"Liitlased ei jää ootama rünnakut Eestile." - Postimees
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Friday 25. October
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Noorputinlased lehvitasid taas Moskvas Eesti saatkonna juures loosungeid
(Propastop)
“Reedel, 18. oktoobri keskpäeval toimus Moskvas Eesti saatkonna juures demonstratsioon, mille korraldas Venemaa võimupartei Ühtne Venemaa noorteorganisatsioon Noor Kaardivägi. Sadakond organisatsiooni sümboolikaga noort seisid maja ees, käes plakatid üleskutsega loobuda ajaloo maha salgamisest. Taotleti kokkusaamist Eesti saadikuga, kes sellest võimalusest siiski keeldus. Lõpuks maaliti hoone ette sillutisele tekst, nagu lubaks Eesti sissesõitu vaid neile, kes unustavad ajaloo.”
Putin-supporting youth waved protest banners at the Estonian Embassy in Moscow
(Propastop)
“On Friday, October 18, at noon, a demonstration was held at the Estonian Embassy in Moscow, organized by Unified Russia, the ruling Russian Political Party’s youth organization The Young Guard. Hundreds of young people stood with their organization’s insignia in front of the building, holding posters calling to stop the denial of history. They requested to meet with the Ambassador, who refused to do so. Finally, a text was painted on the pavement in front of the building stating that Estonia only allows entrance to those that forget history. The steps taken by the Estonian authorities to ban members of the youth organization entry into Estonia and the entire Schengen Visa area for a 10-year period caused the demonstration.”
How to Defend the Baltic States
Report by Richard D. Hooker, Jr.
(Jamestown Org.)
“In How to Defend the Baltic States, Jamestown Distinguished Senior Fellow Richard D. Hooker, Jr., long-time defense scholar and Theodore Roosevelt Chair in National Security Affairs at the National Defense University, lays out the military units and force posture, along with changes to Alliance command and control, that would be needed to prevail in case Russia were to spark hostilities in the Baltic States. …”
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Liitlased ei jää ootama rünnakut Eestile
“Liitlased ei jää ootama, mil Baltimaad sattuvad vahetult ohtu, vaid tulevad juba ennetavalt lisajõududega appi, rääkis hiljuti Eestit väisanud ja muuhulgas siinse liitlaslahingugrupi tööd üle vaadanud Põhja-Atlandi Lepingu Organisatsiooni (NATO) kirdekorpuse ülem, Poola kindralleitnant Sławomir Wojciechowski.”
Martin Helme blamed for slow reform after Danske scandal
(Reuters)
“Before the election, the finance minister (Martin Helme) was very vocal about money laundering,” said Kaja Kallas, the leader of the center-right Reform Party. “In reality, he has done nothing.” Maris Lauri, the deputy chairman of the Estonian parliament’s finance committee and a former minister of finance, said reform was delayed and blamed Helme. “His position is that Estonia should not adopt EU rules,” she said. “He is very clearly anti-EU and that stance is the reason for the delay in the money laundering rules.”
Estonia paid €210.2 million to the EU budget / received €759.4 million
(ERR)
"When the 2014-2020 budget period was agreed, under this agreement, Estonia received €4. of European taxpayers' money for every €1. it contributed.” - Erik Marksoo, Ministry of Finance
Estonia's government debt-to-GDP ratio still lowest in EU
(ERR)
“Estonia's government debt to GDP ratio increased by 1.3 percentage points or 389 million euros to 9.3 percent compared with the first quarter of the year and amounted to 2.5 billion euros by the end of June, it appears from data available from Eurostat. The Treasury of Estonia for the first time sold 200 million euros' worth of treasury bills with a negative yield at an auction in June.”
Tallinn, Estonia leads emerging fintech hubs
(Gigabit)
“Fintech is a huge part of the country’s ongoing economic growth and a mixture of savvy private and public sector collaboration is driving hopes for Tallin to rival London, Tokyo and San Francisco as a hub for fintech in the coming decade.”
4.–10. novembrini peetakse Vana-Võrumaal 14. korda võru keele nädalat
(Lõuna Leht)
“… et innustada võrokesi oma keeles kõnelema ja keeleoskust edendama.”
Võru keele nädal - Kava
(Võru Instituut)
4.–10. märdikuuni peetäs võro keele nädälit
(Uma Leht)
Sweden: Reportedly 5,000 People Have Chips Planted Under Their Skin
(Spiegel)
“Jowan Österlund is Sweden's chip guru. A body piercer by profession, Österland earns his money through implants and lectures on biohacking, as the use of technology to optimize the human body is known. "I've chipped thousands of people," he says. … Each implant costs around 90 euros.”
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“The chip technology is still relatively simple. The data is transmitted using near field communication (NFC) technology, which manages the contactless transmission of data over short distances using electromagnetic waves. The TUI implants are passive, meaning they have no power supply of their own and tap energy from the reader to exchange their data. They also have very little memory: Less than 1 kilobyte of data fits on a chip, which corresponds to a few hundred letters.”
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“It's no coincidence the microchip technology has become so fashionable in Sweden. Trust in digital technologies and the authorities is high in the country.”
Brexit and the Failure of Journalism
by Helen Lewis, The Atlantic
“Poor coverage of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union risks creating a democratic deficit and storing up resentment for the future.”
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Thursday 24. October
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Estonia’s Russian reset
(Politico-Europe - 21. Oct)
“The Estonians looked at the Russians and decided they weren’t that different after all. … But the real reason for the newfound warmth between Estonian and Russian speakers is the war in eastern Ukraine. Estonians realized that unless they integrate their Russian speakers, their dissatisfaction might turn them into a fifth column and give the Kremlin an excuse to attack their country.”
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“The Ukraine conflict acted as a wake-up call,” said Kristi Raik, director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the International Center for Defense and Security in Tallinn. It helped focus the nation’s attention on the issue of Russian speakers’ loyalty, she said, adding: “Do they feel at home here? Do they feel loyal to the Estonian state?”
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“Estonia celebrated a hundred years of the founding of its republic last year, and now feels confident enough in its statehood to accept the Russians in its midst and open a dialogue with Moscow.”
Russian TV Covers Estonia
(EU vs Disinfo - video)
In Ukraine, US support no longer taken 'at face value’
(PRI)
“… We've seen an incongruence between what our career diplomats, our appointees say and then what comes out of the White House. … since the election of President Trump, they've been worried and cautious because President Trump, from the very beginning of his presidential election campaign in 2016, cast doubt about Ukrainian sovereignty, cast doubt on whether Crimea should be a part of Ukraine or part of Russia.”
Zelenskyy Finds That There Are No Easy Solutions in Donbas
(Chatham House)
“The Ukrainian president has attempted to use the so-called Steinmeier Formula to find a compromise on holding elections in the east of Ukraine. But he has run into a stark reality: Moscow and Kyiv’s interests remain irreconcilable.”
Ukrainian leader felt Trump pressure before taking office
(Aljazeera)
“Sources say Ukraine's new leader was already worried about pressure more than two months before Trump phone call.”
A Trip to the Pro-Russian Pseudo-State of Luhansk
(Spiegel)
“A visit to the self-proclaimed mini-state known as the People's Republic of Luhansk shows that the road back to normality is long and full of obstacles.”
In the Trenches of Ukraine’s War
(New York Times)
“As President Trump froze military aid to Ukraine and urged it to investigate his rivals, the country was struggling in a bare-bones fight against Russian-backed separatists.”
Russian delegation walks out during Lithuanian parliament speaker's address in Strasbourg
(LRT)
“Part of the Russian delegation stood up and left the room” when Viktoras Pranckietis mentioned human rights violations and Russia's occupation of Crimea, Gintarė Žukautė, the head of Pranckietis' secretariat, told BNS.
When the Lithuanian parliament speaker finished his speech, the Russians returned to the conference room, she added.”
As Putin Era Begins to Wane, Russia Unleashes a Sweeping Crackdown
(New York Times)
“Svetlana Prokopyeva, a freelance journalist in Pskov, Russia, is facing up to seven years in jail after being accused of “publicly inciting terrorism” with her commentary.”
‘What Would have Happened had Gorbachev Given Kaliningrad to Germany?’
by Paul Goble
“In an article on the Russian Seven portal, Taras Repin … suggests that Kaliningrad, had it become Koenigsberg again, would look far better than it does.”
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“Had Stalin not insisted on annexing Koenigsberg, Repin says, “it is probable that we would see a completely different city.” The Soviet authorities did everything to destroy “everything connected with German history” and rebuilt the city “according to the Soviet model.” Had it retained control, Germany would have behaved otherwise.”
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Wednesday 23. October
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Estonia’s IT and foreign trade minister Kert Kingo from the far-right party EKRE resigned
(Reuters)
“Kingo was one of five ministers of EKRE, whose anti-immigrant message helped the party more than double its support in the March election …”
NATO group finds more World War II ordnance off Estonian coast
(ERR)
“Around 300 objects which were potential explosives were located, mapped and identified, with several World War II mines and torpedoes emerging. Two German G7 torpedoes, the standard German World War II Kriegsmarine torpedo, were found off the coast of Paldiski in northwestern Estonia. Each torpedo contains 450 kilograms of explosives …”
Belarus Reconsidered
by LTG (Ret.) Ben Hodges - CEPA
“Belarus is tied very closely to Russia, as is well-known. And the West shouldn’t be naïve about this or the prospects for Belarus suddenly becoming a liberal democracy. But from a strategic perspective, it is in the best interest of Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine—indeed of NATO and the United States—that no Russian ground forces be based there. … We are not asking Belarus to choose between East and West – that is a false choice that they do not have to make.”
Video: Remembering The 1956 Hungarian Uprising
(RFERL)
“On October 23, 1956, Hungary rose up against communist rule. The uprising was crushed and the return to democracy that had been fought for was delayed until its anniversary 30 years ago, when the Hungarian Republic was declared in 1989.”
Trump’s Gift to Putin
by Michael McFaul, Foreign Affairs
“For decades, if not centuries, scholars have debated which matters more in international affairs: structural forces, such as the relative power between states, or the ideas and decisions of individual leaders. But at least as far as the United States is concerned, President Donald Trump may put the debate to rest.”
History Is Not on Putin’s Side, Says Former U.S. Ambassador
(Moscow Times)
“Michael McFaul believes the future of Russia is “normal, boring and democratic.”
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Tuesday 22. October
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Estonia To Consider Early Release of Ex-Defense Official Who Spied For Russia
(RFERL)
“A court in the university urban center of Tartu, the NATO and EU-member’s second largest city, will decide whether to truncate Herman Simm's 12-1/2-year prison term. Simm, 72, was convicted in February 2009 for handing Russia highly-sensitive, confidential documents related to NATO since 2004, the year Estonia joined the alliance.”
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“He was also found guilty of providing his Russian intelligence handlers with more than 3,000 secret documents related to the Estonian government.”
Is Europe giving up on Ukraine?
(The Atlantic Council)
“During the G7 summit held in August 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly announced he would relaunch a campaign to improve the relationship between France and Russia. Moreover, the French President allegedly agreed with US President Donald Trump’s remarks that “Russia should be invited to the G7 conference in 2020.”
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“Macron’s remarks stunned several world leaders, particularly those from Eastern Europe. While France and Germany seek to reestablish the norm on the European continent, the Baltic states and Poland oppose this new approach. These Eastern European states argued the Russian Federation has done little to improve its image, and thus should not be rewarded for its minimal efforts. Nonetheless, it appears President Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are determined to rebuild their relationship with Russia, and as a result, they have pushed Ukraine to end the Donbas conflict.”
Putin Doesn’t Like Impeachment
(Politico Magazine)
“As far as the Kremlin is concerned, Trump functions, in Putin’s eyes, as a buffer between Russia and the traditional U.S. national security establishment, which the Kremlin sees as implacably hostile. Trump has thrown overboard all of the established U.S. foreign policy approaches to Russia. He doesn’t preach and he doesn’t stand in Russia’s way. Trump is a businessman, not an ideological warrior, and he is not impeded by annoying democratic values.”
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“Russia is ready to pay a price to maintain the Trump buffer, including enduring further rounds of Western economic sanctions. The rest of the U.S. political class, both Democratic and Republican, represents a long-term strategic threat to Russia and its geopolitical interests. Thus, regardless of whatever headaches Trump may create for the Kremlin, he will always seem like the lesser evil. Not surprisingly, whatever happens to Trump, Putin publicly supports him.”
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Monday 21. October
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High support among Estonians for reaching 2050 climate neutrality goal
(ERR)
“Results from a new survey show that 70 percent of people support the objective to achieve climate neutrality in Estonia by 2050, but only 35 percent believe it to be achievable.”
Eesti tuumajaama pooldajate ja vastaste tasavägine skoor on 44:47
(ERR)
“Kui küsida inimestelt, kas nad toetavad eesmärki saavutada aastaks 2050 kliimaneutraalsus, kui selleks tuleb Eestisse ehitada tuumajaam, on tulemus tasavägine. Sel juhul toetab kliimaneutraalsuse eesmärki 44 ja vastu 47 protsenti ning 9 protsenti ei oska seisukohta võtta.”
Õppusel osalev Ühendkuningriigi rasketehnika liigub Eesti poole
(ERR)
“Ühendkuningriigi rasketehnika saabus nädalavahetusel Saksamaale Emdeni sadamalinna ning alustab raud- ja maanteid pidi liikumist Eesti suunas. Harjutuse käigus jõuab Eestisse ligikaudu 200 ühikut tehnikat ning 800 sõdurit …”
Russian impact on Estonian economy has declined
(ERR)
“Swedbank chief economist Tonu Mertsina said that Russia's impact on the Estonian economy has declined in the last six-year, with the eastern neighbor currently only the 12th largest trade partner for Estonia.
"As is known, the Russian economy went into a decline in 2014, the ruble plummeted and with that, Russian demand fell. Various sanctions were also imposed on Russia, which it responded to with its own. All this had a major impact on economic relations with our eastern neighbor," Mertsina said.”
Finland's icebreaker fleet in need of update
(Yle)
“Of the eight icebreakers in the Arctia fleet, only one can make the required 31-meter-wide break in the ice that has become the new standard in the industry.”
Belarus in Even Worse Demographic Shape than Russian Federation
(Window on Eurasia)
“The number of children born in Belarus this year will be less than any year since 1950 …”
Russia Plans to Lure Shippers From Suez to the Arctic With Payments
(Moscow Times)
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