New Umbilical Cable

News.google.com has just 2 stories about it. Eesti energia the state own company released some good news.

On Aug 30: they purchased Solidus a Scandinavian energy company.

On Aug 31: They began laying an energy cable with Finland.

This came just weeks after Russian and Lithuania started fighting over a closed pipeline.

Ultimately, that pipeline to Lithuania should get rebuilt, but Russian will leverage the situation into something very favorable for them. But with the underwater cable, Estonia removes another large piece of Russian influence without causing any diplomatic trouble. As Russia loses another diplomatic card, it searches for ways to win new ones. Given that the Baltics are the gateway between the EU and Russia, it appears Russia is playing tough on customs with the hopes of winning future negotiating cards as trade increases.

Update to Estonian Occupation Museum

I took issues with the way some matters were portrayed in the occupational museum's films. Wikipedia's account of Klooga is by no means an authority on the subject, but the film's portrayal might need some updating.

This lead me to a commission organized by President Meri. A group of researchers were organized to document what types of crimes were committed during the war. This is a grave account of the travesities that happened in Estonia during World War II and who is responsible-

http://www.historycommission.ee/

"The creation of this commission reflects our hope in Estonia that shining the bright light of truth on some of the tragedies of the past will not only contribute to reconciliation within our society and its further reintegration into the international community of nations but also help to prevent the repetition of such tragedies elsewhere. This commission is committed to setting out in as clear terms as possible what crimes against humanity happened in Estonia. It is committed to overcoming the stereotypes about groups that were the basis of many of these crimes: After all, most of these crimes were possible only because some governments and movements used stereotypes in place of the uniqueness of the human person in their dealings with others. It is committed to eliminating any double standards in the assessment of particular events. Crimes against humanity are crimes against humanity regardless of who commits them. And it is committed to compiling a record sufficiently well-documented and complete that no one will be able to deny what happened or to avoid facing up to the facts. "

--quoted from the Introduction

Soviet Military Bases in Hiiumaa 1 min 33 secs.

Trying to get a better understanding of film

Estonian Blog week in Review

Here are my fav estonian blog posting bookmarked from last week:

Estonia : The Year 2009 and Estonian corporate taxation system
heavy analysis of tax laws in europe

15 Things Estonia has given the world since 1991
vanilla ninja, skype and more

Estonian architecture
slick photos.

Estonian solidarity
Eastern european activists protest in Tallinn.

e-Governance Academy, an initiative from Estonia
continues to promote the new estonian government ideals

Estonian Occupantional Museum

Kudos for the Estonian Occupational Museum located in Tallinn for putting their videos online.

The museum is lined with old suitcases - presumbly used by emigrating Estonians - and filled with handcrafts made by Estonian soldiers. But the two most striking things are - all of the removed public statues now in the basement, and the Russian proganda during the Soviet era (On display in the films)

Its striking the efforts that the Russian(and German) government used in order to try to legitimize their actions apon another people. Staged protests. Staged elections. Coerced diplomatic agreements. It completely dissolved any trust I can present to any goverment from this point forward.

Two biggest economic challenges facing estonia

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) (Wikipedia) published their strategy for Estonia. It lists the two biggest transitional challenges for Estonia as:

+ the privatization of Eesti energy in a economic and environmentally responsible manner

+ to further stimulating enterprise development in the poorer regions of the country

Why would you want to privatize the energy industry and open up the possibility of an irresponsble multinational corporation to move in, to harvest all of the resources of a country with a focus on profits rather than environmental impact. Should it not be the responsibility of the government to look after its people and ensure that the country remains powered while keeping it environmentally sound? Wouldn't we want the country to be able to invest in itself in and its own alternative energy sources?

Secondly, would modernizing the countryside improve the quality of life there? Much of that land has been used for farming for over 700 years. Why rush to change it? One of the charms of Estonian life is the quiet country house. How all types of folks working in Tallinn can go to the countryside and live simply. Sauna. Eat fresh foods. Life without plumbing. These lands are self sufficient and do not need internet access or strip malls. Since the country is so small and its already easy enough to move between country and city- Why not continue to focus development within the major cities and leave the countryside alone?

Come Together

Estonia has a large Russian minority within its borders. Most estimates place it at 25% of the population. The Russians bring their own culture and language, along with a reluctance to learn the Estonian language.

The Estonian Ministry of Foreign affairs developed a plan for integration for minorities into the Estonian culture. Kudos for placing it online.

The largest portion of this plan aims to empower of the citizens of this country can speak the national language. Some points about the program:

+ Extensive result-based subsidisation of language training

+ Estonian as a Second Language teaching in kindergartens, schools, vocational institutions
(for non-Estonian schools -ed)

+ the social harmonisation of society, based on the knowledge of the Estonian language and the possession of Estonian citizenship

"The goal is to offer non-Estonians the possibility to learn to freely communicate in Estonian while preserving their own language and cultural identity." The well funded plan includes:

+ Production of Russian-language and bilingual television and radio programmes, radio broadcasts in minority languages

+ Support for ethnic minority cultural societies', art groups' and Sunday school projects

A look over at Wikipedia on Estonian Language reveals that the language is by about 1.1 million people.

English is the secondary language for Estonian speaking schools. It already serves as a way for ethnic minorities to speak with each other. Living in Tallinn, one can argue that English is enough to navigate the city. As Estonian integration into the EU continues to grow - What language is being used for international buisness? Why would a minority group living in Estonia prefer to learn Estonian as a second language as apposed to English?

Introduction

3 weeks in Tallinn already. Great concerts and conversations have already passed. This page is a place to record some of the sites during my research into Estonian culture.

My primary internal motivation is curiousity.

My goal is to raise awareness for issues in Estonia and spark productive debate.