Alexander Yakovlev (1923 - 2005)

Most large nations are guilty of crimes against humanity. Supporters of these crimes will largely brush them off, too falsely patriotic and in denial to take responsibility for actions that were beyond wrong. But it takes an especially brave individual, particularly in a place like the USSR used to be, to come forward and acknowledge those historical sins and seek in some way to ameliorate their consequences.
Alexander Yakovlev, a senior adviser to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev who died today, is often credited as being the "Godfather of Glasnost and Perestroika." In charge of ideology he introduced an openness that eventually led to the dissolution of the USSR.
Of importance to this blog, he initiated the exposure of the 1939 Soviet secret pact with Nazi Germany, or Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, that paved the way to the Soviet annexation of the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The acknowledgement of the occupation of the Baltics alone would cost Yakovlev his head in the Kremlin today, let alone 20 years ago. But he did it, and he didn't do it as an outsider. He fought in the Soviet Army in World War II, and spent his life climbing the ranks of the Communist Party. But in the end he decided that truth was more important than dogma. Maybe it was the decade he spent as envoy to Canada in 1973 - 1983. But somewhere along the line, he made a brave decision.
One thing I regret and admire about my country is our willingness to deal with the past. I must say that I was very pleased when President Clinton invited the victims of the Tuskegee Syphillis Study to the White House in 1997 and apologized to them on behalf of the American people. I felt the same way about when Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H W Bush agreed to pay economic redress to Japanese-Americans who were relocated to internment camps during World War II. The government of Estonia has made similar gestures recently, opening a Holocaust memorial in Klooga to those that died in the concentration camps there in WWII and condemning the actions of Estonians that took part in those camps.
Still, sadly, I feel my country, and many others still have much to 'fess up for. Guys like Yakovlev, though, did the right thing. Perhaps the current occupants of the Kremlin could learn a thing or two from the older generation.

Liars

Well the liars at ITAR TASS - the mouthpiece of the Russian foreign ministry - are back at it again. In the past week they've repeated the same numbers as in today's press release on the municipal elections...

Over 20 percent of Estonia’s permanent population (260,000 people) do not have Estonian citizenship. An overwhelming majority of them are Russians.

Over 100,000 permanent residents of Estonia are Russian citizens.

That's not true. In a recent statement by the foreign ministry, it was stated that as of this summer 9.8 percent of Estonian residents lack citizenship. 6 percent have Russian citizenship. What's 6 percent of 1.35 million? 81,000.
Where does ITAR TASS come up with thier bogus information? Do they just make it up.

God, I wish there was a news service that could counter that garbage passed on as "real time news" that is circulated around the globe as having any merit of truth. But until then we'll just have to live with the liars.

Clever Ants

If you spend enough time in Estonia, eventually you will learn the tale of Kaval-Ants, or "Clever Ants." Ants is a character of folklore that is supposed to reveal something about the Estonian character. Unlike Kalevipoeg, who most agree was something of a knavish jerk, Ants is still held in some regard. I never read the take on him, but I understand that he was something of a slave who always managed to play dueling masters off one another all the while filling his pockets as he watched the idiots squabble away.
In the 19th Century, such masters may have been the Baltic Germans and the Russian Czar. These days, however, Kaval Ants has his hands full trying to tiptoe around the...Germans...and Russians. Or Moscow and Brussels. Take your pick.

Take this story that just ran in some marginal non-native-English online webjournal "Axis News" entitled "Municipal elections in Estonia VALIMISED 2005:
Brussels Will Force Tallinn to Speak Russian" containing this gem:

The management of the European Union carries out active secret work on support of those political forces in Estonia, which agree to mitigation of a position concerning Moscow and the Russian-speaking population of the country.

The text gives background on the municipal elections and only provides the following "fact" to back up its claim.

Brussels decided that the municipal elections in this country can be used for support of those political forces which will agree on mitigation of positions concerning Moscow, and also concerning Russian-speaking minority of Estonia (including recognition of Russian as the second official language in the country). According to the information received by the author from several European diplomats the contacts on this issue between the representatives of the European Community and leading Estonian political forces took place recently.

Unfortunately, to date there are no mainstream Estonian parties that are willing to establish Russian as a second official language. Not even Keskerakond, which has distanced itself from Dmistri Klenski, a local politician who wants to make Russian the second official language of Tallinn, and not Isamaalit, Reformierakond, or any of the other parties. So who these Eurocrats met with to appease Russia is beyond me. The only one i can think of is Keskerakond's Edgar Savisaar, who is looking to assume the mayorship of Tallinn as soon as possible. He certainly is clever. But would Keskerakond ever recuperate if he did?

But that brings us to another, clearer point. What business does Brussels or Moscow have in telling Estonia how to run its country? Perhaps Brussels can make some requests, as Estonia is an EU member state. But Russia has no jurisdiction over Estonia. It has recognized its independence since 1991. And it has no right to A) tell it what kind of monuments it can erect B) tell it what kind of citizenship laws it must enact and C) Tell it what its official languages should be.
Somewhere in this mess there must be a Clever Ants waiting to spring to the forefront to manipulate Mommy Germany and Daddy Russia in order to get out of this mess.
Estonia joined the EU and NATO, this is true. But it will always be the safe keeper of its own sovereignty, and right now it is up to Estonia to pick both of their pockets as neither can be trusted.
The Western Europeans just want cheap oil. The Russian mafia, I mean government, just wants to feel powerful again, especially when they can't raise their own submarines or put down the Chechens. And in the middle, once again, is Kaval Ants.
I know the Estonian government possesses some great intellectual faculty. Estonians, as a whole, seem like pretty well-read, well-versed people. I hope that those in charge can marshall some cunning to get out of the way of the Brussels-Moscow collision.

Vana Andrus

As you may have noticed, there is always some kind of tension between the Russian Federation and the Estonian Republic.

Today, living piece of human garbage and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said

“Latvia and Estonia are clearly stifling the Russian language, and the situation requires tight contacts between Russia and EU in solving that problem.”

Look, I have only been in Latvia for one day in my life. But in Estonia, no, the situation doesn't require tight contacts between the EU and Russia. Because Russia has no jurisdiction over the majority of Russian-speakers in Estonia. Some 6 percent of the 25 percent of Estonia's 1.3 million population that are of Russian heritage are indeed Russian citizens. Another 9 percent, or more, are citizens of the Estonian Republic. The remaining 9 percent have yet to decide which citizenship they wish to obtain.

That means that Russia only has the right to speak on behalf of those 6 percent that have decided that they will be Russian citizens and stay in Estonia. Everyone else is represented by the Estonian state. So, like, butt out, dicks.

More good news from the warm-hearted, fun-loving, Vodka-endorsing nation of invaders to the East came from Sergei Yastrzhembsky, aide to Putin, who said:

"Moscow has taken many steps to accommodate the interests of Tallinn and Riga. Now it is their turn to start the search for a way out of the stalemate,” Yastrzhembsky said. “Russia will be prepared to resume discussions, but only when it sees the readiness to reciprocate.”

In times like these, one may pine for some kind of hard-headed history professor to step up to the challenge and make Lavrov wish he'd never been born. But instead we have the man in the gray flannel suit, Estonian Prime Minsiter Andrus Ansip, who said in the past few weeks that Estonia 1) is giving up its claims to financial compensation from the RF, and 2) No apologies are necessary for murdering the entire Estonian government in 1940.

"I cannot speak for the future, but we have no claims today," he said. "No people, no country can live in the past. We should move on quickly rather than lay claims."

RIA Novosti quoted him as saying, followed by:

"We do not want Russia to apologize, because apologies should be sincere, and if not, then its better not to apologize at all."

How polite. Some people think that Estonia deserves a charismatic leader like Lennart Meri again. But maybe Ansip, who took over the reins from the cock-headed and clueless Juhan Parts after Res Publika crashed last March, is the right guy for the job.

His job isn't major economic reform. Although he is from the Reform Party, the party is actually the status quo party, with less shadowy connections than the most popular party - the Center Party - which is the party that promises much, but has yet to deliver.

What may make the Ansip government last until 2007, the time of the next scheduled parliamentary elections, could be Ansip's stern, emotionless, wholly unsexy demeanor afterall. Unlike the other politicos in Estland, he seems to be the least about himself. Maybe that can make his government succeed where the others have failed.

Meie Arnold

Well it looks like grown-up Estonian President Arnold Rüütel is trying to sort things out amongst the spoiled, younger political elite of his country and the one adjacent to it with regard to the border treaty.

"Meie Arnold" told RIA Novosti yesterday that he believes that "[Estonia and Russia] should hold a high-level discussion [of the issue] to find a solution, to cut this Gordian knot."

"It is an issue of international relations for both countries, and respective foreign ministries should start negotiations to get out of the deadlock," he added.

The border treaty, long-awaited, was signed in Moscow in May, but Russia withdrew its signature after Estonia ratified it adding a preamble which indirectly mentioned the Soviet occupation.

While the Estonian side is (of course) correct in their reading of the law - that they have not added new components to the treaty and they have no territorial claims - it may make sense to wakeu and realize that Russia is not a European country. It's an Asian country, like China. It's not logical, it doesn't care what the laws says, it just likes being a dick to its neighbors so it can encourage faith by its own citizens in its current government.

So, really, if you need a border treaty, then just get a border treaty. The rhetorical points have already been scored. Every history book published outside of Russia describes the Soviet occupation and annexation of the Baltics. So, really, why bother.

Arnold may be an Old Communist, but at least he's not chomping at the bit - like Putin or Margelov or Laar and others - for heavy duty rhetorical combat. Instead of writing history books, he enjoys the tend to his garden in Saaremaa. Hopefully the old compromiser can end this issue.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20051005/41605563.html
http://www.oxfordstudent.com/article_images/78/3554/0101.jpeg

Like...OK, Already

Far away, on another corner of the Internet in a foreign language, my wife the blogger is revealing to Estonians everywhere the secrets of our life. From laptops in Võrumaa and rowboats on Naissaar, Estonians can read about my latest smelly fart, my caffeine-fueled New York anxiety, the romantic perils of my older brother.

What can I say about full disclosure? If it makes interesting reading than so be it. But it doesn't help knowing it is being read by the most judgemental people in the world.

Look, who am I to judge? I'm just an overweight, lazy American. But really, I am, somewhat troubled by Estonian pigheadedness. It's what is slowing down their government with all these frivolous, symbolic resignations and political pussyfooting.

And where does my daughter fit into that mix? Torn between a nation of vehement anti-intellectuals and self-styled know-it-alls? Right now she seems to be interested in Elmo, but which side will she come down on?

One place where our cultures have been rubbing has been the topic of the future.
Last time I checked I was nearly 26 years old and had little interest in real estate. But then again, last time I checked my wife was 31 and was thinking about what color to paint her house.

Still near my sexual peak, my interests in real estate are nil. I have yet to experience the dramatic drop in testosterone levels that leaves men in their 30s pining for trips to Pottery Barn and jumping at the sight of a color wheel. "Oh Joy - A Color Wheel!"

Not me, no sir. Not yet. Why is it that when I hear the words "buy a house" it scares the living shit out of me. I imagine myself chained to the home, toiling day after day, painting and painting, sawing and sawing, doing everything and passing out at night, only to awake to a leaky roof spitting on my forehead. Not to mention my wife pointing out everything I've done wrong after I've done it. Could it be? Could it have only taken me 26 years to become my father? Doesn't it usually take like 40 years?

But that's the Estonian man's so called ideal. To build his own home. To spend all his free time hammering away, slugging down õlut and hammering away again. And, like it or not, that's the trip I signed up for.

It could be worse. I could be married to a "Keepin' Up With the Joneses" American. The type that expects an X-pensive wedding ban and desires three or four wedding showers. That would really be a nightmare.*shudder*

Whatever, all I can say is that I am a bit ambivalent about the future but a little tired with the present. Who knows. Whatever whatever and whatever, amen.

Eesti Reis in Review: Travel By Tallink

This is a bit by bit review of our trip back to Estonia, which occured between July 23 and July 31, 2005.
Our trip to Estonia really began on the Tallink ferry connection between Stockholm and Tallinn. Moving around in Europe, you get to understand why some people in, say Scotland, may think Estonia is quite far away, so far it is unknown to their base geographical knowledge, even though it only takes a few hours to fly there. This is unusual for Americans, but you have to realize that Europeans are actually tribes. They may have wireless Internet and three mobile phones apiece, but they are tribes nonetheless - like the Masai or the Apache. Estonia in the Scottish mind is probably quite far away - on the otherside of Scandinavia and then some...almost Russia. Nostroviya!. So gliding across the Baltic from Stockholm to Tallinn you get to feel like you are mixing tribes. Estonians and Swedes drink side by side in ferry pubs, and their children speak the universal language in playrooms.

I first started to really recognize that I was indeed back in Eestimaa when I awoke in the middle of the night and went to the 25 Hour Cafe to get a drink of water.
From the lower deck boiled up the flat sounds of totally drunk South Estonians.
For you uninitiated, the South Estonian accent/dialect is flat as gurgling mud. It sorts of sounds like a hot-wired washing machine on spin cycle.
These excellent specimens of the ancient Aiestr tribe were drunk, and they looked like something out of Bonnie and Clyde. The leader of the drunks had short hair and was talking a kilometer a minute, clearly invigorated by his beverage of choice. He had ordered a sandwich from the server, and was practicing his Italian.
"Per un momento" he said as he searched his wallet for necessary cash.
"Kas te oskate mis 'un moment' tahendab?" he asked [Do you know what 'un momento' means?] "Tahendab yks hetk, itaalia keeles." [It means 'one moment' in Italian].
Being very thirsty this guy pissed me off, but the scene couldn't have been better. His drunken tattooed friends smoking and gulping down spirits while Don Juan de Abja-Paluoja held court.

In the distance as the sun came up later we could see the Estonian coast. The Swedish archipelago (and Finnish as well) is rather rocky. But the Estonian coast still looks like a soothing, wild forest. You can see few settlements. I can't believe that it was forbidden to travel like this only 30 years ago, but here were were sailing into Tallinn harbor, with Oleviste Kirik there to greet us, and an eight day whirlwind tour of Estonia ahead.

When I first came to Estonia in 2002 Tallinn's harbor left something to be desired - especially when compared to the sleek modern Finnish harbor 40 km away. But here I could see the money had indeed flowed south with all those Finnish drunks. One by one ancient warehouses that look like the marine waterfront of Bridgeport, CT are being torn down and replaced by Nordic-looking office spaces, hotels, and shopping centers, which mix in a sort of kitschy, tacky touch. For whom they exist, I don't know?

There are only 1.3 million Estonians, and of them, I bet few are qualified or have the capital to buy that office space. Are the Nordic capitalists pondering a move to Tallinn? Could be.

The ferry terminal is actually quite a nostalgic place for me. It is where I sort of met and fell in love with my wife. When you are married, you don't notice that you are married (I know it's hard to explain). But when you see the place where you sort of knew you were going to be together it is a powerful feeling.

When we got into the terminal, we had the triple disaster of Marta running around, Epp trying to locate her Hansa card, and me being a nervous wreck. Marta in particular enjoyed riding the elevators, while Epp was busy cancelling her card and getting a new one by phone. Still, despite the pandemonium, we managed to pull things together and move outside. Estonia's air is especially clean, at least to these New York lungs, and it is a powerful intoxicant. You breathe it in and all you want to do is relax. It can be disarming. Things move at the same pace, perhaps more efficiently, but without that rabid New York anxiety that leans on you everywhere here. In a sentence, it was good to be back.

Future Destinations: Pärnu

Though Estonia is a fairly small country - about the size of Denmark - there are still many places I have never been to. This post is the first in a line of posts I plan to do about future destinations in Eestimaa. The first in line is Pärnu, a city of about 45,000 in the southwestern edge of Estonia, known to all Estonian's as "the summer capital of Estonia." Estonians will recite this fact the same way Danes will tell you that Danish sounds like speaking with a "hot potato in your mouth."
What makes Pärnu the summer capital is its long sandy beach, which Finns, Swedes, Russians, and, yes, Estonians, will tell you is bodaciously rad. It is the beach that draws bathers here from Stockholm and Turku, where they are fed up with rocky beaches and want some white powder between their toes. It is also assumed that because Pärnu is the summer capital one might catch a glimpse of former PM Juhan Parts playing beach volleyball with Tõnis Palts, or Kristiina Ojuland sunbathing with Ene Ergma. Pärnu, I am told, is a place to be seen.
Pärnu is an old Hanseatic town whose history goes back to 1251 when it was founded by Bishop Henrik I. Another important date is 1837, when the first mud baths were opened up. Ahh mud.

In a 1979 edition of National Geographic on Estonia, Priit Vesilind had some photos about the mud spas which were a favorite of all Soviet vacationers. I am not sure I am into submerging my torso in mud, but, while in Pärnu, do as the Pärnlased dictate.

A final cool thing about Päarnu is its awesome flag (at left). In some ways I think that Pärnu's flag is superior to Estonia's flag.

This is fitting because Pärnu was the city where the Republic of Estonia was proclaimed in 1918.
So if there is a t-shirt with that flag on it, I'm snatching it up. To sum up, Pärnu has a bit of a reputation. I will be visiting it in just a few weeks, and I hope it lives up to all I have heard.

The Next Estonian President

In some countries, the head of state is a BS position - tailored for those who like to lunch with the sultan of Brunei, but have little power over anything else. Who, for example, is the president of Italy? We all know the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, but the president (Carlo Ciampi), is irrelevant. Other countries, though, have quite strong executives. South of Estonia, in Latvia, lives Vaira Vike Freiberga, an internationally-known and semi-capable executive. North of the Gulf of Finland, is Tarja Halonen, who isn't the most famous woman in the world, but is an able-bodied executive as well. In Estonia, however, it appears as if President Ruutel is more of a Ciampi, than a Chirac. "Meie Arnold" has a certain grandfatherly grace that makes him a fit executive. But as things get more complicated sometimes it makes one pine for the days when the president was Lennart Meri, a filmmaker, writer, and English-speaking leader who could connect with any listener, from San Francisco to Johannesburg.
That's why when Arnold steps down and retires to study agriculture on his home island of Saaremaa, Estonia will need a new executive who isn't a shy, old grandfather, but a self-promoting lion of the republic that will be able to share the stage with Vlad Putin, and represent the people of Estonia.
Drawing up a short list some names came to mind of who will succeed Arnold when he finishes his term. It could be Mart Laar, of Isamaalit, but maybe he's too controversial and not diplomatic enough. It could be Toomas Hendrick Ilves, because he is a fairly good diplomat and is well-connected. Plus he likes to wear a bow-tie, which will distinguish him to the West as a sort of Baltic Tucker Carlson.
But my pick for the next president of Estonia is an athlete. Someone who can communicate well in English and who woudl win the election hands down. He is only 30 years old, but he would be the perfect representative of Noor Eesti.While it may appear funny now, if Estonian race car driver Markko Martin was to hang up his helmet and try his hand at politics, he might be the perfect candidate. So when Putin goes on the national stage and says something idiotic, Martin would be right behind him with a quick comeback. Estonia needs a youthful fighter to lead the republic. And I am sure that there's plenty of room at Kadriorg for Martin's sports cars.

The Swedes Show Some Backbone...

According to Eesti Päevaleht online, the Swedish foreign ministry is the latest to take Estonia's side in the border dispute. In an article published today, a Swedish ministry spokesperson is quoted as saying:

"Rootsi hinnangul puuduvad igasugused takistused...mis ei voimaldaks kokkulepetel joustuda."

Translation: "In assessment of Sweden, obstacles of all sorts are absent from permitting the agreement to come into force."

It should be noted that Sweden's foreign minister is Laila Freivalds, who was born in Riga in 1942, and fled to Sweden to escape the Soviet occupation of Latvia.

Russia Plays Hardball

According to various state information channels in the Russian Federation, the Russian government has revoked its signature from the border treaty inked with the Republic of Estonia on May 18 in Moscow.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov:

There will be no ratification since there will be no agreement itself. We need to start new negotiations to settle the border issues.

According to the Estonian foreign ministry there are no border issues.

The Estonian side has repeatedly assured that it has not linked any new issues to the border treaties, and thus, the Russian side's assertion that Estonia has added new aspects to the treaty is ungrounded.

You've got to love Lavrov. The guy shakes hands with Urmas Paet, and then decides a month later that he didn't really shake hands. Later, in Helsinki, Lavrov said he feared that the European Union might 'yield to temptation' in saying that:

Estonia ratified the agreement, although with some amendments, and Russia should have also ratified the agreement with its own amendments, for the sake of the agreements simple existence. In order to avoid such a temptation, we revoked our signature under the agreement. The agreement doesn't exist.

So where does that leave Estonia? Should they revoke their preamble to appease a bitter neighbor? Why would a sovereign nation do such a thing? I hope the EU does step in and ask the RF to honor its obligations. It will be interesting to see what the bureaucrats in Brussels will do when they are finally called upon to show some spine.

Eesti Beebi Boom...and a Maelstrom of Marriages

BEEBI POMM!

I heard the news today at around 8.30 am, while my 1.7 year old daughter was pointing at my nose and saying "noo-noo" and grasping at my face, trying to wrest control of my left eye from its socket.
Our friend Pille gave birth to her first daughter Roosi on Jaanipäev, June 23, 2005. Roosi pushed her way out in just 45 minutes, and she is the latest child to join what is called the Eesti Beebi Pomm, or Estonian baby boom.
Over the past two years, Estonian women who climbed out of the economic reforms of the early90s with stacked CVs and reliable bank accounts have been encouraged to have more children by the state, which will pay their entire annual salary to them during the year they take off upon motherhood. But they also have heard some kind of biological clock ticking, and so everywhere I go I see titad (babies). You could notice the difference on the way to my wife's work. First in line was Marta Maria, our child, who came in December 2003.
But soon the office secretary, as of September 2004, was immensely large, as was Epp's co-worker, who also was expecting. Then our friend Eberhard and his wife Ingrid had a son this past February. So all of a sudden we are surrounded by new life. And the Estonian state is surrounded by new tax payers.

MAELSTROM OF MARRIAGE

On this side of the Atlantic, another trend is crouching and creeping. On July 7, my friend Becky will marry Pete, her beau of many years, at a country club on Long Island. I have a feeling that, before 2010 is out, I will be dining several times a country club on Long Island. Becky's Wedding will no doubt be large and leave a lasting impression. This is because Becky and Pete, despite their lowkey Yankee collegic demeanor, are Italians at heart. There will be much wine and celebration. If only they would step on a bottle after the society of ethical people marry them.

Becky and Pete just returned from a wedding in Ol' Mississipp'. This is the part of the country Northerners like to feel superior over because we beat them in a war about 150 years ago. It still does feel good though. Winning does. This particular wedding joined not plantation perverts though, but Plimouth progeny, John Alden and Priscilla Mullins.
It must have been hot down in the Delta. Speaking of the War of Northern Aggression, our friend Jess, and her BF Dan, will also tie the knot sometime next year. My wedding blessing in July 2003 was devoid of the attendence of such luminaries as Jessica, and even my best friend since the High Priesthood of the Hookachal (the 80s) days, Jocko.

Therefore I may not be in attendence when Frank D. of Setauket, gives away his daughter Jessica, of GA, to Daniel G., son of Frank G. of Florida. But that's ok. The name for their first child? My only hope is that Jessica will rechristen herself Gessica. Now that...would be cool.

Finally, my own brother will tie the knot, ETA Sept. 2006...at a country club on Long Island.
Toot sweet. They too are mired down these in lists of people to invite, clothing to wear, hors d'oeuvrs to serve, Motown or Disco, questions.

For him and his bride to be, it must be great to have their own event, after sodding off through so many of their contemporaries'.

To all the babies, brides, and beaus...this is me saying "Good Luck" or "Kõige Head!"

Somebody Gets It...

Here is a great piece by the Eurasia Daily Monitor that explains why the Russian Federation are the ones with "dead donkey ears" when it comes to their failure to ratify the border line agreed upon by the Estonian foreign ministry and Russian foreign ministry on May 18.

the Russian government seems intent to retaliate against Estonia's reassertion of the state's legal continuity, as reflected in the Estonian parliament's reamble to the law on the ratification of the border treaty.

The piece, by Vladimir Socor, goes on to spell out why it doesn't really make a difference what Estonia's preamble says.

The refusal has no legal grounds however. The duma would be asked to ratify the treaty as signed, not the preamble to Estonia's ratification law. Moreover...the preamble contains no reservations toward the border treaty's terms, no demands of any kind, and no conditions for the treaty's implementation as signed with the Russian side.

So now, the Estonian government can only wait. They have a border line, as decreed by President Arnold Ruutel yesterday. A very interesting end to an interesting Spring. One interesting thing I have been just starting to understand is the basis for the preamble, which is to restate that the Estonian government today is the legal continuation of the Estonian government proclaimed in 1918, and recognized at the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920.

In September 1939, the Estonian government foolishly allowed the Soviet Union to station troops in Estonia. Hundreds of thousands of troops were brought into the country as the crisis in Europe deepened. In June 1940, the Estonian government was driven from power by "demonstrators" that seized Tallinn's police stations, parliament, communications etc.

The solely Communist government was proclaimed and requested to join the Soviet Union, where it was accepted in August 1940. Military officers and government officials from the legitimate government were rounded up and deported by the Soviets, most being executed in Estonia and in Russia in 1940-42.

However, the Communist government did not last long. In 1941 the Nazis took Estonia, and Estonia was incorporated into "Ostland" - its province that was supposed to include also Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus.

As the Nazis retreated in September 1944 however, Estonia's prime minister, Juri Uluots, formed a new government, one that was still recognized by the international community. As the Soviet's reinvaded Estonia in the fall of 1944, the new ministers fled. Most were captured and executed. But Uluots and others escaped to Stockholm, where a government in exile was set up, not dissimilar to DeGaulle's French government in England in the early 1940s.

This government in exile remained until 1992, when the prime minister in exile, acting in duties of the president, presented his credentials to the incoming Estonian government.

The Russian Federation does not accept the continuation of the Estonian government. In their mindset, the Stalinist history, that Estonia willingly joined the USSR in 1940, and the old government was dissolved. It's worth noting that the exile government was recognized by the international community. But it may take a long time before Russia "purges" itself of its Stalinist myth making.

Borders, New Yawk, and Jaanipäev

Well, it looks like the Russian Foreign Minsitry decided that it doesn't want to ratify the treaty, because they are a) excessively paranoid about land claims and b) didn't get to control every sentence in it.
The treaty explicitly does not link the referenced documents in the preamble to the border agreement. The Estonian Foreign Ministry reiterated this point today by stating:

"The Estonian government did not tie the ratification of the border treaties with any additional annexes that would allow presenting new demands and neither did the Riigikogu when they supplemented the bill."

Poor Eestimaa. They thought that Venemaa would actually understand their highbrow legalisms.
But the Russian Foreign Ministry decided today that ratifying it would be impossible.
Perhaps the Estonian foreign ministry needs better translators?
Readers of Postimees seem to be happy with the situation. Some commentators seem to think that Russia just wants to show its strength, and their are pleased that the Visa situation for Russians entering the European Union will be further complicated.
..............................................................
As for New Yawk it's just work, work, work. In fact, I'm supposed to be working now. But Ii have no time for 'me' so I have to take it where I can.
In Estonia this week is the week where everybody eats a lot of sausages, burns a lot of wood, drinks a lot of beer, and has a lot of unprotected sex.
That's right, its Jaanipäev. What holidays do us New Yawkers have like that? The Puerto Rican Day Parade? Sha, r-i-ight. As if.
The ultra-right-wing Wall Street losers that run this city of capital would never be into allowing the peons a day a whole week off to celebrate being alive. No. It's get back to work, lick Michael Bloomberg's boot. Downtown Brooklyn might be a sh*thole, but West Side Stadium, the Olympics - these are New York's priorities. And where are the Democrats? Behind in the polls.
Boo.

Control-Lines

Well, the word out of Venemaa is that they'll probably ratify the border treaty anyway. As written in the Russia Journal, the "most trusted news source in Russia," Sergey Mironov, chairman of the Federation Council, said that Russia must ratify the treaty wihout any reservations.
The article however does say that Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920 "has lost effect." This is interesting because Mironov didn't say this, and no source in the article maintains this. It just appears as a factual statement. This is how "journalism" works in Russia.

The Tartu Treaty established the statehoods of Finland and Estonia. The "elected" Communist government that requested to join the Soviet Union in June 1940 was never recognized by the international community. Instead the old government remained in exile from 1944 through 1992 in Stockholm, Sweden, and returned to power in 1992. That's what happened and what has been recognized.

The state border line was redrawn after the war with Finland in 1944 as well. So this border treaty essentially represents the end of the Cold War. That is why it is so important.

Estonia Ratifies...and Russia Balks...

The Riigikogu ratified the border treaty with the Russian Federation today, passing the resolution 78 - 4. Res Publika had originally refused to vote until a preamble was added that mentioned the occupation and annexation of Estonia in 1940 and 1944 by Russia's predecessor state, the USSR. However, the ruling colaition disagreed with that idea.

A compromise was drafted that claimed that the current Estonian republic was the same republic that was declared in the Treaty of Tartu in 1920. The 'occupation and annexation' claims were dropped because the Estonian parliament knew that the Russian parliament would object to these claims and thought it fruitless to pursue recognition of this historical wrong when they could just as easily get their border treaty signed.

The preamble reads:

Proceeding from the legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia proclaimed on 24 February 1918, as it is stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, from the Resolution of the Republic of Estonia Supreme Council of 20 August 1991 "On the National Independence of Estonia," and from the Declaration of the Riigikogu of 7 October 1992 "On the Restoration of Constitutional Power," and keeping in mind that the Treaty mentioned in Article 1 of this act shall, in accordance to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, partially amend the state border line established by Article III Section I of the Tartu Peace Treaty of 2 February 1920, shall not influence the rest of the Treaty and shall not determine the treatment of bilateral issues not connected with border issues.."

Pretty clear if you ask me. But Russia, who asked that Estonia sign the treaty first, now has more problems. They are unhappy with the treaty because it mentions 1918, and if one does some thinking then, it de facto acknowledges the occupation and annexation.

"I don't think the border treaty, in the form in which the Estonian parliament ratified it today, would be acceptable to Russia," said Mihail Margelov, who chairs the foreign affairs committee in the Duma's upper house.

What is going on here you might ask? Why would Russia not want to ratify, really? It's not that hard to sign. You have a meeting, raise your hands. You vote. It's ratified. The other way - bringing in advisors, creating more diplomatic intrigue, more empty threats about "goose eggs" and "donkey ears" - that's more difficult to do. So why go through that, when you can ratify the treaty and go back to your Dacha for the summer a happy parliamentarian?

As I see it, it can only be about two things - money or pride. I think it's both. This is a very acceptable document to ratify, but Russia is worried about two things - admitting ins ome fashion that it occupied and annexed Estonia in 1940, and being liable to compensate all of the people who lost their property, livelihoods, and lives when the occupation commenced.

However, this diplomatic game has backfired for the Russian Federation.
The egg could have been on Estonia's face. They could have made Estonia look weak, and unfit for the ranks of the EU. If the nationalists in Isamaalit and Res Publika had decided that they should push the occupation issue further, then Estonia would have looked bad and unreasonable (ie. like Latvia.) However, since their treaty doesn't really push the issue, it is the Russians who are caught looking ridiculous with egg on their face. They seem irrational (which they are).

If the Russian parliament is unhappy that's their problem. They are the ones who requested that Estonia sign the border treaty first.

Just sign it...

Estonia's newest government, led by Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, who took over the reins from Juhan Parts' government in April, seems to be one of the more mature governments I have witnessed in my fling with the Republic of Estonia.
My guess is that because the coalition, which is made up of the Reform Party, Center Party, and Estonian People's Union, were accidental rulers, not exactly linked by a common mission statement, they have been forced to fall back on the boring business of representing the Estonian people's interests, rather than their own.
One of the better products of an alliance that includes such odd ministerial fellows like Economic Minister Edgar Savisaar and Foreign Minister Urmas Paet has been the signing of the border agreement with Estonia's eastern neighbor, Russia, on May 18.
Paet has urged the Riigikogu to approve the treaty before the nation's lawmakers break for the summer. The second reading, and probable vote, will come next week.
There have been a few elements in the government, most prominently Isamaalit (Fatherland) that wish to make claims for the territory annexed by Soviet Russia following the Second World War that included the Petseri (Pechory) district, as well as some territory on the otherside of the Narva River.
However, Estonian President Arnold Rüütel, in a surprisingly candid interview with Postimees on May 24, said that Estonia essentially has no real use for the Petseri district and the land on the other side of the Narva river.

"Kui arvestada Petserimaa ja Narva-tagused alad kokku, elab seal umbes 40,000 venekeelset inimest, Setusid aga umbes 500."

Basically, there are only 500 Setu (an Estonian-related Finnic group living in the Petseri district) so it makes no sense to claim land where an overwhelming majority of Russian nationals live. Ansip has also promised that the government will help Setu families relocate within the Estonian border.
And while it may sound grossly nationalistic, it makes sense that Estonia would renounce its claims to that land de jure, because the government doesn't need to be responsible for integrating 40,000 more people (in a country where 29 percent of the total population - including Russian citizens living in Estonia, some 7 percent - are Russian speakers) into Estonian society.
"Making sense" may be an even better slogan for Estonia than "Positively transforming." Let's hope that next week, the Riigikogu makes the right choice, and inks that border deal with Russia, so the two countries can move forward in their relations.

Jealousy

I am a bit jealous today because I am really having an itch for a trip that gets me out of the US and back on Estonian soil. I won't be there until July, yet somehow I feel two weeks there just aren't good enough.

I saw a blog from my old pals the Law Firm of Davis and Mansfield that chronicled their trip to Eesti Vabariik aastal 2004 - when I wasn't there - and that really pissed me off.

'Why are they there, on my Raekoja Plats,' I demanded to know? But from their well-sauna-d, Saku-happy grins came no reply. Just jealousy greener than...green.Greener than Lahemaa National Park.

This truly sucks dear friends. From this day forward, I shall plot my return.

Sun sets on Hiiumaa, Estonia. August 2003.