“As of Friday morning (27. March), 575 people have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) in total in Estonia, the Health Board said. 37 new cases were diagnosed between March 26-27 with the highest number of positive tests detected in Saaremaa.” - ERR
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Friday
27. March
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Põhjamaade investeerimispank laenab Eesti riigile 750 miljonit
(ERR)
“… mille eesmärgiks on aidata finantseerida meetmeid, mis on vajalikud koroonaviirus COVID-19 pandeemia mõju leevendamiseks majandusele ja ühiskonnale. Laenu intressimäär on kuue kuu Euribor + 0,32 protsenti.”
The bad and very bad scenario of the Bank of Estonia
(Postimees)
“The latest crisis of 2008 was a party compared with this,” said Arto Aas, manager of the Estonian Employers’ Confederation. “The drop today is not 10% but 50 – 80%.”
Eesti Panga halb ja väga halb stsenaarium
(Postimees)
“Koroonaviiruse põhjustatud majandusseisak jõuab päev-päevalt aina suurema hulga ettevõteteni. “Eelmine, 2008. aasta kriis oli tänase kõrval morsipidu,” ütles Eesti Tööandjate Keskliidu tegevjuht Arto Aas. “Täna pole kukkumine kümme protsenti, vaid 50–80 protsenti.”
Folkloristid: naine on olnud Eesti ühiskonnas alati tugeval positsioonil
(Novaator)
“Tänapäeval õpib heliloomingut rohkem noori naisi kui noormehi. Naise positsioon lauliku ja loojana ning ühiskonnas üldiselt on eesti pärimust vaadates alati tugev olnud …”
Vene suursaatkond lükkas käima pronkssõduri restaureerimistööd
(Delfi)
“Tööd peaksid valmima aprilli lõpus, seega ilmselt ümbritsevad piirdeaiad pronkssõdurit veel ligi kuu aega.”
A trip to Estonia: In Praise of a Normal, Boring Country
by Christoph Niemann, New York Times Magazine
“A cartoonist finds solace in a European nation
that has a different idea of success.”
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Thursday
26. March
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Why Estonia Was Poised to Handle How a Pandemic Would Change Everything
By Masha Gessen, The New Yorker
“Panic, dismay, anger, defiance, fear, despair, doubt, and occasional portions of denial: all of these have been common notes of communication lately, from the news media to private texts. But some of the messages coming out of Estonia, a tiny country on the Baltic Sea, sound discordantly confident. Estonians seem to think they’ve got this: they are not only handling the coronavirus pandemic but also facing the world in which we will live after it’s over.”
—
“Estonia appears to have one of the lowest levels of panic. Politico is keeping track of panic levels, ranking them on a ten-point scale based on media coverage, panic buying, and other indicators. Estonia’s level of panic is ranked three out of ten (compared to seven in France, which is just above Estonia in the number of known cases per capita; and five in Denmark, whose case number is just below Estonia’s).”
Estonia Won Its War on Fentanyl, Then Things Got Worse
By Erika Kinetz, Associated Press
“Estonia won its war on fentanyl in 2017. A massive law enforcement surveillance operation led to a clandestine laboratory hidden beneath a staircase in a brick home outside Tallinn.”
—
“Users unable to find good fentanyl didn’t return to heroin. Instead, they began injecting combinations of different synthetic drugs, including amphetamines, the opioids isotonitazene and tramadol, benzodiazepine sleeping pills and cathinones. Unidentifiable mystery drugs have also appeared. …”
—
Ekaterina, a thin 30-year-old in methadone treatment, said if you know where to look you can still find fentanyl in Estonia. But people are increasingly into new things, especially something her friends call “crystal.” She said crystal hits like a bunch of different drugs all at once. Her friend had the chemical formula for the main ingredient tattooed on her arm: C15H21NO, or alpha-PVP, the drug known as flakka. …”
2020: Russia’s historical watershed
by Vladislav Inozemtsev, Riddle
“Most experts claim the president has hurriedly or mistakenly embarked on a political reform on the verge of the coronavirus pandemic and plunging oil prices. This may seem true at first glance. Let me draw your attention to something else. The epidemic is paralysing the citizenry, and will make people ready to accept the authorities’ instructions restricting all freedoms: e.g. not to gather in a group of more than a dozen. Such restrictions will not appear politically motivated; people will accept that they are for their own good. By the summer, the peak of the economic crisis will arrive. The state will impose higher taxes on large businesses, recall unjustified returns from privatisation and will urge everyone to tighten their belts. The president has already made it clear: there can be no personal responsibility for the fall in oil prices. Under these circumstances, the country is in the toughest year in Putin’s history. Then the new Duma election will happen (obviously, according to the new rules). In a year and a half or two years from now, when the world finally forgets about the coronavirus and recession, Russia will be a different country.”
Pandemic Means Less Europe, For Now
(Berlin Policy Journal)
“The European Union has shown unprecedented flexibility in the initial days of an acute crisis. That does not mean the European project is collapsing.”
Economic Crisis in Russia Will Be Much Worse than the One in 2008
by Paul Goble, Window on Eurasia
“There are two societies within one country: There is the society of those paid out of the budget – pensioners, bureaucrats, teachers and doctors. They will continue to be paid.”
—
“But there is also the private sector and it will contract because the collapse of the ruble will lead people to spend less. “Large companies will survive this, but smaller ones will not be able to pay their rent, because they won’t have customers, and they will close.” And that will further depress the economy. Evidence that the Putin regime does not understand this is all around …”
After Putin’s Big Fail, Russia Braces for COVID-19 Onslaught
by Julia Davis, The Daily Beast
“The official bulletin about the coronavirus, released by Russia’s federal agency Rospotrebnadzor on March 24, states that more than 112,074 people remain under medical supervision.”
- 26. March: “Russia's Coronavirus Cases Jump to 840.”
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Wednesday
25. March
__________
Koroonaviirus nõudis Eestis esimese inimelu
(Postimees | ERR)
“Lahkunu oli 83-aastane naine, kes hospitaliseeriti Lääne-Tallinna keskhaiglasse 20. märtsil. Patsiendil oli teada varasem krooniline südame-veresoonkonna probleem.”
—
Coronavirus Inflames Russia-Belarus Quarrel
(Carnegie Moscow)
“The coronavirus pandemic has shown how little trust is left between Minsk and Moscow.”
Putin delays vote on constitutional change because of coronavirus
(Politico-Europe)
“If vote passes, Russian president could remain in power until 2036.”
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Tuesday
24. March
__________
Estonia introduces tough new restrictions
(Estonian World)
“… shopping centres will close from Friday and meetings of more than two people in public places are prohibited. From 25 March, at least a two-metre (6.5 ft) distance must be kept by people in public places, such as outdoor playgrounds, sports grounds, beaches, promenades, health and hiking trails and indoors, except in homes and when this cannot be ensured.“
Juba keskajal rakendati epideemiate ajal Eestis reisipiiranguid
(Novaator)
“Euroopat tabas 14. sajandi keskel katkulaine must surm. Novaator küsis Tartu Ülikooli keskaja professor Anti Selartilt, kui hävitav oli haigus, misvõisid olla selle põhjused ja kuidas katku levikut toona piirati.”
Europe’s Three Seas Initiative
by Shirvan Neftchi, Caspian Report - video
“Russia has regained much of its ability to project power abroad, but twelve nations in EastEurope are designing a deterrence …”
Belarus’s Geopolitical Loneliness
(Jamestown Org.)
“On March 18, Russia closed its border with Belarus (until May 1) without consulting with the latter but citing Belarus’s non-compliance with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) coronavirus guidelines, a statement that Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei called “delirious” (Naviny, March 23). That measure made it difficult for Belarusians to return home from remote foreign countries via Russia, a traditional transit route for many. It also precluded shopping trips across the eastern border for those residing close to Russia. …”
Coronavirus: 28 people hospitalized
(ERR)
“As of Tuesday morning, 369 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in Estonia. A total of 4,041 tests have been carried out in Estonia since January 31.”
Tension over shortage of coronavirus tests across Europe
(Politico-Europe)
“At issue is that most European countries prioritize testing only for the most severe cases and tend to focus on those admitted to hospital, so medical staff know how to treat them and ensure the infection doesn’t spread. But the World Health Organization (WHO) still advises that countries test as widely as possible, even if the virus has spread in the community. Some health experts, however, think the window for widespread testing to make a difference has closed.”
__________
Monday
23. March
__________
Europarlamendi esimene koroonasse surnu: 41-aastane mees
(Postimees)
“Ta jõudis haiglasse möödunud nädala alguses, intubeeriti ja viidi kunstlikku koomasse kolmapäeva õhtul ning suri pühapäeval,» kirjeldas anonüümne allikas portaalile dhnet.be."
Euroopa Komisjon kutsus riike kaubavedudele rohelisi koridore kehtestama
(ERR)
"Viiruse leviku takistamiseks kehtestatud meetmed on aeglustanud - ja mõnikord ka peatanud - transpordi. See aga võib pidurdada kaupade tarnimist ja mõnikord tekitada ka kaubapuuduse," ütles Euroopa Komisjoni president Ursula von der Leyen oma pöördumises, milles ta selgitas Komisjonis heaks kiidetud juhiseid. Tema sõnul on transpordil ja eriti piiriületuses tekkinud takistused viinud selleni, et viirusega võitlemiseks vajalik meditsiinivarustus ei jõua õigeaegselt kohale.”
Denmark’s Idea Could Help the World Avoid a Great Depression
(The Atlantic)
“This week, the Danish government told private companies hit by the effects of the pandemic that it would pay 75 percent of their employees’ salaries to avoid mass layoffs. The plan could require the government to spend as much as 13 percent of the national economy in three months. That is roughly the equivalent of a $2.5 trillion stimulus in the United States spread out over just 13 weeks.”
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Russia | Putin
__________
Russian Journalist Charged With Extremism Laments State's 'Black PR' Campaign Against Her
(RFERL)
“The extremism charge against Svetlana Prokopyeva [a freelance journalist in Pskov] stems from a November 2018 commentary she made for the Pskov affiliate of radio station Ekho Moskvy, in which she discussed the motivations of the young man accused of carrying out the bombing in Arkhangelsk.”
Russian Propaganda in Poland
by Stanisław Żaryn, CEPA
“During the exercise you will be evicted from your homes…by U.S. troops!” Such “news” was a common occurrence in Poland in 2019. The presence of U.S. troops on Polish soil is under constant attack in the information domain, with the “eviction” case being just one example. Ever since the decision was made to enhance the Allied presence in Poland, Russian and pro-Russian propaganda has been filled with content intended to make the society afraid of the Allies. These propagandized articles include headlines such as: “U.S. Army invaded a village, making Poles run for their lives;” “Farmers terrified by a sudden invasion by U.S. Army;” “Drunk U.S. soldiers beat up local Poles; …”
Venemaa hakkab käsitlema kooskõlastamata üritusi destabiliseerimisena
(ERR)
“Vene siseministeerium hakkab edaspidi käsitlema üleskutseid osavõtuks sanktsioneerimata üritustest kui katset korraldada massirahutusi ja selle kaudu destabiliseerida riigi poliitilist olukorda, ilmneb ministeeriumi uuest strateegiast äärmusluse vastu kuni 2025.”
Russia's Confirmed Coronavirus Cases Jump
(Moscow Times)
“Russia’s officially reported numbers — which are still far below those in European countries — have sparked suspicion as they spiked in the past week. Experts warn that Russia's testing capacity is hampered by bureaucracy, while some officials warn that the real number of cases is likely much higher.”
Russia Pushes to Drastically Expand Its Influence Over Ukraine, Rest of Post-Soviet Space
by Kseniya Kirillova, Jamestown Org.
“… as part of various “negotiations” and “conflict resolution procedures.”
Ever More Nations in Russia Disappearing, Reflecting Kremlin’s View They Must Be Russians or Die Out
by Paul Goble, Window on Eurasia
“This process has passed largely unnoticed in areas most people think of as ethnic Russian anyway, such as Kostroma Oblast, where local people identified as a distinct Kostroma people in the past but now have entirely gone over to an ethnic Russian identity … It has attracted slightly more attention when it involves peoples that Russian and Soviet officials in the past have recognized as separate nationalities disappear. Among these are the Abaza, the Aleuts, the Alyurtortsy, the Besermyane, the Vepsy, the Vods, the Dolgins, the Izhors, the Itelmens, the Kamchadals, the Kereks, the Kets, the Koryaks, the Kumandins, the Mansi, the Nagaybaks, the Nanays, the Saamy, the Selkups, the Setu, the Soyots, the Tax, the Telengits, the Teleuts, the Tofalars, the Tuvins, the Udeyevs, the Ulchi, the Khanty, the Chelkans, the Chvins, the Chukchi, the Chulyms, the Shapsugs, the Shors, the Evenks, the Evens, the Entsy, the Eskimos and the Yukagirs.”
Countering the Kremlin's Incapacitation of Ukraine
by Janusz Bugajski, CEPA
“The recent announcement in Kyiv by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Chief of Staff that the government is willing to enter into negotiations with Russia’s proxies controlling parts of the Donbas illustrates how Russia’s subversion of Ukraine resembles the spread of a virus. The infection may be barely noticeable at the outset but can stealthily expand until it paralyses a targeted state and amputates its territories. The concerted attempt by the Kremlin to neutralize the government in Kyiv should serve as a warning to other unprotected states that viral warfare is not simply confined to the spheres of propaganda or biology.”
Inconvenient Truths
by Edward Lucas, CEPA
“The Russian propaganda line goes like this: We fought Hitler. So if you disagree with us you are a Nazi. The Chinese one goes: we beat the pandemic. If you disagree with us, you are contributing to its spread.”
—
“Context and nuance are ignored. Taiwan and other successful virus-busters are unmentionable for China because they complicate the story. For Russians, the similarly uncomfortable questions concern the Winter War against Finland, the Katyń massacre, and the Warsaw Uprising.”
—
“Instead, spread lies. China now claims that the virus came from America. (Or perhaps Italy—conspiracy theories do not need to be consistent, just confusing.) …”
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