The European Parliament Winter 2025 Survey has revealed that Europeans have high expectations of the European Union in its role to protect them against global challenges and security risks. 74% of EU citizens believe their country has benefitted from EU membership. Further reading can be found here.
On the 29th of March 2004 Estonia officially became a member of NATO along with Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Slovenia. Joining the alliance on that historic day has strengthened Estonia's security and enabled the country to contribute to collective defence. There are currently 32 members in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and one day it would be great to see Ukraine join the alliance. It is long overdue.
Estonians love the forest and have a strong connection to nature. The forest has been part of Estonian culture since the Stone Age and has shaped their habits and character. Estonia has one of the best air quality in the world thanks to our beloved forests.
Yesterday marked the 76th anniversary of the mass deportations perpetrated by Soviet Russia. In March 1949, the Soviet regime forcibly deported over 20,000 Estonians—mostly women, children, and the elderly to Siberia. The youngest victim was just three weeks old, the eldest 85 years. Many of these people perished, never to see home again. It was one of the darkest chapters in Estonian history that we will never be forget.
Every family in Estonia was affected by this horrendous Soviet crime. They either had a family member taken away, or knew someone who was. It is interesting to note that some people were forewarned about the deportations that took place over a period of three days. I have met two of these people who kindly shared their stories with me.
While I was in renewing my Estonian passport in Vienna a few years ago, I met with a woman who told me her mother's family were informed about the deportations and were lucky to escape them. Another person, Mr Talivee who lived in the same building as my family, told me a rather interesting story. He said one night a soldier came to his door which naturally frightened his mother. Hesitantly she opened the door and listened to what the man had to say. He told her about the list and that her name was on it, and advised that she should go away for the next few days. Shocked and frightened, she had already lost her husband, a policeman, who the Soviets had taken away a few years earlier. Alone, with two young sons, she knew was vulnerable. Confused, she asked the soldier before he left, 'why would you tell me this?' 'Why would a Russian soldier try to help me?' He replied, 'I'm not Russian, I'm Ukrainian.' This kind act by the Ukrainian man, who was most probably drafted into the Soviet army saved the life of her and her children. Her eldest son still lives in that same apartment today.
According to official statistics, a working-age person in Estonia reads six books on average per year. For avid readers like myself, that number is significantly higher. A few years ago, a study conducted by US and Australian scholars found that Estonians have almost twice as many books at home as the world’s average. Estonians love to read!
Tommy Cash's Eurovision entry 'Expresso Macchiato' has received a lot of attention since he won Eesti Laul last month. The catchy tune with its amusing lyrics is a refreshing change from the usual cliché pop. Estonians would love to see the song win this year's competition but how will it fare on the night? Here is a chart of the current odds.
Universities have seen many great minds pass through their hallowed halls over the centuries. Some of the oldest universities in Europe are among the world's most prestigous and studying at one of them is considered a great honour. The University of Bologna is the oldest university in Europe, it was founded in the year 1088 and has been continuously teaching students ever since.
England's University of Oxford is also over 900 years old is still regarded as one of the world's most sought-after institutions of higher learning.
The University of Tartu is Estonia's oldest and largest higher education institution and has been the centre of Estonian intellectual life for almost four centuries. It is ranked in the top 350 of the world's universities, making it one of the leading universities in Northern Europe.
The following map showcases the oldest continously operating university in each European country, some are very old and some much younger, but all demonstrate an unswerving commitment to education.
It was recently announced that all five volumes of A. H. Tammsaare's "Truth and Justice" will finally be published in English for the first time. To date, only the first two volumes of Tammsaare's classic work has been translated into English. The third and fourth books in the series will be available this year and the final installment will be published in early 2026. This is great news for lovers of Estonian literature! More information can be found here.
With Latvia's recent Oscar win for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, the British Film Institute has put together a list of ten of the best films from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It's good to see Estonia's Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (2023), Tangerines (2013) and Sundial (2023) among the list. To view the full list of Baltic films, please click here.
Today we celebrate Mother Tongue Day in Estonia. March 14 marks the birthday of poet Kristjan Jaak Peterson who was one of the founding fathers of Estonian literature. Estonian Language Day was first recognised as a national holiday in 1999 and is now celebrated not only in Estonia but in many Estonian Houses, schools and universities around the world.
Estonian is a beautiful sounding language and we all have our favourite words, here are some of the most popular.
To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the first book written in the Estonia language, the National Archives of Estonia have opened its library doors to allow visitors to come and view rare old books.
Starting on 2 April 2025, Estonians and other EU citizens will be required to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before entering the United Kingdom. An ETA gives you permission to travel to the UK for a period up to six months. The document itseld is valid for two years. The ETA application takes approximately three days to process and costs £10.
The British govenment has introduced the new ETA purportedly to unburden the Britsh taxpayer from funding the British border service "UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)".
In the last days of August 1941, one of the greatest maritime disasters in history took place off the north coast of Estonia. Fleeing the invading Germans, the Soviet occupation administration hastily and clumsily carried out the evacuation of Tallinn. The remnants of Red Army units as well as mobilised Estonians and civilians were placed on more than 200 ships, both voluntarily and forcibly. The line of ships, carrying more than 30,000 people, was headed for Kronstadt but ran into a trap near the Juminda Peninsula. 60 ships sank as a result of mine explosions, torpedoes and air bombs. It is estimated that 15,000 people died, including thousands of Estonians.
This terrible catastrophe claimed more lives than the world-famous Pearl Harbour attack or Battle of Dunkirk, but has remained a largely unknown story both to Estonians and the rest of the world. Documentary filmmakers Kiur Aarma and Jaak Kilmi have constructed the story of Juminda as a chronological historical thriller, giving a voice to those caught up in the event. These voices come from all sorts of places: the engine rooms of the ships, the bombers flying above them, the border guard posts, the lifeboats, a galley, a ship’s cabin, or caught between the black waves of the Gulf of Finland. The memoirs of Germans, Russians, Estonians and Finns provide their own perspective. The film also reveals how the terrible catastrophe of Juminda has been depicted, silenced, or minimised in later historical accounts. The film is currently screening at Cinema Sõprus in Tallinn.
After nearly 22 years of being in service, Skype will permanently cease operations on May 5 this year. Microsoft, who bought the company in 2011, made the announcement last week stating they plan to replace Skype with Microsoft Teams, a much more
business-oriented social app.
Skype is an internet based peer-to-peer telecommunication service that was founded by Scandinavian entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis in Tallinn in 2003. The software was created by Estonian developers Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, Jaan Tallinn and Toivo Annus. During the mid-2000s Skype was the dominant market leader in video calls.
In recent years Skype has lost daily active users, going from 40 million users in March 2020 to 36 million in 2023. In comparison, Microsoft Teams has grown to 320 million users by April 2024.
Retiring Skype on May 5th will be a sad day for Skype users. It will be the end of an era.