The Baltic Way
23. Aug. 1989
Baltic Prime Ministers meet in Rīga
(Latvian Broadcasting | EER)
“Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš played host to Jüri Ratas, Prime Minister of Estonia, and Saulius Skvernelis, Prime Minister of Lithuania. The officials held a meeting, and attended various celebration events dedicated to the Baltic Way.”
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Video: ‘Via Baltica’
(AirBaltic)
“Latvian band Instrumenti, Lithuanian singer Jazzu and Ewert Sundja, the leader of the Estonian band Ewert and the Two Dragons made a gift to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia – a song dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way called Via Baltica.”
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| Photo: Aivars Liepins |
A day that changed history
(Latvian Broadcasting)
“Different sources say there were one to two million participants, though closer to two seems more probable, around one quarter of the entire Baltic population back then. An unseen manifesto of freedom expressed by three nations at the same time.”
Hongkongers form pro-democracy human chain across city on 30th anniversary of Baltic Way
(Hong Kong Free Press)
“Organisers online estimated that 135,000 took part in the event across the city on Friday.”
The human chain that 'unshackled' the Baltic nations still matters
(PRI)
“Under Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of reform in the 1980s, leadership organizations for national independence movements emerged in the Baltics. Together, these groups — the Estonian and Latvian popular fronts and the Lithuanian Sajūdis — planned where people would stand along the 400-mile Baltic Way. They disseminated information through regional organizations and via clandestine broadcast services, like Radio Free Europe, which beamed information through Soviet jammers from abroad.
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“It was extremely well-organized. The local chapters of the [Latvian Popular Front] did a magnificent organizing job of getting all these people out [so] that there would be no gaps anywhere.”
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| Photo: Aivars Liepins |
“On 30th Anniversary Of Soviet Protest, Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Supporters Form Own 'Baltic Chain’.”
Edward Lucas: “Remembering The Baltic Way.”
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Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
23. Aug. 1939
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Estonia in the grip of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the realpolitik of great powers
By Meelis Maripuu - Estonian World
“On 23. August 1939, the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Vyacheslav Molotov, his counterpart in the Soviet Union, signed a non-aggression treaty – the so-called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact – and its additional secret protocols that divided the spheres of influence between the two totalitarian powers …”
The Lasting Lesson of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
by Nicholas Burns, Former U.S. ambassador to NATO
(The Atlantic)
“When I joined the National Security Council staff in 1990, I became its liaison to the three Baltic legations in Washington, D.C. It was impossible not to admire Estonian Ambassador Ernst Jaakson and Latvian Ambassador Anatol Dinbergs. Jaakson had arrived in the United States as a young diplomatic representative of Estonia in 1929 and stayed all through the lean and seemingly hopeless years of the Soviet occupation of his country to independence in 1991. Dinbergs came to the U.S. in 1937 and, like Jaakson, never left. They came to work every day for more than five decades to represent governments that had ceased to exist at the start of World War II. Along with Lithuanian Ambassador Stasys Lozoraitis, who represented Lithuania in Washington after 1987, they kept faith with their country and the dream that some far-off day in the future, the Baltic states might be reborn. There is simply nothing like it in modern diplomatic history.”
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Friday 23. August
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Riigikogu koguneb Ratase umbusaldushääletuseks 30. august
(ERR | Teised)
“Reformierakond otsustas, et taotleb riigikogu juhatuselt erakorralise istungi kokkukutsumist peaministri, Keskerakonna esimehe Jüri Ratase umbusaldamiseks järgmise nädala reedeks. Peaministri tagandamiseks opositsioonil siiski hääli napib.”
Latvia Takes the Fight to Fake News
by Anna Ūdre - CEPA
“The Latvian State Security Service (VDD) launched criminal proceedings against a board member of the Latvian Russian Union (LKS) after he justified Latvia's joining the USSR in 1940. Russian media accused Latvia of prosecuting "unwanted individuals."
Russia Is Launching Floating Nuclear Reactor
(Newsweek)
“But environmental groups have branded the reactor "Chernobyl on ice" and a "nuclear Titanic," warning that accidents could occur due to collisions with other vessels or storms, irradiating the Arctic environment. … The 21,000-ton reactor's trip is due to last for between four and six weeks. This will depend on the weather conditions during the voyage and the amount of ice it has to travel through to reach Pevek, a 5,000-person town in the Siberian region of Chukotka.”
Majority of Russians No Longer Making Plans for the Future
by Paul Goble
“When the situation appears hopeless or subject to unpredictable
change, people generally stop making plans for the future because there is little chance they can fulfill them. That is what has happened among Russians, 62 percent of whom surveyed by the Public Opinion Foundation say the situation is unfavorable for making any plans.”
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Thursday 22. August
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Estonia’s Options in the UN and the Security Council
(ICDS)
“UN Security Council membership increases interest in Estonia around the world. … It is in Estonia’s interest that a world order based on rules and international law remains strong. Relying on the principles of international law also establishes a solid framework for purposeful activity in the Security Council. This means that opinions and views must be based on the UN Charter, previous resolutions and agreed norms, even in controversial matters such as conflict-resolution …”
Lennusadamas Avatakse Näitus:
“1944 - Suur Põgenemine”
(Eesti Meremuuseum)
“Näitus räägib sellest traagilisest ajaloopeatükist Eesti eri paikadest põgenenud inimeste lugude kaudu. Need lood puudutavad iga eestlast ning räägivad meie ajaloost lihtsalt, inimlikult ja kaasahaaravalt ka väliskülalistele.”
Transcript: President Kaljulaid’s Speech at Kadriorg Palace
(ERR)
“… reception celebrating the 28th anniversary of the restoration of independence of the Republic of Estonia in 1991.”
Estonia in the Global Arena
(ICDS)
Estonian EV Maker Is Up To Some Fun Stuff
(Jalopnik)
[An update on the Nobe.]
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Wednesday 21. August
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President Kaljulaid says far-right minister is unfit for job
(Reuters)
“The president’s statement put pressure on Prime Minister Juri Ratas, although he has shown little sign of moving against his partner in a four-month-old coalition. Helme, who is currently standing in as interior minister, tried to fire the police chief but failed as the post is appointed by the cabinet, not by the minister. Helme apologized to Ratas, saying he had acted too strongly and too fast.”
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“Even an attempt to do so is unacceptable, and the minister taking such steps is unfit to be a member of the government of the republic,” Kaljulaid said in a statement after meeting with Ratas on Monday evening.”
Faktikontroll: neli Mart Helme valeväidet Postimehe otse-eetris
“Täna käis siseminister Mart Helme Postimehe otsestuudios selgitamas, miks ja kuidas üritati eelmisel nädalal politsei- ja piirivalvejuhti Elmar Vaherit ametist vabastada. Ministri jutus kõlas aga mitmeid valeväiteid, millest nelja Postimehe toimetus kontrollis.”
Niinistö, Putin meet in Helsinki
(Yle)
“Finnish President Sauli Niinistö described as "worrying" US plans to locate mid-range missiles in Europe and called for dialogue on the matter.”
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“Putin defends crackdown on protesters.”
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“Both presidents praised the state of bilateral relations and Putin mentioned a number of initiatives where Russia and Finland would step up cooperation.”
Denmark: Danes disgusted after Trump cancels visit over Greenland
(Axios | New York Magazine)
"Is this some sort of joke? Deeply insulting to the people of Greenland and Denmark.” - Former Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt
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Cancellation a Huge Cost to Denmark
(Copenhagen Post)
“With most of the world’s media concurring that the cancellation just 12 days before the visit is a curveball that left the ball park, Denmark has bigger concerns: namely the significant amount of time and resources dedicated to preparing for the visit, which have all gone to waste.”
Opinion: Trump wanting to buy Greenland is yet another sign of Putin’s puppetry
(The Guardian)
Greenland “… is very much on Russia’s radar. Earlier this year, Russia revamped its arctic circle military base on the tiny Kotelny Island, which sits close to the shipping routes that are opening up as the polar region warms catastrophically. There are unknown quantities of oil, gas and rare earth metals in the arctic …”
The War for Polish History
(Foreign Policy)
“(Poland’s) Law and Justice party is trying to reframe the fight against the Nazis and communism and the U.S. president is a useful pawn.”
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“Law and Justice’s current focus is winning direct control of museums and memorials that mark critical times in Polish history.”
Poland’s new tune in Europe
(Politico-Europe)
“If Poland's populist government is recalculating its position on the EU stage, one thing hasn't changed: its political priorities.”
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Tuesday 20. August
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Toomas Hendrik Ilves: me seisame kahe riigi väraval
(Postimees)
A Guide to Becoming an Admiral in the Russian Navy
(War on the Rocks)
“It is widely acknowledged that general and flag officers are important actors. Senior uniformed leaders are, of course, crucial in determining the trajectory of a country’s military development and in some cases even of its foreign policy. … American national security analysts and practitioners would be well advised to follow who is rising to the senior ranks of the Russian military. Over the decades, these leaders have been important in shaping the trajectory of a foe that was once America’s most formidable and remains, arguably, its most troublesome.”
Estonia should not choose sides in Europe
by Kalev Stoicescu - Postimees
“What a statesman can afford in Washington or London cannot be compared to what is said and done in Tallinn in terms of consequences for the country.”
Breathing Life Into Eastern Ukraine
(Foreign Affairs - 12. August)
“How to Revive and Reintegrate the Region After the Russian Invasion.”
The Lada Niva Refuses To Die, 42 Years And Counting
(Jalopnik)
“Derived sometime in the 1960s from Communist-leaning Fiat engineers…”
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| "In any case, the standard, three-door Niva is still extremely affordable. In Russia, it’ll set you back $6,834 (or 444,510 rubles)." |
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