BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Bank of Estonia budget bumped up to 20 million Euros

The Bank of Estonia's budget for 2012 is 13.8 percent larger than it was this year, mainly due to increased expenses related to cash.

The central bank will namely be taking part in euro production for the first time. The bank is required to return 44 million banknotes it received for frontloading last year before the currency changeover. It will also have to produce the quota annually allotted by the European Central Bank to national central banks.

In a joint procurement with eight other central banks, the Bank of Estonia will produce 20-euro notes for the Eurozone's jointly held reserves.

Not counting the amount to be spent on cash in 2012, the budget is 3.1 percent larger - 19.8 million euros. The largest line items will be a transition to an IP-based telephone system and technical utility systems in its offices in central Tallinn.

Personnel expenses will increase two percent, to 8 million euros.

The Bank of Estonia projects revenue next year to be at 22.8 million euros, which it earns by investing reserves.

Kristopher Rikken

Estonia ties with Chile for lowest gold reserve

Estonia has tied with Chile for the title of smallest gold reserve in the latest report by the World Gold Council.

The central bank's 200 kilos of gold put it just behind Malawi, Mauritania and Uruguay. However, other countries not included in the report, such as Costa Rica, Kenya and Oman, have a lower supply or no gold reserve at all, according to IMF data.

In contrast to Estonia's minuscule reserve, its northern neighbor Finland has 49.1 tons of gold, while Latvia's central bank has 7.7 tons.

The countries with the world's largest reserves, according to the report, are the United States, which has 8,134 tons, and Germany, with 3,396 tons.

September saw gold prices reach an 11-year high of 1,923.70 US dollars per ounce.

Steve Roman

Gingerbread Mania 2012: Unique Estonian Flavors

Gingerbread lovers will be able to feast their eyes upon all manner of delicious and delectable treats this Christmas, when they pay a visit one of Tallinn’s quirkier art and design events – the Gingerbread Mania Exhibition (PiparkoogiMaania 2011).

An annual exhibition, sponsored by a Tallinn-based cake manufacturer, nothing is quite what it seems at Gingerbread Mania. Over the next three weeks, visitors will be descending on Tallinn’s Design and Architecture Gallery to taste the work of more than 100 local artists and designers, who have created the ultimate fragrant dream world for anyone who loves the traditional Christmas treats.

In a collision of folk traditions, modern art and gastronomy, more than 300 kilos of dough has been transformed into all manner of mouth-watering objects. Exhibits range from life-size cash registers and angel wings, to brand name handbags and bakeries run by teddy bears (complete with intricately-designed miniature pretzels and loaves of bread!).

The exhibition pays homage to numerous different cultures – Nordic, European, even African influences are all apparent in the designs – as the artists prove that just about anything can be made from gingerbread. Visitors can also catch a glimpse of how the exhibits are made, as artists demonstrate their age-old gingerbread baking and decorating techniques, heating up treacle the old-fashioned way over a naked flame, then gently pouring the sweet-smelling mix over various tasty treats.

Chair of Russian Citizens' Union dies in car accident

Narva City Councilor Juri Mishin, 65, and seven other people died in a three-car collision in Leningrad Oblast on Thursday.

Mishin chaired the Union of Russian Citizens in Estonia, based in Narva.

The accident occurred yesterday afternoon, when the minivan Mishin was in, heading from St. Petersburg to Ivangorod, collided with another car and a semitruck, reported ETV.

In March, Mishin ran for Parliament in the ranks of the Russian Party in Estonia, but the party did not pass the 5 percent electoral threshold.

Ott Tammik

Why Putin failed and the Russian democrats may too: The sources and risks of Russia’s white revolution

Russian imperial nationalism and anti-Westernism has been a distraction for Putin & Co who did not see the crisis of their regime coming. It may also, however, subvert the currently growing pro-democratic protest movement in Moscow and beyond.

It is yet unclear what the exact outcome of the current upheaval in Moscow will eventually be. Yet, it seems already obvious that Russian politics will change substantially, in 2012.

To be sure, whether Russia indeed becomes more democratic and free as a result of the growing protests remains open. Nonetheless, speaking of an – at least, attempted – Color Revolution is already justified. To be sure, neither will Russia’s possible White Revolution become a real revolution, nor were the other Color Revolutions fully fledged revolutionary upheavals. Yet, we have now, in Russia, the typical pattern of mass protests after a falsified election that partly delegitimizes the incumbent leadership – a sequence similar to, though not (yet) identical with, what we observed in Serbia in 2000, Georgia in 2003, Ukraine in 2004 and Kyrgysztan in 2005 – as well as, perhaps, the Arab world, more recently. Why is the Putin system which looked stable as recently as a year ago currently failing? And what are the risks for the re-emerging democratic movement in Russia? Arguably, Putin made – within the logic of his own system that could have survived longer – one major strategic and one crucial tactical mistake.

Strategically, Putin’s preeminent failure was that his “vertical of power” did not fulfill one of its major purposes: to end or, at least, limit corruption in post-Soviet Russia. Instead, of producing a modernizing authoritarianism along the lines of post-war South Korea, Taiwan or Singapore, Putin’s rule deepened rather than erased certain pathologies of late Soviet and early post-Soviet society. Above all, it did not reduce the massive bribe-taking and -giving that goes on in all spheres of Russian public life. Corruption seems to have become even a major problem for the security organs that grew out of the KGB, from where Putin once came. It has thoroughly discredited the entire rationale of Putin’s contract with society: Instead of trading political freedom for effective governance, the “national leader” took away Russians’ civil and political rights without, however, delivering what he had promised, in exchange. It is no accident that one of the leaders of the current protest movement, the nationalist Alexei Navalnyi, made himself initially a name by blogging about prominent corruption cases in Russia’s elite.

Archaeologists discover medieval artifacts at art academy site

Archaeologists digging at the site of the future Academy of the Arts have uncovered a trove of medieval artifacts, including several boxes of ceramic pottery, as well as silver coins, wooden dice, bone jewelry and a piece from a board game.

All sites for new buildings in Tallinn's downtown area must undergo archaeological excavations. The Academy of Arts property sits on the edge of an ancient suburb of Tallinn, and is one of the largest turfs archaeologists have had the joy to unearth, reported Postimees.

In many other archaeological sites, the more ancient cultural layers are often destroyed before researchers reach that deep. But diggers made it all the way to the medieval strata at the Academy of Arts. The plentiful ceramic findings are particularly useful for dating.

Excavations have gone on for half a year. Initially, the project was supposed to be completed by the new year, but discoveries have been so abundant that the completion date has now become questionable. Also, rain is now threatening surrounding infrastructure, so research cannot resume until spring - that is, if the archeologists are granted a deadline extension. The Academy of Arts is already way behind schedule in constructing its new building, and further digging could be another obstacle for construction.

“We have an idea of how these old buildings used to look like, but information is too scarce to determine what else was here and what the buildings were actually used for,” said Guido Toos, head of the team that is conducting the archaeological dig.

“But, for instance, we have discovered that there was a large flood here during the 15th century [...] That is indicated by a 70-centimeter layer of sand on top of the soil. Geologists ascertained that this sand was transported here by the [now underground] Härjapea river.”

Ott Tammik

Art-House cinema in financial trouble

After narrowly avoiding bankruptcy in the fall, the Artis movie theater, located in downtown Tallinn's Solaris shopping mall, still faces a bleak future.

One of Tallinn's two major art-house cinemas, Artis, owned by the Estonian Film Foundation's subsidiary Tallinnfilm, has made a loss of 400,000 euros in the past two years, reported Postimees.

Owners have on numerous occassions discussed the possibility of shutting the cinema down. For now, the crisis has been solved, with the debts finally paid off to Solaris.

Artis has also cut costs, laid off four of 11 people, and began bringing in extra revenue through a coffee shop and through letting the place out for special events. But the cinema is still operating in a deficit, even though the rent it pays to Solaris is four times lower than neighboring stores.

The Culture Ministry's advisor on film, Edith Sepp, said establishing the movie theater in Solaris was a big mistake. “It was super stupidity. Why did we even go there?” Sepp said.

Yet, moving would now also be expensive and difficult due to the terms of the cinema's contract with the shopping center.

Ott Tammik

A new banking crisis

I’m reporting this week from the Eastern front of the euro-zone meltdown, where an unfolding banking and confidence crisis could be another telltale sign of far worse things to come.

It’s hard to believe it was almost one year ago today, that here in Estonia — the small Baltic EU nation I call my second home — accepted the euro as our primary currency. Twelve months ago the changeover from the kroon to the euro was heralded with enormous fanfare and celebration — plus a great deal of hope and hype. Parades, festivals, PR campaigns, free euro coin holders were everywhere I turned. However, many people back then also had underlying fears of the change too.

And it seems those fears were more than just valid; they were prescient. Estonia had imposed strict self-austerity for a number of years to attain the “privilege” of adopting the euro as its currency. As a result, Estonia actually boasts the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio of any nation in the EU at just 6.6 percent!

The “reward” for this fiscal discipline: EU membership and being able to join much larger and much less responsible countries like Greece, Italy, and Portugal, and of course taking on the coveted euro. Estonia felt that by taking on the euro it would elevate the country to an equal footing with Western Europe, or at least put it at the table for discussions. Instead, it has risked LOWERING itself to equal footing with Western Europe.

Storm puts Estonian emergency capacity on the brink

The storm Patrick that ravaged Estonia this week with winds in excess of 80 km per hour, leaving almost 100,000 households without electricity, triggering 600 rescue operations and forcing trucks off the road challenged the Estonian rescue capacity.

Raul Suits from the Rescue Services Board said that in his 20-year history this is the third storm of such magnitude. Estonian state power company Eesti Energia re-assigned all its normal customer service hotline operators to handle emergency calls.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Tallinn will increase advertising tax by 25% in 2012

The city of Tallinn will increase advertising tax by 25% starting January 2012, Äripäev.ee/LETA reports.

The city was deprived of the right to collect sales tax as a local tax and thus needs to find other sources of income.

Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry head Mait Palts said that the advertising tax per calendar day will increase to 40 cents a square metre and in 2013, should increase to 45 cents.

Palts said that the 25% increase is definitely a big one an when advertising alcoholic beverages, even bigger since the coefficient increases too, which requires extra spending from the businesses and thus is a negative phenomenon.

Companies operating in Tallinn have complained that they learned about the tax increase just a couple of weeks ago when the city government sent the corresponding announcement and thus the tax increase comes very unexpectedly in the light of cooling down economy.

In 2009, Tallinn collected 29,099,976 EEK of advertising tax, in 2010, 27,560,700 EEK. The 2011 forecast is 1,917,349 EUR.

Juhan Tere

Scarce snow, higher fees not discouraging marathon hopefuls

Lack of snow and higher participation fees have not dimmed the public’s interest in participating in the 41st Tartu Ski Marathon to be held on February 19, said Kristina Hallik, marketing specialist for the event. 

By December 23, a total of 5,350 people had registered, 4,280 of them for the full, 63km marathon and 1,070 for the half-distance race, Hallik told uudised.err.ee, adding that so far participants from 25 nations have signed up, with Finland and Russia topping the guest registration list. 

According to Hallik, the figures fall between the registration counts of 2009 and 2010, when wintertime weather temperatures reached -20 degrees Celsius. 

The participation fees on both distances have increased by a maximum of 20 euros - depending on the time of registration. The changes in prices can be attributed to the overall cost-increase of products and services necessary for organizing a mass event of such dimensions, said Hallik.

Ingrid Teesalu

Estonians rarely withdraw small banknotes from ATMs

When Estonia adopted the euro, people were worried because they could not withdraw smaller banknotes from ATMs than 10 EUR at first but the past year has shown that actually there is no major demand for 5 EUR notes, LETA/Postimees Online reports.

SEB communications manager Silver Vohu said that the most popular sums of money that clients withdraw from ATMs of SEB are 20, 10 and 30 EUR. "40% of transactions are conducted to get these three sums. Withdrawing 5 EUR is on the fourth place only, which forms 8% of the total number of transactions," said Vohu.

"Bigger sums of money are relatively rarely withdrawn in small denominations, since for example when a client withdraws 65 EUR, he gets a 50 EUR and three 5 EUR banknotes – thus the client gets one banknote with big and several with small denominations at once," said Vohu.

Swedbank's spokesman Mart Siilivask said that people prefer to use less cash and pay by cards more. "The number of cash withdrawals from ATMs has fallen by 6% as compared to the same time in 2010. The sum has fallen by nearly 2%," he said.

In Swedbank, 5 EUR banknotes are withdrawn from ATMs in 12% of all transactions. 10 EUR transactions form 20% and 20 EUR transactions 16%. The most usual sum to be withdrawn is between 25 and 80 EUR – those transactions forms 29%. 80-750 EUR is withdrawn in 18% of transactions. It would be interesting to know the percentage of EUR 750,00 withdrawals, or at least the one of over EUR 500,00 at the time!

Juhan Tere

Swimmers training in the US face tough season ahead

As the London Olympics approach, a number of Estonia's best swimmers are training in the US.

For several of them, the coming season will determine whether to continue their athletic careers.

Finishing up his last semester at the University of California, Berkeley, Martti Aljand has enjoyed his most successful year yet. Just last week, he set a new Estonian record in 200m butterfly, in addition to six other records already in his name. “After the Olympics, I have to sit down and think things through," Aljand told ETV.

Aljand said he may be able to extend his US visa for another year, but it all depends on how much his coach can support him outside of the university team, which has around 40 swimmers and only two coaches.

The swimmer's older sister, Triin Aljand, who also attended college in the US, but later continued her career in Europe, said the decision is a difficult one. "The problem in the US is large training groups," said Triin Aljand. "But in Europe you can only find the right coach through acquaintances."

Another swimmer, Annika Saarnak, recently completed her studies at the University of Miami. She is now training alongside Martti Aljand at Berkeley, hoping to qualify for the 100-meter butterfly in the Olympics. “The new training will take some time getting used to," said Saarnak. "The coach and I have to figure out what is best for me since I am training alongside men."

Also training with Aljand and Saarnak, is Martin Liivamägi, whose results have been improving greatly.

But the qualifying times for the 2012 Olympics are stricter than they were four years ago in Beijing, where Estonia was represented by nine swimmers.

December 27 temperature exceeds record by half

The all-time highest temperature measured in Estonia on December 27 – 10.9 degrees Celsius – was registered today in the town of Kunda in Lääne-Viru County, according to the Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (EMHI).

So far, Tartu held the temperature record for December 27 with 5.9 degrees, EMHI reported.

The temperatures can still rise during the day, said weather forecaster Taimi Paljak, head of the weather forecasting department of the Institute.

One of the main causes for the extraordinarily warm spell was the storm Patrick which raged in Estonia over the Christmas weekend. The storm pushed temperatures around the Gulf of Riga up to 9 degrees Celsius, which was one to two notches higher than previous historical marks.

The record-breaking temperature for the month of December was measured in Tartu in 2006, when the temperature reached 11.5 degrees Celsius on December 6.

Ingrid Teesalu

Swedbank planning to slash 600 positions amid restructuring effort

Financial institutions across the globe have been forced to restructure their business, and Swedbank is the latest to announce job cuts, with 600 expected to be slashed in Sweden and the Baltic States.

According to Reuters, Swedbank's chief financial officer said the financial institution will take a $48 million restructuring charge during the fourth quarter.

CFO Goran Bronner told the news source that the job cuts are part of the company's overall plan, with Swedbank being the latest European bank to cut staff in order to minimize costs.

While the financial crisis hit the bank hard, Reuters notes that Swedbank has recovered relatively well and currently boasts one of the highest capital levels of any bank on the continent.

The announcement of the job cuts comes as Swedbank continues to experience fallout from its exposure to Latvia. However, according to Dow Jones Newswires, the lender does not expect to face any liquidity problems as a result of significant cash withdrawals in the country over the weekend. 

Evelin Ilves at the premiere of the “Viimsi Islands” documentary in theatre Artis : 20/12/2011

Dear film friends, friends of Viimsi, friends of Pangli,

Estonian Film will be one hundred years old next year and a major increase of interest in films is expected. This is why I am so pleased to be here today on the eve of this big anniversary, at a premier of an Estonian documentary. And, of course, I have contributed to the making of this film myself – just a tad!

I was lucky enough to accompany the film crew to Prangli Island. What a wonderful atmosphere I experienced there: peace, understanding, caring!

Who could imagine, without having been there, that time has taken a completely different pace and course in a place that is only one hour by ferry from the capital of the Republic of Estonia? I can’t wait to see how life goes on the islands of Naissaar, Keri and Aksi. The fact that Viimsi Rural Municipality decided to mark its 21^st anniversary by making a documentary about Viimsi islands is really remarkable. It’s important to document local cultural history, although roads without potholes and brand new schools often seem even more important.

Forestry production set to increase in Estonia

In what will be good news for those planning Estonian forestry investments, a forest regeneration company has announced plans to almost double production and increase numbers.

Finnish-Estonian company AS Eesti Metsataim will invest €2.8 million to double production in the Baltic region with the State Forest Management Centre planning to increase its share capital of AS Eesti Metsataim by €600,000 to support the investment.

Currently, the Baltic region is one of the more prosperous areas for forestry investment in Europe. This is partly down to the increased investment in biomass technologies as the European Union seeks to create more energy from renewable sources.

This trend for increased investment could be set to continue if investments similar to this continue to take off in future.

According to ERR News, the plants will help to supply the Estonian state forests with ten per cent being sent to Fin Forelia OY in Finland.

Pleasant grove man has an ear for pianos

Piano technician Brigham Larson takes a seat behind a shining black Estonia grand piano and goes to work tuning the beautiful instrument. With 88 keys attached to 220 strings, each needing to be tuned individually, it's a slow, deliberate process. Using tuning software and a well-trained ear, Larson listens closely to each note, making slight adjustments with a tuning lever. After seven appointments in a day, wrapping up this last one at a client's home in Cedar Hills, that equals 1,540 notes played, examined and adjusted.

When I first started it drove me crazy, the experienced piano technician said, who now has about 10,000 tunings under his belt. Larson, who owns Brigham Larson Pianos in Pleasant Grove, has 1,500 clients throughout the valley who own a variety of pianos. I've worked on everything from 100-year-old abused porch pianos to this piano here... which costs a lot more than my truck, Larson said, referring to the Estonia grand piano he tuned in Cedar Hills.

A fine instrument priced at close to $50,000, Larson compares it to working on a Mercedes-Benz.

You've got to know what you're doing, especially for a piano like that, he said, remembering how terrified he was the first time he worked on a client's high-end piano. Larson takes pleasure in every instrument he works on, even the old and well-used, as each has their own characteristics and sound. With pedals that squeak and creak, keys that clank and stick, broken strings and broken hammers, the piano may only need a few hours with Larson before it's back in playable condition. He has even had customers cry with joy after working all day on a family heirloom, a piano that once belonged to someone's grandmother, and get it playing like new.

Rõõmsaid Jõule kõigile

Nüüd jäta päev ja jäta töö,
sest kätte jõudis jõuluöö.
Sa palju verivorsti söö
ja lase lõdvaks oma vöö,
et siga saaks su kõhtu täita,
sülti käega makku aita,
hapukapsas pole laita,
pärast sööki kõhtu paita.
Võta pihku topeltkringel,
anna puhkust aasta pingel.
Piparkoogid, vahukoor.
Saabub varsti aasta noor!!!

Tourists in Estonia are not informed of safety reflector requirement

The Estonian traffic law that came in force in July 2011 obliges pedestrians to always have a pedestrian safety reflector with them when it is dark, otherwise they could be issued a fine of even up to 400 EUR, but tourists visiting Estonia are not informed of that, LETA/Eesti Päevaleht reports.

The UK foreign ministry has added this information to the Estonian tourism information at its homepage, for example, but here in Estonia tourists are not informed of the requirement, leaving them just in the danger of traffic accidents and fines.

Tallinn Airport, Port of Tallinn both said that they have no information posted about the reflector being obligatory and this information is not included even in Estonian foreign ministry English-language travel information site.

Although tourists move on streets without reflectors, the police do not rush to fine them. "There certainly are cases when a pedestrian tourist does not have a reflector but the police rather draws the attention of the tourist to the importance of making oneself visible and warns against possible dangers," said North Estonian police prefecture traffic service chief Sirle Pai.

Juhan Tere