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12 July, 2019


  • Arvo PĂ€rt: “Laulupidu on ĂŒks armastuse tuluke, mis soojendab meie kĂ”ikide sĂŒdameid siin kargel pĂ”hjamaal. Hoidkem seda pĂŒhana! Hoidkem, et ta ei kustuks! See on meist igaĂŒhe varandus, see on Eesti varandus. Nii kaua, kui armastuse kogemus meid juhib ja hoiab, ei suuda ka meie ĂŒmber puhuvad jĂ€ised tuuled meid ĂŒksteisest lahutada.”

  • “Massive choir a place for Estonians to find identity, solace.”

  • đŸ‡ȘđŸ‡Ș “Laulupidu 150 on lĂ€bi, aga sĂŒdames alles.” 












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Friday 12. July
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 The power and the passion of folk singing in Estonia
(The Economist)
“Choral singing, and Laulupidu in particular, have played an important role in civic life in Estonia. The first song celebration, held in the university town of Tartu in 1869, coincided with the “Age of Awakening”, a period when Estonians first began to recognise themselves as a nation and demand self-government (first from a ruling German elite and then from Tsarist Russia). After 1940, during the Soviet occupation of the country, festivals were closely monitored: programmes had to be submitted in advance for vetting, songs glorifying Russia were forced onto the repertoire and “Mu isamaa, mu onn ja room” (“My fatherland, my joy and happiness”), the national anthem, was banned.”
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“Later, music provided Estonians with a way to express defiance. In September 1988 250,000 people—a quarter of the Estonian-speaking population at the time—gathered at the festival grounds in Tallinn to call for independence. Thereafter, the movement across the Baltic States was known as the “Singing Revolution.”




Foto: Estonian World 'Laulupidu' Gallery



Kas EKRE liitlaspartei liikmed lasid ministrite piltide pihta?
(Postimees)
“Soomes on tekitanud suurt tĂ€helepanu tekitanud eile avalikuks tulnud info Soome Rahvusmeelsete Liidu suvelaagrist, kus vĂ€idetavalt tulistati mĂ€rki hetkel ametis olevate ministrite piltide pihta. Laagris osalesid nii PĂ”lissoomlaste partei, paremÀÀrmusliku Odini sĂ”dalaste ja neo-natsliku PĂ”hjamaise Vastupanuliikumise liikmed.”



Sajandi keskpaik vÔib tuua Tallinna Bratislava kliima
(ERR)
“Maailma keskmise Ă”hutemperatuuri tĂ”usu tĂ”ttu vĂ”ib sarnaneda Tallinna kliima 2050. aastaks sellest 1300 kilomeetrit lĂ”unas asuva Bratislava omale. Igas viiendas linnas valitsevatele tingimustele ei leiaks praegusest maailmast analoogi.”



By 2050 Tallinn may have the same weather as Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, 807 miles to the south
(Time & Date - Norway)





Gitanas Nauseda sworn-in as Lithuania's new president
(Delfi Lithuania)



A New Aspirant to Be the Fourth Baltic Republic – Ingria
by Paul Goble
“For many years after 1991, people in Europe and even in Russia talked about the possibility that Kaliningrad (Koenigsberg) would become the fourth Baltic republic. Now, there is a new contender for that honor, Ingria or Ingermanland, whose residents first proclaimed their state independence a century ago this week.”
—
“
 located on the Karelian isthmus, on portions of the present-day Priozersk and Vyborg districts of Leningrad Oblast 
”



U.S. F-35 stealth fighter to perform flyover at Ämari Air Base
(ERR)
“Other aircraft will also be available on the ground, for public inspection, including a NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane and an AgustaWestland Apache attack helicopter, from Britain 
”







Could Hong Kong Become Another Estonia?
(The Diplomat)
“Estonia and the other Baltic states, Latvia and Lithuania, achieved what most observers deemed impossible. Not only did they break from Kremlin domination in 1988-1991, but they survived and soon became integrated into both NATO and the European Union. 
 Worn down by eight years in Afghanistan, the Kremlin’s imperial will weakened in the 1980s. Exploiting Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost programs, non-communist cultural figures such as Lennart Meri in Estonia and Vytautas Landsbergis in Lithuania helped organize a nonviolent “Singing Revolution.”
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“(If) Hong Kongers remain persistent, they might catch the Estonian dream — not today, but perhaps in a decade. But nothing is pre-determined. They will need widely respected leaders like Estonia’s Lennart Meri plus what is now lacking — a Chinese Gorbachev.”



Interview: President of Latvia, Egils Levits
(Postimees)



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Thursday 11. July
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Major Chinese infrastructure firm to join Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel project
(Helsinki Times)
“The letter of intent is to be signed by the end of this week, Peter Vesterbacka, a founding partner and spokesperson of Finest Bay Area Development.”













Putin’s Not-So-Secret Mercenaries 
Patronage, Geopolitics, and the Wagner Group
(Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
“Russia’s return to the global stage as a major power relies on an array of diplomatic, information, security, and economic tools that help the Kremlin punch above its weight. One of the newest instruments in that toolbox is the Wagner Group—a shadowy band of mercenaries loyal to the Kremlin and controlled by Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a member of President Vladimir Putin’s coterie. Russian and Western media have been following the group’s expanding footprint from Ukraine and Syria to Sudan, the Central African Republic, and now possibly Libya and Venezuela. But despite the significant attention, Western understanding of Wagner’s role and capacity is still incomplete at best. This is partly due to Moscow’s relentless disinformation campaigns and efforts to deny responsibility for Wagner’s operations.”









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Wednesday 10. July
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VÀlisministeerium kutsus protestiks saluudi vastu vÀlja Vene saatkonna esindaja
(ERR)
“VĂ€lisministeerium kutsus kolmapĂ€eval vĂ€lja Venemaa suursaatkonna esindaja ning avaldas protesti seoses ilutulestiku korraldamisega Moskvas 22. septembril.”









Moscow’s marking of 1944 retake of Tallinn is ‘provocative’
(Washington Post | Baltic Times)
“Estonia has protested Russian plans to hold festivities marking the 75th anniversary of the seizure of the Baltic nation’s capital by the Soviet Red Army in 1944. The Estonian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday a Russian embassy representative had been summoned and was told that staging a fireworks show in Moscow on Sept. 22 was “a provocative step.”
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Latvian President Egils Levits goes to Estonia for first foreign visit
(Latvian Broadcasting)
“Following a meeting with President Kersti Kaljulaid at Kadriorg Palace, his itinerary includes consultations with Prime Minister JĂŒri Ratas and parliamentary speaker Henn PĂ”lluaas. He is also due to visit a memorial to victims of Communist genocide, meet the staff of Latvia's embassy in Tallinn and give interviews to the two main daily newspapers, â€Postimees” and â€œEesti PĂ€evaleht”.









Mordvins Appeal to Finland for Help in Overcoming Environmental Degradation
by Paul Goble
“
 a group of Saransk activists has sent a four minute-long video appeal to Finland asking for help to overcome the environmental degradation that now threatens the future of two fellow Finno-Ugric peoples, the Erzya and the Mokshans. 
 “There are no independent ecologists in Saransk who can speak the truth about the situation there,” the appeal continues. “Possibly if our fraternal people in Finland learns about the ecological misfortune in Mordvinia and talks about this, the Russian powers will begin to fulfill their obligations. Mordvinia is the home of Finno-Ugric peoples. We need help.”



EU: The new power women at the helm in Europe
(Evening Standard)
“The new arrivals feel welcome after the years of grumpy men at the helm. But today’s Europe has to face a clutch of sorrows, coming not as single spies but, as in Hamlet, in battalions of woes and competing emergencies.”



















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Norway's sovereign wealth fund backs away from fossil fuels
(Deutsche Welle)
“But for finance, not climate protection.”



Some of Putin’s Top Cops Are mobsters. KGB Vets Are Ashamed
by Anna Nemtsova - Daily Beast
“
 elite FSB units and senior officers shaking down businesses for huge bribes and even robbing banks.”



Putin’s Russia is rehabilitating Stalin. We must not let it happen
(The Guardian)
“An archive of artifacts from Stalin’s brutal reign should stand as evidence against Putin’s vision of a ‘heroic’ Soviet past.”




__________

Tuesday 9. July
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Opinion: Following PACE walkout, should Estonia leave the UN too?
(ERR)
“Estonian politicians are weighing whether and how to respond to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's (PACE) recent decision to restore Russia's voting rights in this pan-European organization that is very involved in human rights.”



Russian Rights Activists Who Backed Russia’s Return to PACE Repeated Error of Liberals in 1993
(Window on Eurasia)
“PACE conceded everything; Russia conceded nothing.”



EU as world power: Brussels has the tools, but does it have the will?
(Christian Science Monitor)
“The bloc “has the market power, defense spending, and diplomatic heft to end [its] vulnerability,” argues the European Council on Foreign Relations, a Berlin-based think tank. “But unless it acts soon, Europe may become not a player in the new world order but the chessboard on which great powers compete for power and glory.”



Report: How Europe can regain the capacity to act
(ECFR)



Why Government Economists Are Getting Nervous in Russia
(Carnegie Moscow)
“The problem is that people don’t have money—the real disposable income that has been the main barometer of the state of the Russian economy since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014—and so they are taking out loans. This is why we can physically feel the trepidation of the financial and economic authorities.”














__________

Monday 8. July
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Royal Navy Commandos ‘liberate’ island in Estonia in Nato drills
(The Sun | Plymouth Live)
—



Ukraine: Five myths about Chernobyl
(Washington Post)





EU: The New Colors of Europe
(Zeit)
“The colors on the map reflect the party group that received the most votes in each region.”

Screenshot




Russian Art Film Version of “The Simpsons” Opening Credits
(Lazy Square - YouTube)



How Russia’s Military Makes Its Own Headlines
(Riddle)
“Besides the ministry’s official website, Russia’s armed forces also issue specialist printed publications. These include the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star), the magazines Voennaya Mysl’ (Military Thought) and Zarubezhnoye Voennoye Obzreniye (Foreign Military Review), and 18 more newspapers and magazine titles which were mostly inherited from the Soviet period. All of these publications have quite small circulations; Krasnaya Zvezda, released thrice weekly, has the largest print run at 27,600 copies. But this is changing; over the last decade, the Russian military has been attempting to grow its audience. 
”



Russian State Media Mocked Trump’s July 4 Celebration
(Slate)
“President Donald Trump saw it as an opportunity to showcase what he characterized as America’s strength. But for journalists working for Russia’s state-run media it was the perfect time for a little trolling. Specifically, talking heads on Russian news channel Rossiya 24 and the program 60 Minutes mocked the military equipment that was on display as laughably out of date and the parade itself as “low energy” and “weak,” according to journalist Julia Davis. The state-run media claimed the machinery was held together with “adhesive tape” and covered with “peeling paint,” according to the Washington Post. A co-host of the show said that the tanks on display were “used during World War II and withdrawn from service in 1957.”


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