Estonia . . . a small, relatively quiet Baltic country. What more is there to know? Perhaps you would be interested in a couple of hot topics and controversies taking place here:
1) Anniversary of Soviet Occupation Demonstrations: This Friday, September 22nd, several demonstrations were expected to occur in Tallinn in relation to the 62nd anniversary of the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Two official demonstrations were scheduled to take place. According to the police, there were to be series of unapproved demonstrations organized by extremist groups taking place at the Bronze Soldier Monument and at the Liberty Clock in front of the Tallinn City Government main building on Vabaduse Väljak. I have not heard how these events shook out (I'll keep you posted).
2) Bronze Soldier Monument controversy: Keep it? Move it? Get rid of it? The statue mentioned above has been a controversial focal point in the center of Tallinn for sometime. A lot of time is spent discussing it, and a lot of resources are spent in security for the site.
"Most ethnic Estonians see the Bronze Soldier stature, erected in 1949, as a sign of nearly half a century of Soviet occupation, while for many Russian-speakers it is a symbol of the Soviet victory over Nazism during World War II. They adorn the monument with flowers on Victory Day, May 9, and on Sept. 22, which they claim is the anniversary of the liberation of Tallinn from Nazi occupation. In the past couple of years, the laying of flowers has acquired an increasingly political flavor." (The Baltic Times, June 23, 2006)
It's all about how you look at history, I suppose. In case you are curious, here is a picture of the object, there is a great ppanorama of the Tallin monument in this collection of World War II landmarks.
And that's not all in terms of statues. In the predominately ethnic Russian border town of Narva in Northeast, a similar debate brews.
3) Presidential Elections: Old school iincumbentvs. New school cosmopolitan
Rüütel vs. Ilves
>Estonia’s electoral college meets today (September 23rd) to choose the president, and the election appears closely contested. I don't know that I understand the entire situation or its outcomes clearly, but it is clear that there are strong feelings about the outcome on both sides. If no candidate wins a two-thirds majority, a potential scenario in this case, the decision goes to a collection of members of local-government. Check out this brief posting on the topic from Edward Lucas from the Economist.
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