Can AI beat Estonians at identifying mushrooms?

It's currently mushroom season in Estonia. During the months of July - October Estonians love to head to the forest in search of delicious treats. British Estonian Adam Rang poses a very interesting question in this video, 'can AI beat Estonians at identifying mushrooms?' The answer, of course, is no.

 

A look at Tallinn's Town Hall since the year 1260

This year marks 620 years since Tallinn's Town Hall was built in its current form. The original Town Hall building was much smaller in size and its present structure was completed in the year 1404. This video provides a fascinating overview of the changes to the Town Hall over the centuries.

 

35th anniversary of the Baltic Way

The 23rd of August marks the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way. On this day in 1989, approximately two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands and formed a human chain in a peaceful protest against the illegal Soviet occupation. The Baltic Way spanned 675 kilometres linking the Baltic capital cities of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius in the longest human chain in history.

 

   

Vabadus! Brīvība! Laisvė!

 

There was so much excitement and hope on this day. The Baltic Way was a powerful symbol of unity in the common quest of three nations to restore their independence. Freedom was eventually restored three years later.

Paide is the first Estonian city fully equipped with civil defence sirens

Civil defence in Estonia reached an important milestone recently when Paide became the country's first city to be fully covered by air raid sirens. In an emergency, these sirens will always be used in conjunction with other notification systems including texts / SMS, kriis.ee and the state phone helpline 1247. Since Russia's full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine the Estonian government has increased defence spending. Installation of sirens is simultaneously underway in more than 15 settlements across Estonia. In the coming years, the Estonian government will be allocating an additional €1.1 billion to national defence.

Estonia to celebrate 33rd anniversary of restored independence

The 20th August is a national holiday in Estonia. A day of celebration to mark the end of fifty dark years of Soviet occupation. During those grim years Estonians endured so much yet never gave up the hope of restoring independence one day. That day finally came on the 20th August 1991 when Estonians finally rid their country of Soviet rule. Estonians around the world rejoiced, waving the beloved sinimustvalge flag that was banned for so long. Head taasiseseisvumispäeva! Elagu Eesti!

Northern lights seen from Lääne-Viru county

Once again Estonian meteorologist Kairo Kiitsak has captured sone stunning images of the northern lights in Estonia. These photographs were taken on Monday night in Lääne-Viru county.

 

 

No Olympic medals for Team Estonia

It was a disappointing year for Team Estonia at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. For the first time since 1996, Estonia failed to secure a single medal at the Summer Olympics. Female fencer Nelli Differt was the closest to achieving a medal, finishing 4th in the women's épée final. There were high hopes for 400m hurdler Rasmus Mägi who, for his third consecutive Olympics Games, managed to reach the men's final, but unfortunately stumbled on the last hurdle and finished 7th place. Despite Estonia's lack of medals, the athletes should feel proud of their achievements as many of them now rank among the top ten in the world in their respective events. The official medal tally can be found here.

Freedom of the Press Worldwide 2024

 Estonia is the sixth freest country in the world! Northern Europe leads the way!

 

 

25% of the World's best decathlon athletes are Estonian

The Olympic Games decathlon final took place yesterday in Paris. Johannes Erm, Janek Õiglane and Karel Tilga represented Estonia, and although they did not secure a medal, all three althletes now rank among the top 11 best in the world. Janek Õiglane was the highest ranking Estonian at 5th place. For a country with a population of 1.3 million, this is a fantastic result for Estonia!

The final scoreboard can be found here.