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07 February, 2020

  • Lageraie Eesti metsades vĂ”imendab kliimamuutusi vĂ€hemalt jĂ€rgmised 60 aastat
(Novaator)
“Avalikkuses kĂ”lab jĂ€tkuvalt mitmete metsasektori esindajate vĂ€ide, justkui meie metsad vajavad kliimaeesmĂ€rkide tĂ€itmiseks uuendamist, sest kiirema kasvuga noored metsad seovad sĂŒsinikku efektiivsemalt kui vanad.”


  • Europe is a Perfect Landscape for Wildfires
(New York Times)
“In Europe last year, wildfires raged as far north as Sweden. Drought and beetle infestations killed swaths of forests in Germany, prompting a debate over what trees to plant in their place. 
”












__________

Friday 7. February
__________


Estonian Defence Forces chief talks Baltic defense plans at the Pentagon
(ERR)
“Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) chief Maj. Gen. Martin Herem met Chair of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on Thursday, to discuss the structure of Baltic defense plans.”
—
"I deem it necessary to again tell skeptics that U.S. dedication to supporting its allies still very much stands. We have shared interests that need to be protected.”




‘Defender Europe’: 
U.S. sending 20,000 troops to train with Europeans on Russian border
(Euronews | other sources)
“Our Allies Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia are marking the 30th anniversary of their freedom. They made the sovereign choice to join NATO and, at their invitation, some of the exercise activity will be held on their territory. Russia has every right to feel secure within its borders, but so do our member states.”
—
















President jÀttis kogumispensioni reformi seaduse vÀlja kuulutamata
(ERR | Postimees)
“President Kaljulaid andis tĂ€na Kadriorus toimunud pressikonverentsil teada, et ei kuuluta teise pensionisamba reformi seadust vĂ€lja.”
—





Largest number of foreign students in Estonia are from Russia and Nigeria
(ERR)
“Statistics for 2015-2019 show the University of Tartu (Tartu ĂŒlikool) sees the highest number of third-country students coming from Russia (257), followed by Ukrainian (213)  and Azeri students (118).”


Moskva kavatseb oluliselt lihtsustada Venemaa kodakondsuse saamist
(ERR)
“Venemaa valitsus valmistab ette seadusemuudatust, millega kaoks nĂ”ue, et Venemaa kodakondsust taotlev vĂ€lismaalane peab loobuma oma senisest kodakondsusest.”




Will Belarus Be the Next Ukraine?
(Foreign Affairs)
“Why the Brewing Conflict Between Moscow and Minsk Is Bad News.”



LukaĆĄenko vestles Putiniga ajaloost, jĂ”udes "hallide aegadeni”
(ERR)
"Me rÀÀkisime tĂ”epoolest paljust, jĂ”udsime meie ĂŒhes riigis elamise hallide aegade sĂŒgavusse, arutasime paljusid ajaloolisi tĂ€rmineid ja hetki, need on teada," ĂŒtles Valgevene juht enne laiendatud koosseisuga lĂ€birÀÀkimiste algust.”



Belarus: Lukashenka, Putin Meet For Tense Talks Over Integration
(RFERL)
“Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has been in power in Belarus for more than 25 years, has faced growing pressure from Moscow in recent years to agree to a merger with Russia, something called the Union State. The two leaders in December were supposed to sign a road map laying out concrete steps toward the Union State, but Lukashenka balked. Since then, Russia has sent strong signals to Minsk 
”



The German Conservatives' Faustian Pact With the Far-Right
(Spiegel)
“Democracies don't die overnight. They don't flourish one day and then get uprooted by a coup d'etat the next. They decay gradually, until the ground is fertile for an authoritarian seizure of power. And sometimes, like in the German state of Thuringia this week, democratic politicians play an active role in the demise of the very system they represent. 
”



Fox News claim: “10 deadliest European cities”
(Fox News)
[Among the 10 are Tampere, Klaipeda, Vilnius, and Kaunas.]

Expert: No, Tampere isn't Europe's 8th "deadliest" city
(Yle)

Lithuanian Government says nonsense  about Fox News List
(LRT)




__________

Thursday 6. February
__________


Cybersecurity 2020: What Estonia knows about thwarting Russians
(Christian Science Monitor)
“
 as 2020 U.S. voting begins, Estonia offers lessons on how to avoid breaches and counter disinformation, enlisting everyone from IT “nerds” to grandparents.”
—
“Estonia is not easy prey for Russian propaganda. “For us, Russian information campaigns, information warfare, influence operations, fake news is not something that just happened in 2014,” he said, noting that because of its long history with such interference, the country is now “quite well inoculated.”



Dissecting Putinist Agitprop
(CEPA)
“Moscow has a long history of disseminating disinformation to soften up its targets and achieve specific political goals. In Soviet times such initiatives were often included under the rubric of “agitprop” – agitation and propaganda. Agitprop campaigns were not only designed to convince people about the Bolshevik version of reality, they were also intended to mobilize them to act upon these convictions. Putinist agitprop aimed at Western societies has a similar purpose. 
”



Russian observers inspect Estonia’s 1st Infantry Brigade
(ERR)
“On Tuesday, the Russian Armed Forces Mission inspected the Estonian 1st Infantry Brigade campus as part of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Vienna Document. The 1st Infantry Brigade (1. JalavĂ€ebrigaad) represents the main manoeuvre unit of the Estonian Defence Forces which includes the majority of conscripts. It also has the capacity to co-operate with NATO forces.” 



Putin Wants a ‘New Yalta’ to Divide World into Recognized Regions with Regional Hegemons
by Paul Goble
“75 years ago this week, FDR, Churchill and Stalin met in Yalta to agree on the division of post-World War II Europe. Now, Vladimir Putin wants to assemble the presidents of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to do something even more sweeping -- to agree on those for what might be called the post-post-Cold War world.”




The Fundamental Challenge of a Free and United Ukraine
(Carnegie Europe)
“The EU must help strengthen civil society in Ukraine to bring peace and solidify the Euro-Atlantic democratic space.”



The EU Sets the Standards for the Rest of the World
(Foreign Affairs)
“When It Comes to Markets, Europe Is No Fading Power.”




1918 Photos: When Americans Fought a War in Russia
(RFERL)
“U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, under pressure from Britain and France, agreed to send U.S. troops as part of an expeditionary force to Russia in the summer of 1918. He said he was "sweating blood" over the decision. U.S. soldiers land(ed) in Russia's Arkhangelsk in September 1918.”
—
“Wilson's stated aim for the U.S. troops was to guard supplies and assist the stranded Czechoslovak forces, who were increasingly in danger as the civil war raged across the country following the Russian revolution.”




__________

Wednesday 5. February
__________


The Tartu Peace Treaty and Estonia’s Eastern Border
by Kalev Stoicescu - ICDS
“It was clear to Russia that Estonia, which had regained independence on the basis of legal continuity, would request the reinstatement of the national border specified under the Tartu Peace Treaty, which is why the Kremlin made a pre-emptive move. In 1993, the State Duma passed a law that established the former Soviet administrative border (the so-called demarcation or check line) as the national border between Russia and Estonia.” 
—
“President Boris Yeltsin soon visited Pskov Oblast and the new “national border” and said that Russia would not surrender (that is, give back) an inch of “its” land.”



Estonia and Georgia are emerging as Europe’s most economically free countries
(Emerging Europe)
“Ranked 15th and 16th globally and rated amongst the “mostly free” economies,, Estonia and Georgia have highest level of economic freedom in our region, with an overall score of 76.6 and 75.9 (out of 100) respectively. However, both countries’ scores have dropped – by 2.2 and 0.3 points – over the past 12 months.”
—
“Estonia saw a significant drop in its scores for financial freedom, judicial effectiveness and monetary freedom 
”



Russia’s arms manufacturers are a financial black hole
by Pavel Luzin - Riddle
“Russia’s military industrial complex ends the decade in a truly deplorable state. 
 By mid-2019 it has accumulated around 700 billion rubles of bad debts (more than $10 billion). Between 2016 and 2017, the Russian government already had to repay the military industry’s loan obligations to Russian banks, and those debts were not small — they amounted to a trillion rubles (over $15 billion). In other words, these companies still generate huge losses, apparently regardless of how much money the Kremlin — or any other government — throws at them to purchase weapons.”



Military intelligence: Russia forming new division in Kaliningrad
(Delfi)
“Lithuanian military intelligence says Russia continues to build up its military capabilities in the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad by creating a new division and deploying ships capable of carrying Kalibr cruise missiles.”



'Hitler in Hell': George Grosz masterwork unveiled
(Deutsche Welle)
“George Grosz was a pioneer of irreverent Dada art in Berlin, an ardent critic of war and nationalism who went into exile before Hitler seized power in 1933. In 1944, while living in the US, he completed a painting that portrays Hitler as a monster dictator reigning over an underworld of mass death and destruction. Titled Cain or Hitler in Hell, the masterwork has been privately owned (by the Grosz family) since its creation, but in 2019 was acquired by the German Historical Museum in Berlin (DHM).”

'Hitler in Hell'/ George Grosz - AP Photo/Jens Meyer via Times of Israel



How the Far Right Became Europe’s New Normal
(New York Times)
“It was a scandal when a far-right party entered government two decades ago. Now it’s just routine. 
”



The European Union’s Double Crisis of Legitimacy
(The Atlantic)
“When strongmen like Viktor Orbán and JarosƂaw KaczyƄski first rose to power, European politicians assured the public that they would fail to concentrate power in their own hands. Because these countries were members of the EU, it was supposed to be impossible for them to experience a real decline in their democratic nature. In reality, the EU has, again and again, proved to be indifferent or ineffective in confronting authoritarians who won power in member states.”



Estonia’s Omniva says Brexit not to affect movement of parcels this year
(Baltic Times)
“During the transition period that follows Britain's exit from the European Union effective Feb. 1 and lasts until Dec. 31, everything will remain the same for those in Estonia ordering and receiving postal parcels from Britain and parcels will be moving as usual 
”



Interview: UK Ambassador to Estonia Theresa Bubbear
(EER)



EU Can’t Afford to Alienate the UK
(Spiegel)
“With its tough and defiant approach to the United Kingdom, Europe is partly responsible for the country’s departure from the EU. But as it enters a post-Brexit era, it can’t afford to keep Britain at a distance.”





__________

The 1940 
Katyn Massacre
__________

Moscow commentator: Moscow had Complete Right to Murder 13,000 Polish Officers at Katyn in 1940
by Paul Goble
“Poles and people of good will around the world have been horrified by Moscow commentator Yevgeny Satanovsky’s suggestion last week that Stalin had “the complete right” to murder 13,000 Polish officers at Katyn because of “military and political considerations.”



The Katyn Massacre
(Encyclopaedia Britannica)
“After Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union concluded their Nonaggression Pact of 1939 and Germany invaded Poland from the west, Soviet forces occupied the eastern half of Poland. As a consequence of this occupation, tens of thousands of Polish military personnel fell into Soviet hands and were interned in prison camps inside the Soviet Union. 
 Then on April 13, 1943, the Germans announced that they had discovered mass graves of Polish officers in the Katyn forest near Smolensk, in western Russian S.F.S.R. A total of 4,443 corpses were recovered that had apparently been shot from behind and then piled in stacks and buried.”



Katyn: Crime Without Punishment
By Wojciech Materski - Google Books


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