Rail Baltica construction is underway
__________
Friday 1. November
__________
Estonia’s Prime Minister Committed to NATO Membership
(USNI)
“In explaining his tiny Baltic nation’s commitment to NATO membership by sending soldiers to Afghanistan and deploying ground forces to Iraq, the prime minister of Estonia told an audience earlier this week, “we try to punch above our weight.” The lesson Estonians have learned from its history “is the danger of being alone,” Juri Ratas, Estonia’s prime minister, said during an appearance at the American Enterprise Institute.”
—
“Ratas emphasized Estonia is a western nation, committed to liberal democracy. “The times we have failed to stand together,” he said, recalling the Soviet Union’s takeover over the three Baltic nations in World War II, “all have suffered, big and small.”
Potential War Map of Eastern Europe
(Geopolitical Futures)
“The frequently cited Suwalki Gap is the only communication route connecting Poland – the operational base of NATO and the U.S. – to the Baltic states, which abut Russia and thus are vulnerable to Moscow’s military advances. This narrow area is essential to sustaining NATO cohesion and guaranteeing the collective security afforded by NATO. In military terms, NATO’s Line of Communication, or LOC, through the gap is extremely difficult to establish and maintain; it traverses a challenging terrain over a long distance, from Warsaw to Tallinn, and since it is flanked by Belarus and Kaliningrad, it is vulnerable to Russian anti-access/area denial assets. …”
Peaminister külastab tormikahjusid kandnud Võrumaad
(ERR)
“Võru linn ja Võrumaa jäid eelmisel nädalavahetusel tormi tõttu mitmeks tunniks elektrita, samuti oli häiritud mobiilside ja Võru linnas katkes veevarustus. Lõuna-Eesti Haiglas tagati vool elektrigeneraatori abil.”
Telling the world about Soviet punitive psychiatry
(Meduza - Riga)
“Vladimir Bukovsky, a former Soviet dissident, has died in the United Kingdom at age 76. Bukovsky was also known for his criticism of Soviet punitive psychiatry and his unsuccessful run for the Russian presidency. He was permitted to leave the USSR in 1976 …”
—
”With the end of Khrushchev’s thaw came a new problem for the Soviet Union’s security forces. On one hand, Communist Party leaders expected increased resistance to dissident thinking, but on the other hand, nobody wanted a return to the open terror of the Stalinist era. It was at that juncture that the KGB began recruiting more psychiatrists to its cause and interpreting anti-government activism as a range of psychological problems. “Slow-onset schizophrenia,” the diagnosis that was already so familiar to Bukovsky, began attaching itself to other dissidents more and more often. To “cure” that disorder, medical facilities prescribed strong-acting drugs and physical treatments that often resulted in permanent disabilities. Punitive psychiatry reached its peak in the Soviet Union in the late 1960s.”
—
“In 1974, Bukovsky and his fellow dissident Semyon Gluzman released their Guide to Psychiatry for Dissidents, a detailed account of how Soviet psychiatry’s potential victims could attempt to resist state violence.”
Russians Tell How to Foil Psychiatrists
(New York Times Archive - Dec. 1974)
“The Soviet Union has angrily and consistently denied that its psychiatric facilities are used to suppress dissent, although number of known dissidents have been committed to psychiatric centers.”
United States / Estonia Joint Declaration on 5G Security
(The White House)
“Considering that secure fifth generation wireless communications networks (5G) will be vital to both prosperity and national security in the near future, the United States and Estonia declare their desire to strengthen our cooperation on 5G. …”
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/united-states-estonia-joint-declaration-5g-security/
Liitlased sooritasid Koigi murulennuväljale läbi aegade suurima langevarjudessandi
(Järveteataja Postimees)
“Harjutuse Tractable käigus jõuab Eestisse ligikaudu 200 ühikut tehnikat ning 800 sõdurit, kes vahetavad välja siin paikneva liitlaste lahingugrupi Ühendkuningriigi kontingendi – kuninga husaaride üksuse vahetab välja Eestisse saabuv kuninganna husaaride üksus. Õppus jõudis täna suurejooneliselt ka Järvamaale.”
Photos: “Kihnu, the Estonian Isle of Traditions”
(Washington Post)
“… photo documentary project about an island inhabited by only 500 people in the Baltic Sea.”
Interview: Outgoing Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
(Spiegel)
Zelensky: Ukraine ready to take relations with NATO to next level
(Emerging Europe)
“… continuing systemic reforms in the country’s defence sector and will keep the possibility of joining the Alliance’s Membership Action Plan on the agenda …”
Russia’s Sovereign Internet Law Comes Into Force
(Moscow Times | CNBC | RFERL)
“… that will allow Russia to cut itself off from the rest the World Wide Web came into effect Friday. While the law is now in force, commentators say it’s unlikely that much will change for Russian internet users over the next few months, not because the law won’t have any effect, but because Russian technology can’t support it yet.”
—
—
__________
Thursday 31. October
__________
Rail Balticu ehitamine on hoo sisse saanud
(Postimees)
“Raudtee rajamine on graafikus ja Rail Balticu projektijuht usub, et aastal 2026 saavad rongid sõitma hakata.”
Rail Balticu rajamine erineb tavapärasest raudtee-ehitusest
(ERR)
“Rail Balticu rajamine Eestis erineb tavapärasest raudtee-ehitusest, kus trassi ehitatakse lõiguti. Rail Balticu ehitust alustatakse liiklussõlmedest, et neid saaks arendada muude riigiteede projektide raames. Esimese liiklussõlme rajamisega alustati juba suvel.”
Rail Baltica construction underway
(ERR | BNN)
“Construction work on Rail Baltica, an EU project aimed at providing a continuous rail link from Helsinki to Warsaw, has already begun in Estonia. Viaducts and other points where the proposed line meets the roads are under construction first, including a viaduct to be built at Saustinõmme, about 20 km south of Tallinn city center. … Throughout Estonia, there are around 80 points, about half of which are are intersections with the highways or viaducts, and about half of these in turn occur on state roads.”
—
“A completely new route has been chosen rather than using existing rail corridors for the 213-km Estonian stretch … Rail Baltica, also referred to as Rail Baltic, is a double-track, European standard 1,435 mm gauge electrified passenger and freight railroad to be built from Tallinn to the Lithuanian-Polish border. The railroad will be a total of 870 km in length, just over 200 km of which is in Estonia.”
—
—
Endine NATO asepeasekretär: Venemaaga suhete parandamine on peaaegu võimatu
(Postimees)
“Alexander Vershbow leiab, et isegi lääneriikide ühepoolsete järeleandmiste korral ei oleks Venemaal erilist huvi suhteid parandada.”
Photos: A Mini Moscow Model Gets A Little Bigger
(RFERL)
“A model of Russia’s capital city is set to reopen with 1,000 new miniature buildings being added to it.”
__________
Wednesday 30. October
__________
A look at the complex logistics of moving British tanks to Estonia
(Postimees | British Army)
“Machinery stationed in Germany will be put on a train and sent directly to Estonia. Equipment will follow two paths from the U.K. One part will be put on a ship in Southampton that will make its way to the port city of Emden in Germany, from where the equipment will be moved to Estonia by road and railroad. A part of the equipment from the U.K. will take the Eurotunnel and come straight to Estonia …”
Briti tankid murravad logistilise virvarri kiuste Eestisse
(Postimees)
“Üleeile jõudis Tapale esimene osa kuninganna husaaride rasketehnikast, nende hulgas 18 tanki Challenger. Järgnevate nädalate jooksul jõuab Eestisse kokku 200 ühikut tehnikat ja 800 Ühendkuningriigi sõdurit.”
“Tractable”
(British Army)
“Soldiers from the Queen’s Royal Hussars (QRH) are due to take over from the King’s Royal Hussars (KRH). The Army currently has Challenger II main battle tanks in Estonia, alongside armoured vehicles and artillery which require rotating.”
Mart Helme: kriisi õppetund on, et riik ei saa kõige eest vastutada
(Postimees)
“Pühapäeval täieliku elektrikatkestuse üle elanud Võru linna kolmapäeval külastanud siseminister Mart Helme tunnistas, et kõige suuremaks kitsaskohaks mitme kriisitunni vältel oli nii inimesi kui ametkondi alt vedanud side.”
Remembering Estonian political prisoner Kalju Mätik (1932-2019)
by Jüri Estam, ERR
“Kalju Mätik, one of the most important figures in Estonia's small but vital brotherhood and sisterhood of political prisoners from the past century, died in Tallinn on Oct, 2. His ashes are to be laid to rest at his family's funeral plot in Tartu.”
Taavet Hinrikus: Estonia's IT reputation neglected
(ERR)
“TransferWise cofounder Taavet Hinrikus … believes Estonia has gambled away a part of its reputation recently. "I believe we could always do more. Our recent successes – whether we're talking about e-governance, e-residency – are from five to ten years ago, while we are seeing much less positive news about Estonia these days, with people asking what is happening.”
Finland fights to keep control of forests away from EU
(EU Observer)
“During the negotiations of the EU regulation in 2017, Finland lobbied to obtain 'extra' flexibility to manage its emissions.”
U.S. Ukraine policy in shambles
(Politico-Europe)
“Officials in Kyiv are now wondering who they can trust in Washington — especially given the recent departures of several of their American interlocutors, including former special envoy Kurt Volker, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Masha Yovanovitch, and former senior director for European and Russian Affairs Fiona Hill.”
Belarus to send troops to Lithuanian border in response to US presence
(LRT)
“American armour arrived in Lithuania on October 21 for a rotational deployment as part of US Army Europe Operation Atlantic Resolve, aimed at deterring Russia. The battalion-sized force is bringing 30 Abrams tanks, 25 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) and 70 wheeled vehicles, and will stay in Lithuania until spring 2020.”
—
“Belarusia President Alexander Lukashenko said that Minsk should prepare measures to counter the rotational US military deployment in Lithuania.
However, Lukashenko added that “30 tanks sound ridiculous for our army,” according to BelTA. “We can stand back and take no measures in response as all.”
The Russian media in Belarus
(Riddle)
“For a long time, a powerful Russian information presence in Belarus, coupled with the pro-Russian foreign and ideological policy of the Belarusian authorities, meant that Belarus was part of the Russian information space. The situation started to change after the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis. In turn, Russia has started to transform its information presence.”
Vilnius Declares 2021 Year of the Lithuanian Tatars
by Paul Goble
“The Lithuanian parliament has voted unanimously to declare 2021, the 700th anniversary of the appearance of Tatars in what is now the Republic of Lithuania, the Year of the History and Culture of the Lithuanian Tatars, a group that today numbers only 3,000 but one that played an enormous role in the history of Lithuania.”
Ukrainians find home in Lithuania
(LRT)
“Ukrainians make up a large proportion of foreign workers in Lithuania, and many have found homes in smaller regional towns lacking a labour force. However, their integration is hindered by the lack of simple resources and bureaucracy.”
Kremlin Fears Protests against Moscow Trash Could Become Protests against Moscow
(Window on Eurasia)
“The Kremlin, remembering that environmental activism (Fosforiidisõda-Ed.) in Estonia in the 1980s contributed to the rise of the independence movement there, is doing everything it can to prevent the Shiyes protests against Moscow trash from becoming protests against Moscow as such, Vadim Shtepa says.”
Ajalugu: Fosforiidisõda
(Estonica Org.)
“Pärast Tšornobõli tuumaelektrijaamas toimunud katastroofi 1986. a kevadel hakati NSV Liidus avalikult rääkima keskkonnaohtudest ja -probleemidest. … Eestis oli teravaim probleem Virumaale kavandatud fosforiidikaevandused, mille planeerimisega oli tegeletud alates 1970. aastatest. 1980. aastate keskpaigaks olid plaanid saanud selgema kuju ja tehti ettevalmistusi kaevanduse rajamiseks Virumaale Rakvere linna külje alla. … Kuni 1987. aastani hoiti Virumaa kaevanduse projekteerimise ja ehitamise tähtaegu Eesti elanike eest saladuses. 1987. a algul selgus, et kaevandust juba projekteeritakse ning kaevandamise algus on planeeritud 1990. aastate teise poolde. Teatavaks saanud informatsioon kutsus esile elanikkonna pahameele.”
VKG fosforiidiuuringud ajasid kohaliku rahva tagajalgadele
(Postimees, nov. 2011)
Fosforiidisõda 30 aastat tagasi
(Maaleht, aprill 2017)
Kuidas üliõpilased alustasid fosforiidisõda
(Õhtuleht, aprill 2019)
__________
Tuesday 29. October
__________
Estonia to give a 5,000 euro grant for electric vehicles - but not for a Tesla
(Postimees)
“The government decided this summer to start subsidizing electric vehicles again after a five-year intermission. Every individual or company who decides to buy a more environmentally friendly electric vehicle will be eligible for a grant of €5,000 per vehicle.”
—
“One condition for the grant is that the contract of purchase must be signed with a recognized Estonian Vehicle Dealers and Services Association (AMTEL) dealer … Tesla lacks dealerships and services in most countries. The nearest Tesla service point is located in Vantaa, Finland. If an Estonian wants to buy a Tesla, they will have to go and get it in Finland or the Netherlands where the US automaker has its European factory.”
—
“Because this is not covered by AMTEL, people looking to order a Tesla are not eligible for (the grant).”
Prokuratuur algatas Swedbanki suhtes kriminaalmenetluse
(Postimees)
“Täna sai teatavaks, et prokuratuur ja keskkriminaalpolitsei alustasid juba tänavu juulis Swedbanki suhtes kriminaalmenetluse, et uurida aastail 2011-2017 toime pandud võimalikku rahapesu ning võimalikku valeandmete esitamist finantsjärelevalvele.”
Eestis võib elektriautode buum vallanduda ületuleval aastal
(Postimees)
“Eestis on praegu arvel 1318 elektriautot (M1- ja N1-kategooria: kuni üheksa istekohaga mootorsõiduk ja kuni 3,5-tonnine kaubik), mis moodustab nende kategooriate autodest vaid 0,22 protsenti. Müük peaks paisu tagant lahti pääsema 2021. aastal.”
EU grants Brexit delay until January
(The Times - Uk)
“… to ensure it does not leave without a deal.”
Europe Is Hiring, But Its Workforce Isn’t Ready
(Wall Street Journal)
“Businesses ready to pay skilled workers can’t find enough candidates, a ‘top issue’ across the EU.”
Vyborg: Russia’s Most Scandinavian Town Is Coming Back to Life
(The Moscow Times)
“The once decaying town of Vyborg near the Finnish border is undergoing a $26.5 million BRICS bank-supported restoration. … Lying just 40 kilometers south of Russia’s border with Finland, it is full of medieval, Art Nouveau and constructivist architecture that reflects the towns' many owners—the Swedes, Russians, Finns and Soviets. In recent years however, the town was on the verge of oblivion, as dozens of abandoned historic buildings crumbled from neglect and a lack of funds for restoration.”
__________
Monday 28. October
__________
Storm disrupts vital services in southern Estonia
(Postimees)
“The Sunday storm was ordinary in some ways and extraordinary in others. While such tempests are commonplace on the coast, winds hit landlocked South Estonia the hardest this time. It seems that this extreme weather was not anticipated by Võru roofers as the local switching station’s tin roof was torn off and landed in a nearby cooling device that fried the entire network.”
—
“The result was a complete blackout in the city, including the local hospital. But the power also went out in other places and there were plenty of tense and absurd situations all over. Border guard officers working at the Luhamaa border point discovered they had no internet connection yesterday morning. It turned out networks operated by the State Information System’s Authority (RIA) had failed. This meant the border point had to be temporarily closed. It constitutes a serious problem that affects the entire country and its security in the 21st century.”
—
“Director General of the Rescue Board Kuno Tammearu believes Estonians need to get used to increasingly extreme weather. “Extreme circumstances, like what we saw this Sunday, will become more frequent – long dry or very wet spells, extreme cold and storms. We need to count on them and be better prepared. You cannot reverse climate change and the only way to deal with it is to adjust.”
“Elektrita on veel tuhanded majapidamised.” - 28. Okt.
Latvia Rules to Grant Citizenship to Immigrants’ Children
(The Moscow Times)
“… regardless of their parents’ citizenship status, in new legislation that has been described as “historic.” An estimated 230,000 people in Latvia, or more than 10 percent of the population, hold “non-citizen passports” that bar them from voting or holding certain government positions and are passed down to children. A majority are ethnic Russians who remained in the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.”
'The golden age': eastern Europe's extraordinary 30-year revival
(The Guardian)
“This is the golden age for the region,” says Marcin Piatkowski, a Polish economist who recently authored a book called Europe’s Growth Champion, about the meteoric rise of Poland’s economy over the past three decades. “The region has been successful, as reflected in the fact that on average, no Bulgarian, or Romanian or Pole has ever lived better than they do now, both in absolute terms and in relative terms compared to the west.”
—
“Such optimism often feels misplaced, given that many people in the region still feel left behind. But the statistics show that since 1990, the Polish and Slovak economies have grown more than sevenfold, and those of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and the Czech Republic more than fivefold.”
Schengen Area: Europe's free travel zone is set to get bigger
(Euronews)
“… now that Croatia has met the technical criteria to join. But what does Schengen expansion mean for Europe, and can the EU overcome its border policy crisis triggered by the migrant influx that began in 2014?”
Russian journalist charged with ‘insulting the government’
(Meduza)
“On October 21, journalist and political scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov found out that he was facing administrative charges for insulting the government. For what appears to be the first time in the history of Russia’s 2019 law against offensive anti-government statements published online, the charges against Krasheninnikov stemmed from a post on the social site Telegram. …”
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