✔︎ "Russland simulierte einen Großangriff auf die NATO”
Zapad simulated a war against NATO
As suspected, the Zapad 2017 military exercise was much larger in scope. Germany’s Bild reports that Russia rehearsed military action against NATO which included the capture of the Baltics, but also rehearsed a major “shock campaign” against Western European NATO nations such as Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
✔︎ Eesti Vabariigi 100. sünnipäeva portal
✔︎ Estonia's Centennial Week:
Monday, Feb. 19 - Saturday, Feb. 24
- Graphic: Scanned and color-corrected from a postcard mailed to my grandmother 70 years ago at the Geislingen Displaced Persons camp in Germany.
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Friday 5.
January 2018
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- Zapad simulated a war against NATO
(Bild - 19. Dec. 2017)
"BILD recently spoke to two leading analysts from a western intelligence service who revealed that Zapad 2017 was neither an “anti-terror exercise” nor “purely defensive”, but a dry run for a full-scale conventional war against NATO in Europe. According to these sources, the drill rehearsed the capture of the Baltic states (and Belarus) as well as a “shock campaign” against Western European NATO nations such as Germany and the Netherlands, but also against Poland, Norway and the non-aligned states of Sweden and Finland."
- Kindral Terras Saksa väljaandele: Zapadil harjutati ulatuslikku sõda NATO vastu
(Postimees)
"Kindral Riho Terras kinnitas Saksa väljaandele Bild, et Vene-Valgevene sõjaõppustel Zapad harjutati täiemahulist sõjarünnakut NATO Euroopa vägede vastu."
- Russland simulierte einen Großangriff auf die NATO
(Bild)
- Russia rehearsed war against NATO, capture of Baltics during Zapad
(ERR - 20. Dec. 2017)
"This does not mean that you have to occupy the countries and declare 'Peoples' Republics' or something like that, but that you have to occupy the harbors, airports and so on."
- President Kaljulaid could visit Moscow after border treaty is signed
(ERR - 1. January)
"Russian journalists have asked me under what circumstances I would visit Russia. I've said that when the Estonian-Russian border treaty is ratified, then I'll certainly go and say thanks for that," President Kaljulaid said in an interview with daily Eesti Päevaleht in October last year.”
- Itaalia lennusalk hakkab esmakordselt Eesti õhuruumi valvama Ämarist
(Postimees)
- Latvia, a disappearing nation
(Politico-Europe)
“… the country has lost one-fifth of its population.”
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Thursday 4.
January 2018
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- In Finland, a WWII film epic spurs praise, introspection
(Christian Science Monitor)
"'The Unknown Soldier' has been seen by more than 940,000 Finns. Some of that is due to its cinematic grandeur. But some is also due to the sober look it takes at Finland's bygone war with its powerful neighbor, even as Russia reasserts her military power today.”
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“I think that it is good and necessary for Finns, especially young Finns, to learn about their history, and the film indeed does that” says Lasse Laaksonen, a noted Finnish military historian."
- Estonian Justice Minister: the state should not buy air time from the pro-Kremlin Pervyi Baltiisky Kanal (PBK)
(Baltic Times)
"The sums for which public institutions have bought air time are not large, but it is a matter of principle.”
- Hotspot: Estonia
(Geopolitical Magazine - UK)
[The national border between Estonia and Russia has become a central site for smuggling or contraban activity.]
- Russian political theater
by Edward Lucas
(CEPA)
"Russia is having a presidential election this year. Right? Wrong. In fact, the Kremlin is staging a play about an election, rather than a real contest with real voters, real candidates, real competition and real doubt about the outcome."
- Alexey Navalny and the Empty Spectacle of the Russian Election
By Masha Gessen
(The New Yorker)
“… There are candidates, but their names can appear on the ballot only if the Kremlin allows it. There is a campaign, but candidates are allowed to appear on television only if the Kremlin O.K.s it. There are, usually, debates, but Vladimir Putin, who has been in power in Russia for eighteen years and is running for another six-year term, doesn’t deign to take part in them. There are opinion polls, but their results are adjusted to fit the probable result of the vote. And then there is the vote, but its outcome is preordained. In other words, the event scheduled for March 18, 2018, is not an election, but it is called one."
- Training Early for Post-Putin Politics
(New York Times)
"While experts speculate on what kind of successor President Putin might groom or on which group might take over in the unavoidable infighting after he leaves, others see an opening in this “fin de règne.” An entire generation is looking forward to post-Putinism. Its members have not yet been allowed on stage, but they are definitely rehearsing."
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Wednesday 3.
January 2018
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✔︎ Peastaabi ülem: paari päevaga Eestit okupeerida pole võimalik
(ERR)
"Kuigi Eestilt võidakse ära võtta mingid maatükid, ei ole võimalik tervet riiki okupeerida päevade jooksul, kinnitas Kaitseväe peastaabi ülem, brigaadikindral Martin Herem."
✔︎ Estonia can no longer be taken within just days, says brigadier general
(ERR)
"Though certain areas could be taken from Estonia, a foreign power couldn't occupy all of the country within just days.” - Brig. Gen. Martin Herem, chief of staff of the Estonian Defence Forces."
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"He went on to say that a build-up of some sort on the other side of the border that may threaten Estonia wouldn't go unnoticed either. Looking at Russia's 2017 Zapad exercise, the Western countries had concentrated on Belarus, Herem said. "While we can see more. And this isn't just about following their actions in secret, but also about keeping an eye on the public channels, like the press and social media."
- A Guide to Finland's 2018 presidential election
(Yle)
"Finland goes to the polls on 28. January to elect a president for a new six-year term. Yle News has profiles of all the candidates and—for the first time ever—an English language 'election compass' to help voters explore their views."
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- European elections to watch this year
(Politico-Europe)
[Russia, Italy, Hungary, Sweden, Czech, etc.]
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Tuesday 2.
January 2018
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- Interview: President Kaljulaid
(ERR - 20. Dec. 2017)
ERR: "It has been suggested that radicals have been activated by another country. There has been a lot of talk about information warfare launched by Russia in recent years. Estonia seems to think it rather does not concern us, or that we can handle it. Communication expert Raul Rebane begs to differ and recently wrote in Postimees that spending public funds on buying air time on an unfriendly country’s networks – for example PBK – should be ceased immediately."
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Kaljulaid: "I agree. As concerns influencing public opinion, it is clearly in Russia’s interests to spread conviction that Russia is not all that bad. We have no reason to believe Russia is not doing everything in its power to erode European unity. The simplest way to do that is to spark doubt and insecurity in the people. One must have the courage to stand up for oneself when one suspects the other side of manipulating public opinion to serve its interests."
https://news.postimees.ee/4351099/president-kaljulaid-the-most-important-thing-is-to-notice-and-talk
- Moscow's divide and rule strategy
(CEPA 18. Dec. 2017)
"Moscow’s “divide and conquer” strategy around its borders is so pervasive that it would take a long report to chronicle all the cases and methods. However, the Kremlin has targeted at least four current bilateral relationships in the region either to weaken its adversaries or to control its reluctant allies: Poland-Ukraine, Belarus-Ukraine, Hungary-Ukraine, and Armenia-Azerbaijan."
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Monday 1.
January 2018
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- Vabariigi Presidendi uusaastatervitus Vabaduse väljakul
(President,ee)
"Sellel uusaastaööl võime olla rõõmsad ja natukeseks ehk muretudki oma Eesti käekäigu pärast. Kohe lõpeb Eesti eesistumine Euroopa Liidus. Tundsime vahetult, mida tähendab vastutus rahvusvahelisel areenil, aga tundsime ka partnereite sooja toetust ja diskreetset abi, kui seda vajasime. Eestisse saabus NATO pataljon, tegema seda tööd, mida NATO on, alati edukalt, teinud juba 70 aastat. NATO kaitseb rahu, NATO ei kujuta endast kunagi ohtu, ka mitte riikidele, kes teda ohtlikuna kujutada püüavad."
- Aastavahetuse kontsert Vabaduse väljakul
ERR)
- President Kaljulaid’s New Year's Eve speech
(Baltic Times)
“… On this New Year's Eve, I think we can be of good cheer. For a little while at least, we can set aside our concerns for Estonia's welfare. The Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is about to end. During the last six months, we experienced directly what responsibility in the international arena means, and we also felt the warm support and discrete help of our partners when we needed it. A NATO battalion arrived in Estonia to do the work that NATO has done, always successfully, for 70 years now. NATO safeguards peace; NATO does not pose a threat to anyone, not even to countries who attempt to paint it as a threat. …"
- President Kaljulaid hümni mittemängimisest: olen kurb ja vabandan
(ERR)
- Estonia's Russian citizens can vote in elections in Tallinn, Tartu, Narva
(Baltic Review)
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Russia
“Trust No One"
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- Baker’s Double Dozen of Neglected Russian Stories #113
by Paul Goble
(Window on Eurasia)
- The Secret KGB Manual for Recruiting Spies
(Daily Beast)
“(KGB) veterans still make up an important part of now-Russian President Vladimir Putin’s power base. All were trained in the same dark arts, and these primers in tradecraft are essential to an understanding of the way they think and the way they operate. U.S. intelligence operatives understand this only too well.”
Part 2:
Part 3:
- Putin Says His KGB Career Prepared Him for the Russian Presidency
(Window on Eurasia)
"Putin made this remark in the course of a visit to Vremya program of Moscow’s Channel One television yesterday during which he responded to questions about his life and historical role."
- Putin’s Secret Soldiers in Ukraine and Syria
by Anna Nemtsova
(The Daily Beast)
"While Ukraine’s military has many honored volunteers fighting to defend their border, Russia’s expeditionary forces often are contractors fighting for pay, and dying in silence."
- Russia’s 2018 World Cup Stadiums
(CNN)
"Russia has spent more than $10 billion building stadiums and infrastructure for the 2018 World Cup, which will be the first time football's showpiece tournament has been played in Eastern Europe."
- Russia's National Guard has revealed that it will use video drones to detect unruly fans in crowds at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
(Moscow Times)
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