tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post4571889873289026875..comments2023-11-05T09:55:13.077+02:00Comments on Itching for Eestimaa: Why the Estonian State Doesn't Love the Red ArmyGiustinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-12564004550521964112007-05-26T01:55:00.000+03:002007-05-26T01:55:00.000+03:00"makes one wonder how peculiar that once again lit..."makes one wonder how peculiar that once again little Estonia finds itself on the bleeding edge of history in the making. In the beginning we unwittingly drove the first crack into the CCCP and it came down over its own hubris just like that and now"<BR/><BR/>While risking stomping on the national pride many have shown here, I think CCCP breakup was inevidable. So baltics were not the cause but reaction, natural to appear in the region most closest to the west. Same goes to the bronze events. Russia had playing hardball with so many creating a situation wired to explode.<BR/><BR/>If i think of the russian schools, situation seems quite hopeless. Due to the teachers or more precisely lack of them, no law can change things. Only action plan I see is really boosting the money spent on the education, especially on training new teachers. Doing that would be a good plan anyway. <BR/><BR/>I would also investigate what on earth are (history) teachers telling to the kids in russian schools. I've heard stories from our Migration Board clerks that should have alerted government years ago. I was personally very nervous then I learned some schools have teachers telling kids they should not take language exam to gain citizenship (be like us, with grey passport).Urmohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840890694236049291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-91033988890151473732007-05-11T13:12:00.000+03:002007-05-11T13:12:00.000+03:00Autor on selle kommentaari eemaldanud.Rein Kuresoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05465030993371711197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-38358348394268979462007-05-11T12:45:00.000+03:002007-05-11T12:45:00.000+03:00Oh, but please please please .. can we have Histor...Oh, but please please please .. can we have History be one subject taught in Estonian in future? By Estonian teachers?space_mazehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04761076198531074140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-45902416272441057432007-05-11T12:44:00.000+03:002007-05-11T12:44:00.000+03:00I also agree - 30% should be enough, if you'll hav...I also agree - 30% should be enough, if you'll have Russian schools at all.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I don't think the whole school segregation thing is "good". I am very glad about the fact that my parents put me in a German-speaking school in Austria, as opposed to one of the three English-speaking schools there are here in Vienna. Through literature, movies, social contacts, visits to England and the US, and whatnot, I still had enough contact with the English language to not end up deficient in its usage. But not having been in a special school surely made me feel a lot less of an outsider in society than I would have otherwise.<BR/><BR/>Mind you, I do understand that not having separated schools in Lasnamäe would be problematic, as the 80% Russians would obviously not integrate in with the 20% Estonians. <BR/><BR/>I was in a class that was about 70% foreigners for four years here, and it worked just fine - there's noone in that class that I wouldn't call Austrian, at this point. But that situation was completely different, as .. there was one Hungarian kid. Two Bosnians. One American, yours truely. Three Turkish kids. One Korean. One Indonesian. One Iranian. One Somalian. And the "real" Austrians in the class, like most Viennese, all had names like Svoboda, Vavra and Tombinski - products of previous waves of immigration.<BR/><BR/>So what language did the Indonesian kid use to communicate with the Hungarian kid? German, of course.<BR/><BR/>It's a lot easier to integrate a gazillion tiny communities than one big one.space_mazehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04761076198531074140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-47235725192191621582007-05-11T11:07:00.000+03:002007-05-11T11:07:00.000+03:00It will be just bad education.yeah, i agree. it'l...<I>It will be just bad education.</I><BR/><BR/>yeah, i agree. it'll give them more reasons to complain about how they're second class citizens, and even an actual valid reason to blame the government for their problems.klxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02756387772020517484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-60079355252846262032007-05-11T09:50:00.000+03:002007-05-11T09:50:00.000+03:00Autor on selle kommentaari eemaldanud.Rein Kuresoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05465030993371711197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-76264830680822491172007-05-11T09:29:00.000+03:002007-05-11T09:29:00.000+03:00PS: one of the reasons these plans have had limite...PS: one of the reasons these plans have had limited debate in the Estonian press/society is that they don't effect "us" (yes, I know I am not Estonian, but my kid is a native speaker so I am not worried about this).<BR/><BR/>From what I can infer from news (and not in person because Tartu is pretty homogenous) there's a lot of silent resentment about this policy.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-7425011325370785512007-05-11T09:25:00.000+03:002007-05-11T09:25:00.000+03:00My chief real criticism of Estonian policies right...My chief real criticism of Estonian policies right now would be that the school reform is too extreme and that the rightwing government thinks that passing a law makes it so.<BR/><BR/>Integration takes time. Acquisition of language takes time. I mean I live with an Estonian speaker and I still am not fluent.<BR/><BR/>It's dumb to make Russian language schools go to 60 percent Estonian in incremental stages. I don't see why reducing that proportion wouldn't take away some of the pressure they are under.<BR/><BR/>I mean, if 30 percent of my curriculum in high school was in Spanish, I'd have pretty damn good Spanish. At least reduce it to an eventual 50 percent. 60 percent is just waving your majority status in their face.<BR/><BR/>I think that institutionally speaking Estonian educators understand and accept the need for Estonian language teaching. But perhaps the government's plans are too ambitious.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-15086283622208210672007-05-11T09:04:00.000+03:002007-05-11T09:04:00.000+03:00In German there is a different betweenKZ, Konzentr...In German there is a different between<BR/>KZ, Konzentrationslager and<BR/>Vernichtungslager.Jens-Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18304784095687896639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-49615616182595293332007-05-11T08:54:00.000+03:002007-05-11T08:54:00.000+03:00spaze_mazeI have a textbook where you can read:koo...spaze_maze<BR/>I have a textbook where you can read:<BR/>koonduslagrid but if you go the other page there is written: Surmalaager, and this word underlines a photo, you better do not show to children.<BR/>from "Eesti ajalugu - ärkamisajast tänapäevani<BR/><BR/>"Surmalaager pärast fasisitde pogenemist 1944 September"Jens-Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18304784095687896639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-72126566465145295932007-05-11T06:42:00.000+03:002007-05-11T06:42:00.000+03:00Also, being the mayor of Podunk hardly makes one a...Also, being the mayor of Podunk hardly makes one a "government" official.Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13427067793243731527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-56102279888454008572007-05-11T01:47:00.000+03:002007-05-11T01:47:00.000+03:00Not to mention the constant parades of SS veterans...<I>Not to mention the constant parades of SS veterans. In fact there's one outside my house right now. God, those 90 year old guys like to march!</I><BR/><BR/>Also, Estonian history books openly deny the holocaust, and concentration camps are called transport camps.<BR/><BR/>I guess all those mentions of "koonduslaagrid" I've seen in Estonian books have been me having eaten the wrong kind of mushroom on those days.<BR/><BR/>I think certain people in a certain nation of are not aware of the fact that Tiit Madisson is not only not a government official of the Republic of Estonia, but has also been imprisoned by the Republic of Estonia.space_mazehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04761076198531074140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-20880431088638760772007-05-11T01:21:00.000+03:002007-05-11T01:21:00.000+03:00Time Magazine has a rather spot-on article about P...Time Magazine has a rather spot-on article about Putin and all that whipped up hysteria towards Estonia.<BR/>http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1618531,00.htmlMcMadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01864600804688440880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-39296380748898378552007-05-11T01:11:00.000+03:002007-05-11T01:11:00.000+03:00Well, Goebbels certainly has faithful fans in Mosc...Well, Goebbels certainly has faithful fans in Moscow - how nicely the Kremlin keeps the spirit of the 1930's alive. A very interesting spectacle this, AD 2007.stockholm slenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909107517362691387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-28722722864999474532007-05-10T23:57:00.000+03:002007-05-10T23:57:00.000+03:00I'm so tired of this shit. Ansip is not a Nazi. He...I'm so tired of this shit. Ansip is not a Nazi. He's just a little uptight. And Lavrov is just a douchebag. Period.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-66772840598020072182007-05-10T23:47:00.000+03:002007-05-10T23:47:00.000+03:00I'm somewhat disappointed - no-one's claimed yet t...I'm somewhat disappointed - no-one's claimed yet that the whole statue thing was an attempt to attract the huge amount of nazi votes on Eurovision;(Tiamsuuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07952757522614139811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-84446741184992493692007-05-10T19:58:00.000+03:002007-05-10T19:58:00.000+03:00Saigon, capitulation 30. Nov. 1945!!!Saigon, capitulation 30. Nov. 1945!!!Jens-Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18304784095687896639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-87039000628176838752007-05-10T19:55:00.000+03:002007-05-10T19:55:00.000+03:00Since I will change my perspective soon the US was...Since I will change my perspective soon the US was focused on the Far East. Japan. One of the great losses of the American military happpened after V-day in Europe. To enter Japan that was the biggest hurdle. At least they've got the A-bomb. But look at the Japanese, if I am right they were not surredering until the end of 1945 in Vietnam! Have to check this.Jens-Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18304784095687896639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-33143935421483479912007-05-10T19:23:00.000+03:002007-05-10T19:23:00.000+03:00I also read lately that the Lihula statue was erec...<I>I also read lately that the Lihula statue was erected by government and it still stands. Not to mention those poor guys that got beaten to death in D-terminal.</I> <BR/><BR/>Not to mention the constant parades of SS veterans. In fact there's one outside my house right now. God, those 90 year old guys like to march!Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-81612554363239648852007-05-10T19:22:00.000+03:002007-05-10T19:22:00.000+03:00The legend goes that shortly after the war, Stalin...The legend goes that shortly after the war, Stalin was congratulated by another communist for repeating the success of Czar Alexander I in First Patriotic War.<BR/>"Alexander reached Paris," was Stalin's answer. <BR/>Dunno what happened to the poor author of the compliment.plasma-jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06485039580759398780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-86197230369960156582007-05-10T19:19:00.000+03:002007-05-10T19:19:00.000+03:00I read in Time that "Victory Day" as a holiday onl...I <A HREF="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1618531,00.html" REL="nofollow">read</A> in <I>Time</I> that "Victory Day" as a holiday only dates back to 1965. <BR/><BR/><B>Only in 1965 was the country first given a day off for V-Day. That may have been because the Soviet Union, now approaching its 50th anniversary, had little else besides the defeat of Hitler to be proud of. So, the official drums started beating up the Single-Handed-Soviet-Victory-Over-Fascism theme. The worse things went in this country, the more graphic the war stories dominating Soviet TV and cinema screens each spring, the state sparing no effort to sell its tale of how "the people rallied around the Party during the Hitlerite invasion and saved the world." The point, of course, was that the people had to continue rallying around the Party, to resist the machinations of an external enemy and its internal agents.</B>Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-64389169805908808842007-05-10T19:15:00.000+03:002007-05-10T19:15:00.000+03:00I also read lately that the Lihula statue was erec...I also read lately that the Lihula statue was erected by government and it still stands. Not to mention those poor guys that got beaten to death in D-terminal. <BR/>Sometimes I wonder if Hitler was just a tool, a scapegoat that Estonians could blame for their war crimes in WWII.<BR/>And hey, when I think about that, it seems logical that we only joined Soviet Union to stealt their resources and best part of their population, when I think about that.plasma-jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06485039580759398780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-39023153681581029492007-05-10T19:11:00.000+03:002007-05-10T19:11:00.000+03:00exactly ;-)exactly ;-)plasma-jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06485039580759398780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-43818143036985910812007-05-10T19:02:00.000+03:002007-05-10T19:02:00.000+03:00plasmajack,The trolleybus stop was placed there in...plasmajack,<BR/><BR/>The trolleybus stop was placed there in early 60s, when soviets were running things here.Tiamsuuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07952757522614139811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-39149199136001502472007-05-10T18:49:00.000+03:002007-05-10T18:49:00.000+03:00Thanks. Here's the link to the articlehttp://www.n...Thanks. Here's the link to the article<BR/>http://www.npetro.net/resources/Russian+rights$2C+Estonian+wrongs.doc<BR/><BR/>Although I do caution you that it is bizarre, illogical and offensive. I saw it on the Johnson Russia List. <BR/><BR/>Many thanks. Will continue to drop in:)mabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03465265630186491227noreply@blogger.com