BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

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Historic Centre of Tallinn

Tallinn is an outstanding and exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a medieval northern European trading city. It retains the salient features of this unique form of economic and social community to a remarkable degree.

Archaeological investigations have shown that a fort on the limestone plateau of Toompea and a trading post and harbour at its foot, on the Viking route to Constantinople, have existed since the 10th-11th centuries. With the expansion of Baltic trade, the settlement known at that time as Lyndanise (Reval in German, Kolyvan in Russian) was occupied in 1219 by troops of Waldemar II of Denmark, who strengthened the fortifications on Toompea and built the first church.

After coming under direct papal jurisdiction in 1226-27, the town was divided into two parts: the fortress (castrum ) and the lower town (suburbum ). In 1230 the order invited 200 German merchants from Gotland to Tallinn, where they settled around a new church dedicated to St Nicholas, alongside the existing Estonian, Scandinavian and Russian trading posts. In 1248 Tallinn adopted the Lübeck statute, becoming a full member of the Hanseatic League in 1285. Its prosperity was reflected by its rapid growth in the 14th century: work began on the massive town wall in 1310, enclosing an area laid out according to the characteristic Baltic trading pattern with radiating streets. Along with the territory of northern Estonia, the town was sold to the Livonian Order, and it was the latter that was responsible for rebuilding the castle on Toompea as one of the strongest in the region.

With the fall of Visby in 1361 the importance of Tallinn increased substantially. The 15th century saw the transformation of the town, with the construction of a new town hall and other public buildings and the rebuilding of the merchants' wooden houses in stone. It was annexed by Sweden in 1561, and it was Swedish architects who were responsible for the reconstruction of the Toompea area after a disastrous fire in 1684 and for the addition of a system of bastions to the fortifications. In 1710 the town surrendered to the troops of Tsar Peter I, entering into a half-century of commercial and cultural stagnation, but this came to an end when its role as a provincial administrative centre was confirmed, with the castle as its seat. The town was heavily bombed in 1944. The church of St Nicholas and the area around it suffered grave damage.

Estonian Air to team up with Cabforce.com

Estonian Air is the first airline to provide access on its website to the services of Cabforce.com, the European online booking service for taxis, executive cars and minibuses. Estonian Air passengers can now make the bookings at the same time as their flight tickets.

The Cabforce.com online booking system offers a car with fixed price, and customers pay on a secure site with a credit card. By making an advance booking, passengers no longer need to negotiate with local drivers about routes, prices and payment methods at the travel destination. The most common causes of confusion due to culture and language barriers can now be avoided.

“Partnership with Cabforce.com gives our customers a convenient access to transfer service via Estonian Air homepage. The service is currently available in Tallinn and at eight Estonian Air flight destinations in Europe: Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, London, Brussels and Paris. More destinations will be added in the future,” said Enn Lamp, the Head of Sales and Distribution Department.

“We are happy to be the first airline in the world to provide public access to the Cabforce.com service for all our passengers. It is ideal for business travellers who wish to pre-pay for transfer between the airport and hotel with their company credit card for easy expense management,” added Lamp.

The Estonian Air partnership marks a new territory claim for Cabforce.com, which is expected to grow in the future with similar partnerships. “Co-operation with the Estonian national airline is a prime example of how a taxi service can be added to a partner’s service portfolio, without the need for them to invest in any supply network building and facilitation technology,” says Tommi Holmgren, CEO and Co-founder of Cabforce.com.

Vicky Karantzavelou

Independence Day speech of President of the Republic

Dear fellow countrymen,

Estonia is all of us. Today and tonight is, as always on February 24, the time to be proud of and discuss our country in each home in Estonia and in this hall. It is the time to ask how our state is doing, and our society and each and every person.

Let us not consider Estonia’s birthday just another ritual that involves official traditions like hoisting the national flag and the parade of the Defense Forces and listening to the President’s words of admonition at the end of the day. Those who expect the President to conclusively condemn one or two things today will be disappointed. No, today we should more than usually want to think and understand what this country truly is and what life in Estonia truly is.

Is Estonia merely a place where people live, because they happened to be born here? Is it merely a place of business? Is it a stand-by temporary springboard for a future career? Or, perhaps, is it something more, something with a discernible – in the positive sense – manner of business and attitude towards life and others? Or simply a home?

Our questions often have an undertone of doubt about our own choices and about the state as well. In this winter of discontent we are suffering from rising uncertainty: what will become of us? Because the safe havens that we have tried to reach have proven to be exposed to storms as well.

Estonia celebrates 94th anniversary

The Republic of Estonia celebrated its 94th anniversary yesterday, on February 24; this year the major events celebrating Estonia's Independence Day took place in the capital Tallinn and the South Estonian city of Tartu, writes LETA.

The Republic first declared its independence on February 24, 1918.

On Friday morning, Speaker of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma gave a celebration speech. During the day, wreaths in honour of those who fell in the War of Independence were placed at the base of the Kalevipoeg memorial statue in Tartu, a church service took place at Tartu’s St. John’s Church, and the Defence Forces parade was held on Vabaduse street in Tartu.

On the same day, a celebratory concert and the formal reception of President of the Republic Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Mrs Evelin Ilves took place in the evening in the Vanemuine Theatre and Concert Hall in Tartu.

The formal events was attended by the President of the Republic, the speaker of the Riigikogu, the prime minister, members of the government and Riigikogu, and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

French Eolane acquires Elcoteq Tallinn

The French company Eolane has acquired the shares of electronic components manufacturer Elcoteq Tallinn AS, the parent company of which went bankrupt in 2011.

The company's name will be changed to Eolane Tallinn AS.

Eolane chief executive Marc Pasquier said the purchase is part of a plan to expand to the Northern European market. He said the company strategy foresees evolving the Tallinn factory into a strong independent unit offering an even wider range of product development, testing, production and after-sales services to its customers.

With around 2,400 employees and an annual turnover of 300 million euros, the activities of Eolane and its subsidiaries include nanotechnology, solar energy, security, embedded software and signal technology.

The former parent company of Elcoteq Tallinn was Elcoteq SE, a pan-European electronics manufacturer headquartered in Luxembourg. In 2009 Elcoteq Eesti, as it was then called, sold 80 percent of its production capacity to Swedish-based Ericsson. In 2010 the company moved its remaining production facilities to a newly-built factory on Tallinn's Peterburi maantee.

Ott Tammik

European Commission cuts Estonia's GDP forecast for 2012

The European Commission stated in its fresh interim economic forecast that the 2012 outlook for the Estonian economy has significantly deteriorated, driven by falling confidence and weaker external demand around the turn of the year.

As a result, GDP growth expectations for 2012 have been revised downwards, from 3.2% in autumn to 1.2% in the present forecast, writes LETA.

According to the flash estimate from Statistics Estonia, annual economic growth in Estonia reached 7.5% in 2011, i.e. 0.5 pp. lower than projected in the autumn forecast. Domestic demand was stronger than expected and export performance remarkable. However, in the last months of the year Estonia was not immune to the deteriorating confidence seen in many Member States, the EC said. As a result, GDP shrank by 0.8% q-o-q in the last quarter of 2011. The contraction, however, was mostly limited to the export-oriented electronics sector, which had been one of the main growth drivers in the initial phase of the recovery. More recently, manufacturing production seems to have stabilised at somewhat below its recent peak level.

Despite remarkable productivity adjustments in the recent recession, exports are expected to remain weak in the first half of 2012. Export performance and growth will largely depend on the pace of the global recovery, the EC said.

Estonia's Seto minority strive to protect traditions

Decked in the finely-crafted silver jewellery that symbolises her tiny minority, folk-singer Oie Sarv hums a refrain and reflects on what centuries of tradition mean in the Internet age.

Estonia's Seto, a group of only 15,000 in this Baltic nation of 1.3 million, are struggling to keep their way of life alive as young people leave their close-knit communities to seek new opportunities.

For many of the estimated 2,000 who live in what is known as Setoland, a cluster of villages in southeast Estonia, tradition is key.

Sarv, 56, is a folklore expert and one of the best-known practitioners of the "leelo", an ancient polyphonic singing style that in 2009 was recognised by UNESCO for its value to the world's heritage.

"The leelo is part of our lives, we sing on all kind of occasions, both joyful and sorrowful," Sarv told AFP in Obinitsa, her home village which lies some 280 kilometres (170 miles) from the Estonian capital Tallinn.

"The most famous singers in the first half of last century were able to sing up to 20,000 rhymes. The leelo also helps us to keep our ancient language alive," she said.

The origins of the Seto are shrouded in mystery.

Hannah's latest shoot

2012 has already been one incredible year for talented singer/songwriter Hannah Ild. With her latest vocal smash 'Falling Away' hitting Number 4 in the Music Week club charts this week, the track is gaining momentum at breakneck speed with its remix from Armin Van Buuren seeing pride of place on radio playlists across the Globe.

Following the track's support from the likes of Paul Van Dyke, Judge Jules, Tiesto, Ferry Corsten, Paul Oakenfold, Radio 1 and more; Hannah's team embarked on a major photo shoot project on a rather impressive scale - grand enough to reflect the truly monumental release of the package.

Estonia's Tallinn Airport was the location - the shoot involved a massive team of airport security, hairsylists, photographers, airplane pilots, and one huge Boeing 737! Check it out:

We'll let the video above speak for itself, look out for a selection of these shots working its way onto Hannah's forthcoming album later this year and several forthcoming singles penned for Summer 2012.

Championed by Armin van Buuren in his live sets everywhere from the Amsterdam Dance Event DJ Mag polls party to New Years Eve in Lebanon, ‘Falling Away’ has been supported recently by pretty much every A-list trance DJ around the World. Armin’s label Armada Music duly signed the track for the rest of the world and with a full vocal remix package now in place from Protoculture, Loverush UK and Digital Dog - including monstrous radio edits from the latter - it looks destined for commercial success across the globe. With more electrifying anthems on the way and future artist collaborations already in the pipeline, the stage is set for 2012 to be Hannah’s biggest year yet!

President of the Republic and Mrs. Evelin Ilves : Tartu - 23.02.2012

Why it's starting to look like Estonia is Europe's startup hub

Estonia's 20-year transformation from obscure soviet satellite to rising Baltic tiger has meant it's rapidly cultivating an image as Europe's start-up hub. Yet behind the big-name technology success stories lies a more complex picture.

Skype, created by a team of Estonian software developers in 2003 and sold to Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5bn, is the most famous example. Another is Erply, dubbed the “Skype of business software” and acclaimed as one of the top-10 European start-ups to watch in 2012.

Then there's ZeroTurnaround, which designs Java tools. Since it was founded three years ago, it has accrued an impressive customer base, which includes HP, IBM and Disney. That some of the best start-ups have bordered on the eccentric has only heightened excitement about Estonia. Fits.me, a virtual fitting room provider, is a case in point. It made headlines with its robotic mannequin for online clothes retailers, which shows browsing customers how clothes fit.

Moreover, a number of Estonian companies, including Erply, Fits.me, Fortumo and GuardTime, have boosted their global profiles by opening offices in the US and UK. Impressive rankings in a host of economic reports has further bolstered Estonia's profile: World Bank figures up to 2009 suggest that Estonia has the best entrepreneurial track record in the developed world. It also ranked 16th in the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom by the Heritage Foundation, above Germany and France, and a respectable 23rd in the latest Global Innovation Index from INSEAD business school.

Security official and his wife arrested after being suspected of giving classified data to Russia

TALLINN — Estonian prosecutors said Wednesday that a longtime security official and his wife have been detained on suspicion of passing classified information and state secrets to Russia, a case likely to add to longstanding tensions between the two countries.

Prosecutors said Aleksei Dressen — a staffer at the Estonian Security Police — and his wife, Viktoria Dressen, were arrested at Tallinn Airport as she was boarding a flight to Moscow. Aleksei Dressen had gone to the airport to give his wife a folder that contained classified information, said Kadri Tammai, a spokeswoman for the prosecution.

Viktoria Dressen was allegedly acting as a courier, forwarding information to Russia’s main security agency, the FSB, that her husband had collected “over a period of several years,” Tammai said.

Aleksei Dressen had access to documents considered state secrets, she said, though she declined to elaborate. “Based on what we know at this point, we can say that this is quite a serious case for Estonia,” Tammai said.

Virus hampering Internet use for millions

VERNAL — Computers of all makes and models sit on shelves in the back room at Techris Design, waiting to have the harmful content that's built up on their hard drives removed.

That's the bulk of the small repair shop's business.

"Ninety percent of the work that we do is virus removal and repair," owner Ted Munford said.

Munford and others in his line of work could be extremely busy in the next few weeks, thanks to a piece of malware that federal prosecutors allege was created by a group of Estonian cyber criminals.

In November, the FBI and police in Estonia wrapped up Operation Ghost Click, which resulted in the arrest and indictment of six Estonian nationals. The group had compromised millions of computers around the world with a bug known as DNSChanger.

The malicious software — known in the industry as malware — changed the Domain Name Server, or DNS, for a targeted website, redirecting Internet users from the sites they were seeking to other sites. Federal authorities say the Estonians sent Web surfers to these ghost sites, which featured specific advertisements, then collected an estimated $16 million from the advertisers for the extra Web traffic.

DNSChanger also shut down antivirus software on infected machines, exposing them to the potential for additional harm.

Estonian Airlines to start flights to Georgia

Estonian Airlines will start the Tbilisi-Tallinn air service on April 9, 2012. Flights will be carried out four times a week via the CRJ planes. Ticket prices will be set at about $112, Business Georgia reports.

Estonian Airlines has 6 planes, it organizes flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, Hannover, Helsinki, London, Milan, Nice, Oslo, Paris, Riga, Stockholm, Vienne and Tartu.

Estonian Airlines has links with Scandinavian Airlines SAS, organizing regular flights to Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.

The Tbilisi International Airport has been using third states to arrive in Estonia.

Estonian Airlines is public joint-stock company under state ownership. It was founded on December 1, 1991. 90% of the company belongs to Estonia and 10% to SAS.

Estonia is losing 100,000-euro medical doctors to foreign countries

According to a study made by the ministry of social affairs, it costs up between 100,00 and 130,000 euros for the state to educate one medical professional, but this money is being lost as the state is doing nothing to keep them from going to work abroad when they graduate.

According to the health authority, more than 2,000 medical professionals have applied for permission to work abroad since 2004. Since there is no statistics available, no-one really knows how many of them are working abroad and some may be working part-time abroad and in Estonia.

Another problem is that no-one in Estonia knows how many medical doctors Estonia itself is lacking. The ministry estimates that there should be an extra 200 medical professionals to ensure that current doctors are not overburdened.

However, since many of the existing medical professionals are working in more than one job, this could mean a loss of income for the existing personnel.

Officials admit that there is very little Estonia can do to block university graduates from going abroad to work.

Preparations for Independence Day parade under way

About 1,000 military personnel are busy preparing for the traditional Independence Day parade, taking place in Tartu this Friday at 12:00.

Personnel from the infantry, signal corps, cadet, anti-aircraft, artillery, naval and air defense units are all practicing the marching steps and traditional greeting to the president. They will be accompanied by a motorcade of armored vehicles, and the combined orchestras of the Defense Forces and the Police and Border Guard Board.

“Their will and readiness to fight for Estonia is the same as that of those university students who, wearing those same colors, volunteered for action in the War of Independence," said Capt. Madis Morel, northern defense district commander of ceremonies, speaking of the members of student fraternities serving voluntarily in Estonia's territorial army, the Defense League, participating in the parade.

The dress rehearsal will take place on Thursday from 20:30 to 23:00 in Tartu. During the parade, traffic will be closed partially or completely on Vabaduse Puiestee, Narva Maantee, Riia Maantee and Võru Tänav.

February 24 will mark Estonia's 94th Independence Day.

Ott Tammik