BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Finland ends Estonia's reign in wife-carrying

HELSINKI — Finland put an end to Estonia's 11-year reign and took gold and bronze on Saturday at the annual Wife-Carrying World Championships held in Sonkajaervi, central Finland, organisers said.

Taisto Miettinen raced through a 250-metre (273-yard) course with two hurdles and a pool in 62 seconds, carrying Kristiina Haapanen on his back. The winners beat Estonia's Alar Voogla and Kristi Viltrop by 0.1 seconds.

Miettinen has been attending the competition for a decade now and said he was pleased to finally win.

"A couple of times I have lost by 0.1 seconds and I have stumbled. Our win tastes now really good," Miettinen said in a statement.

Although Estonia's long chain of wins in wife-carrying was brought to an end, Voogla said he was happy with silver and added the cool and cloudy weather had an impact on their race.

"It was not our day, in the cool weather it was slightly difficult and the run did not go as planned," he noted.

Finns Heikki Hannukainen and Heini Rauhamaa came in third and were some six seconds slower than the victors.

Sonkajaervi village, located some 490 kilometres (302 miles) north of Helsinki, has in the past 14 years made its entertaining wife-carrying competition known around the world and this year competitors came from eight countries including Australia, Ireland and Czech Republic.

The race was inspired by the legend of a local thug, Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen, who lived in a forest and is said to have snatched food and sometimes ladies from villages in the region.

War criminal Martic jailed in Estonia

TALLINN - Former Croatian Serb leader Milan Martic arrived in Estonia on Friday (June 26th) to serve his 35-year sentence for war crimes committed in Croatia between 1991 and 1994, local authorities said.

His transfer was arranged under an agreement between the Estonian government and the UN. He is to serve his sentence in a prison in the eastern town of Tartu.

Happy hour in Tallinn

Inviting all DC area Estonians and alumni who will be in Tallinn during the Song and Dance Festival (as well as friends, family and anybody else who wants to join us) to a DCEstonian happy hour Friday night, July 3rd, starting around 9 pm, at the NIMETA BAAR. 

The Nimeta Baar is located at Suur Karja 4 (near where Suur Karja and Va"ike Karja split), about two blocks south of the Town Square (Raekoja Plats). Since this is during the song and dance festival, some people may be arriving later. See you at 9 pm or see you later, hope to see you at the Nimeta!

Estonia goes back on pledge to solve Russian murder, closes case

MOSCOW - Russia believes Estonia has not fulfilled its promise to solve the murder of a Russian national who was killed more than two years ago in Tallinn, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

The victim, Dmitry Ganin, was stabbed during mass protests that swept Estonia's capital over the removal of a Soviet-era monument in central Tallinn in April 2007. Hundreds of people were detained and dozens injured during clashes with police.

Estonia's Foreign Ministry informed the Russian Embassy in Tallinn several days ago that the Prosecutor's Office had closed the murder case. The Russian statement said that even though suspects had been detained, sufficient evidence of their involvement in Ganin's murder could not be produced.

"The Estonian Prosecutor's Office has gone completely against the few promises made by Tallinn at different levels...by 'putting the brakes' on the investigation into the murder of a Russian citizen," the statement read.

Tallinn authorities told the Russian Foreign Ministry that "police investigations are continuing into Ganin's death but there are no suspects in the crime as of today."

Some 14 people, youths near a local bar where Ganin was stabbed, were detained in the case, however, they were never charged with murder and only a few appeared in court for minor infringements.

Russian island swims to Estonia

A part of the Russian territory has become Estonia's as a small island forest has crossed into Estonian waters, informs Interfax news agency.

The 4-hectare forest-covered piece of land was able to move due to a rise in the water in the Narva River. It was a part of a larger island, however, three weeks ago it split off and moved toward the Estonian side.

Russian border police say it's the first time they have ever encountered such an event. Meanwhile, Estonian authorities remain just as shocked about the unexpected gift.

They are also worried about the possible damage the island may cause to the construction of a water-reservoir on the Estonian coast. However, the island could simply be destroyed by the river's current.

Estonia and France continuously discover each other

Kalev Stoicescu
Counsellor on Defence Policy at the Embassy of Estonia in Paris

Describing the entirety and diversity of relations between Estonia and France in a brief résumé is, indeed, a serious challenge. A first superficial glance may even suggest that France and Estonia have hardly anything in common. Nevertheless, Estonia and France have – better late than never – gradually ‘found’ each other. The mutual connaissance has, in my opinion, exploded following Estonia’s accession to the European Union in 2004.

Estonia by now has a much better understanding of the important role France plays in the EU and NATO, both crucial organisations for Estonia’s security and defence. France, in turn, has accorded much more attention to Estonia than just a few years ago. This means not only more frequent and substantive bilateral meetings between officials and visiting delegations, but also media coverage and human contacts. I am not greatly exaggerating when I state that in the last four years, there has been more coverage of Estonia in the French media than the aggregate of all previous years.

Numerous articles in Le Monde and other newspapers, sometimes full pages, as well as news clips and documentaries on different TV and radio channels have enlightened the French public on issues like cyber defence, e-government, the integration of ethnic minorities, etc. Historically, France, as a great European power, established alliances with and acquired a certain affinity for Russia when Estonia (in those days the governorates of Estonia and Livonia) was a mere province in the czarist empire.

Sampo Pank in Tallinn robbed at gunpoint

A Sampo Pank office in Kopli district in Tallinn was robbed at 4 p.m. yesterday, June 17, by a masked man with a gun, LETA quoted Äripäev.

The police said that they are investigating the robbery.

No one was injured in the incident.

It has not been announced yet how much the robber got away with.

The last time a bank was robbed at gunpoint in Estonia was in 2006 when two men robbed 75,000 kroons from a Hansabank office in central Tallinn. They were caught 30 minutes later thanks to a taxi driver who helped apprehend the robbers.

Estonian ferry-born baby wins free lifetime travel

TALLINN - Estonian shipping line Tallink says it will give lifetime free travel to a baby born on a passenger ferry en route from Sweden to Estonia last week.
Spokeswoman Luulea Laane says an Estonian woman gave birth to a girl June 11 with assistance from the Baltic Queen's doctor and other medical personnel among the 1,000 passengers traveling between Stockholm and Tallinn. The baby and mother are doing well.
Laane said Thursday that the Tallinn-based company decided to honor the birth by granting the baby free travel for life on the Baltic Queen that was launched in April. The parents are also entitled to substantial discounts.

It was the second Tallink ferry birth since 2004.

NATO targeting Russia in Baltic war game ?

By David Axe

There’s a massive, U.S. Navy-led exercise taking place on the Baltic, this week, involving 11 European nations plus the U.S. — but, notably, not Russia. Despite participating in previous incarnations of the annual BALTOPS war game, Moscow is sitting out, this year. And depending on who you ask, Russia is even the target of the 12-day training event, which is hosted by Sweden and includes Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. “Another provocation against Russia,” one Russian tabloid calls BALTOPS 2009.

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. John Christenson is circumspect. “There are a lot of powerful nations here,” Christenson said, by phone, from the command ship Mount Whitney. “Sweden… has a history of war with Russia. And if you trace history back, different flags have flown over these countries,” he added, apparent veiled referring to the participation of three former Soviet republics. “It’s not our job to decide who is a threat. It’s our job to be ready to face a [military] capability. And there are significant capabilities here.”

Christenson’s rhetorical equivocating reflects the fine line the Obama administration is walking, with regards to Russia, as I explain in my latest column for World Politics Review. Washington needs Russia, to help contain North Korean and Iranian nukes, and to keep supplies flowing into Afghanistan. But some NATO nations are wary of the alliance’s most powerful member, cozying up to the Bear.

Planning for BALTOPS 2009 kicked off, last year,  just weeks after Russia’s war with NATO partner Georgia, so Moscow’s absence is perhaps understandable. After all, the U.S. and NATO briefly froze military relations with Russia in the wake of the Georgia war. Next year’s BALTOPS will be telling: Russia’s presence, or absence, will say a lot about the direction that Russian-NATO relations are taking. U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis, the incoming NATO Supreme Commander, said he wants closer ties with Moscow. But Estonia warned that thawing relations with Russia, shouldn’t come at the price of NATO solidarity.

Eight Estonians arrested for international jewel heists

Eight Estonians suspected of pulling off jewel heists in Paris, Belgium and Austria worth a total 1.8 million euros (2.5 million dollars) have been arrested in Tallinn, French police said Thursday.

PARIS - Working with Interpol, police managed to track down the suspects, aged 20 to 36, using DNA samples, mobile phone records and video footage from surveillance cameras in shops in Paris, Brussels and Austria.

French police were in the Estonian capital on Thursday to question the men, three of whom were already in jail, under agreements providing for cooperation between European police forces, said a police official.

The first heist dates back to May 2007 when 44 Cartier watches worth 550,000 euros were stolen from a shop in Paris and the thieves appear to have become bolder over time.

In March 2008, they stole 80 watches from an Ashindo boutique in a Paris tourist area and two months later made off with 100 watches from the Royal Quartz shop in the centre of the French capital.

The Sagil jewellery on Paris' fashionable Rue de Rivoli was hit in December, with 70 watches stolen worth 400,000 euros.

Fourth case of new flu virus in Estonia confirmed

The laboratory for infectious diseases of the Estonian Health Protection Inspectorate on Monday confirmed the fourth case of the new flu virus A(H1N1) in Estonia, informs BNS.

The infected person is a 24-year-old man who returned from a trip to the United States on June 4 and who on the following day developed symptoms such as high fever, cough, runny nose, aching head and throat.

The young man turned to a hospital on the night between June 6 and 7, where a blood sample was taken from him.

Irina Dontshenko, head of the office for epidemiological readiness at the Health Protection Inspectorate, said one can be glad that people who have recently been abroad turn to medics immediately when symptoms occur.

She said that only in such manner is it possible to prevent the spread of the virus in Estonia, start with efficient treatment and inform the people who have been in contact with the person who fell ill.

Since the end of April the laboratory for infectious diseases of the Estonian Health Protection Inspectorate has tested 29 samples for possible infection with A(H1N1), also dubbed swine flu, four of which have turned out positive.

In two cases the virus was caught while on a trip to the United States and the two remaining patients were people who became infected as a result of contact with the person who returned from the US with the virus. All three previous patients have been successfully treated and released from hospital.

More than 25,000 cases of the new flu virus have been confirmed worldwide, with patients found in 76 countries. In Europe 26 countries have reported cases of the disease.

Estonian border guards catch two Chinese nationals with forged visas

Estonian border guards on Saturday detained and sent back to Russia two Chinese nationals on an attempt to enter Estonia with counterfeited visas.

The two individuals were detained at the railway checkpoint of Narva after the German visas they had in their Chinese passports were found to have been counterfeited, spokespeople for the Border Guard Board said BNS.

The Chinese nationals were sent back to Russia after they had paid procedure expenses and executed a payment covering the potential size of the fine to be slapped on them.

EU countries spent 26.9% of GDP on social protection in 2006

BRUSSELS - European Union (EU) countries spent 26.9 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on social protection in 2006, the EU's statistics bureau Eurostat said on Tuesday.

    The EU average figure continued to mask major disparities between member states, Eurostat said.

    It said social protection expenditure as a percentage of GDP was above 30 percent in 2006 in France (31.1 percent), Sweden (30.7 percent) and Belgium (30.1 percent), and below 15 percent in Latvia (12.2 percent), Estonia (12.4 percent), Lithuania (13.2 percent) and Romania (14.0 percent).

    These disparities reflect differences in living standards, but are also indicative of the diversity of national social protection systems and of the demographic, economic, social and institutional structures specific to each member state, Eurostat said.

    The highest social protection expenditure per capita in Purchasing Power Standards in 2006, which eliminates price level differences between countries, was recorded in Luxembourg, while the lowest was recorded in Romania and Bulgaria (both at 20 percent of the EU average).

    Social protection expenditure accounted for 27.1 percent in 2005 and 2004 and 27.2 percent in 2003 in the EU countries.

ECOSTT Satellites at Ladbrokes Poker

Play these Friday, June 5th ECOSTT Satellites at Ladbrokes Poker to win a 4,000 euro prize package.

The European Championship of Single Table Tournaments is testing out a neat format for the fist time in Tallinn, one that should emphasis skill over luck. With four rounds of poker to be played, players accumulate points to add up a leader board style total. This way if they do poorly in one round they still have three rounds to help them out. The top eighteen players will play for the big money.

These ECOSTT satellites will give you a chance to play for a 4,000 euro prize package that will not only get you to and in the ECOSTT in Tallinn, but a handful of other neat events taking place at the same time.

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Estonia sells ambassador's residence in London to raise cash

According to RIA Novosti, Estonia has been forced to sell the residence of its ambassador in London due to budget cuts amid the financial crisis, the country's Foreign Ministry said on May 22.

London real estate agents have valued the Kensington apartment, with total floorspace of 145 square meters, at $1.4 million.

Estonia purchased the apartment soon after gaining independence from the Soviet Union. The current ambassador has been residing in a different location.

On May 21, the Estonian government considered possible cuts to the budget, and ordered all ministries to cut expenses by a total of 115 million euros.

Estonia 'could test new nuclear power'

Estonia could be the first country in the world to test a new nuclear power, according to reports.

The state energy firm of Estonia is planning to use a new untested type of reactor in its new forthcoming nuclear power plant, according to Postimees.

Eesti Energie has signed a deal with Westinghouse for its new 335 MW IRIS reactors, which according to its executives is "several times smaller" than existing similar reactors and are therefore ideal for small countries.

Costs associated with building a nuclear power plant could go up due to the plans to install the 335 MW IRIS reactor, as proved by the Olkiluoto plant in Finland, which is above budget by two billion euros due to its choice of a new type of EPR reactor.

Mike Kirst, central and east European area manager for Westinghouse, told the news provider: "We would not sign a similar agreement that Areva has done in Finland."

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund recently visited Estonia and met with representatives from the country's private and public sectors to discuss its economic policy situation.

About 800 foreigners able to vote in Europarliament polls in Estonia

Approximately 800 nationals of other EU member states who have been entered into the Estonian population register have the right to vote in the elections to the European Parliament next month, informs BNS.

The overall number of nationals of other EU member states in the Estonian population register is 8,649, chairman of Estonia's National Electoral Committee Heiki Sibul told BNS.

"477 people notified us by the established deadline of their wish to cast their ballot in the Europarliament elections in Estonia. From the time of the elections of 2004 we've got about 300 people who voted in Estonia then and have the right to do it also in the upcoming elections," Sibul said.

Citizens of other EU states living in Estonia had to notify the election authority of their wish to vote here at least one month prior to the election date, or by May 8.

Sibul said that after the lists of electors have been put together Estonia will inform other EU member states about their citizerns entered into the Estonian voter list and they will lose the right to vote in their home country.

The exchange of information works well, as during the 2004 polls it didn't happen once that a non-Estonian national in the Estonian voter register would have cast a ballot in another country too, said the Estonian official.

Volkerrail RTE to repair Tallinn-Tapa railway

Juhan Tere

EVR Infra, a subsidiary of the Estonian state-owned rail company Eesti Raudtee, has signed a contract for the overhaul of the track between Tallinn and Tapa with AS Volkerrail RTE.

Volkerrail bid the cost of the work at slightly above 180 million kroons (EUR 11.5 mln), 80 million kroons cheaper than Eesti Raudtee had originally planned, Eesti Raudtee said �BNS.

A total of five bids were made in the public procurement tender, and the highest of them was 251.7 million kroons. There were bidders from Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Lithuania. The tender was only for the works, as Eesti Raudtee acquired the necessary materials in separate tenders.

By the end 2011 deadline 80.7 kilometers of track will be overhauled under the tender.

Is Mikhail Dmitry´s brother ?

Earlier this week, we covered a strange report from a St. Petersburg website speculating that a local entrepreneur best known for fast driving and a decade of astonishing business success (fuelled by municipal construction deals) was the illegitimate younger half brother of President Dmitry Medvedev.

The website reported that it had contacted the construction and investment firm headed by Mikhail Anatolevich Medvedev to inquire whether he is related to the president and was met with hostility and threats by the firm's deputy PR manager (the site posted a transcript and the audio of the conversation).

In a follow-up report on May 14, vkrizis.ru reported that Mikhail Medvedev is not related to the president.

The website said it had received Medvedev's records from the St. Petersburg State Polytechnic Institute which identified his father as Anatoly Ignatevich Medvedev, born in 1940, who served at a submarine-crew training facility in Tallinn, Estonia.

Mikhail Medvedev reportedly lived in Tallinn until 1990, when he moved to Leningrad (now, St. Petersburg).

It remains a mystery why the deputy PR manager responded to the website's inquiry with such wrath. Perhaps Mikhail Medvedev has been making hay over the last decade from the suspicion that he might be related to the president.

Rather than fearing that he'd be outed as the first brother, perhaps he was more worried that he'd be revealed as just another Medvedev with a 600,000-euro car and a knack for working the system.

As for President Medvedev, he remains, as previously thought, an only child and we continue psychoanalyzing him in the framework of only-child syndrome.

Other famous only children include Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Laura Bush, and Vladimir Putin.

Robert Coalson

Scandinavia’s most modern hall complex in Tallinn to be named the Nokia Concert Hall

The developers of Scandinavia’s most modern 1,800-seat concert, theatre and conference hall in the Solaris Centre in Tallinn have agreed to start an extensive cooperation project with Nokia Eesti and to name the hall complex that will be opened in October the Nokia Concert Hall, announced Aivar Sirelpuu, head of Nokia Concert Hall.

Sirelpuu said that the hall complex is undoubtedly the most modern and technically most advanced multifunctional entertainment centre in Scandinavia whose objectives and values are similar to those of Nokia, a company that offers innovative communication solutions and connects people. "Nokia’s decision to contribute so significantly into making our cultural life more active deserves full credit. I hope that together we can make the Nokia Concert Hall and local culture events sound beautifully both in Estonia and in the wide world," Sirelpuu said in comment.

Jüri Teemant, member of the Management Board of Nokia Eesti, said that Nokia has decided to start cooperation with the concert hall since Nokia supports providing people with opportunities to experience and enjoy quality entertainment. "For me, quality entertainment is music and innovation in culture in a wider meaning. Nokia Concert Hall will be our contribution to implementing this philosophy in Estonia," he said.

Quick A- Z of MEPs' duties and obligations

With less than 4 weeks to go before the June European elections we have put together a quick A-Z of the rights and obligations of the Members you elect. It contains some things you should bear in mind when you are deciding who and which party to vote for as well as if you want to stand yourself as a candidate if it's not too late!

A- Attendance: MEPs are not forced to attend debates or meetings. However, certain allowances are withheld if they do not attend at least half of all plenary sessions.
 
B - Brussels: This is where two-day sittings of the House take place as well as many committee and political group meetings.
 
C - Compatibility: If you are an MEP you can't also be an MP, a European Commissioner or a European Court of Justice judge among others, so check out which posts are incompatible with being an MEP. 
 
C - Convicted: If convicted of a criminal offence MEPs may be barred, but this depends on national rules. 
 
C - Conflict of interest: If an MEP has a financial interest in something under debate in the EP, they can speak, but they have to declare their interest. They also have to declare an interest if appointed to draft a report for a committee.
 
D - Dual mandates: Unlike in the past you can't be a member of a national parliament and the EP. This affects some members of the UK House of Lords who are currently MEPs.
 
E - Expenses: Expenses include the reimbursement of costs for travel to and from Parliament, living expenses while away from home and office expenditure in members' constituencies. MEPs also receive allowances to cover the resources needed to do their job effectively, most notably a “parliamentary assistance allowance” used for the employment of a small personal staff, acting as parliamentary assistants, researchers, policy advisers and secretaries.

Tallinn police remove replicas of Soviet memorials

Estonian police have removed a memorial plaque from the centre of Tallinn. It bore the name of Capt. Ivan Sysoyev, a Soviet officer killed in the battles for Tallinn in September 1944.

On Saturday morning, the plaque appeared on Tonismagi Hill, a site previously occupied by a Soviet war memorial that was removed two years ago.

Authorities say it was put there without permission.

Police registered the plaque as a “find”. Also, they promise not to begin a criminal investigation and give the slab back to its owner.

War 'statue' reappears in Estonia

A dummy of the Soviet "Bronze Soldier" statue at the centre of Estonian unrest two years ago has turned up briefly on the original site in Tallinn.

Painted gold, the replica made of what appeared to be papier-mache stood for about 30 minutes on Tonismagi square before police removed it.

Estonia moved the original statue to a military cemetery in 2007, saying it had become a focus of political unrest.

Ethnic Russians and others saw the move as a blow to their identity.

The dummy statue appeared on the day when much of the ex-USSR celebrates the anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

In the riots in Tallinn which accompanied the removal of the statue in April 2007, one person was killed and at least 40 were injured.

Iraqi diplomats to begin studies in Estonia

A 10-member group of Iraqi diplomats is arriving in Estonia today so that they may begin their 3-week course at the Estonian School of Diplomacy on Monday, 4 May.

This is a part of Estonia’s contribution to the reconstruction of Iraq, emphasises Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. “Estonia completed its military contribution in Iraq at the beginning of this year, but we continue to help with the building up of Iraq,” said Paet. “Three Estonian staff officers continue to serve in Iraq and Estonia is making contributions in the civilian sector, which includes this training in Estonia,” he added.

The Iraqi diplomats are studying at the Estonian School of Diplomacy within the framework of a wider training project that includes the foreign ministries of Estonia, Iraq, Kosovo, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia as well as the Ukrainian Diplomatic Academy (UDA). Courses for the state officials and diplomats of the aforementioned nations will take place during 2009. The training projects are organised according to the needs of each project partner. During their training course, the Iraqi diplomats will be given an overview of the formation of Estonian foreign service; they will also address various topics that are important in international relations today.

Estonian teen forced to have sex with 500 men

A teenager had sex with 500 men over five years of being forced to work as a prostitute. The trial against a Stockholm couple accused of involvement in the pimping operation came to a close this week.

• Charges unlikely for admitted panty pic snapper (29 Apr 09)
• Swedish man arrested for under skirt pics (26 Apr 09)
• Thirsty Swede jailed over snot attack (24 Apr 09)

The girl, who is originally from Estonia, was forced to begin working as a prostitute from the age of 17. She continued for a further five years under the threat of violence, according to a report in the newspaper Metro.

Aside from being forced, by a mixture of threats, violence and coercion to work as a prostitute with over 500 Swedish clients, the girl was made to work in a Tallinn strip club.

The girl was finally set free when the father of her then boyfriend paid a significant sum of money to buy her out, the newspaper reports.

The Stockholm couple on trial for pimping charges, are suspected of having kept a number of girls.

Soon the yachting from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Peipsi is possible

Enterprise Estonia financed the project of the City of Narva with which Narva River gets the decent port and hereinafter the ships  will get from the Gulf of Finland through Narva River to Lake Peipsi and Lake Pihkva.  The project will cost 21.2 million kroons, of which 18 million kroons is covered by the grant of the European Regional Development Fund.

There are many yachts and small ships on the Baltic Sea. At the same time the Estonian rivers provide no opportunity to make a trip from the Gulf of Finland to the Estonian internal water bodies. Lake Peipsi and Lake Pihkva are very attractive for water tourism, currently Narva waterfall cuts the shipway from the Baltic Sea.

“If the shipway is open and the port of Narva River has been put in order, this is the big opportunity for the local governments near the lakes in Lääne and Ida- Virumaa, Jõgevamaa, Tartu and Põlvamaa to promote tourism entrepreneurship and gain profit from that, “ Monica Hankov, the Director of the Business Environment Division of Enterprise Estonia, said. “ The opening of the shipway increases the landings of yachts and small ships in small ports. The beautiful coasts of Lake Peipsi is the magnet for the ones interested in nature tourism, also the persons dealing with fishing and hunting are interested  in the shipway”.

Estonian pub refuses to serve Russian-speaking guests after its rest room was set to fire

The Lost Continent, a pub in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, is refusing to serve clients who do not speak Estonian or English, Estonia's Postimees newspaper said on Thursday.

The bar's owner, Andre Matsovi, said the notice saying only Estonian- and English-speaking clients would be served in the pub appeared on the entrance after a group of Russian-speaking young people swore at a waitress, who did not understand Russian, and set fire to the men's restroom last Saturday.

The incident is being investigated by police.

Ethnic Russians account for about 30% of Estonia's 1.34 million population. Because of the Estonian-language element of the citizenship test, many have "non-citizen" status, which denies them a national passport and prevents them from voting.

International human rights organizations and the UN have repeatedly called on Estonia to make Russian its second official language, but successive governments have not changed the policy.

16,000 Estonians lost to emigration

TALLINN - A recent study released from Statistics Estonia reports that over the last eight years, approximately 16,000 people have been lost due to emigration.

Early census data did not account for migration in population tallies.

As of January 2008, the population was 1.34 million without emigration statistics and 1.32 with the migrations accounted for.

The statistics bureau reported that the biggest changes were seen in cities Tallinn, Tartu, and Narva .

Latest from BBN : 21/04/2009

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Estonian pianos hit the right notes

TALLINN — After the Soviet Union occupied Estonia in 1940, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin received a piano made there for his birthday.

It's said he liked it so much that Estonia's piano factory became a leading supplier of concert pianos for the entire Soviet Union.

In an ironic twist of history, more than half a century later grand and baby grand pianos from the same factory in a Tallinn suburb have become a huge success on the US market and are catching on in Asia too.

With no middlemen and low labour costs in Estonia, its pianos can sell for a fraction of the price of their Western-made competitors of comparable quality.

The Hollywood Piano Company, a leading California piano dealer, tells clients Estonia pianos offer them "the best bang for the buck."

Regarded as the piano-buyer's bible, the Larry Fine piano book ranks the Estonia piano as 12th among the world's top 84 brands.

But the piano maker's success was not always a given. When Estonia regained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the factory's future appeared grim.

It went from an average production of 400 pianos in Soviet times to just 49 in 1995 and was bought and sold by a string of owners until Indrek Laul, who is also a pianist, became the sole proprietor in 2001.

The world of beauty reaches a critical situation

By Ella Karapetyan

TALLINN - In today’s world, both women and men are increasingly looking at beauty treatments as an essential part of their lifestyle – which has in recent years given rise to numerous specialized beauty salons.
But as the crisis continues to tear through the Baltics, many of those beauty salons are being forced to close their doors.

Tatiana Tsvetkova is the owner of Tandem Beauty Salon, a popular salon in Tallinn’s center. Tsvetkova said the crisis will make this a difficult year for beauty salon owners.
“Because of the economic crisis, beauty salon businesses will suffer much this year and the growth that was possible [in the industry] during the past years will decline,” Tsvetkova told The Baltic Times.
Tsvetkova said that she had seen room for growth when she started her business. She explained that in France, about half the women in the country go to a beauty salon every other week – it has become a part of their regular routine – a level that Estonians have not yet reached.

“I was dreaming of starting my own beauty salon.  Then the time came to make the dream a reality. My family helped me to start up my own business, investing the family money in it,” the beauty salon owner said.
“I have always dreamed of becoming a cosmetologist and owning my own salon. I feel that I have a future in trying to make others feel beautiful in more ways than one,” she said.
Yet with many in the country now in fear of losing their jobs or suffering pay cuts, people have begun to slash their spending on beauty treatments and business is plummeting.