Vote of no-confidence against Ratas fails
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Friday 30. August
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Ratase umbusaldamine kukkus läbi
(Postimees | ERR)
“Umbusalduse avaldamise poolt: 40 | vastu: 55.”
—
25 Years Since the Withdrawal of Russian Troops from Estonia
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
“The last Russian troops left Estonia on 31 August 1994, which marked the completion of the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Estonia. … Moscow had an estimated 570 military sites and some 35,000 troops in the Baltic nation …”
New York Times Archives: “Russia Agrees to Full Withdrawal Of Troops by Aug. 31.”
WW2 commemorations expose differences at heart of Europe
(The Guardian)
“As the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the second world war approaches on Sunday and European leaders head to Poland for commemorations, the bloody events of 80 years ago are being politicised and exploited more than ever across the continent. . In the run-up to the anniversary, the Russian government launched a campaign to rehabilitate the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union a week before the attack on Westerplatte, which included secret protocols by which the two powers would divide eastern Europe. …”
Europe’s most modern border reduced to a fence for now
(Postimees)
“The government decided to develop the land border in Southeastern Estonia first, with work on river and lake borders put on hold. The government has allocated around €80 million for the southeastern border so far and added a further €12 million yesterday. The new estimate for the development of the entire eastern border stands at €130.5 million, down €57.5 million compared to the initial plan.”
Valitsus toetas idapiiri väljaehitamise odavamat lahendust
(ERR)
“Valitsus otsustas toetada idapiiri väljaehitamise senisest 57 miljoni euro võrra odavamat lahendust, piir läheb seega maksma 130,5 miljonit.”
What US attention to Belarus means to Lithuania
(Delfi Lithuania)
“John Bolton, US President Donald Trump's national security adviser, met with Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk.”
Ukraina ja Venemaa alustasid vangidevahetust, mis on veel pooleli
(ERR)
“Ukraina presidendi Volodõmõr Zelenski kantselei pidi reedel tagasi lükkama peaprokuröri Facebooki-lehe kommentaaridest liikvele läinud teated, mille kohaselt olevat vangide vahetamine juba teoks saanud. Riigipea esindajad märkisid, et otsest vangide vahetust pole veel Ukraina ja Venemaa vahel toimunud ning et protsess olevat alles pooleli, vahendasid Unian, Reuters jt.”
Läänes on tunda soovi Venemaaga suhteid siluda
(ERR)
“Euroopa Liidu kaitseministrid arutasid Helsingis tehisintellekti võimalusi ja ohte ning seda, kuidas riigikaitses kliimakriisile vastata. Eesti kaitseminister Jüri Luik ütles, et Euroopas ja Ameerikas on tunda soovi Venemaaga taas suhteid parandama hakata.”
Vladimir Putin Visits Helsinki: Finlandization 2.0?
(Warsaw Institute)
“Despite anti-Putin pickets, Putin’s visit to Finland was held in a very warm atmosphere. The Russian president was two hours late for his meeting with Niinistö, however, the host received him in a very friendly manner. The two even had dinner at the historical Suomenlinna sea fortress. Vladimir Putin said that during his visit to Helsinki he talked with Finland’s president about the issue of strategic stability in the world. A discussion on ensuring security in the Baltic Sea region is said to be a vital part of the conversation between the leaders. Putin also talked about the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. …”
What Divides NATO?
(Project Syndicate)
“The current debate about the presence of American troops in Poland is sometimes seen as pitting that country against Germany. But this misses the point: What is really at stake is European coherence in the face of the United States’ increasingly uncertain role within NATO.“
Russia Produces More Toxic Waste than Any Other Country
by Paul Goble
“… including the most dangerous radioactive and chemical kinds.”
The Baltic Sea Is Nearly Free of (Some) Chernobyl Radiation
by Jessica Haapkylä, marine biologist - Hakai
“Finnish scientists have been monitoring the presence of radioactive materials in the Baltic Sea since 1984, two years before the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded. This data shows how radioactivity levels spiked after the disaster and how they’ve changed since. Most of the radionuclides released by Chernobyl, such as iodine-131 and cesium-134, were short-lived. But others, including cesium-137 and strontium-90 … have persisted. Different radionuclides have distinct half-lives—the time it takes for half of the material to decay—which accounts for the varying timelines.”
—
“(The) slow rate of water flowing out of the Baltic Sea through the Danish straits, coupled with high sedimentation rates and inflow from rivers, have made the Baltic Sea the world’s most polluted with cesium-137. To date, the highest levels of cesium-137 in the Baltic Sea have been measured in the eastern Gulf of Finland. The 2nd most polluted area is the Bothnian Sea.”
“The Sensitive Baltic Sea.” (2017)
 |
| At first the radiation drifted into the Baltic Sea region before eventually covering much of Europe. |
Tallinn University of Technology is studying reducing microplastic pollution in the Baltic Sea
(Research in Estonia)
“Monitoring shows that the beaches of Estonia, as well as other countries around the Baltic Sea, are being plagued by the issue of macroplastics. Coastal areas are littered with a lot of plastic litter, e.g., packaging and disposable dishes, and as microplastics are formed through macroplastics fragmentation, it may affect the well‑being of living organisms in the sea.”
Stockholm University: “Microplastics in marine life.”
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Wednesday 28. August
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20 Years of Vladimir Putin: How Russian Foreign Policy Has Changed
(The Moscow Times)
“The fundamental error of Russian foreign policy since the mid-1990s has been the fixation on the problem of NATO expansion.”
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“There is no doubt that the accession of the U.S.S.R.’s former allies in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states to NATO has done nothing to bolster Russia’s security and has weakened Moscow’s strategic position. … And the military and political moves Moscow made in the course of the Ukrainian crisis breathed new life into NATO and helped to resurrect the image of Russia as the military adversary of the West. The rebirth of this image a quarter of a century after the end of the Cold War is a strategic defeat for Russia.”
or:
2024. aasta kultuuripealinna tiitel läks Tartule
(Lõunaleht | Eesti Päevaleht)
“Lisaks Eestile saab tiitlit kanda ka üks Austria linn ning üks linn Euroopast, mis ei kuulu Euroopa Liitu.”
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“Singing Revolution: The Musical”
(Official Home Page)
“Singing Revolution is a Europop musical in which modern-day star-crossed-lovers are involved in the Estonian Revolution against the USSR.”
Kaos Architects Converts 13th-century Haapsalu Episcopal Castle
(Design Boom)
“The castle is among the best preserved fortresses in estonia. The conservation and renovation works of kaos architects saved the monument from deterioration and converted it into a modern visiting centre to serve as an important milestone in developing tourism in the region.”
 |
| Haapsalu Episcopal Castle |
Estonian children at a Kremlin sponsored propaganda camp
(Propastop)
“Camp Orljonok (eagle’s son) is located in Russia on the Black Sea, about 150 km northwest of Sochi. Created in 1960, the Soviet pioneer youth camp is still a sought after holiday destination in Russia, with thousands of children every year attending with varying degrees of education. … children in addition to having a fun holiday unfortunately will be inundated with the Kremlin’s intense propagandist patriotic military training. The camp regularly celebrates various Army anniversaries (Paratroopers’ Day, Navy Day) and commemorates the Red Army history and Soviet events as well as the Komsomol.”
Geopolitics and Greenland
(War on the Rocks)
“So why is Greenland important in the first place? Location, location, location. It is located between Russia and North America, close to the straits that connect the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic. The United States has been present in Greenland since World War II. When Denmark was occupied by Germany in 1940, the United States seized control of Greenland (with permission from the Danish embassy in Washington) to prevent Germany from using the island for weather measurements and as a stepping-stone for an invasion of North America. American forces stayed in Greenland after the war. In the early Cold War, Greenland continued to be important for weather forecasts that were a crucial aspect of military planning. It was also used for strategic bombers that would attack Soviet targets with nuclear weapons in the event of a great-power war. … Many of the same dynamics are still at play on the island today.”
EU Must Use Full Toolkit to Counter Amazon Fires, Finland Says
(Bloomberg)
“The Nordic nation, which currently holds the rotating six-month presidency of the bloc, sent a letter dated Tuesday to Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative on foreign affairs. It said the EU should urgently assess how it can use foreign and trade policy as means to stop the trend of deliberate forest fires and burn clearing in Brazil that threaten to accelerate climate change.”
Russian foreign ministry takes far out pot shot at Baltics
(Latvian Broadcasting)
“The error-strewn claim was accompanied by an image of three somewhat dog-eared looking pamphlets titled "The Heritage of WWII in the Baltic States" [sic], apparently authored by mysteriously unspecified "Non Governmental Organizations".
Guarding your data in Russia
(Meduza)
“Planning a trip to Moscow? How you keep your private information private.”
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Tuesday 27. August
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Lithuania’s Hill Of Crosses
(RFERL video)
“Christian pilgrims have been coming to a sacred hill in northern Lithuania to leave crucifixes of various sizes since 1863.”
Nord Stream 2 construction update
(Offshore)
“Construction of the twin Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea has reached the three-quarters mark, with 1,855 km (1,152 mi) laid in Russian, Finnish, Swedish, and German waters.”
—
Pekka Haavisto: Finland’s Green Diplomat
(Foreign Policy)
“Helsinki tries to chart a path to a fossil fuel-free future.”
Norway Urges Its Companies in Brazil to Safeguard the Amazon
(Reuters via VOA)
“Norway has worked closely with Brazil to protect the Amazon rainforest for more than a decade, and has paid some $1.2 billion into the Amazon Fund.”
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Monday 26. August
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Estonia pays homage to composer Arvo Pärt
(Christian Science Monitor)
“Stillness brings sweet relief to a fast-paced world. An international composer’s music offers just that. Fittingly, his country celebrates his lifework in a new center nestled in a forest.”
MRP propagandavalede keskel
(Propastop)
Nine Things Russia Must Do Before Being Allowed to Rejoin the G7
(Heritage Org.)
“Russia was once part of what was then the G8, and was kicked out after its invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Since 1999, at almost every opportunity, Russian President Putin has pursued polices that undermine U.S. national interests and the interests of America’s closest partners. The U.S. should not support the idea of Russia rejoining the bloc until Russia meets nine specific conditions that demonstrate its willingness to act peacefully and responsibly.”
Macron Announces Major Ukraine Peace Summit In September
(RFERL)
“French President Emmanuel Macron says the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France will hold talks next month aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine …”
Russian Weather Agency Says Radioactive Isotopes Found After Accident
(VOA)
“… it found strontium, barium and lanthanum in test samples in nearby Severodvinsk … The August 8 accident in the northern Russian region of Arkhangelsk, which killed at least five people and injured several others, raised concerns of atmospheric contamination after emergency officials reported a spike in background radiation levels.”
https://www.voanews.com/europe/russian-weather-agency-says-radioactive-isotopes-found-after-accident
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