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04 September, 2020



“Recent accounts by former senior national security officials in the Trump administration have contributed to growing unease on Capitol Hill and across Europe, as they lend credence to a scenario in which Trump, emboldened by reelection, and potentially surrounded by an inexperienced, second-term national security team, could finally move to undermine, or even end, America’s NATO membership.”  
-  New York Times 3. Sept. 2020



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Friday 4. September
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Will Trump seek exiting from NATO if he wins a second term?
(New York Times)
“These former officials warn that such a move would be one of the biggest global strategic shifts in generations and a major victory for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.”

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Eestil on plaan Läänemerel sõjavalmidust suurendada
(Postimees)
“Augustis toimus Läänemeres mereväeõppus, mille käigus harjutati meredessanti. Selleks kasutas vene laevastik dessantlaevu. Kaitseminister Jüri Luik sõnas Aktuaalsele Kaamerale, et kõige murettekitavam selle juures on see, et Venemaa kasutab õppustes kolme suurt dessantlaeva, mis on suutelised ühe pataljoni viima ükskõik kuhu venelased soovivad seda maha panna.”
—
“Rootsi saatis vastureaktsioonina oma merejõud Gotlandile ning tõstis selleks ajaks lahinguvalmiduse taset.”



How should Europe respond now its American ally has turned hostile?
(The Guardian)
“Trump has gone out of his way to avoid upsetting Russian president Vladimir Putin, to whom he seems in thrall.”



'Proof without doubt' that Navalny was poisoned, says Germany
(Christian Science Monitor)
“Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent, prompting outrage from Western leaders and denial from Russia. The same chemical was used in a 2018 attack on a former Russian spy.”




Alexei Navalny: Two hours that saved Russian opposition leader's life
(BBC)
“BBC pieced together the story of how flight attendants and medics fought to save his life over the skies of Siberia. This is the two-hour timeline of that perilous journey.”










Nendest riikidest Eestisse saabujatele kehtivad esmaspäevast liikumispiirangud
(Postimees)








Sweden: Security alert brings back Cold War memories
(Politico-Europe)
“A mixture of Russian military maneuvers and Western nations’ offshore training operations triggered a rare mobilization of Swedish troops, with tanks sent to guard the main Gotland port and jet fighters flying overhead. … For the wider Baltic Sea region, it was a further demonstration of how the security picture has dramatically deteriorated since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.”





Absorbing Belarus Would Give Russia Another Unstable Region and Add to Moscow’s Problems
(Window on Eurasia)
“Many Russians understand that the two countries have lived separate lives for too long for Belarus simply to be absorbed. … Unfortunately, there is “an aggressive group” in Moscow, led by people like Vyacheslav Volodin and Margarita Simonyan who want Moscow to sent in troops and seize Belarus.”





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Thursday 3. September
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USA toob väed Leetu Valgevene piiri äärde
(ERR)
“Leetu läheb 500 Ameerika sõjaväelast ja 40 sõidukit, mille seas on näiteks tankid Abrams ja soomustransportöörid Bradley, ütles Leedu armee esindaja. Lisaks USA sõduritele osaleb 14.-25. Septembril igal aastal toimuval õppusel kuni 1000 sõjaväelast ja sõjalennukit Prantsusmaalt, Itaaliast, Saksamaalt, Poolast jt, ütles Leedu armee pressiesindaja.”



Oleme Eestis kõige sügavamast majanduskriisist juba väljumas
(ERR)
“Eesti majandus võib taastuda esialgsest prognoosist kiiremini, sest teise kvartali majandusstatistika järgi oli majanduslangus väiksem kui analüütikud algselt ennustasid, ütles Swedbank Eesti juht Olavi Lepp.”






'Tenet' director and stars talk about filming in Tallinn
(ETV)
(English with Estonian subtitles)



Eleven policy problems on the EU’s fall agenda
(Politico-Europe)
“After the global crisis put a lengthy hold on life in Brussels, the back-to-school season is a chance for the EU to regain momentum — in some cases because it has to. There are several policy files on which the bloc needs to make progress this year, even as many officials and diplomats continue to work virtually.”





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Wednesday 2. September
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Läti peaminister: Balti mull lakkab olemast
(ERR)
“Läti välisminister Edgars Rinkevics ütles kolmapäeval, et Leedu nakkuskordaja on nüüdseks 14 päeva jooksul 16,28 juhtu 100,000 elaniku kohta ja Eestil 14,72.”




Kaliningrad is Why Moscow Must Control Minsk
By Paul Goble
“Moscow commentator Vadim Avva says, if Russia were to lose the battle for Minsk, Moscow would “automatically hand over Kaliningrad to the enemy.”

            “The only land routes from the Russian Federation proper to the exclave of Kaliningrad lie either through Lithuania, a NATO member, or through Belarus. The exclave can be supplied by sea and by air, but moving heavy weapons and materiel there by those means is both prohibitively expensive and time consuming.”
—
            “Moscow currently counts on being able to ship such military supplies to and from Kaliningrad via Belarus. Were the government in Belarus to turn radically away from Russia, Moscow would lose more than Belarus. It almost certainly would rapidly lose its position in Kaliningrad which many there would like to see become a fourth Baltic republic.”



Punitive psychiatry in Russia: back to the USSR?
(Riddle)
“The risks of political abuse of psychiatry.”





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Tuesday 1. September
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Kremli meedia ähvardab uue Pronksiööga
(Propastop)
“Eelmisel nädalal on Kremli propagandameedias ilmunud ridamisi artikleid, mis vihjavad uue Pronksiöö võimalikkusele Eestis. Levima on pandud narratiiv, mis segab kokku Eestis elavaid venelasi, mälestusmärke ja konfliktiohtu. … Esmaspäeval, 24. augustil ilmus ERR portaalis järjekordne artikkel Maarjamäe memoriaali tulevikust. Artikkel rõhutab siseminister Mart Helme arvamust, et tema pooldab mälestusmärgi lammutamist, ehkki sõna saavad ka teised ametiisikud.”
—
“Seekord said ERRi poolt pealkirja tõstetud Helme sõnad aga Kremli propagandameedias rohkelt vastukaja. Ilmus mitu artiklit, mis lammutamise faktile kangust juurde keeravad, näiteks sõnastuses “Eestis tehti ettepanek mälestusmärk lammutada”. EADaily ja Interfax seostavad Maarjamäge aga 2007. aasta Pronkssõduri sündmustega.”



Maarjamäe: Tear down the Soviet War Memorial? 
By Paul Goble, Window on Eurasia
“Estonian interior minister Mart Helme has suggested that the complex at Maarjamäe on the coastline be torn down because it is in decaying condition and remains for many an unwelcome symbol of the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Because it is an enormous concrete edifice, there is no chance it could be moved in the way the Bronze Soldier statue was.”





Bogs: Estonian Volunteers Get Hands Dirty in Climate Fight
(New York Times)
“Deep in the Estonian woodlands, a group of volunteers is toiling to restore a bog that was drained last century for mining purposes, turning the area into a major source of greenhouse gas emissions no longer trapped in damp, heavy earth. A third of all carbon dioxide emissions in the country come from the bogs, drained to mine peat, the flammable substance accumulated there over millennia and used as a fuel to power factories and households or as a natural fertilizer.”
—
“Estonia is not alone in contending with the problem. Drained bogs are leaking carbon dioxide in areas around the Baltic Sea and many other parts of Northern Europe.”




Massive 160-foot-deep sinkhole opens in northern Siberia
(Siberian Times | The Weather Channel)
“The recently-formed new hole or funnel is the latest to be seen in northern Siberia since the phenomenon was first registered in 2014. … Such funnels are believed to be caused by the build up of methane gas in pockets of thawing permafrost under the surface.”





Russia’s permafrost is melting
(BNE)
“The climate crisis arrived in Russia this year and is going faster than elsewhere. Temperatures in northeastern Russia are rising two and half times faster than in the rest of the world. Few people live there but if Russia’s permafrost melts the economic cost could be astronomical. Russia has 24 regions that are permanently frozen but only nine of those contain extensive infrastructure and cities. However, these regions are key to Russia’s economy, producing the bulk of its raw materials that account for almost half of the country’s GDP.”





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Monday 31. August
__________ 


A Chain of Friendship: Reflections on the Baltic Way and Inspiration for Belarus
(FPRI)
“Since 1991, public organizations have regularly commemorated the Baltic Way. In 2019, the 30-year anniversary was celebrated worldwide — including in Hong Kong, where demonstrators drew inspiration for their own pro-democracy movement. This year, the Baltic Way again shows its relevance — bringing support to the Belarusian people as they protest against the fraudulent result of the  Aug. 9 presidential election. The Baltic Way of 1989 is today inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, and allotted an entry in the standard reference for nonviolent activism, Gene Sharp’s Dictionary of Power and Struggle (2011, 149). But history may show Belarusian “re-awakening” as its perfected iteration.”




U.S. Soldiers arrive for live-fire exercise in Estonia
(U.S. Army | Estonian World)
“The exercise, called Rail Gunner Rush, is designed to give U.S. Soldiers an opportunity to conduct live-fire exercises with their Multiple Rockets Launch Systems alongside soldiers with the Estonian Defense Force’s 1st Infantry Brigade in Tapa, Estonia.”
—




Soviet forces exodus anniversary cause for celebration
(ERR)
“President of the Riigikogu Henn Põlluaas (EKRE) … issued a statement on the 26th anniversary of the withdrawal of the Russian troops Monday, saying that for Estonia this also meant the final ending of World War II and the end of the more than the 50-year presence of occupation forces.”
—
“However, having learned from history, which the Kremlin is trying to rewrite, and considering the reality of today and the intense international situation, we must be in heightened readiness to defend our freedom and independence unconditionally. … We are a member of the NATO, we are no longer alone like we were when the Soviet occupation forces marched into Estonia. Estonia will never again surrender."



Moskvas peksti rängalt läbi valitsuskriitiline blogija
(Postimees)
“Venemaal peksti eile õhtul oma kodu juures läbi opositsiooniline blogija ja raadiojaama Ehho Moskvõ saatejuht Jegor Žukov, kes on tuntud oma valitsuskriitiliste väljaütlemiste poolest.”







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Belarus
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The Trump Administration Has Gone AWOL on Belarus
(Foreign Policy)
“Putin sensed the United States and Europe were not coordinated, and decided to move forward with his own agenda.”



How to rescue Belarus and Europe’s ‘gray zone’ from Russia
(Politico-Europe)
“Take NATO and EU membership off the table in return for ending frozen conflicts.”







Baltic states impose sanctions on Lukashenko and 29 Belarus officials
(Reuters | Deutsche Welle)
“The sanctions target officials they accuse of having a role in vote-rigging and in violence against protesters since the election. The inclusion of Lukashenko was a prod to other European countries, so far reluctant to back measures against him personally.”
—





Lukashenko Unleashed Changes in Belarus That Are Out of His Control
(Foreign Policy)
“The country’s society is increasingly less governable for a dictator.”











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