BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Panorama City planned to open in Tallinn in 2014

The real estate development company E.L.L. Kinnisvara is planning to open a new shopping and entertainment centre Panorama City in spring of 2014, writes LETA/National Broadcasting.

The new establishment is planned to be erected between Tallinn City Centre and Lasnamäe district.

The approximate cost of the development is nearly a hundred million euros. The shopping centre is to extend to 77,000 square metres, 57,000 square metres of which will be lease space. According to plans, there would be nearly 200 different stores in the centre and 2,000 parking spaces.

According to the CEO of E.L.L. Kinnisvara Aldo Dapon, more than 55 per cent of the lease contracts have been concluded or are being concluded. The anchor lessee of Panorama City will be Rimi with a hypermarket store of nearly 7,300 square metres.

Another key partner of the shopping centre will be Apranga Group, the leading Baltic fashion merchandise company of Lithuanian origin. Apranga Group will open a total of up to 14 stores representing internationally renowned brands with the total area of nearly 4,800 square metres.

Estonians with cars in Finland targeted in tax blitz

Finnish police and customs are cracking down on people who have moved to Finland with vehicles but are not paying the country's steep taxes on car ownership - something that is foreign to Estonians.

On May 30, an extensive blitz took place near Helsinki. Fifty out of 100 drivers stopped on the basis of having a foreign registration plate were issued citations, and cars were confiscated in two cases, ETV reported.

The Customs Board says there are 50,000 cars in Finland registered in another country, most of them in Estonia.

As of May 1, 35,000 Estonians lived in Finland, according to the Finnish Population Register. Many if not most presumably drive their own vehicles, ETV reported.

Although re-registration is considered expensive, it is possible to get an exemption. However that only applies if Finnish customs is notified on the day of the move to Finland.

Ozeki Baruto honored in Estonia

TALLINN — Ozeki Baruto received an award from Estonia President Toomas Ilves on Wednesday in the nation's capital.

Baruto, whose real name is Kaido Hoovelson, was presented with the Order of the White Star, third class in a ceremony attended by Japan's ambassador to Estonia Hideaki Hoshi. The award is in recognition of services to the Estonian state.

In 2004, Baruto became the first sumo wrestler from the Baltic state. He was promoted to ozeki in 2010. After winning this year's New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, Baruto was a candidate for promotion to yokozuna, the sport's highest rank, but his 10-5 record in the Spring tourney ended that storyline. He had a 9-6 record at the recently completed Summer Grand Tournament.

Although there are no sumo broadcasts in Estonia, the 27-year-old wrestler's progress in each tournament is followed intently through the print media and the Internet.

Estonian cable television operator Starman selects SeaChange's open software for nationwide video-on-demand service

ACTON - SeaChange International, a leading global multi-screen video software innovator, today announced that Estonia's leading cable television and digital terrestrial television operator, Starman, will roll out a nationwide video-on-demand (VOD) service based on the open SeaChange Adrenalin video back office. Planned for subscriber availability later this year, Starman's offering to its digital cable households will include VOD, catch-up TV and nPVR.

From its primary operations center in Tallinn, Starman serves television, Internet and phone on a network that's currently available to approximately 45 percent of Estonian homes. Starman is the 28th operator in Europe to select SeaChange's next generation Adrenalin as a foundation for VOD services. Adrenalin is based on an open service-oriented architecture to deliver a television experience that scales to serve millions of assets to any video device across multiple network types, either deployed in a network or in a hosted model. Overall, SeaChange's back office customers across Europe serve an estimated 36 million subscribers on televisions, PCs, tablets and mobile phones.

Rallies in defence of Russian schools under way in Estonia

Rallies in defence of Russian schools are being held in Estonia today. The meetings in Tallinn and Narva have been called by the Russian School of Estonia association.

The participants are protesting against the authorities’ decision to make Russian schools teach in Estonian.

This is in breach of the European Convention for the Protection of National Minority Rights, which authorizes the use of one’s native language, along with the official language, in compact settlement areas.

Russian-speakers account for some 25% of Estonia’s population. Most of them have been denied Estonian citizenship, are subjected to unfair labour practices and discriminated against in the social sphere.

Ekho Moskvy   

Estonian islands : where time just rests!

AS I rolled off the ferry in the back of a rented people carrier onto the tiny island of Muhu, I was reminded of Caithness.

Today as the fog rolled around the house and closed down the view and opened the imagination, I recalled Muhu.

"Muhu," our guide Maarika explained, "is the island where time rests." I let the words roll around in my brain as I wonder what exactly that means. It might refer to a more leisurely way of life or a nostalgic look at village values or a part of Estonia where the influences of freedom and the west have not reached. It means, I came to believe in my brief visit, all of those.

Muhu reminded me of Caithness in three ways. First, when Maarika said that all too often people drove through Muhu without stopping on their way to the more famous, larger island of Saarema, I thought of all the times I had heard folks complain about visitors who lingered perhaps for a night here on their way to Orkney.

Secondly, both Muhu and Caithness have a handful of dedicated people committed to preserving and sharing the treasures of Caithness. The last connection was the most compelling personally, though hardly as profound as the others. Fish soup.

As a child of the prairies, fresh fish is a treat still associated first in my mind with exotic holidays. In an Indiana childhood, fish was all too often the deep fried, breaded squares dished out on Fridays at the school cafeteria. I think those squares are the American equivalent of fish fingers, but I am not curious enough to try tasting them.

Soviet collapse or Germanic reform ?

The latest issue of Diplomaatia, the Estonian foreign-affairs journal, published to coincide with the annual Lennart Meri conference in Tallinn earlier this month, is filled with great insight on the European crisis. My contribution on the euro's turmoil appears in the next post. But I want to draw readers' attention to other articles that offer some good perspective.

Ivan Krastev, head of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, a Bulgarian think-tank, compares and contrasts the collapse of the Soviet Union with the woes of the European Union.

He warns European leaders:

The Soviet collapse teaches us that just because the economic costs of disintegration would be very high, this is not a reason for it not to happen. To believe that the EU cannot disintegrate simply because it would be too costly offers only weak reassurance that the Union will continue to be stable.

Paradoxically, the belief that the Union cannot disintegrate, backed by the economists and shared by Europe's political class, is one of the risks of disintegration. The last years of the Soviet Union are a classical manifestation of this dynamic. The perception that disintegration is 'unthinkable' could encourage policy makers to try to push dangerous policies under the assumption that 'nothing really bad can happen' in the long term, and foster the idea that anti-EU policies or rhetoric might even be helpful in the short term.

The Soviet collapse is the most powerful demonstration that the disintegration of the EU need not be the result of a victory of anti-EU forces over pro-EU forces. More likely, it will be the unintended consequence of the growing dysfunction of the system and the elites' misreading of the political dynamics in their own societies. Reflecting on the Soviet collapse, the eminent historian Stephen Kotkin is convinced that the real question to be asked is, "why the Soviet elite destroyed its own system?" The Soviet collapse is the best demonstration that the rise of anti-integration forces can be the outcome, rather than the cause of collapse.

Tallinn's hotels expect a record summer in 2012

The larger hotels of Tallinn hope to post sales records in summer 2012, while some hotels have increased their prices by around 10% in a year, LETA/Postimees writes.

"While we thought in 2010, when the average occupancy rate of July was 95%, that it would be hard to increase that percentage, then last year the July average was 97.3% and now it seems that this record will also be broken this year," Viru Hotel communications manager Peep Ehasalu said.

The newspaper received a lot of similar answers when it asked from managers of hotels in Tallinn about forecast of the coming months. For example hotel Olümpia sales manager Vitali Makejev said that already they have 15-20 days this summer when the hotel's occupancy rate is above 90%.

The events planned in Tallinn for this summer also help hotels to achieve higher occupancy rates, the most popular of them being concerts of Lady Gaga and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Hotel Park Inn manager Kaido Ojaperv said that this summer for example the 43rd international physics Olympiad takes place in Estonia, with nearly 1,000 participants and in July the Tallinn Cup 2012 takes place.

Tourists have to take into account though that the hotels in Tallinn ask by 10-15% higher prices this year as compared to last year.

Juhan Tere

Estonia's water bodies among healthiest in Europe

A study released last week at the European Water Conference in Brussels showed that Estonia's rivers, lakes and coastal waters are among the healthiest in the EU.

The assessment of water bodies and water catchment areas indicated that slightly more than 70 percent of Estonia's water bodies are in good natural condition, Ministry of the Environment spokeswoman Brita Merisalu told news.err.ee.

The situation was found to be gravest in Belgium and the Netherlands, where estimates suggest that there are no water bodies that are in good natural condition

The study was based on data submitted in 2010 and focused primarily on ecological quality indicators such as aquatic flora, fish fauna and nutrient conditions in the water. It looked at rivers with basins larger than 10 square kilometers and lakes with a surface area greater than 50 hectares.

What sets Estonia's water bodies apart is that they are wild, undisturbed and extremely susceptible to any kind of pollution, which small water bodies cannot tolerate.

Immigration and emigration in Estonia increased in 2011

TALLINN - Figures from Statistics Estonia show that 6,214 people moved out of the country last year - 920 more compared to the year before. Meanwhile immigration figures increased by 899 and reached 3,709, Estonian Public Broadcasting writes.

Similarly to previous years, more women were leaving the country, while more men moving in, the data show.

The vast majority of Estonian residents to leave the country last year, 3,600, were headed for Finland. The second most popular destination was the United Kingdom, which received over 700 people from Estonia last year - a figure over two times higher than in 2010.

The majority of immigrants to Estonia came from Russia and Finland, each bringing in about 1,200 residents last year. Another 200 each came from the United States and Ukraine.

Internal migration figures remained stable in 2011, increasing by only 3 percent compared to 2010. In total, 38,544 people changed their place of residence between counties, cities and municipalities in Estonia. 

The migration figures are based on data from the Population Registry.

Police apprehend Finnish nationals for farming cannabis

The South Police Prefecture announced that it has apprehended two Finnish nationals suspected of raising 149 cannabis plants in a farmhouse in Viljandi County.

Last Thursday, police received a tip on cannabis cultivation activity at a farm in the Tarvastu municipality and immediately sent out officers to check the property. There they found a number of plant beds and pots containing cannabis, in addition to seeds, leaves and debris inside the house. 

The two men, apprehended the same day, were 28 and 29-years-old. One had already been penalized for cultivating cannabis in Finland, while the other had no criminal record. 

If convicted, the men could receive up to five years' imprisonment.

Ingrid Teesalu

Half of Estonia men work overtime

Half of males employed and a third of females employed work overtime, according to “Time Use of the Population of Estonia”, a publication of Statistics Estonia.

In the Time Use Survey 2010, the actual working hours of employed persons were surveyed during one week.

The results of the survey show that 26% of employees worked for 35–40 hours a week, which could be regarded as standard full-time work. 42% of employed persons worked more and 32% less than that.

On the average men worked three hours and six minutes longer a week than women.

Partly the reason is that women are more likely to have part-time jobs, also it is usually women who stay at home to care for sick family members.

Employees with primary and basic education spent on average 3 hours and 20 minutes more per week on work than employees with higher education.
The working week was longer in agriculture, trade, hotels and restaurants, and in transport and construction activities.

Estonian Cycling Weekend 2012 brought over 7000 participants

On the 27th of May Estonia hosted the biggest mass sport road cycling event of the Baltic States – SEB 31st  Tartu Rataralli which was also the last event of Estonian Cycling Weekend 2012, informs BC Club Tartu Maraton.

First unofficial results state that events of the SEB 31st Tartu Rattaralli had altogether 7285 participants from whom 1885 persons finished 137 km long distance and 2053 persons crossed the finish line of the shorter, 74 km long distance. In addition to that, other records were broken – children’s races set new participants record, altogether 3347 children participated in the children’s events.

This year the first place of SEB 31st Tartu Rattaralli went to Denmark. Rene Joergensen from team Christina Watches – ONFONE was the first to cross the finish line. Second place went to Janek Tombak (Estonia) and third place to Oskari Kargu. Fastest woman of SEB 31st Tartu Rattaralli was Grete Treier who placed 32nd in the overall ranking.

Course of Tartu Rattaralli is appreciated among foreigners also. Rene Mandri, the winner of the SEB Tartu Grand Prix 2012 says: “My teammates also like the course a lot and they enjoy riding by numerous forests.” Mandri also adds that Tartu Rattaralli is compulsory for road racers: “Riding on the course of Tartu Rattaralli is pure pleasure and there is no better time to find your bike and hit the road.”

Enterprise Estonia suspected of biased public procurement

Competitors claim that the recent public tender announced by Enterprise Estonia to buy high-speed printers is designed to ensure that the contract goes to Overall, official distributor of Canon products, writes Äripäev.

The tender’s fiercest critic is Kalev Kalma who distributes Konica Minolta printers.

Kalma says that according to tender requirements, the printers must run on Uniflow software, have a Canon MEAP license and an Estonian-language control panel.

“These can be offered only by Overall that sells Canon products,” says Kalma.

Also local distributors of Xerox and Kulbert Kyocera agree that the tender requirements leave no room for competitors.
They say that since the winner is already known, there is no point in wasting time and do not plan to bid for the contract.

Kalma says that they have already asked Enterprise Estonia to give up the requirement of having the Uniflow system in the printer, but the proposal was rejected.

“I understand that the state spent a lot of money in the past buying Uniflow license and is not willing to replace it yet,” he adds.

Cinema attendance in Estonia set the record in 2011

According to Statistics Estonia, there were over 2.3 million cinema visits in 2011, which is the highest level of the last 19 years.

The cinema attendance was higher last in 1992, when there were 3.4 million cinema visits. Compared to 2010, the number of cinema visits increased by over 200,000 in 2011.

A total of 301 films were shown in the cinemas of Estonia in 2011. Most of them were imported from the United States of America and European countries (143 and 110 films, respectively). During the last years the share of the US films has decreased and the share of European films has increased.

40 Estonian films were shown in cinemas, which is also a record of the last two decades. The attendance of the Estonian films was over 236,000 persons, which is a tenth of the total number of cinema attendance. The most popular Estonian films were “Lotte and the Moonstone Secret”, “Kormorans”, “Idiot” and “Rattrap”. “Lotte and the Moonstone Secret” with 64,000 visits was on the remarkable sixth position with regard to the attendance chart of Estonian film distributors.

The average cinema ticket price, which had fallen slightly in 2010 in relation to opening several new cinemas, being 3.6 euros, increased again in 2011. The average cinema ticket cost 4.1 euros in 2011.

In 2011, 13 Estonian-made full length films were released, of which some were co-productions with foreign partners. Eight of them were feature films, four long documentaries and after several years there was released one full length animation in Estonia. In 2011, a total of 187 films were released in Estonia, of which 154 were short films and 33 full length films. The majority of them had their premiere in television.

Kutt Kommel

Replica of 300-Year-Old Frigate Arrives in Tallinn

The replica of the 1703-era Shtandart frigate, the first vessel of Russia’s Baltic Sea Fleet, arrived in Tallinn on Sunday for the city's Old Town Days festival. 

The construction of the original Shtandart frigate was ordered by Peter the Great. The historic ship took part in the Great Northern War and a number of sea battles on the Gulf of Finland.

The replica vessel, constructed by a small group of sailing enthusiasts and volunteers in Russia, was launched in 1999 and is one of the most outstanding replica ships on the Baltic Sea. The ship is 34.2 meters long, almost seven meters wide and has three masts.

While records show that in 1703 there were around 120 crewmembers operating on the vessel, the replica is served by a team of 40 volunteers.

The frigate, which is docked at Admiralty Basin, will be open to the public from 10:00 to 21:00 on May 28, 29 and June 2. 

Ingrid Teesalu

Two-thirds reject privacy-busting Facebook

Although they pride themselves on being a wired nation, statistics show that only a third of Estonians have registered with the leading social network. For the other two thirds, it is a question of privacy.

Sometime ago, Alar Sikk, the Estonian mountaineer who rose to fame when he climbed Everest, was chatting with Estonian TV celebrity Vahur Kersna, about his expedition to Mount Kazbek [in Georgia]. Sikk remarked that many of the potential participants in the expedition gave up on the project when they learned that the journey would take nine days. For them, the idea of spending that much time away from Facebook was simply unbearable.

Fans of the social network will be very happy to read these lines, and will no doubt conclude that here is yet more evidence that the world is their oyster, that all the hype about the recent IPO was justified, and most importantly that life is simply impossible without Facebook.

Media hype

Estonian writer Andrus Kivirähk has never felt the need to register on Facebook, even though most of his friends, and, of course, his children, have already signed up. “I don’t have the courage to communicate so much on the Internet”, remarks Kivirähk. “I am already very accessible. Everyone has my mobile number and I have several email accounts”. At the same time, Kivirähk points out that he does not necessarily want to have instant access to information on what people are eating.

Ukraine suppliers claim millions from Estonian businessman

Estonian real estate developer Hillar Teder is finding himself target of claims that his business in Ukraine has not been above board, writes Äripäev.

The claims against Teder who is one of the businessmen who built up the O’KEY retail chain in Ukraine and Russia originate from the Ukraine Suppliers’ Association that a week ago published an article in proximanews.net under the headline “Adventures of an Estonian fraud in Ukraine.”

In the article, the association claims that the failed business of O’KEY hypermarkets in Ukraine may create a scandal in Europe, says that Teder is a fraud and responsible for bankrupting hundreds of Ukraine companies.

According to the article, Teder was responsible for the fact that when O’KEY closed its hypermarkets in Ukraine in 2009 because of the economic crisis and huge losses, the company still owes money to hundreds of suppliers, employees and the local tax authority.

Abortions rate still high in Estonia in 2011

In 2011, 45.4 legally induced abortions per 100 live births took place in Estonia, which is one of the highest rates in the EU, LETA/Postimees Online reports.

8,654 abortions were registered in Estonia last year: 6,668 were willful abortions and 1,986 were miscarriages.

"The number of abortions has decreased constantly. When in 2010, there were 7,068 induced abortions, last year there were 6,668," said Statistical Office senior statistician Kalev Noorkõiv.

There were 20.6 abortions per 1,000 women in 2011 versus 21.6 in 2010.

The rate of abortions, i.e. number of abortions per live births grew from 44.7 in 2010 to 45.4 in 2011, but the reason was that the number of live births was by 1,000 smaller than a year earlier. "The number of abortions fell but the number of births fell even more," said Noorkõiv.

In 2011, 14,679 people were born in Estonia.

Juhan Tere

Women are "vajazzling" more and more, tending their ladygarden

So you love your muff! If you went to a half-decent convent school for girls, the nuns would have drummed into you the importance of sitting correctly to protect your modesty. Always wear clean panties, the advice went—you never knew when you would be run over by a bus!

Never mind saving your life; you’ve saved yourself instead the embarrassment of being wheeled into Emergency with soiled or smelly knickers! Except: We’ve gone from just clean panties, washing and douching our nether regions, to bush perfumes and hair dyes, vaginal tattoos (“vatoos”), tidying up our bikini lines and all manner—and gore—of vaginal titivations that would boggle the mind.

This isn’t a sense of humor failure; these are nuclear options for garlanding your muse, tending your “ladygarden,” pruning and trimming your pubic topiary.