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EESTI ELU reedel, 18. märtsil 2022 — Friday, March 18, 2022
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MLI Senior Fellow Marcus Kolga recognized in Kremlin’s “blacklist” Russia recognizes effectiveness of Kolga’s work on MLI’s 12th anniversary, another milestone in the Institute’s growing record of success OTTAWA, ON (March 15, 2022) – MLI Senior Fellow Marcus Kolga has been sanc tioned by the Russian govern ment, in a clear testament to his effectiveness in advocating for sanctions against Kremlin oligarchs and human rights abusers, identifying and fact-checking Russian disin formation, and fighting against malign foreign inter ference from the regime. “We welcome the Kremlin’s confirmation that MLI leads the country in bringing attention to the misdeeds, brutality and mendacity of the Putin regime, not least in Ukraine,” says MLI Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley. “Canadians can count on us to continue to speak up in defence of our national interests in the face of foreign threats and intimidation and in favour of the collective security that defends and protects free democratic societies like ours.” The Russian “blacklist” also targeted the prime minister, government ministers, MPs, and members of civil society, following remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the House of Commons earlier today. Kolga received
this badge of honour in recognition of his work in getting Canada to adopt Magnitsky legislation, his leadership as the founder of MLI’s DisinfoWatch project, and his outspoken media presence in the face of Russia’s naked aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere. “Marcus Kolga continues to be a preeminent voice and fearless proponent for the interests, values and freedoms shared by Canada and our allies,” says MLI’s Indo-Pacific Program Director, Jonathan Berkshire Miller. Kolga’s award-winning work has included countless op-eds in major papers, including a 2019 op-ed that warned about the importance of exporting Ca nadian energy products to Europe to offset Russian oil and gas. He has authored several papers for the Institute, including on Russian disinformation, election interference, and Russia and China’s neocolonial ambitions in Africa. He’s been an active participant in webinars, podcasts, and more. In the last 30 days alone, Kolga has been cited over 600 times by the media, including CTV, CBC, Global News, Toronto Star, National Post,
Baba’s Borscht: Culture and Community Building through Cooking My Baba taught me how to make borscht in her small, yellow and brown kitchen one afternoon when I was old enough to know I should learn the family recipe, but not old enough to fully appreciate the powerhouse of a woman in front of me. This woman, who would take me to pick late spring straw berries in nearby farmer fields and would bring me to senior’s BINGO in the basement of the Ukrainian Catholic Church where I was baptised, was the sole matriarch of a displaced family who had re-established themselves in Canada after decades of hardship. Olga Hewko, nee Stefany shyn, was born in the spring of 1921 in a small town outside Kyiv during the Ukrainian War of Independence (1917–1921).
Like so many Eastern Euro peans of her generation, the timing of her birth foretold trauma and insecurity. She persevered through the establishment of Soviet Rule, the first ‘Russification of Ukraine’ policy, the Holodomor – the Sovietimposed genocide of Ukrainians through catastrophic industria lised famine in the early 1930s killing millions − and then, as a young woman, the horrors and atrocities of WWII and the survival of a Nazi work camp. Peace came for my Baba once she boarded a ship for Canada in 1945 and settled in Hamilton, ON, along with tens of thousands of other Ukrainian refugees who had the good fortune of being liberated on the Western side of Germany before the Iron Curtain fell. Once
Globe and Mail, Le Devoir, and much more. As noted by MLI Foreign Policy Program Director Shuvaloy Majumdar, “my friend and colleague Marcus Kolga is a fierce advocate for human dignity, and no greater recognition of his fearless work can be conferred than by the Kremlin’s sanctions today.” This is not the first time that Russia and its sympathizers have attempted to coerce the Macdonald-Laurier Institute or our fellows. We have stared down threats from Russia, as well as attempted intimidation from China’s “wolf warrior” diplomats and authoritarian thugs from all corners of the world. MLI will remain undeterred. Indeed, we celebrate how great an impact our work has had on Canadian public policy; the more the world’s despots try desperately to silence us, the more we will continue leading the charge. Reflecting on the news, Kolga says that he is “honoured to have been named to Putin’s blacklist alongside leaders such as Ukrainian Canadian Con gress President Alexandra Chyczij. I am pleased to be in such great company as I con tinue my work in advocating for policy solutions that stand up for Canada’s interests and values at home and abroad.”
there, she raised her three sons and became an active member of the Ukrainian diaspora, servicing the community as a seamstress and cook. She continued being active within the community right up until she could no longer participate, and she passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on July 30, 2017. I never fully comprehended the amount of strength and resolve my Baba must have embodied in her 97 years on this planet. Living through such conflict and then having to start fresh in a foreign country without family or friends, she remained connected to her culture and helped build a community. Through her cooking she was able to communicate her love and passion and keep all our bellies full! I am incredibly thankful that she passed down her gift to me and others in my family. I will always cherish the memories I have with her of rolling out dough for perogies, stuffing cabbage rolls full of delicious filling and setting the table to practice my counting in Ukrainian. I can’t wait to re create these memories with my own daughter and my future grandchildren, and I am also incredibly honoured to share our family Borscht recipe [pg 7] with you, so my beloved Baba can continue to live on through her cooking! KELLY-ANN HEWKO
Estonia’s Consul General in New York Kairi Künka, South Florida Estonian Society President Veljo Kurik, KESKUS donor Ene Riisna, KESKUS Project Lead Ellen Valter, Estonia’s Ambassador to the UN Sven Jürgenson, KESKUS donor Ilo-Mai Harding.
KESKUS collaborations with South Florida Estonians Independence Day celebrations in Palm Beach Lõuna Florida (South Florida) Estonian Society celebrated Vabariigi aastapäev (Estonia’s Independence Day) on Sunday March 6, 2022 and welcomed Ellen Valter, Project Lead of KESKUS Inter national Esto nian Centre to its luncheon gathering at Sandhill Crane Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Led by Veljo Kurik, the Society’s president, Terje Van Schaik and Terje Hill, the Society regularly gathers together Florida Estonian residents, snowbirds, visitors and dignitaries. This year’s Independence Day celebrations included Estonia’s Consul General in New York, Kairi Künka, and Estonia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Sven Jürgen son. Ellen Valter presented the KESKUS project to the some 40 attendees after the luncheon (https://youtu.be/nNJmmpe-RHI), including the address from President Toomas Hendrik Ilves (https://youtu.be/jALq1fDJ43k). With Palm Beach just a 3-hour plane ride away from KESKUS, much potential for
Estonia has sent Ukraine 2,000 tons of aid ERR, March 2022 Estonia has sent Ukraine 2,000 tons in humanitarian and military aid, said Mag nus-Valdemar Saar, director of the Center for Defense Investments (RKIK). “Estonia has supported Ukraine with everything they have asked and we have been able to give. The lion’s share has been military aid – arms and ammunition, while medical and humanitarian aid has not
collaboration between Florida Estonians and KESKUS, including Estonian school and summer camps already began to develop. Please mark your calendars for the virtual Community Engagement Session held on March 24, 2022 at 7pm, details at www.estoniancentre.ca/newsevents. Get involved and help support our future Join the growing list of capital campaign donors! KESKUS International Estonian Centre’s donor categories are Kalevipoja Laud for gifts of $100,000 and above (including naming rights for specific areas), Viru Vanemad for gifts of $10,000 and above, and Kungla Rahvas for gifts under $10,000. KESKUS generous donors are listed on the KESKUS website. To make a donation, please call +1.647.250.7136 or email donations@estoniancentre.ca. Donations may be made as a family gift, or in honour of an individual or family. All do nations will be issued a tax receipt. Let’s keep in touch! • Visit the KESKUS website for all the latest news • Sign up for the KESKUS monthly email newsletter • Follow KESKUS on Face book @EestiKeskus, Twitter @ keskus, Instagram @keskus.iec been less important,” Saar said at a Ministry of Defense press conference on Monday. “Esto nia has sent to Ukraine over 2,000 Euro-pallets of goods weighing around 2,000 tons,” he added. Saar emphasized that all shipments have arrived and reached the people who need them. The head of RKIK remarked that aid has also come from companies, aid organizations and hospitals. Saar also said that Estonia aims to send more humanitarian and military aid, whether wea pons or munitions, to Ukraine.
