Estonia ran out of coronavirus vaccines says Health Board chief Üllar Lanno

(ERR)

“Vaccine stocks with the Health Board are now at zero. There is no reason to suggest that they are being held up somewhere. The Health Board is not delaying things, there is zero in storage.”

https://news.err.ee/1608124210/health-board-chief-estonia-has-run-out-of-coronavirus-vaccines

Valitsus kehtestas uued märtsi lõpuni kehtivad piirangud, teatrid ja kinod pannakse kinni

(Pealinn)

“Kaja Kallase sõnul peatab valitsus siseruumides avalike ürituste korraldamise. See tähendab, et märtsi lõpuni sulgevad uksed kinod, teatrid, spad, saunad, veekeskused ja ujulad ning korraldada ei tohi konverentse. Välitingimustes on lubatud üritusi korraldada kuni kümneliikmelistele gruppidele.”

https://www.pealinn.ee/tagid/koik/valitsus-kehtestas-uued-martsi-lopuni-kehtivad-piirangud-teatrid-ja-n263942

How Estonia’s HOIA coronavirus ‘close contact notification’ app failed

(Postimees)

“Professor of applied virology, member of the government’s COVID-19 scientific advisory council Andres Merits said that HOIA has failed to live up to expectations. … “80 % of people I have met do not have the application installed.”

https://news.postimees.ee/7185647/series-of-flops-or-how-hoia-failed

_____________________

Latest COVID cases in Baltics: 

- 1,154 in Estonia

- 813 in Latvia

- 538 in Lithuania

(BNN)

https://bnn-news.com/latest-covid-19-cases-in-baltics-813-in-latvia-538-in-lithuania-1-154-in-estonia-222352

“Koroonaviiruse andmestik.” - Eesti Terviseamet

“Koroonavaktsiini vale käitlemise tõttu on Eestis raisku läinud 331 doosi.” - ERR

“Foreign minister backs Estonia's proposal to introduce vaccination certificates for global travel.” - Baltic Times

“Vaccine certificates could be available within 3 months, says EU chief.” - Euronews

“Koroonavoodikohtade arv Eesti haiglates kasvab üle 900.” - ERR

“EU leaders feel the pressure over handling of coronavirus pandemic.” - Politico Europe

“Estonia is “2nd in Europe” in terms of new coronavirus infections.” - Estonian World

“Kaja Kallas: otsekõnelustel vaktsiinitootjatega jääb kaotajaks väikeriik.” - Postimees

“Finland announces March shutdown of bars and restaurants for three weeks.” - Yle

“Vaccination ‘passports’ may open society, but inequity looms.” - AP

— Friday 26. February —

Euroopa kaitsmine jääb NATO ülesandeks

(Postimees)

“Peaminister Kaja Kallas rõhutas täna ülemkogu videokohtumisel Euroopa Liidu kaitseküsimuste arutelul, et töö EL-i kaitsemõõtme arendamiseks on olnud hea ja see peab jätkuma, kuid samas jääb Euroopa ja Atlandi-ülese julgeoleku ning kollektiivkaitse tagamine NATO ülesandeks.”

—

“Kallas rõhutas, et Euroopa Liidu liikmesriikide suutlikkus ohu korral tegutseda taandub reaalselt kasutatavatele sõjalistele võimetele. “Seetõttu on oluline, et EL-i liikmesriigid jätkaksid kaitsekulude suurendamist. Eesti hoiab oma kaitse-eelarvet tasemel kaks protsenti SKT-st ja panustame märgatavalt ka rahvusvahelistel sõjalistel operatsioonidel.”

https://www.postimees.ee/7189459/kaja-kallas-euroopa-kaitsmine-jaab-nato-ulesandeks

EU leaders pledge more cooperation on defense

(Deutsche Welle)

“European Union leaders agreed on a new strategy aimed at boosting defense and security in the bloc on Friday. … NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also joined the video conference for a discussion on cooperation between the bloc and the defense alliance.”

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-leaders-pledge-more-cooperation-on-defense/a-56714512

“European Council Summit reflected a chorus of disagreement.” - Politico-Europe

“Information attack carried out against Lithuanian-Polish relations and NATO.” - Delfi

What is “Hybrid Warfare,” Really?

(CEPA)

“As understood by NATO, “hybrid threats combine military and non-military as well as covert and overt means, including disinformation, cyberattacks, economic pressure, deployment of irregular armed groups, and use of regular forces. Hybrid methods are used to blur the lines between war and peace, and attempt to sow doubt in the minds of target populations. …”

https://cepa.org/what-is-hybrid-warfare-really/

EU-Russia Relations: What Went Wrong?

(Carnegie Moscow Center)

“The diplomatic embarrassment suffered by Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, in Moscow earlier this month unleashed passions on both sides of the EU-Russia relationship that had been building for a long time and were bound to spill over eventually. … The evolution of EU-Russia relations from the hopeful dawn of the early 1990s to the despairing sunset of the 2010s is one of the most revealing episodes in the history of the post-Cold War global transformation.”

https://carnegie.ru/commentary/83945

Russia Lays Fiberoptic Cable to Kaliningrad bypassing Baltic Countries

(Window on Eurasia)

“… In a move that would mean the Russian exclave would not be cut off if Moscow exits from the worldwide web.”

—

[Note: The cable was pulled from Kingisepp in the Leningrad region along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Its length was over a thousand kilometers. - Aavo]

http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-bakers-dozen-of-other-stories-from.html

Vene vanglateenistuse juht kinnitas Navalnõi viimist karistuskolooniasse

(Postimees)

“Ta on viidud sinna, kus ta kohtuotsuse kohaselt peab viibima,” tsiteeris riiklik agentuur RIA Novosti föderaalse vanglateenistuse juhti Aleksandr Kalašnikovi. Kalašnikov ei avaldanud Navalnõi karistuskoloonia asukohta, kuid väitis, et ta on “täiesti tavapärastes tingimustes”. “Ma garanteerin, et ohtu tema elule ja tervisele ei ole.”

https://www.postimees.ee/7189248/vene-vanglateenistuse-juht-kinnitas-navalnoi-viimist-karistuskolooniasse

“Alexei Navalny sent to Russian penal colony.” - BBC

U.S. Stands With Ukraine, Will Never Recognize Crimea Annexation - President Biden

(RFERL)

“Biden made the comments of support on February 26 as Ukrainians mark the seventh anniversary of Moscow’s steps to seize Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.”

https://www.rferl.org/a/biden-ukraine-crimea/31123729.html

“Biden: USA ei aktsepteeri kunagi agressiivse Venemaa Krimmi-hõivamist.” - Postimees

EKRE chairman: I believe Jüri Ratas would be suitable next president

(ERR)

“I believe Jüri would be a great president. He is a real man of the people, but he is also a conciliator that is needed in society at the moment," (Martin) Helme said.”

https://news.err.ee/1608123250/ekre-chairman-i-believe-juri-ratas-would-be-suitable-next-president

“Reform Party politicians did not wish to comment on statements made by EKRE chairman Martin Helme.”

— Thursday 25. February —

Alliance between Baltics and Britain has prospered. Brexit won't change it

(LRT)

“From defence against the Red Army in 1918 to disinformation against Putin's Russia, Brexit will not change the relationship between the Baltic states and the United Kingdom …”

https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1352092/alliance-between-baltics-and-britain-has-prospered-brexit-won-t-change-it-opinion

Tallink reports 108 million euro loss, 3,000 layoffs

(Yle)

“Tallink joins competitor Viking Line and Finnish national airline Finnair in suffering a financial loss as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Finnair reported a loss of more than 595 million euros in 2020, compared to an operating profit of nearly 163 million euros in 2019. Viking Line posted a loss of almost 50 million euros, a drop of almost 70 million euros compared to the previous year's result.”

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/tallink_reports_108_million_euro_loss_3000_layoffs/11809384

Opinion: What planet is NATO living on? Because it's no longer useful on this one

(Salon)

[Written by two members of the anti-war group ‘CODEPINK for Peace’.]

https://www.salon.com/2021/02/25/what-planet-is-nato-living-on-because-its-no-longer-useful-on-this-one/

— Wednesday 24. February —

Riigi teenetemärkidega tunnustati 152 inimest

(President ee)

“Teenetemärkidega tunnustatakse Eesti inimesi ja meie toetajaid välisriikides nende sihikindluse eest oma tegevuses ning lojaalsuses põhimõtetele, millele toetub kaasaegne Eesti – avatusele ja demokraatiale, teadmistele ja ettevõtlikkusele, hoolimisele ja märkamisele.”

https://www.president.ee/et/meediakajastus/pressiteated/16444-riigi-teenetemaerkidega-tunnustatakse-152-inimest/index.html

“152 people receive Estonian state decorations.” - Office of the President Press Release

“Since 2016, President Kaljulaid has awarded a total of 657 state decorations.” - ERR

“Let us make an honest, caring, corruption-free and self-confident Estonia.” - ERR

“Estonian president highlights importance of sense of belonging.” - Baltic Times

“Celebration of Estonia's 103rd Independence Day in Paide.” - ERR

“Independence Day marked nationwide and beyond in variety of ways.” - ERR

Estonia Turns the Page on Its Flirtation With the Far-Right EKRE

(World Politics Review)

“On Jan. 13, the government of Estonia fell, after then-Prime Minister Juri Ratas resigned over allegations of corruption and influence-peddling … The change in government was perhaps more significant for what it means for the far-right Conservative People’s Party of Estonia, which prior to entering Ratas’ government had been treated as a pariah in Estonian politics. Known by its acronym EKRE, the party had been in the ruling coalition for less than two years, but this proved long enough to cause widespread shock and horror. The scandal that brought down Ratas also implicated an aide to Martin Helme, who served as Ratas’ finance minister and also heads EKRE. The party was excluded from the new coalition and again finds itself on the outside looking in.”

https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29448/after-its-flirtation-with-the-far-right-ekre-estonia-turns-the-page

— Russia —

Moscow Mayor Scraps Vote on Soviet Secret Police Chief Statue

(The Moscow Times)

“Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin halted a vote Friday on whether to restore a statue of Soviet secret police founder Felix Dzerzhinsky outside the domestic intelligence headquarters in the Russian capital. The vote, which kicked off Thursday and was set to last a week, offered Muscovites a choice between a statue of Dzerzhinsky, who is seen as a symbol of the KGB's control over society in the Soviet Union, and Alexander Nevsky, a 13th century prince and Orthodox saint.  But with nearly 320,000 ballots cast two days later, with Nevsky leading Dzerzhinsky by 55% to 45%, Sobyanin decided to scrap the vote — and the new statue — altogether. … the Moscow mayor said that the vote was "increasingly turning into a confrontation between people holding different views."

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/02/26/moscow-mayor-scraps-vote-on-soviet-secret-police-chief-statue-a73093

Getting Serious About Russia

(National Interest)

“Russia is a determined adversary of the United States. The Putin government, which has rebuilt the military, believes that Washington is leading a hostile endeavor designed to undermine its international positions and domestic stability. This determination to resist and challenge America is tempered by Moscow’s desire for a more constructive relationship, even partnership, with the United States—as long as it is available on Moscow’s own terms. Russia’s economic limitations, lack of reliable allies, and demographic problems mean that Vladimir Putin and his advisors are acutely aware that the costs of a rivalry with America are high. In contrast to the Soviet Union, Russia has neither the ideology nor the messianic drive that would require inveterate enemies, on the one hand, and the reflexive support of like-minded autocratic regimes, on the other. …”

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/getting-serious-about-russia-178832

Declining Numbers of Draft-Age Russians Prompting Moscow to Consider Allowing More Foreigners to Serve in Russian Military

By Paul Goble

“The United Nations projects that the number of draft-age Russians will fall from 14.25 million to 11.23 million over the next decade and that if Moscow wants to maintain its armed forces at the current level of one million effectives, it will have to increase the share of this age group it takes from 6.31 percent to 8.01 percent.”

http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2021/02/declining-numbers-of-draft-age-russians.html

Vene diplomaadid olid sunnitud käsidresiiniga Põhja-Koreast lahkuma

(Postimees)

“Kaheksa Venemaa saatkonna töötajat ja nende pereliikmed, kes jäid riiki, olid sunnitud ette võtma pika kodutee, mis lõppes eile. Nende teekond algas 32-tunnise rongisõiduga Pyongyangist, millele järgnes 2-tunnine bussisõit Venemaa piirini, kus Vene välisministeeriumi sõnul ootas neid ülioluline viimane etapp.”

https://www.postimees.ee/7188958/vene-diplomaadid-olid-sunnitud-kasidresiiniga-pohja-koreast-lahkuma

Kaliningrad’s Haunted House of Soviets 

(New York Times)

“Residents of Kaliningrad, Russia’s westernmost region, search for meaning in a building many see as an egregious architectural mistake. “It’s ugly, but it’s ours.”

—

“The building evokes a head because it was intended as a headquarters. The protruding balconies are eyes, above which looms an oversize braincase of office space intended for Communist Party functionaries who would guide the economy. They never settled in because of the structural flaws. Critics say the concept was nothing if not redolent of authoritarianism. Locals nicknamed it the “Robot Head.” Adding to its woes, the building was never actually completed. Rain seeped in. Waterlogged concrete swelled, and blocks of it fell off. For a time, market traders stored goods in abandoned rooms. Nobody ever used it as office space. …”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/world/europe/kaliningrad-russia-soviet-union-house-of-soviets.html?action=click&algo=lda&block=editors_picks_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=760656409&impression_id=f19b3fa2-74b8-11eb-ac11-3b7be2409595&index=2&pgtype=Article&region=footer&req_id=479311939&surface=home-featured&variant=1_lda

The TikTok Generation Is Putin’s Achilles’ Heel

(The Daily Beast)

“Russia’s new generation of activists is turning to TikTok and Instagram to dissent against Putin’s regime and galvanize support for his targets, including Alexei Navalny.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/russias-tiktok-generation-is-putins-achilles-heel?via=ios

How Russia Has Expanded Its Video‑Surveillance System

(RFERL)

“In 2020, Russia ranked third in the world in terms of the number of CCTV cameras on its territory. The country also invested millions of dollars in facial-recognition software and launched one of the world's most comprehensive surveillance systems in Moscow. While authorities say this will increase public safety and help fight the coronavirus pandemic, human rights activists have raised concerns about the lack of regulation and violations of data privacy.”

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-video-surveillance/31052482.html

The Man Who Built Putin’s Billion Dollar Palace

(Spiegel)

“Lanfranco Cirillo designed the ostentatious palace that Alexei Navalny claims belongs to Russia’s president. "We used fantastic materials, I was proud of my work," the architect says.”

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/russia-the-architect-of-putin-s-purported-palace-comments-on-alexei-navalny-s-film-a-582ce581-3c66-4b01-b065-1af8112f4247

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