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10 January, 2020













Foto: Mihkel Maripuu | Postimees








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Friday 
10. January
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Eesti hääletab esimest korda ÜRO Julgeolekunõukogus
(Postimees)
"ÜRO Julgeolekunõukogus on reedel hääletus Süüriasse saadetava piiriülese humanitaarabi jätkamise üle, edastas ETV uudistesaade "Aktuaalne kaamera"."




Foreign policy expert Kristi Raik: Political differences between 
Estonia and Finland
(ERR)
“Studies show Estonia leans more to the right, and Estonian society sports more masculine, less tolerant values. While the utterances of the Conservative People's Party (EKRE) and its leader do not represent the whole of Estonia, society is clearly more conservative than in Finland …”



Putin’s Big Lie
by Anne Applebaum - The Atlantic
“In a series of comments in late December, the Russian president appeared to blame Poland for the outbreak of the Second World War.”
“For in the course of a single week, Putin brought up the subject of Polish responsibility for the Second World War no less than five times. He told a group of Russian businessmen that he was consulting with historians and reading up on Polish diplomacy in the 1930s in order to make this case. …”
“If this were some kind of caprice, just a little excursion into obscure events in the distant past, nobody would care. But these kinds of lies have a history of ending in catastrophe. The Soviet ethnic cleansing of eastern Poland and the Baltic states began immediately after the invasion, after all, with the arrest of hundreds of thousands of Poles and Balts and their deportation to settlements and concentration camps in the east. …”



Polish MPs condemn ‘provocative and untrue’ WWII comments by Russia
(Radio Poland)
“Putin also claimed that the Soviet Union helped “save lives” after it invaded Poland in 1939 following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the USSR and Nazi Germany.”



Putinism in 2020
by Tatiana Stanovaya - Riddle
“The transformations that await Russia’s political system in 2020.”
“On the one hand, the Kremlin is becoming more honest. It is making fewer attempts (or no longer making them at all) to appear decent. On the other hand, it is “losing its brakes”, turning coercion into a universal mechanism for conflict resolution, and destroying remaining institutes of dialogue in the process.”




‘Tankies’ – Western Defenders of Stalin, GULAG and Totalitarianism – Making a Comeback
by Paul Goble
“When Moscow sent tanks into Hungary in 1956 to crush the revolt against Soviet occupation, a group of British leftists celebrated what the Soviet Union was doing and said “send in the tanks!”  From that meme, those who supported totalitarianism in general and Stalin and the GULAG became known in certain circles as “tankies.”
“Today’s “tankies” argue that Stalin and Mao were “fighters for human rights” and that any criticism of the Eastern bloc is “’western propaganda.’”



Estonians in Australia: 
Escaping the inferno
(ERR)
“Marianne Perrin is one of about a thousand Estonians who have settled in Australia and are now facing devastating fires that have claimed 24 lives and burnt down some 2,000 homes.”


Estonia allocates €50,000 to Australia to help bushfire victims
(Estonian World)


Bushfires force Estonia's Australian embassy to move to Sydney
(ERR)


Enormous 'Megafire' In Australia Engulfs 1.5 Million Acres
(NPR)



Was Sputnik Eesti a trap?
by Erkki Bahovski - ICDS
“It is hardly believable that Sputnik Eesti enjoyed any popularity among Estonians. But it was still run by Russia, even though Sputnik’s Finnish version was closed down in Finland. But somehow Sputnik’s puppet-masters decided that Sputnik Eesti would attract the Estonian public.”
“Many Estonians watch Russian TV and are influenced by it. No Russian info-ops are necessary. This all begs the question whether running Sputnik Eesti was a trap. Sooner or later its activities would have violated Estonian laws and a clash between Estonia and Russia would have been inevitable.”


Sputnik ends physical operations in Estonia
(ERR | BNN | Moscow Times)
“Sputnik Estonia employees ended their employment with the agency as of January 1, 2020. Sputnik's Tallinn office employed 35 people. The Sputnik Estonia website will continue to operate.”


Few tears in Estonia as Sputnik closes Tallinn bureau
(Emerging Europe)
“The closure is a direct result of European Union sanctions against Dmitri Kisseljov, the head of Rossija Segodnya. The sanctions were introduced as part of the European Union’s response to Mr Kisseljov’s (and, by association, Sputnik’s) support for Russia’s continued violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Russia has illegally occupied Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula since 2014.”




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Thursday 
9. January
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Estonia joined the 'real world' with Iran crisis
(ERR)
“Estonia faces its first serious challenge since starting its two-year stint as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), in the light of the stand-off between the United States and Iran …”





Europe’s Dangerous Irrelevance in Washington and the Middle East
(Carnegie Europe)
“The Europeans have neither the political will nor military means to contain the fallout of the assassination of Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani.”
“First of all, it is symptomatic of the profound crisis in the transatlantic relationship. It’s not just about Trump’s views on NATO. … as a bloc, the Europeans don’t project power in the traditional sense. Nor do they project unity when it comes to a common perception of threats. Nor do they defend their interests. …”



Estonia to bring its troops home from Iraq in case of escalation
(BNN)
“These men are instructors, not combat troops; they have no role in fighting,” Estonian Defence Minister Jüri Luik explained to reporters.”




Eelhoiatus päästis eestlased Iraani kättemaksust
(Postimees)
“Kõik seitse Iraagis teenivat Eesti kaitseväelast pääsesid ööl vastu eilset Iraani kättemaksurünnakust eluga.”













Estonian president declines Russian birthday gift - bottle of Crimean wine
(UAWire)
"The Russian Embassy expressed birthday wishes to the President on her 50th birthday and sent her flowers, chocolate and a bottle of Crimean sparkling wine. The wine was sent back [to the Russian Embassy] by the office of the president.”



Vene saatkond kinkis Kaljulaidile sünnipäevaks Krimmi veini, president saatis pudeli tagasi
(Delfi)
“Eile sahistas Eesti Ekspress, et aasta eelviimasel päeval 50. juubelit tähistanud president Kersti Kaljulaid sai Venemaa saatkonnalt esmapilgul päris armsa, kuid konksuga kingituse: lilled, kommikarp ja pudel vahuveini, mida kaunistas silt "Krimm - Vene Föderatsioon".



How Putin Tries to Depoliticize Russia’s Youth
(Chatham House)
“Vladimir Putin’s condescending remarks on Greta Thunberg’s activism says more about the Kremlin’s attitude towards Russian youth than climate change.”



Moscow has Begun 2013-Ukrainian-Style Hybrid War Against Belarus
(Window on Eurasia)
“Moscow can’t afford the consequences of a direct military invasion of Belarus and doesn’t have sufficient resources to be able to buy off Minsk, Aleksandr Vlantsevich says; and consequently, it has already begun a hybrid war against its western neighbor, seeking to destabilize the situation and remove Lukashenka from power.”
            “The Belaruskaya prauda commentator says that Belarus now has many elements which recall those of Ukraine in 2013 and of Romania in 1989. As a result, Lukashenka is ever less able to retain power and stability because there are “too many domestic and foreign factors” deployed against him …”







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Wednesday 
8. January
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Troublesome Investment: The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant
(Centre for Eastern Studies)
“Even though the project is formally a Belarusian investment, Russia has in fact taken over full control of its implementation as it is financing the US$ 10 billion project almost entirely. Russia is the project’s contractor, is providing the technology and will also provide the nuclear fuel. Given Belarus existing financial, trade, oil, gas and military dependence on Russia, the Astravyets power plant project, in which the Russians play a dominant role, will only perpetuate and deepen Minsk’s dependence on Moscow.”
or:



Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant: Russia’s Geopolitical Tool
(CEPA)
“Belarus is making final preparations to launch its controversial new Astravets nuclear power plant (NPP) at the beginning of 2020. The twin cooling towers of the facility, financed by Moscow and built by the Russian state company Rosatom, are visible less than 25 miles away on a clear day from a hot air balloon above Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. Since the plant does not meet international nuclear safety standards, its proximity raises serious concerns among Belarus’ neighbors, especially Lithuania, which also believes the Kremlin may use the reactor’s large capacity to maintain the Baltic states’ energy dependence on Moscow.”



Astravyets NPP due to launch soon: How will Lithuania protect itself?
(Lithuanian Tribune)
“There is ever less time left to the launch of the Astravyets Nuclear Power Plant. … Protection of the Baltic States’ electrical systems from Belarussian electrical power will be achieved through synchronization with Western European electrical power networks and disconnecting from the BRELL (Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) ring, leaving only Russia and Belarus in it.”
“Over the first half of this year, Lithuania imported almost 13% of its electricity from Belarus, with most being imported from Russia and Sweden – almost 26% each, according to Litgrid data.”



Opinion: Time for Europe to live up to its responsibilities
(VoxEurop)
“Geopolitically isolated but economically strong, the EU should enter the new decade by finally becoming an independent global player, defending its institutions and values, says political scientist Cas Mudde.”



Interview: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
(Spiegel)
“European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has no shortage of challenges facing her as she begins her tenure. She spoke with DER SPIEGEL about Donald Trump, climate change and the state of democracs inside the EU.”






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Tuesday 
7. January
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Boris Johnson in Estonia: The British as a trusted ally
(Warsaw Institute - 31. December)
“… Johnson said that he was wrong about Russia and he no longer believed that it was possible to reset the relation with Moscow due to differences dividing Russia and Great Britain. Such words were published in “The Spectator” right after the comment of PM during his visit to Estonia on December 21, where Johnson said that he hoped to see improvement of relations with Russia, but there were “serious problems” dividing them.”



U.S. support for the Baltic states: 
Air defence as a priority
(Warsaw Institute)
“For the first time, the project of the Pentagon’s budget includes 50 million dollars for supporting the development of air defence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These resources were included in the Article Operation and Maintenance (O&M) in the budget. Until now, NATO allies were providing air support for the Baltic states by constant air patrols (Baltic Air Policing Mission). However, it does not guarantee full air defence. This is why a new model, including e.g. civil defence sirens, powers of observation, anti-aircraft warfare systems as well as competent staff capable to conduct anti-aircraft operations, will be implemented.



Estonia starts its membership of the UN Security Council
(Estonian World)
“Estonia is an elected member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2010 period. On 1 January, the event was marked by the country’s president, Kersti Kaljulaid, hoisting the flag of the United Nations in front of the president’s office in Tallinn. On 2 January, the Estonian flag was raised in front of the UN Security Council hall in New York City.”



China Tries to Put Sweden on Ice
(The Diplomat)
“We treat our friends with fine wine,” said the man in black suit from his armchair, adding, “but for our enemies we got shotguns.” This is not a line from the latest blockbuster gangster movie, but a message from China’s ambassador to Sweden, speaking directly to Swedish public radio.”




U.S. Orders Sputnik News Agency to Register as 'Foreign Agent’
(The Moscow Times)


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