Graphic warnings on packages of sigaretid aka suitsud ("smokes") are nothing new, but most likely the texts in Estonian are... The sticker on the top is proof that these are not sala/sigaretid or "secret cigarettes", i.e. have not been illegally smuggled, (a major problem at the Russian border) and are subject to the tobacco excise tax or tubaka/aktsiisi/maks from which Eesti Kultuur/kapital or the Cultural Endowment of Estonia gets a percentage.    Photo: Riina Kindlam

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Published: January 28 2014

ERR News editors took time to pick the year's most important narratives.

Municipal elections, 2013 edition

The October 20 municipal elections, which dominated Estonia's headlines from late summer to midautumn, didn't produce much in the way of shakeups. There were, however, further signs that support for the Reform Party had slipped while the Social Democrats made better-than-expected gains in Kuressaare and Narva.

The most-watched race - the one for Tallinn - took on a decidedly circus-like tone as supporters of IRL candidate Eerik-Niiles Kross buzzed incumbent mayor Savisaar's press interview with a drone helicopter. All the while, Savisaar put himself in the center ring with a spate of official, city-financed functions, one of which featured an effigy of the mythical Old Man of Ülemiste at the reported cost of 10,000 euros. The race took on an even more bizarre quality when Russia succeeded in getting Kross put on an Interpol watch list on the eve of the elections.

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Published: January 22 2014

I was hooked right from the first page of this travelogue when the author recounts an amusing anecdote about a receptionist and ‘chicken’ at the hostel in Tallinn where he is residing at the start of a two month  backpacking odyssey around Estonia searching for answers to the title of his book.

‘The indrawn heart’ is taken from an English version of a Juhan Liiv poem ‘Sa oled väikene, väike. (You are so little, little) – translation by E. Howard Harris (Estonian Poetry I 1950). Boyle seeks to discover during the course of his journey whether Estonians really do have ‘an indrawn heart’ but the outcome is inconclusive as so many of his interviewees have differing views about the poem and indeed the translation of this particular line of the poem.

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Published: January 14 2014

11 Estonian Contemporary Artists in BOSI Gallery, NYC

The prestigious BOSI Contemporary gallery presents the Estonian Lithography Center's "Love in the 21st Century" exhibition by 11 well-known Estonian contemporary artists who all have their own message and point of view of love. Artists: Kadri Alesmaa, Peeter Allik, Toomas Altnurme, Merike Estna, Kadri Kangilaski, Laurentsius, Marko Mäetamm, Mall Nukke, Reiu Tüür, Jaak Visnap, Jasper Zoova.

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Published: January 14 2014

ERR News - Arvo Pärt held on to his place as the world's most performed living composer for a third straight year and rose a whopping 14 spots on Bachtrack's all-time list.

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Published: January 14 2014

ERR News - In what has become an annual tradition, an Estonian Jõuluvana (Santa Claus) from Narva and a Russian Ded Moroz (Father Frost) from Ivangorod met on the morning of December 30, on the Friendship Bridge that connects their cities.

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Published: January 14 2014

ERR News - SEB analyst Ruta Arumäe said that the world is optimistic at the beginning of the current year and Estonia is ready for growth.

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Published: January 14 2014

Not just any old wooden chair, but a gingerbread replica of a famed late 19th century Lutheri tool or plywood (vineerist) chair made in Tallinn's A. M. Lutheri Mehaanilise Puidu/töötlemise Vabrik / Luther Woodworking Company.

From 1880 to 1940, the Luther factory was one of the world's leading plywood and furniture companies, contributing greatly to plywood production and furniture design.

The Lutheri kvartal (quarter) of preserved industrial buildings along Pärnu maantee in Tallinn now houses apartments and offices.

This gingerbread beauty is the work of Mall Kees and Malle Pärtel.

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Published: January 07 2014