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05 May, 2017


“The Norfolk NATO Festival presented its annual Parade of Nations on April 29, 2017 in Norfolk, Virginia in which Estonia had a brilliant float displaying a traditional Estonian swing ("Eesti kiik") embellished with beautiful Estonian women in national dress. The NATO Parade is the longest continuous parade in Hampton Roads and the only Parade in the United States honoring NATO. Over 100 Parade Units participated with local and visiting high school bands, US and International Military bands, and colorful floats representing each of the 28 NATO Member Nations.” -  Anu Oinas 

- ‘Pillerkaar’ 

- The Norfolk NATO Festival

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NB! An email is reportedly making the rounds with an invitation to see a 'Google Doc' file. I do not use 'Google Doc' for EstoNews. If you happen to receive an Google Doc invite, do NOT click on anything. Delete it. It’s not from me. 


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Friday 5. May
_____________

- Lavrovi Soome viinud lennuk rikkus Eesti õhupiiri
(ERR | Postimees)
"Lennuki transponder oli sisse lülitatud, piiri rikkumise hetkel ei olnud lennukil Eesti lennuliiklusteenindusele esitatud lennuplaani ja puudus ka raadiokontakt. Välisministeerium on Venemaa Föderatsiooni saatkonda antud intsidendist teavitanud. See oli tänavu esimene Eesti õhupiiri rikkumine Venemaa Föderatsiooni lennuki poolt. Mullu esines sarnaseid juhtumeid seitsmel korral."
--
—
- Russian plane violates Estonian airspace over Gulf of Finland
(ERR)
"According to unconfirmed information, the plane was carrying Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, who was en route to Finland for an official visit."



- Estonia prepares for its first EU Presidency
(New Europe)

- Eesti Euroopa Liidu Nõukogu Eesistumine
(Euroopa Liidu Nõukogu)

- About the EU Presidency
(Council of the EU)

- Estonia is to introduce its culture, arts and science to Europe
(Estonian World)

- Brexit to be in focus during Estonia's EU presidency
(Baltic Times)

- Estonia expects digital package as central topic of presidency
(ERR)

- Remarks by President Jean-Claude Juncker
(European Commission - press release)



- EU: Brexit Could Disrupt Millions of Expats’ Lives
- Nearly 600 UK Citizens Living in Estonia May Be Affected
(Bloomberg)
"With the free movement of citizens—a basic tenet of EU law—curtailed or restricted, theoretically they could see bank accounts closed, employment terminated or rental agreements revoked - not to mention deportation."



- ERR Pariisis: soosik Macron räägib üha enam vajadusest reformida EL-i
(ERR)
"Prantsusmaa saab ülehomme endale uue presidendi ning viimased valimiseelsed päevad on näidanud, et suursoosik Emmanuel Macron räägib üha rohkem vajadusest reformida Euroopa Liitu."

- EU: Macron stretches lead in last throes of French presidential campaign
(Reuters)
"Sunday's election is seen as the most important in France for decades, with two diametrically opposed views of Europe and France's place in the world at stake."

- EU: Europe’s most decisive election of the year
(Washington Post)
"A victory by far-right candidate Marine Le Pen would shake the foundations of the Western world. President Trump's victory was seen as consequential in Europe, but a Le Pen win would be incomparably more significant, some liberals say. Whereas Trump has frequently changed his mind on issues, Le Pen's agenda has remained virtually unchanged for years. She has vowed to pull France out of NATO's military command, the euro zone and the European Union. Few doubt that she would deliver.”
—
"Her centrist opponent, Emmanuel Macron, who is leading in the polls, takes an opposing view: His pro-European agenda is based on a neoliberal economic approach and on a moderate stance on social issues. He would also be the most pro-American French president in a long time. With Macron as French president, the U.S. will encounter a much stronger, strategic, self-confident, forward-thinking France and therefore Europe."

- Opinion: EU Must Change After the French Election
(Bloomberg)



- Commentary: Looking further afield to emulate best examples for a Digital Jersey
(Jersey Evening Post)



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Thursday 4. May
_____________

✔︎ Russian Fake News Operation Seeks to Generate Baltic Opposition to NATO Presence
(by Paul Goble)
"Russian media outlets in Moscow and in the Baltic countries have stepped up their efforts to generate opposition among Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). These media sources have been putting out fake news stories suggesting that NATO was recruiting Russian speakers, especially in Latvia, to use “as guinea pigs” to test new “physical, biological and other techniques.” The goal of such “experimentation” is purportedly to prepare the Balts to help the Western alliance invade the Russian Federation."



- Rootsi ohvrite omaksed nõuavad Eestilt Estonia laevahuku uurimise taasavamist
(Postimees)
"Estonia katastroofi Rootsi ohvrite ühendus SEA (Stiftelsen Estoniaoffren och Anhöriga) on juba pikalt tahtnud teada saada, mis ikkagi juhtus ning soovinud uurimise taasavamist. "Pole olemas ühtegi uuringut, kus oleks määratletud õnnetuse põhjus."



- Eesti mehe eraomandis on suures sõjas käinud tank T-34
(ERR | “Pealtnägija" video)
“..,. 49 aastane Mikk Lõhmus on vandeadvokaat tuntud büroos, aga ühtlasi üks Eesti väheseid tankiomanikke. Veel enam: Punaarmee lahingumasin, mida ajaloohuviline jurist üle 20 aasta suurema kärata oma militaartehnika kollektsioonis hoidis, on ürikute väitel ainus säilinud omataoline."
--
"Teadaolevalt on see mehe sõnul hetkel maailmas viimane tank, mis 1945. aastal 25. aprillil Elbel Ameerika vägedega kohtus."



- Enhancing NATO’s Forward Presence
(Carnegie Europe - 27. April)
"Over recent days and weeks, NATO member states have begun implementing an enhanced forward presence across the Baltic states and Poland. For the first time, the alliance is basing combat forces east of the former East-West German border on a continuous basis. Admittedly, the deployments to northeastern Europe will be rotational, not permanent, but they represent a strengthening of the alliance’s deterrence and reassurance posture. However, while the enhanced forward presence in its current form is a necessary initiative, it’s not yet clear whether it is sufficient …"



- Patarei vanglast tehti tõetruu 3D-mudel
(Delfi)
[Using drone video and 3D software a realistic 3D model of the Patarei jail in Tallinn was made.] 



- Interview: Author Agnia Grigas  
The 'New Russian Empire' and the Baltic States
(Deep Baltic)
Agnia Grigas is the author of "Beyond Crimea: the New Russian Empire”, …"a book that demonstrates how Russia, under both Vladimir Putin and Boris Yeltsin, has pursued policies of deliberately undermining and destabilising the former Soviet states …"



- Letter from Siberia: Through sands and mountains in search of a gulag ghost-town
(Calvert Journal)
  Article begins: "Some friends and I set off from Krasnoyarsk to the Trans-Baikal region on the Baikal-Amur Mainline, eager to see the Chara Sands desert and the harsh Kodar Mountains, home to numerous glaciers and an abandoned Gulag camp. Our 10-day journey through desert, taiga and mountain gave us a taste of a terra incognita that remains virtually unknown across Russia and even within Siberia itself.”
—
[The article includes a set of truly incredible photos.] 



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Wednesday 3. May
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✔︎ EU keeps visa-free travel for US visitors
(EU Observer | New York Times)
"Right now, United States citizens generally do not need visas to enter any of the union’s 28 member nations, but citizens of five of those nations — Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania — need visas to travel to the United States. That disparity has been the subject of a diplomatic dispute between Washington and Brussels that threatened to escalate in March, when the European Parliament asked the commission, the bloc’s executive body, to retaliate by ending visa-free travel to Europe for Americans. The Parliament’s resolution was nonbinding, and the commission said Tuesday that it would not comply with the request.” 
--



- Tallinna sadamaala ideekonkursi finaali jõudnud tööd
(ERR)
"Tallinna Sadam avalikustas kolm arhitektuurset lahendust, mis jõudsid sadamaala masterplaani ideekonkursi lõppvooru. Milline tuleb ellu viidav lahendus, loodetakse lukku lüüa septembriks. .. Tallinna Sadama välja kuulutatud masterplaani ideekonkrusil osales kuus pakkumist … Tööd jätkatakse Alver Arhitektide, Kavakava ja Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Maider Llaguno Architecture ühistöö (Eesti ja Suurbritannia) ja Zaha Hadid Architectsi (Suurbritannia) kavandiga."



- Countess of Wessex on two-day visit in Estonia
(The Daily Mail)
[She visited the British Brigade Training Wing in Tapa, visited Pallipõnn Pre-School in Tallinn, and met with Prime Minister Jüri Ratas at Stenbock House.]
—




_____________

Tuesday 2. May
_____________


- Peaminister Ratas: Sõjalist ohtu Eestile täna ei ole
(ERR)
"Kas ida poolt on meile kõige tõenäolisem sõjaline oht? Loomulikult on. Ma ütlesin ka seda väga selgelt, et meie välisluure andmed ütlevad 2017. aastal, et see oht on madal. Minu ülesanne valitsusjuhina ja peaministrina ei ole külvata ei siin riigikogu ees ega Eesti ühiskonnas sõjahüsteeriat. Minu ülesanne on, kui see oht tõuseb, koheselt informeerida sellest ühiskonda. Aga täna ei ole seda ohtu."



- Eestis oli 40 aasta kõige külmem aprill
(Postimees)
"Eesti keskmine õhutemperatuur oli +3,0 kraadi, mis on 1,6 kraadi madalam kui paljuaastane keskmine, milleks on +4,6 kraadi. Õhutemperatuuri maksimumiks registreeriti 10. aprillil Võrus +17,9 ning miinimumiks 16. aprillil Jõhvis -11,1 kraadi."




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Monday 1. May
_____________


- Tee virtuaaltuur allveelaevas Lembitu
(Postimees)
[A virtual tour of the submarine Lembitu. 
I have been in it and it is worth the visit.]



- Nädalavahetuse torm viis Patareilt katuse
(Postimees)



- North Korea owes Finland millions for transactions dating back to the 1970s
(Yle)
"North Korea ordered paper machines and other assorted equipment from Finland that it never paid for. The total bill climbed to over 26 million euros owed to the Finnish state, and another six million that was never paid to private Finnish businesses. Officials in Pyongyang haven't forgotten this debt."




_____________

- Russia -
"Trust No One"
_____________


- Who Is Terrorizing Russia's Opposition and Why Is No One Being Held Responsible?
(The Moscow Times)

- Alexei Navalny Is Now Russia's Outlaw Presidential Candidate
(Moscow Times)



- Five Faces of May Day in Russia
(Paul Goble)
"May Day has become a holiday in which the official slogans and the balance between official and opposition may be less instructive about what is going on in Russia than the ways in which various groups have used the day to promote their cause and how the authorities have responded."



- Dmitry Medvedev’s fate foreshadows Russia’s
(BNE - Mark Galeotti)
"In the immediate term, he is probably not going anywhere, as Putin cannot appear to be swayed by protests. The chance of him lasting to next year’s presidential poll and the consequent change of government, though, look slender, especially as he is definitely an electoral liability now."



- Russia Rehearses For Very Cold War In The Arctic
(RFERL video)



- The Kremlin’s California Dream
(Slate)
“… in tacking toward both fringes of the U.S. political spectrum, and in a not-too-subtle nod to the Soviet Union’s crack-up, the Kremlin recently began funding efforts to organize and encourage American secession movements outright. Last year, the Kremlin granted tens of thousands of dollars to the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, a group that, over the past two years, has put together a pair of Moscow-based conferences to organize numerous American and European secessionists ranging from Venice and Northern Ireland to Hawaii and Texas."



- Seven Theories: What Do We Really Know about L’Affaire Russe and What Could it All Mean?
(LawFare)
An … "overview of the facts to those most directly related to Russia’s interference in the election and the possible links between Trump associates and the Russian government."

- Trump et L'Affaire Russe: A Resource Page
(Lawfare)
"This resource page compiles ongoing revelations on President Donald Trump and his associates’ alleged ties to Russia."



- Film Screenings of ‘Nemtsov' to be Held in the U.S.
(Institute of Modern Russia)
"Nemtsov chronicles a remarkable political life. It is a story told by those who knew Boris Nemtsov at different times: when he was a young scientist and took his first steps in politics; when he held high government offices and was considered Boris Yeltsin’s heir apparent; when he led Russia’s democratic opposition. The film contains rare archival footage, including from the Nemtsov family. Nemtsov is a portrait. It is not about death. It is about the life of a man who could have been president of Russia."

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28 April, 2017

✔︎ Estonian media looks back 10 years to 
‘Pronksiöö’ (Bronze Night)
"In the early morning of Apr. 28, 2007, the Estonian authorities removed the Bronze Soldier monument from its location on Tõnismägi and disinterred the remains of the Soviet soldiers buried at the site. The days of unrest across the capital and Ida-Viru County have since become known as the Bronze Night riots. …” - ERR

✔︎ Intervjuu: Marju Lauristin  
'Pronksiöö on puhtal kujul meediasündmus'
(ERR)
[Marju Lauristan says the 10th anniversary of Bronze Night is pure media event.]


 ✔︎ Intervjuu: Andrus Ansip 
'täna teeks kõike veel kiiremini'
(Postimees)


✔︎ Interview: Andrus Ansip
'I would do it even sooner today'
(Postimees)
"For me, the decision to move the monument was made in 2006 when it was no longer possible to wave the Estonian flag in the heart of the country's capital. That was the last straw for me. Yes, I played a decisive role. However, it was due to my office. Anyone else would have done the same thing in the prime minister's shoes."




✔︎ Ülevaade: Kümme aastat pronksööst
(Postimees)



✔︎ Timeline: How the Bronze Soldier was removed
(ERR)


✔︎ President Kaljulaid on veendunud, et pronksiöö taolist sündmust enam Eestis ei tule
(Postimees | ERR)
[Kaljulaid is convinced that an event like Bronze Night will not happen again.]
—



_____________

Friday 28. April
_____________

- Russia may station troops in Belarus to challenge Nato after Zapad 2017, warns Estonia
(The Independent-Uk | RFERL)
“… Estonia and other Nato governments had intelligence suggesting Moscow may leave Russian soldiers in Belarus once the so-called Zapad 2017 exercises are over [September], also pointing to public data of Russian railway traffic to Belarus.
--
Tsahkna cited plans to send 4,000 railway carriages to Belarus to transport Russian troops and gear there, possibly to set up a military outpost in its closest ally.
--
“For Russian troops going to Belarus, it is a one-way ticket.” 
- Remembering Russia's First Web War: Bronze Night
(RFERL)
“The cyberattacks and the rioting were ostensibly in response to Estonia's decision to relocate a Soviet World War II monument from the center of Tallinn. But in reality, the Kremlin was sending a message to its neighbors and to the West that it was ready to play hardball. … And it was also a test drive of strategies and tactics that would later be deployed in Georgia, Ukraine, and in points much farther to the West."
--
"All the elements we've come to know all too well were there -- the manufactured crisis, the dramaturgy, the hacking, the use of ethnic-Russian proxies, the plausible deniability, and the disinformation."

- How a cyber attack transformed Estonia
(BBC)

- 10 Years After the Landmark Attack on Estonia, Is the World Better Prepared for Cyber Threats?
(Foreign Policy)



✔︎ Is This Tiny European Nation a Preview of Our Tech Future?
(Fortune Tech)
[Watch their video 'How Estonia Became a Tech Powerhouse’. A version of this article appears in the May 1, 2017 issue of Fortune with the headline "Welcome to Tomorrow Land."]



- Harsh Brexit truth for EU’s minnows
(Politico-Europe 21. April)
"Estonians are forced to plan much earlier than others on how to cope with Brexit. Take infrastructure investment, for example. Up to 90 percent of such long-term investments in Estonia rely on some form of EU funding."
--
"While Estonian officials insisted that the EU is “remarkably united” when it comes to ensuring the U.K. pays what it owes on departure, they don’t expect any of that cash to find its way to Estonia.”
—
"Ironically for countries that oppose Soviet-style economic planning, the lesson they are taking from Brexit is that those who plan, win."



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Thursday 27. April
_____________

- Cloak and Dagger: Three U.S. and British intelligence-gathering planes spotted in the Baltic region while the two F-35A fighters visited Ämari
(The Aviationist)
The article is full of technical aviation jargon but the main idea is this:
--
As the F-35 fighters headed towards Ämari in formation with their tanker, as many as three intelligence-gathering planes (two US one RAF) operated in the airspaces over or close to Estonia. One US plane positioned itself off of Kaliningrad. The second US plane set itself up between the Ämari airfield and the Russian border, over the Tapa / Rakvere area. One could only speculate the reason for this operation.


Intelligence-gathering planes are observed frequently over the Baltics, but ... "the presence of three such spyplanes not too far away from one another seems to suggest their missions were coordinated and probably related to something big happening.”
--
Reportedly when the F-35s departed Ämari to return to the UK, the three intelligence-gathering planes also headed back to their homebases.



- Sending two F-35s to the region doesn't hold much military significance, but that's not the point.
(The Drive)



- Hävitajate F-35 tulekut valvas Eestis USA üliharuldane luurelennuk
(Delfi)



_____________

- Rail Baltic -
_____________

- Eesti on seni Rail Balticu osas kõige taga, Riia kavandab juba uhket raudteesõlme
(Postimees | ERR)
--


- Opinion: Rail Baltic debate finally gets more realistic
(ERR - 28. April)


- Arvamus: Rail Balticuga vassida ei tohiks
(Postimees)

- Analüüs: Rail Baltic on rahaliselt ja majanduslikult elujõuline
(Äripäev - 24. Aprill)

- Analysis: Rail Baltic project to have €3.96 billion gap
(ERR)

- Siim Kallas on Rail Baltica
(Latvian Public Broadcasting)

- Rail Baltica: a new corridor for the Baltic states
(Railway Technology)

- Rail Baltica: Benefits outweigh the costs
(BNN)

- Protests in Tallinn against current shape of Rail Baltic project
(ERR - 22. April)




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Wednesday 26. April
_____________

- Küberkaitse õppus "Locked Shields 2017”
(ERR)
"Tallinnas toimub esmaspäevast reedeni NATO küberkaitsekeskuse korraldatav suurõppus, millest võtab osa ligi 800 inimest 25 riigist."

- Estonia's cyber crisis management capability improved in decade
(ERR)



- Future Moon Orbiting CubeSat Prototype Being Tested By Estonia; Slated To Launch In 2019
(Science Times)
"The main goal of ESTCube-2 is to test technologies for ESTCube-3 to avoid problems in a much less forgiving and more expensive moon orbit. The reason why we want to launch ESTCube-3 to the moon orbit is that E-sail's authentic environment is the solar wind, which in low Earth orbit is blocked by the Earth's magnetosphere. From satellite design point of view, the lack of a magnetic field changes the way we can control the satellite's attitude. Instead of electromagnetic coils and magnetometers we are have to use reaction wheel, propulsion and star tracker."
—



- Estonia: The Little Spycatcher Who Could
(The Daily Beast)
"Estonia is Europe’s leading catcher of Vladimir Putin’s spies as well as Europe’s leading unmasker of his manifold agents of influence. It is uncharacteristically unafraid to advertise its own national security threats by naming and shaming its yearly haul of enemy operatives, at least in comparison to other Western NATO democracies, which tend to hush up such bilateral embarrassments ..."



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Tuesday 25. April
_____________

- Eestisse saabusid USA F-35A hävitajad
(ERR | Postimees |Delfi graafik)
—
“Sellega on lahe lennata, õnneks ma ei pea ise maksma."
--
—


- U.S. F35s fly into Estonia in show of NATO solidarity
(Reuters)
"Two of the U.S. Air Force's newest and most advanced jets landed in the Baltic state of Estonia for the first time on Tuesday, a symbolic gesture meant to reinforce the United States' commitment to the defense of NATO allies that border Russia."
--
--
--
- Delfi video:




_____________

Monday 24. April
_____________

- Usu või mitte: Eestimaalased joovad aina vähem
(Postimees)
"Arvestuste kohaselt oli tarbimine 2016. aastal 9,9 liitrit ühe täiskasvanud elaniku kohta (absoluutalkoholina) ja võrreldes 2015. aastaga on tarbimise langus 6%."



- President Kaljulaid meets U.S. Speaker Paul Ryan
(ERR)
“NATO today is stronger than ever, and the USA’s contribution to this cannot be overestimated,” Kaljulaid said. She added that the U.S. had been one of Estonia’s closest allies since the country regained its independence and the last of the Russian troops left the country."

- U.S. House Speaker Stresses Importance Of NATO During Estonia Visit
(RFERL)
"Ryan, the most powerful person in the House and an ally of President Donald Trump, on April 22 said that "we feel very strong that the NATO alliance is extremely crucial and essential. … Our strong support for NATO is unequivocal, unambiguous," he said after meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas.”

- Russia probe will help US allies
(ABCNews)
"One of the reasons the U.S. Congress has launched an investigation into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election is to "prevent the same kind of thing happening" to its NATO and other allies, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Saturday. Ryan spoke at a news conference with Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, during a visit by a bipartisan congressional delegation to the Baltic NATO member and staunch Washington ally.”
—
"He thanked Estonia, a country of 1.3 million, for its strong commitment to cyber defense and NATO, and for being one of the very few NATO members to spend two percent of its GDP on defense."We're here to say thank you for meeting that pledge," Ryan said."



- Mogherini Says EU Sanctions To Stay, Criticizes Russia
(RFERL | Deutsche Welle)
"European Union foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini says that Brussels wants better ties with Russia but cannot pretend Moscow did not annex Crimea …"
--
—

- TASS ignores sanctions and Crimea Topics



- Hybrid war in the High North: Finland responds to the Russian threat
(CEPA)
"So the new center on hybrid warfare being set up in the Finnish capital Helsinki is a welcome, if belated and modest development. So far Britain, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and the United States have signed up to the Finnish initiative. So have the European Union and NATO. Oddly, neighboring Estonia has not …”

- Reform urges Estonia to join center for countering hybrid threats
(ERR)
"Estonia's incomprehensible passiveness on a subject so important for our security works as a worrying signal. I hope that the government will reconsider and Estonia will join the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in the near future.” - Reform MP Eerik-Niiles Kross




_____________

- Off Topic -
_____________

- Book: 'Martin Luther - Renegade and Prophet'
by Lyndal Roper
(Washington Post | New York Times)
"In 1517, Martin Luther was an unknown academic in search of a cause. Only a few years later, he was the most published author in the history of Christendom. By the time of his death in 1546, the church was riven into competing confessions, Protestant and Catholic, with consequences we still live with today.”
—

- Preview -
(Amazon)



- Icelanders Seek to Keep Their Language Alive and Out of ‘the Latin Bin’
(New York Times)
“The revered Icelandic language, seen by many as a source of identity and pride, is being undermined by the widespread use of English, both in the tourism industry and in the voice-controlled artificial intelligence devices coming into vogue. Linguistics experts, studying the future of a language spoken by fewer than 400,000 people in an increasingly globalized world, wonder if this is the beginning of the end for the Icelandic tongue."






_____________

- Russia -
"Trust No One"
_____________

- “Russophobia"
(Brian Whitmore, RFERL, 26. April)
"The term Russophobia first appears in the Russian language in 1867, when Fyodor Tyutchev, a Slavophile poet, diplomat, and agent of the Third Department of the Tsar's Office - effectively the secret police - used it to describe opponents and critics of the monarchy."
--
"Tyutchev primarily applied the term to Poles who sought liberation from the Russian Empire. In the 19th century, it was those "Russophobic" Poles seeking national liberation. Today, it's those "Russophobic" Ukrainians, Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians who are seeking to preserve their independence. And, of course, anybody else who supports them or dares criticize the Kremlin." 



- Hallmarks of Soviet postwar building boom are finally meeting their demise
(Washington Post)
[The continuing story of Moscow’s demolition of it’s ‘khrushchevka’ buildings.]



- Interview: Alexei Navalny
(Spiegel)
"The Kremlin Blocks Every Alternative to Putin"



- Media: Springtime for Russia’s dissident press
(Politico-Europe)
"Based in Latvia, the Meduza Project is taking on the Kremlin.”

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