Märkamisaeg. Foto: Mihkel Maripuu/Postimees

The U.S. Embassy congratulates all Estonians as they celebrate their restoration of independence. On August 20, 1991, after more than 50 years of illegal occupation, the Estonian Supreme Council declared the re-establishment of Estonia as an independent state. Though today the exciting events of this day in 1991 seem inevitable, we must never forget the grave risk thousands of Estonians took as they stepped forward and peacefully asserted their right to live in a free and independent country.

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Published: October 05 2013

ERR News - Countless flags - and drinking glasses - were raised across Estonia on August 20, in honor of Re-Independence Day, the natio-nal holiday marking the day in 1991 when the country officially broke away from Moscow after nearly a half century of Soviet rule.
On August 20 of that year, with Soviet special forces troops surrounding the Tallinn TV Tower and an attempted coup d'état taking place in Russia, Estonia's then legislature, the Supreme Soviet, proclaimed the restoration of the country's independence.
The TV Tower, which the Soviet forces stormed the following day but famously failed to shut down, was this year hosting one of the holiday's larger public events.

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Published: October 05 2013

Estonian diplomat Marten Kokk has been named the new head of the budget committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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Published: October 05 2013

By Steve Roman

Photo: Peeter Langovits/Postimees

British journalist and political commentator Abdul Turay (on the photo) has accepted an offer by the Social Democratic Party to stand as one of its candidates for the Tallinn City Council in October, a move that makes him the first black man, and one of the first Western expatriates, to run in local elections in Estonia.
Speaking to ERR News, the 46-year-old from Chelmsford in Essex confirmed that he will be running as a candidate for the opposition party in the City Center district, the most high profile of the capital's electoral zones.
In the four years that he has been living in Estonia, Turay has become known for his political columns, published by a prominent national daily, and his book, "Small White Nation." He raised his political profile further this June by taking part in a one-on-one debate with Martin Helme, board member of the fringe Conservative People's Party, over the latter's anti-immigrant, “If you're black, go back” remarks.
Turay said that he was approached by the Social Democratic Party's mayoral candidate for Tallinn, Andres Anvelt, two months ago with the offer to run partly because of the party's desire to have a more international image, as well as its agenda to give the city a more international image.

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Published: October 05 2013

(L-R) Haley Segura, Alexa Thompson, Mari Käärid and Hanna Laanemaa Berrytree.  Seedrioru Suvekodu 2013.

As I was christened on the porch steps of my grandparents cottage at Seedrioru on July 11, 1970, I instinctively knew I was home.  My older sister called this place Eestimaa, the smell of warm wood and the song of high birds tell me how fortunate I am to have such a place in my life.  I wasn’t born in Eesti.  I have travelled to Eesti once, back in 1994.  Something about Seedrioru always tells me that I am home.

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Published: October 02 2013

GE (NYSE: GE) has announced the opening of the 45 MW Paldiski Wind Farm on the Pakri peninsula in north western Estonia in a ceremony attended by facility owners Eesti Energia and Nelja Energia.
With 18 GE 2.5-100 wind turbines, the Paldiski Wind Farm marks the commercial debut of the company’s wind turbine technology in the country. GE representatives were joined at the ceremony by officials from Eesti Energia AS and Nelja Energia AS , the owners of the wind farm, as well as President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

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Published: October 02 2013

ERR News - The Estonian Internal Security Service (KaPo) has detained one of its own former officials, Vladimir Veitman, whom the agency suspects of having gathered classified information for years on behalf of a Russian intelligence service.
Detained on Wednesday, August 7, the former KGB official joined the Estonian intelligence service in 1991. He worked there as a specialist with clearance to classified information until he retired in 2011. Officials said he secretly worked for a Russian intelligence service up until his retirement, but would not yet reveal how long he had been an agent. Nor would the Internal Security Service reveal which organization and who specifically had recruited Veitman.

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Published: October 02 2013

Kristiina Ehin and her husband musician Silver Sepp will be travelling to the US and Canada for four weeks in September and October to present their work. Public appearances have so far been planned at:

- Toronto Tartu College, seminar and reading/concert, September 20
- Grolier Poetry Bookshop, Cambridge, Mass., Friday, September 27, 7 pm
- Congregation Darech Amuno, NY, Sunday, September 29, 12 midday
- Long Island University Poetry Center, Tuesday, October 1, 12.20 pm
- Baruch College, NY, Thursday, October 3, 7 pm

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Published: October 01 2013