Forgetting is not an option

- by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Die Zeit

“For Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Poland, World War II started not 80 years ago, but almost 82 years ago – on August 23, 1939, when the Nazi-Soviet Treaty of Non-Aggression was signed in the Kremlin along with the secret protocols on dividing Europe. And at the time, the USSR was an aggressor, not a victim.”

—

“Today we see aggressive attempts to restore the USSR. To restore the past with the same ideology of the last century: the division of Europe into spheres of influence, disrespect for the sovereignty of nations and their territorial integrity, strict нет (‘no’) to human rights, freedom of expression, independent media. And that is certainly not the way to ‘be open’. …”

https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2021-06/gitanas-nauseda-president-lithuania-vladimir-putin-crimea-english?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lrp.lt

_______________

COVID in the Baltics 

- 39 in Estonia  (37 last week)

-40 in Latvia    (125 last week)

- 30 in Lithuania (58 last week)

(BNN)

https://bnn-news.com/latest-covid-19-cases-in-baltics-40-in-latvia-30-in-lithuania-39-in-estonia-226234

“Koroonaviiruse andmestik.” - Eesti Terviseamet

“Professor selgitab, millisel juhul ootab ees kolmas laine.” - Postimees

“Estonia likely to miss EU's September vaccination target of 70 %.” - Politico

“Venemaalt toodi Eestisse 32 haigusjuhtu, neist neli olid seotud jalgpalli EM-iga.” - ERR

“EU COVID travel certificates go into effect.” - Politico-Europe

“Security flaws already uncovered in EU vaccination passport.” - DW

“Moscow, St. Petersburg Report Record Daily Coronavirus Death Tolls.” - Moscow Times

— Friday 2. July —

Tallinna saabusid tänavused esimesed kruiisituristid

(ERR)

“Saksa kruiisifirmad TUI Cruises ja MSC Cruises on alustanud kruiisireiside pakkumist Läänemerel ning reede hommikul tõi laev ‘Mein Schiff 1’ Tallinnasse tänavused esimesed kruiisituristid.”

https://www.err.ee/1608265899/galerii-tallinna-saabusid-tanavused-esimesed-kruiisituristid

Laev 'Mein Schiff 1' 

Selgus Eesti koondis Tokyo olümpiaks

(ERR)

“Eesti Olümpiakomitee täitevkomitee kinnitas reedel e-koosolekul Eesti koondise Tokyo olümpiamängudeks. Kinnitatud koondisse kuuluvad 33 sportlast 14 spordialalt ja 48-liikmeline tugipersonali koosseis.”

https://sport.err.ee/1608266001/selgus-eesti-koondis-tokyo-olumpiaks

Euroopa Kosmoseagentuuri tähelendurite konkursil osales 57 eestlast

(Novaator)

“18. juunil lõppenud Euroopa Kosmoseagentuuri (ESA) astronaudikonkursile esitasid esialgsete numbrite kohaselt avalduse rohkem kui 22,000 inimest. Eestist oli kandideerijaid kokku 57, sealhulgas 35 meest ja 22 naist.”

https://novaator.err.ee/1608263442/euroopa-kosmoseagentuuri-tahelendurite-konkursil-osales-57-eestlast

“57 Estonians participate in European Space Agency's recruitment call for astronauts.” - The Baltic Times

“22,000 apply to join European Space Agency's astronaut corps.” - Space,com

Tallinna korteri ruutmeetri hind kerkis ajaloo kõrgeima tasemeni

(Kodustiil)

“Juunis langes Tallinna kinnisvaratehingute arv 17 protsenti, kuid korteri keskmine ruutmeetri hind kerkis 2302 euroni, mis on ajaloo kõrgeim tase, analüüsib Baltimaade suurim kinnisvarafirma 1Partner Maa-ameti statistikat.”

https://kodustiil.postimees.ee/7283702/tallinna-korteri-ruutmeetri-hind-kerkis-ajaloo-korgeima-tasemeni#_ga=2.85632795.384353463.1625099648-17610518.1623280166

“Tallinna kesklinnas töötaja võiks üürikorteri asemel eelistada hotelli.” - Postimees

Belarus using migrants to attack EU

(EU Observer)

“Lithuania has become a new "eastern front-line" for irregular migration, after Belarus began "weaponising" people in its clash with the EU, Lithuania's foreign ministry has said. The number of migrants crossing to Lithuania jumped eight-fold in the first half of this year, with some 600 cases recorded so far in 2021 and 412 cases in June alone. By comparison, there were 74 in 2020 and just 37 in 2019.”

https://euobserver.com/world/152305

“Is Belarus facilitating illegal migration to Lithuania?” - Euronews 

“Lithuania's State Border Guard Service has called for declaring a state of emergency over the growing influx of illegal migrants from Belarus.” - Delfi

“Estonia is ready to assist Lithuania to counter migration pressure coming from Belarus.” - ERR

“Piiriületus Narvas on kasvanud aastaga kolm korda.” - ERR

Oldest known Black Death victim found in northern Latvia

(New Scientist)

“The bacterium behind the Black Death, which wrought devastation in medieval times, has been found in the skull of a man who lived 5000 years ago in what is now Latvia, making it the earliest known plague strain. … “The individual does in fact overlap with the Neolithic decline and very likely died from the plague infection. We know that large settlements, trade and movement happened in this period and human interaction is therefore still a very plausible cause of the spread of plague in Europe at this time …”

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2282393-earliest-known-bubonic-plague-strain-found-in-5000-year-old-skull/

Soome parlament kiitis heaks uued piiriületamise eeskirjad

(ERR)

“Soome parlament kiitis reedel heaks uued piiriületamise eeskirjad, mis võimaldavad madala koroonaviiruse tasemega riikidest pärit inimestel ilma piiranguteta Soome sõita.  Soome peab madala riskitasemega neid riike, kus nakatumisnäitaja on maksimaalselt 25 juhtumit 100 000 elaniku kohta viimase kahe nädala jooksul. Näiteks Eesti puhul oli see reedel 28.”

https://www.err.ee/1608266115/soome-parlament-kiitis-heaks-uued-piiriuletamise-eeskirjad

Politics: Henn Põlluaas’s presidential road reaches first milestone

(Postimees)

“EKRE leader Martin Helme said in May that he has in his head a roadmap that will see Põlluaas elected Estonia’s sixth president. Helme claims he is making good progress a month later. There is no serious competition to speak of after long-time favorite, Center Party chair Jüri Ratas said he does not plan to run. …”

https://news.postimees.ee/7284228/polluaas-presidential-road-reaches-first-milestone

“Põlluaas (EKRE) pidas presidendikampaania hakatuseks programmilise kõne.” - Postimees

“EKRE gains almost 1,000 members in six months.” - ERR

Systemic trust in standards regarding buildings, pipelines, bridges

(Christian Science Monitor)

“Trust-based societies, according to scholar Francis Fukuyama, share ‘a set of moral values in such a way as to create regular expectations of regular and honest behavior.’ One good example is the small Baltic state of Estonia. After suffering a massive cyberattack from Russia in 2007, it has built up civic resiliency in its citizens to safeguard infrastructure. Whether it is trains, cars, electricity, or digital networks, says Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, society needs to have trust “because we have standards which we can trust.”

https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2021/0701/Systemic-trust-in-buildings-pipelines-bridges

— Thursday 1. July —

Ühendekspeditsioonivägi tugevdab Läänemere regiooni kaitset

(Postimees)

“Augustis algava Vene Föderatsiooni suurõppuse Zapad 2021 kontekstis on vajalik oma lähiriikidega arutada ühiseid tegevusi lisaks koostööle NATO-s ja Euroopa Liidus. Ühendekspeditsiooniväe formaat on selle jaoks väga sobilik, sest selle riikidel on ühised julgeoleku väljakutsed ja soov meie regiooni selgete tegudega tugevamaks muuta,» ütles kaitseminister Laanet.”

—

“Kohtumisel olid Ühendekspeditsiooniväe liikmesriigid – Eesti, Läti, Leedu, Holland, Taani, Ühendkuningriik, Island, Norra, Rootsi ja Soome – üksmeelel, et lähiajal Läänemere regioonis toimuvat Vene Föderatsiooni suurõppust ja teisi Venemaa sõjalisi tegevusi regioonis jälgitakse hoolega ning neile ollakse valmis neile reageerima.”

https://www.postimees.ee/7283844/laanet-uhendekspeditsioonivagi-tugevdab-laanemere-regiooni-kaitset

“Russia Expands Unit Integration with Belarusian and Serbian Militaries.” - ISW

“Russian Military Prepares for Zapad 2021, Heavy Armed Forces Stay Close to Ukraine.” - Jamestown Org.

“Zapad 2021 and the Future of Russia's Force Presence in Belarus.” - CSIS

“Zapad 2021 to demonstrate readiness to protect independence of Belarus, Russia.” - Belta

The Reset of U.S.-EU Relations and the Baltic States

(FPRI - June 2021)

“After four years of troubled transatlantic relations during the Trump presidency, the US and the Baltic states should strengthen the US-European ties, both inside and outside the NATO framework. While former US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about the conditionality of US support was worrying for the Baltic countries, there were no substantial changes in the US-Baltic relations during the Trump administration. However, overall US-European relations degraded dramatically and were put under a serious strain, as the 45th US president referred to the Europeans as foes on trade and allegedly considered US withdrawal from NATO. During the first months of his presidency, Joe Biden has reaffirmed his strong commitment to the Alliance.”

https://www.fpri.org/article/2021/06/the-reset-of-the-us-eu-relations-and-the-baltic-states/

Kaljulaid: Our connected world needs a trusted architecture

(Atlantic Council)

“Kaljulaid spoke about the concept of “trusted connectivity”—making sure critical digital and physical infrastructure linking those robots and underpinning national economies is built by democratic allies and partners in close collaboration with the private sector—alongside Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology in the Biden administration.”

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/estonian-president-our-connected-world-needs-a-trusted-architecture/

And:

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/securing-digital-infrastructure-in-an-era-of-strategic-competition-with-china/

Soomlased on üllatavalt vaesed, kuid siiski eestlastest rikkamad

(Ärileht)

“Võrreldes oma läänenaabrite rootslastega, kel on keskmiselt 336 000 dollari väärtuses kinnisvara, aktsiaid ning raha, on soomlastel umbes kaks korda vähem vara, vaid 167,000 dollarit. Seevastu eestlased on omakorda soomlastest märkimisväärselt vähem vara. Keskmiselt on ühel eestlasel 78 000 dollarit. Küll aga edestab Eesti napilt Lätit ja Leedut. Venelasi edestavad eestlased seevastu selgemalt, vahe on pea kolmekordne.”

https://arileht.delfi.ee/artikkel/93894481/raport-soomlased-on-ullatavalt-vaesed-kuid-siiski-eestlastest-rikkamad

Kaja Kallas arutas Jaapani välisministriga digikoostööd

(Postimees)

“Peaminister Kaja Kallas kohtus täna Jaapani välisministri Toshimitsu Motegiga, kellega arutas digikoostööd ja Eesti ettevõtjate huvi Jaapani turu vastu.”

https://www.postimees.ee/7284007/kaja-kallas-arutas-jaapani-valisministriga-digikoostood

“Jaapaniga saab koostööd tihendada digisetoris, põllunduses ja tööstuses.” - ERR

Siberisse küüditatud vanaisade lapselapsed on kõrgemalt haritud

(Novaator)

“Kõige enam haritud olid need vastanud, kelle mõlemad vanaisad olid olnud valgekraed ning ka kelle vanemad olid mõlemad kõrgharitud. Sel juhul omas 65 protsenti vastanutest kõrghariduse.”

https://novaator.err.ee/1608258123/siberisse-kuuditatud-vanaisade-lapselapsed-on-korgemalt-haritud

Estonia to begin documentation of the history of digital state

(ERR)

“The history of the formation of the digital state over the period 1991-2016, that is the first 25 years, will be documented. Altogether 60 biographical interviews will be conducted, from which high-quality video and audio files will be recorded, which will be freely available to all interested parties in the future - at least through the National Archives.”

https://news.err.ee/1608262704/estonia-to-start-storing-history-of-digital-state

Estonia’s shortage of family practitioners

(BNN)

“Right now, the Estonia Health Board is looking for new family doctors in the capital Tallinn, in the towns of Keila and Elva and two are needed in Valga, in southern Estonia. Therefore a total of 8,700 Estonians are without a family doctor. … 48 % of doctors are over 60, 11 % are over 70. A large number of specialists continue to work into retirement age and until they pass away.”

https://bnn-news.com/estonias-shortage-of-family-practitioners-increases-226201

— Wednesday 30. June —

Kui kallis on puhata perega Eestimaal?

(ERR)

“Võtsime võrdluse aluseks suve ilmselt magusaima nädalavahetuse, mil kõik puhkavad, 16.-18. juuli ehk reedest pühapäevani. Otsisime majutust nendeks kaheks ööks kahele täiskasvanule ja kahele lapsele Booking.com vahendusplatvormi kaudu. Üle Eesti on selleks ajaks saadaval veel 850 majutuskohta, mille võimalused ja hinnad on väga erinevad.”

https://www.err.ee/1608259959/ulevaade-kui-kallis-on-puhata-perega-eestimaal

“How expensive is a family holiday in Estonia?” - ERR

Eesti suurvaldadel on veeprobleem. Elanikel palutakse vett säästa

(Ärileht)

“Eilsel Viimsi valla ja vallarahva kohtumisel märgiti, et viimasel kümnendil on kinnisvaraarendusi liialt soodustatud. Samal ajal pole piisavalt tegeletud taristuga, et tagada põuastel suvedel piisav veevarustus. Sama laua taga istus ka Viimsi Vesi AS-i esindaja, kelle seisukoht liigsete kinnisvaraarenduste kohta oli sama mis teistel kohaletulnutel. Ta märkis, et kui ehitada probleemiga võitlemiseks suurem veevõrgustik, tõuseb ka vee hind, mis on juba praegu üks Eesti kõrgemaid.”

https://arileht.delfi.ee/artikkel/93884795/strong-eesti-suurvaldadel-on-tosine-veeprobleem-elanikel-palutakse-vett-saasta-strong

Terviseamet kannab maha ilmselt kõik külmlaos olnud vaktsiinid ja ravimid

(ERR | Postimees)

“Terviseamet kannab ohutuse huvides maha ilmselt kõik rikki läinud külmlaos olnud vaktsiinid ja ravimid. Terviseameti ladudes tõusis möödunud nädalal temperatuur 10 kraadi lubatust kõrgemaks, mille tõttu võis kannatada lao külmaruumides säilitatavate vaktsiinide ja ravimite kvaliteet. Temperatuuri kõikumine ei puudutanud terviseameti -20- ja -70-kraadiseid autonoomseid külmkappe.”

https://www.err.ee/1608263550/terviseamet-kannab-maha-ilmselt-koik-kulmlaos-olnud-vaktsiinid-ja-ravimid

—

https://www.postimees.ee/7283027/harma-toenaoliselt-kantakse-maha-koik-terviseameti-kulmlaos-asunud-vaktsiinid

“Terviseameti külmruumides on nüüd ööpäevaringne valve.” - Postimees

“100,000 vaccine doses perish after Health Board warehouse malfunction.” - Postimees

“Estonia fridge failure destroys COVID shots.” - Reuters

Kaljulaid to become UN global advocate for rights of women and children

(Baltic Times)

“Kaljulaid's focus as the global advocate on EWEC will concentrate on three key issues -- reducing maternal mortality, ensuring adequate food supply and innovation. "In these areas, too, the most urgent issue today is reducing the impact of the virus crisis. In addition to direct damage to health, we can see how the broader impact of the virus, through overload of the health care system, gaps in education and disruptions in standard supply chains and many other issues, are once again hitting hardest those who are most vulnerable. Meeting the goals set for 2030 is becoming increasingly difficult, but we must pursue them nonetheless," Kaljulaid said, adding that she sees the role of the global advocate as that of a network creator and leader.”

https://www.baltictimes.com/estonian_president_to_become_un_global_advocate_for_rights_of_women__children/#

Belarusians Beginning to Overcome Soviet Mentality

(Window on Eurasia)

“In many respects, Belarusians have made more progress in escaping from Soviet mindsets than any other people in the region except for the Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians. What the last 30 years have shown is that “it is not difficult to establish” democratic institutions “but a democratic political culture develops only after decades or even centuries.”

http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2021/06/more-than-most-post-soviet-nations.html

“Will stricter Western sanctions push Belarus toward Russia?” - Lithuanian Tribune

“Lukashenko congratulates China on 100th anniversary of Communist Party.” - Belta

“Putin: Belarus is Russia's closest ally.” - Belta

— Russia —

Vladimir Putin lubas, et ta suurimad saavutused on alles ees

(Postimees)

“Vene president Vladimir Putin vastas täna pärast mullust koroonaviirusest tingitud pausi taas ligi neli tundi kestnud televisiooni otsesaates kodanike küsimustele.”

https://maailm.postimees.ee/7282625/putin-lubas-et-ta-suurimad-saavutused-on-alles-ees#_ga=2.178037799.384353463.1625099648-17610518.1623280166

“Putini väitel on vaenulik Ukraina juhtkond, mitte rahvas.” - ERR

“О чем Владимир Путин переговорил со своим народом.” - Kommersant

“Direct Line with Vladimir Putin” is a carefully stage-managed event.” - BNE

“Putin allkirjastas Nõukogude Liidu võidu eitamise keelu seaduse.” - ERR

“Putin Vows 'Comprehensive Assistance' To Embattled Lukashenka Regime.” - RFERL

“Why Putin dare not abandon Belarus dictator Lukashenka.” - Atlantic Council

“Message to Germany’s Next Chancellor: Be Tough on Putin.” - CEPA

Venemaal otsiti siseministrit uurinud ajakirjanike kodud läbi

(Postimees)

“Moskva politseinikud otsisid läbi kolme Proekti ajakirjaniku kodud ja viisid nad ülekuulamisele mõned tunnid enne Vene siseministri Vladimir Kolokoltsevi varasid uuriva loo avalikustamist.”

https://maailm.postimees.ee/7282524/venemaal-otsiti-siseministrit-uurinud-ajakirjanike-kodud-labi#_ga=2.89853849.384353463.1625099648-17610518.1623280166

“Vene võimud otsisid läbi korruptsioonist kirjutanud ajakirjanike korterid.” - ERR

HMS Defender Incident: What happened and are there political ramifications?

(Russia Matters)

“On June 23, the HMS Defender—a British Type 45 destroyer—was involved in a confrontation with the Russian military while sailing near the Crimean Peninsula. The ship was in the Black Sea to participate in NATO’s Sea Breeze exercise. … Approximately 20 Russian aircraft, including a Su-24 bomber, a Su-30 fighter, and a Be-12 amphibious aircraft flew near the British ship. … Vladimir Putin described the incident as a provocation that brought the confrontation to a new level.”

https://russiamatters.org/analysis/hms-defender-incident-what-happened-and-what-are-political-ramifications

EU Leaders Should Only Meet Putin Bilaterally, Estonia Says

(Bloomberg)

“Summits should be withheld because ‘Georgia is partially occupied and Ukraine is partially occupied,’ the Baltic country’s president, Kersti Kaljulaid, told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Tuesday in New York. ‘Nothing has changed,’ while a summit would give an image as if things have returned to business as usual.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-29/eu-leaders-should-meet-putin-bilaterally-estonia-says

Cybersecurity: Russian GRU Conducting Global Brute Force Campaign

(Joint Advisory by NSA, CISA, FBI, and NCSC)

“Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) 85th Main Special Service Center (GTsSS), military unit 26165, used a Kubernetes® cluster to conduct widespread, distributed, and anonymized brute force access attempts against hundreds of government and private sector targets worldwide. … the capability has predominantly focused on entities in the U.S. and Europe. … These efforts are still ongoing.”

https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/01/2002753896/-1/-1/1/CSA_GRU_GLOBAL_BRUTE_FORCE_CAMPAIGN_UOO158036-21.PDF

“Moscow denies US, British hacking allegations.” - The Hill

In a lengthy manifesto, Russia’s top diplomat accused the West of hypocrisy

(Politico-Europe)

“In his article, Lavrov bashed EU leaders as little more than Biden’s backup singers, who were handed their song sheets during meetings of the G7, at NATO headquarters and in Brussels prior to the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva. And he complained that U.S. officials immediately after Geneva began asserting that they had set new demands for Moscow and Russia would face increased pressure, including further sanctions, if it did not comply.”

—

“In accusing the West of hypocrisy in trying to dictate its worldview to Moscow and Beijing, Lavrov repeated false accusations, such as that the U.S., NATO and the EU supported a coup in Ukraine in 2014. …”

https://www.politico.eu/article/russian-foreign-minister-sergey-lavrov-called-eu-biden-choir-europe-insulted/

The Law, The Rights And The Rules

(Russia in Global Affairs)

By Sergey Lavrov

“… Moreover, it is an aggressive Russophobic minority that increasingly sets the EU’s policy, as confirmed by the EU Summit in Brussels on June 24 and 25, 2021, where the future of relations with Russia was on the agenda. The idea voiced by Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to hold a meeting with Vladimir Putin was killed before it saw the light of day. Observers noted that the Russia-US Summit in Geneva was tantamount to a go-ahead by the United States to have this meeting, but the Baltic states, siding with Poland, cut short this “uncoordinated” attempt by Berlin and Paris, while the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the German and French ambassadors to explain their governments’ actions.”

https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/the-law-the-rights-and-the-rules/

Putin Tightens Internet Control

(RFERL)

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill that obliges foreign IT companies to set up local units or face penalties including a possible ban as Moscow continues to try and tighten its control over the flow of information on the Internet.”

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-internet-bill-control/31336030.html

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