestisse tegema lugu eestlaste Hitleri-lembusest
(Postimees)
Piirivalvurid pidasid kinni piiriposti juures pilti teinud turistid
(Lõuna Leht)
“Saatse kordoni juht Arvi Suvi nendib, et turistid võtsid arvukatest, hästi silma paistvatest ja mitmesse keelde dubleeritud hoiatussiltidest hoolimata riski seadusest ja keelust mööda vaadata ning Venemaa piiriposti kallistama minna. „Igal sellisel keelust ja hoiatusest üle astumisel on paraku aga oma hind ning piiriäärsel alal liikujal tuleb mõista, et sinna paigaldatud hoiatussildid ja-viidad on seal siiski põhjusega,“ selgitas Suvi.”
How Baltic “Poetic Documentaries” Exposed Soviet Reality
(Deep Baltic)
“A recently released film, Bridges of Time, directed by Audrius Stonys and Kristīne Briede, contemporary documentary-makers from Lithuania and Latvia respectively, aims to bring the story of Baltic documentary to new audiences.”
Rail Baltica will ensure smooth military freight movement
(Baltic Times)
“Lithuania is ready to provide comprehensive assistance to NATO troops and ensure a well-developed multimodal transport system and safe infrastructure.” - Lithuanian Transport Minister Rokas Masiulis
Roots of the Latvian anti-Soviet resistance in 1940
(Latvian Broadcasting)
“After the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was signed, Stalin and his henchmen were in no particular rush to destroy the independence of the Baltics. The Soviets achieved this goal slowly but steadily, with each ultimatum leaving room for hopes and illusions over preserving at least a smidgen of Baltic statehood. That is, until July 21, 1940 when the so-called "people's parliaments" asked to add the Baltics to the brotherhood of Soviet republics.”
—
“This approach gave the Soviet Union two important advantages: They had room to maneuver in face of international pressure, as the process could be paused or even backtracked a bit; A slower approach allowed reducing the chance that meaningful resistance would take place. With each of the ultimatums, the Baltic governments faced a choice of acceding or risking all-out war.”
U.K.: EU Delays Brexit Until Halloween
(Stratfor | New Yorker)
“The European Union will allow the United Kingdom to leave earlier if it approves a withdrawal agreement before that date. EU leaders also asked London to "act in a responsible manner" and not to disrupt the policy-making process in the bloc during the extra months it will be a member state.”
—
Putin Announces Arctic Expansion Plans
(The Moscow Times)
“A global transportation corridor is going to be built compromising the Northern Sea Route … We’re going to increase our icebreaker fleet - by 2035, it’s going to have no fewer than 13 heavy icebreakers and nine of them are going to be nuclear-powered. … the Northern Sea Route is particularly important to avoid the straight and narrow channels controlled by other countries.”
Glaciers in the Alps could disappear by 2100
(Deutsche Welle)
“Climate change is causing the world's glaciers to shrink five times faster than they were in the 1960s, losing 369 billion tons of snow and ice each year …”
Norway: Europe's first underwater restaurant opens
(CNN)
“Five meters below the surface of the North Sea, near the southernmost tip of Norway, Europe's first underwater restaurant is now complete. The 110-foot long structure, an oblique concrete slab that looks like a sunken periscope, was submerged in July 2018 and welcomed the first guests on March 20. … sits up to 40 guests, protected by concrete walls half a meter (1.6 feet) thick, and has a total internal area of about 500 square meters (5,300 square feet) set over three levels, offering unique underwater views of the surrounding marine environment through a 11-meter (36 feet) wide panoramic window.”
Books Published in Russia Are Overwhelmingly Reissues of Soviet Ones or Translations
(Window on Eurasia)
“First of all, Russians are “deeply conservative and don’t need new authors.” Second, “everything Soviet is now fashionable.” And third, there aren’t enough publications interested in new Russian books and capable of providing guidance to those who might buy them. As a result, Russians increasingly buy reissues of Soviet books or translations.”
Russian lawmakers have adopted final version of new ‘Internet isolation’ legislation
(Meduza)
“According to lawmakers, this is a blueprint for what to do “in case of a rainy day.” If someone attacks the Russian segment of the Internet (if they threaten to restrict or disable Russia’s Internet access), Roskomnadzor will seize centralized control of Russia’s Internet. The federal agency will begin filtering all Internet traffic through special override systems … It’s unclear what Russia’s authorities are guarding the Internet against.”
__________
Wednesday 10. April
__________
Intervjuu: Välispoliitika instituudi direktor Kristi Raik
(Postimees)
“… loodav valitsuskoalitsioon võib nõrgendada Eesti positsiooni Euroopa Liidus. Paremradikaalse erakonna saamine võimuliitu sobib aga Venemaale, kelle eesmärk on nõrgestada nii EL-i kui ka NATO-t.”
United Nordic front met with Putin
(The Barents Observer)
“Leaders of four Nordic countries sent a conciliatory signal of as they teamed up in Russia’s top Arctic conference.”
Svenska Cellulosa buys 10,000 hectares of Latvian forest
(Emerging Europe)
“Svenska Cellulosa (SCA), Europe’s largest private forest holding company, which produces paper, pulp and wood products has acquired a total of 10,000 hectares of land and forest from the Latvian Forest Company for 26.2 million euros. SCA has been buying timber from the Baltic countries for decades …”
No reason for ERR to consider any changes re: EKRE demands
(ERR)
“The Estonian Broadcasting Council (RHN) on Tuesday discussed an appeal submitted by Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) deputy chairman and MP Martin Helme in which he demanded that Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) journalists who had "demonstrated bias" be "removed from the air." Following the council's meeting, however, RHN chairman Rein Veidemann said that there is no reason for ERR to make any changes.”
Submerged Finnic Identities Re-Emerging in Russia’s Northwest
(Window on Eurasia)
“A BBC journalist interviewed numerous Finno-Ugric young people in St. Petersburg about their past – their ancestors were deported to Siberia or killed under Stalin, and many have lost their language and been russified – and about their present in which they are trying to recover and reaffirm their identities …”
Now Is Not the Time to Rest on NATO's Laurels
by Edward Lucas - CEPA
“To our opponents, we appear in not much better shape than France in the 1930s – plagued by economic weakness, internal divisions, and weak leadership. The Maginot line, splendid though it was, could not counteract that.”
Latgale locals worried over storage of radioactive waste near Lithuanian border
(Latvian Broadcasting)
“… just 30 kilometers away from Daugavpils, Latvia's second city. The facility is to store waste from the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, which was closed ten years ago with the matter of storing waste still unsolved. Local residents and leaders have been sounding the alarm.”
Estonia refused the Russian training vessel Sedov entry into its territorial waters
(The Baltic Course)
“The embassy of the Russian Federation in Estonia called the decision an unfriendly act.”
Venemaa kuulutas välja ambitsioonikad sõjaväe ja kaubandusplaanid Arktikas
(Postimees)
“President Vladimir Putin teatas, et Venemaa kavatseb drastiliselt suurendada kohalolu Arktika piirkonnas. Väärtuslike maavarade ja kaubandusteede kaitseks on juba alustatud vanade sõjaväebaaside moderniseerimist.”
Latvia bestows state decorations on president and other Estonian officials
(Baltic Times)
Moscow’s Growing Reparations Debt
(CEPA)
“Russian officials have recently demanded compensation for 60 years of Ukraine’s alleged “occupation” of Crimea. Although this claim is a political ploy to place Kyiv on the defensive, Moscow should be careful what it asks for. As the legal successor of the Soviet Union, the Russian government is responsible for the colossal reparation debt owed to former satellites - a debt that is growing with its ongoing war in Ukraine.”
__________
Tuesday 9. April
__________
Soome president teel Peterburi: uus leht on pöördumas – Norra, Rootsi ja ka Eesti kohtuvad Putiniga
(Delfi)
Niinistö and Putin meet in Russia
(Yle)
Going to Russia, meeting with aggressive opponent takes courage, Lithuanian PM says
(Baltic Times)
Kremli meedia valetab: Eesti president ei pea vene keelt ohuks
(Propastop)
The Kremlin’s media is lying: The Estonian President does not consider the Russian language a threat
The Partnership For Peace: A Quiet Nato Success Story
(War on the Rocks)
“As NATO began to discuss what enlargement would look like, the Partnership for Peace was developed — not as an alternative to membership, but to help nations make the reforms necessary to be considered credible candidates for membership once enlargement got underway. The partnership was designed to get nations ready for membership as well as to establish links between NATO and those nations that did not want to join the alliance.”
Russia Now at Risk of Losing Crimea, Kaliningrad, Far East and Even Middle Volga, Former Head of KGB Analysis Says
(Window on Eurasia)
“Kaliningrad, for example” where “time is working against us. “The population there never went to the Soviet Union and already doesn’t remember it. The oblast is gradually being drawn into relations with the West.” It already has “special relations” with Poland, Lithuania, and so on. Western leaders can see this and are getting ideas. …”
Is Belarus Putin’s Next Land Grab?
(New Republic)
___________
_______
___
