"For the visitor unfamiliar with Estonia, the smallness and flatness of the country can be deceptive. Like the taciturn and reticent Estonians, the subdued landscape, with its absence of emotionally dramatic vistas and panoramatic heights, recalls in the late 20th century an earlier time, quieter and more spare, where there simply were fewer people in … Continue reading President Ilves on Estonia
Rapla, Estonia
Estonia is the northernmost Baltic state, sharing borders with Latvia to the south, Russia to the east and – across the Baltic Sea – Finland to the north. It’s population is approximately 1.5 million. The official language is Estonian, though a significant minority speaks Russian. Known as the nation that won it's independence by singing … Continue reading Rapla, Estonia
Linguistic Ghettos
Following the early days of the Georgian crisis, an Estonian news special sought to find out what Estonia's Russian population thought about the Russian presence in South Ossetia and Georgia. They discovered that many of the Russians in Eastern Estonia have been getting their news directly from Russian state-influenced news sources rather than from international … Continue reading Linguistic Ghettos
The Eastern Chill
Good friends recently told us that their young son turned off the TV because the news was frightening him. He's not the only one who has been scared. Georgia and South Ossetia may be a long way from Estonia, but even so we follow the Georgian conflict with a chill up our spines. Why? Slippery … Continue reading The Eastern Chill
Film “The Singing Revolution”
I recently joined a Facebook group formed around Estonia and found a preview there to a very interesting film about the Singing Revolution of the late 80's. Take a look.
Baltic Bullies: Fear or Smear?
All summer long we have been hearing rumblings from the East about imbalanced portrayals of the Russian government at the hands of the Baltic states and unfair treatment of Russian minorities. A recent mission prayer calendar issued by my own denomination even indicated that mistreatment of Russian minorities in the Baltics may well amount to … Continue reading Baltic Bullies: Fear or Smear?