BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Why is Estonia a tech hub ?

by Michael Kanellos 

If you're going to have a revolution, it's best to leave the guns at home.

That's one of the underlying messages in The Singing Revolution, a documentary by Jim and Maureen Tusty about the birth of the Estonian Republic currently touring the independent film circuit. Funded in part by venture capitalist Steve Jurveston, the movie shows how Estonians held their national unity under Soviet domination through singing festivals. Later, during the late 80s and 90s, Estonian activists pushed for independence through parliamentary maneuvering. (Jim Tusty and Jurvetson are also Estonian.)

The film starts a one-week run Friday at San Francisco's Lumiere theater.

Granted, the decisive figure in the revolution turned out to be Boris Yeltsin. Soviet troops and tanks had driven into Estonia and planned to take over the country's main TV tower. Only a few hours before the army was set to take action in Estonia, Yeltsin stood down the coup in Russia. The army subsequently, suddenly reversed course.

SS Foreign Volunteers

The people who live on the Eastern shore of the Baltic Sea are no strangers to adversity. Historically plagued by invading armies and oppressors, from the Teutonic Knights to the Czars of Russia, the three Baltic nations struggled continuously to retain their autonomy. In 1918 it seemed that their hopes for permanent independence would be realized.

The armies of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia had heroically expelled both the Russians and the Germans from their homelands. By 1922 the Baltic people had won world-wide recogition for their independence. The Soviet Union signed several treaties acknowledging their sovereignty. Yet by 1940 they were no longer free.

During their brief period of independence the Baltic people gained a high degree of personal freedom and economic prosperity. Their standard of living was among the highest in Eastern Europe and illiteracy no longer existed. In addition the Baltic nations contributed fully to the world community through the League of Nations. The overall conditions that existed in Russia during this time were many years behind those in the Baltic States.

The ominous growth of the German and Russian superpowers, both militarily and politically, sealed the fate of the strategic Baltic area. In the German/Russian nonagression pact of 1939, Germany secretly ceded the Baltic Republics to Russia, on the condition that Germany would be allowed to process the extradition of ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsch) from those areas.

In the Autumn of 1939 the three Baltic governments were forced to permit the garrisoning of some 100 thousand Soviet troops in their countries. Starting with Estonia the Russians had lined their troops along the borders and blockaded the seaport of these nations until they were forced to concede. Finland, faced with similar ultimatums was in a posistion to resist. The result was the Winter War of 1939-40, in which tiny Finland sorely humiliated the victorious Russians.

Soviet submarine operations in the Baltic

The Baltic theater of war. German conquest of the Baltic States deprived the Baltic Red Banner Fleet of Tallinn, its main base, in two months. Kronstadt, the rear support harbor, became the only haven for Soviet naval forces. German air supremacy and mining, with skilful Finnish help, in combination with winter ice kept the Red Navy penned up until 1944. Only 26 of 1,738 Axis vessels sailing in convoy during 1942 were sunk.

The shallow waters of the Baltic proved a graveyard for the Red Navy's large but inexperienced submarine force.

The Russian Navy began World War II with the world's largest submarine fleet — 218 strong. Yet of all the major combatant under-sea forces it achieved least. For the loss of 108 boats the same number of merchant ships, totalling 245,525 tons, and 28 small warships were sunk. Official post-war Soviet figures were 323 merchantmen (936,756 tons) and 94 warships. In the shallow waters of the Baltic the sinking of 145,063 tons (45 ships) cost 45 submarines.

When Hitler attacked the Soviet Union on 22 June 1 941 its submarine force was unprepared for war. Thanks to Stalin's purges only a quarter of the submarine com­manders had been serving longer than two years. Nearly 20 submarines of the Baltflot (Baltic fleet) were undergoing repair or unfit for service. Only about 40 were ready to sail. The 1st Submarine Brigade (N. P. Yegipko) had seven submarines stationed in Liepaja (Libau) and eight in Düna­münde off Riga. Nine submarines of 2nd Submarine Brigade (A. E. Oryol) were lying in Tallinn (Reval) and five in the leased Finnish port of Hangö. But most of these submarines were later transferred to Tallinn and ..............

Following up here

Lakes of Armor

Part of me has always wished I had joined the Armor corps. When I built plastic models as a kid it was either German panzers or some type of WW II aircraft. When I got out of the Navy I even toyed around with joining the Army reserves and seeing if I could get hooked up with an armor unit in Kentucky. The problem is of course that you just don’t get a tank to play around with. You are a leader first and “tank lover” somewhere else way down the list. Anyway, I still have a strong fascination with these steel beasts. Here are two photos from Estonia at a location along what was the Narva front during WW II when the German lines were collapsing against the Soviet onslaught…..

“On 19 September 1944, German troops began an organized retreat along the Narva front. It is suspected that the tank was then purposefully driven into the lake, abandoning it when its captors left the area.

At that time, a local boy walking by the lake Kurtna Matasjarv noticed tank tracks leading into the lake, but not coming out anywhere For two months he saw air bubbles emerging from the lake. This gave him reason to believe that there must be an armored vehicle at the lake’s bottom A few years ago, he told the story to the leader of the local war history club ‘Otsing’. Together with other club members, Mr. Igor Shedunov initiated diving expeditions to the bottom of the lake about a year ago. At the depth of 7 metres they discovered the tank resting under a 3-metre layer of peat.”

And the treasure buried in the bog is a captured T-34 with German markings. Apparently it was also almost perfectly preserved. The email I got telling me about this claimed that the diesel engine started up after some basic cleaning. Now if only there was a tiger sitting down there as well.

Pictures are here

Hey... Some facts are not completely correct (Estonia about Russia).

By Merili

The Russians were not forced to go to Estonia. Narva, for example was around 90 % Estonian city before the II WW, later Estonians were deported to death camps in Siberia and they were replaced by people from Ukraine, Russia etc. They were promised apartments for free in Estonia. It was also known that Estonia is in a better state than any other "Soviet country".

During Stalin times Russian language was forced upon Estonians. It's not the fault of the people who are born here but for Estonians biggest identity is the language. And nothing else. Estonians immediately accept people who respect them and speak even a bit of Estonian. Not to forget that only 1 million speaks the language. So as the language would disappear. Small country does not always have the luxury to make the same actions as bigger ones.

Plus a question : how come several Russians still speak the language and say that they think if they life in a country and want to c all this home, they should know the language. Nobody speaks about perfection. In job markets Russians who speak Estonians get better paid and are more desired than Estonians who speak perfect English. So it is not that black and white. From one hand : it's the conditions for the Russians who came here in dream of having free apartments and work and better conditions but what was the price ? Each Estonian family (by statistics) has somebody who was deported or killed by the Soviets. Usually without a trial and not just by ideological matters. That was not so long time ago.

Nobody asks Jewish people to "Move on and not complain!". But somehow Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are asked to do that. Why ? It is important for all the nations to deal with their pain and of course state wants recognition from other countries. I've had so many conversations finding out that people in central Europe and even in Sweden, don't even know that so big percentage of people was killed. Nor did they know about other horrible things. I'm not blaming Russians who in fact didn't have anything to do with it but it's not possible to see Estonia as post-communist part of Russia as IT IS NOT. There is a huge difference between Turkish immigration to Germany or Swedish minority in Finland and replacing one nation with another (as it was in Estonia). That was planned work, not just normal immigration. It was Stalin's plan. Not 100 % of course, but mainly.

Estonia and Europe in 814

Early Middle Ages

The name of Estonia occurs first in a form of Aestii in the 1st century AD by Tacitus, however, it might have indicated Baltic tribes living in the area. In Northern Sagas (9th century) the term started to be used to indicate the Estonians.

Ptolemy in his Geography III in the middle of the 2nd century CE mentions the Osilians among other dwellers on the Baltic shore.

According to the fifth-century Roman historian Cassiodorus the people known to Tacitius as the Aestii were the Estonians. The extent of their territory in early medieval times is disputed but the nature of their religion is not. They were known to the Scandinavians as experts in wind-magic, as were the Lapps (known at the time as Finns) in the North. Cassiodorus mentions Estonia in his book V. Letters 1-2 dating from the 6th century.

The Chudes as mentioned by a monk Nestor in the earliest Russian chronicles, were the Ests or Esthonians. According to Nestor in 1030 Yaroslav I the Wise invaded the country of the Chuds and laid the foundations of Yuriev, (the historical Russian name of Tartu, Estonia). According to Old East Slavic chronicles the Chudes where one of the founders of the Rus' state.

Lake Peipus, April 5th, 1242 AD

In the spring of 1242, the Teutonic knights defeated a reconnaissance detachment of Novgorodians about 20 km south of the fortress of Dorpat, now Tartu. The knights, lead by the Prince-Bishop of Dorpat Hermann I of Buxhoeveden and auxiliary troops of local Ugaunian Estonians then met with Alexander’s forces by the narrow strait that connects the northern and southern parts of Lake Peipus (Lake Peipus proper with Lake Pskovskoe) on April 5, 1242. Alexander, intending to fight in a place of his own choosing, retreated in efforts to draw the often over-confident Crusaders to the frozen lake.

The Crusader forces likely numbered somewhere in the area of 2,000 to 2,500 soldiers. Most of the Knights were German, although there also were a large number of Danes, and the army also included large numbers of Swedish and Estonian mercenaries. The Russian force in contrast numbered around 6,000 soldiers.

What is known of the battle is very simple. The Crusader knights charged across the lake on the ice towards Nevsky’s positions on the eastern shore at a place known as “Raven’s Rock,” with the Danes on the left, the Teutonic Knights in the center, and the Livonian feudal knight contingent on the right, followed at a great distance by the Estonian foot.

Alexander placed his Novgorod militia foot in the center on the shoreline to absorb this charge, which was probably aimed at capturing Nevsky himself, with the reserve cavalry in the center. To his right, he placed his strong Druzhina cavalry wing, reinforced by Mongol horse archers, to outflank and destroy the Danes. On his left, was a weaker wing of cavalry to confront the feudal knights.

Apparently these flank elements did their jobs, repulsing and driving off the two crusader wings. This resulted in the encirclement and destruction of the Teutonic knights in the center, who were now too deeply engaged with the Russian foot to extricate themselves .....

The first concert series of the anniversary year of the Republic of Estonia

Stenbock House – Yesterday, the first big series of events celebrating the Anniversary Year of the Republic of Estonia begins – “An invitation to a birthday – a festive concert in my parish”. During the series, 121 concerts will be organised across Estonia in every parish and county centre.

The aim of the concert series is to reach the birthplace of every Estonian and to give everyone the chance to take part in the anniversary year of the country we all helped to build.

The jubilee concerts range from the performances of the pupils of local music schools to concerts performed by professional musicians, which vary in style from classical songs and folk music to artistic performances.

The concerts are performed in parish churches, civic centres and in other places suitable for performing and listening to music.

The concert series “An invitation to a birthday – a festive concert in my parish” was organised in cooperation with the state, the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Centre for Estonian Folk Music.

Deportations were like a family picnic

In cooperation with BNS

TALLINN -- A new book by a Russian historian claims Estonia's recollection of the 1941 forced deportations to Siberia is too harsh. In The Myth About Genocide, revisionist historian Alexander Dyukov paints a picture of Soviet repressions as little worse than a family picnic, Eesti Ekspess reports.

Dyukov admits that certain repressions did take place but says the way they are depicted in Estonia has been exaggerated, initially for anti-Soviet and later for anti-Russian reasons. Concerning the deportations of June 1941 he declared that it was a move the Soviet Union

was forced to take because of the war situation, and the same applies to the annexation of the Baltic states in general.

"If Baltic nationalists had not cooperated with German special services and had not prepared for acts of diversion, there would have been no need for deportation. It was the activity of nationalists and of Nazi agents that provoked the deportations - and Estonian historians prefer to keep silent about it," the historian writes.

Eesti Ekspress points out that at the time of the first deportations, the war with Germany

had not yet begun. At that time, the Soviet Unionwas itself collaborating with Germanyby means of the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop 'pact of steel'. Despite that fact, Dykov describes the June 1941 deportations as if they had taken place in a frontline situation.

In Dyukov's interpretation the 1941 deportation did not greatly differ from a family outing to the countryside, albeit in somewhat cramped circumstances. The Soviet Union generally took good care the people it decided to resettle, he said

KGB Documents of Baltic occupation

The idea for this project was born a long time ago but was not finalised until 2006, when historians from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania met in Vilnius. The project aimed to make public KGB documents from the years of the occupation of the three countries.

There were more motives to prepare an online site. First of all, historians from the three countries have always been annoyed by Russian propaganda that there had never been any occupation of any of the three Baltic States. Many historians were tired of getting into polemics with allegedly non-partisan Russian print and broadcast media representatives on the subject. The more so that later the historians’ arguments were presented out of context, and separate comments were used according to the strict scenario useful to Moscow’s propaganda...