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EESTI ELU reedel, 5. juunil 2020 — Friday, June 5, 2020
Nr. 22
Swathe of travel and other restrictions lifted ERR, June 2020
English-language supplement to the Estonian weekly “EESTI ELU” Tartu College Publications Founding Chairman: Elmar Tampõld Editor: Laas Leivat 3 Madison Avenue, Toronto, ON M5R 2S2 T: 416-733-4550 • F: 416-733-0944 • E-mail: editor@eestielu.ca Digital: www.eestielu.ca
From patriotism to treason, a classic case revisited (II) After being confronted with the woman’s signed statement alleging rape and the compro mising video, Metsavas didn’t have the composure to mini mize his self-inflicted damage. Rapid developments simply overtook any rational decision making. The GRU offered to solve any problems, and to cope with his panic level he willingly signed anything presented to him. The contents at the time were a blur. He couldn’t even remember them. The GRU were masters of the situation. They didn’t press him for information about the Estonian military. He was re leased, not forced to remain in Smolensk, in fact not told of any further contacts. The be haviour of his recruiters helped him regain his self-confidence. He was convinced he could extricate himself from the mess. He knew he couldn’t contact the Estonian embassy – his entanglement with the ‘police’/ GRU would surely jeopardize his military career. He knew about the ill-reputed Russian le gal system and its ill treatment for anyone detained. He wanted to leave as soon as possible. The GRU kept track of his whereabouts. In Tallinn as he was leaving his mother’s house, fully one year later in 2008, a man accosted him in Russian, reminded him of the occurren ces in Smolensk and his pro mise of cooperation. However this was not the start of his assignments. Metsavas’ GRU handlers contacted him for the first time when he visited St. Petersburg in December of 2008, when he was met by ‘Anton’ and escorted to a safe house. The questions were innocent – about his life, his career and simple facts about Estonia’s military, info available on the internet. And now he was the victim of is own army discipline – obe dience. But the GRU tightened the knot that ensured his continued compliance – they offered and he accepted money to ‘cover his expenses’. They asked him about his mother’s flower business and his father’s health. Metsavas recognized the menac ing undertones of these queries,
even though they seemed inno cuous enough on the surface. Still, in spite of this Metsavas did not see himself as someone intimidated to become a traitor. The next meeting wasn’t scheduled until the following December. Anton (obviously a false name) revealed nothing of him self, his background, employer or the purposes for which Metsavas’ assistance was neces sary. But from Anton’s ques tions and use of military buzz words, it seemed that he had a military background. In fact it was only after Metsavas’ arrest that Estonia’s KAPO told him of Anton’s real identity and GRU connection. Anton’s constant focus on Georgia and Ukraine was a clear indication that the GRU was thoroughly familiar with Metsavas’ potential and value as a recruit. As an artillery liaison officer, he had officially been to both countries on assignment. What started as low level, general questioning by Anton developed into more detailed, sophisticated probes. This coin cided with with Metsavas’ up ward progress in his career. For its size, Estonia has significant feistiness in artillery capability but no notable prowess in aerial or marine warfare. It was the former that whetted Anton’s curiosity, especially in relation to Estonia’s allies, the US and Britain – their artillery specifi cations, its regional deploy ment, what was immediately available, etc. This was Metsa vas’ specialty and the GRU knew it. Anton’s questions from the very start instilled a lingering fear in Metsavas that the GRU had made impeccable searches into his private life and family. When it was necessary for the GRU to co-opt Metsavas’ father, Pjotr Volin, into the spying process, the Russian agency had already thoroughly investigated the latter’s background, which reassured them of Volin’s willingness to assist. He was forced to continue to satisfy Anton’s needs. As op posed to high-tech espionage, the handler of spies must be a master manipulator of the re cruit’s psyche – a confidante full of emotional and moral support. But the recruit still feels a diminishing self esteem and an inevitable ruined future. (To be continued) LAAS LEIVAT
Monday, June 1 saw a slew of restrictions lifted as part of the state’s coronavirus exit strategy. Areas affected in clude travel, entertainment and health care, with both national and local government making changes. From June 1, Estonia’s bor ders are open to travelers from EU and EEA nations, without having to undergo a 14-day quarantine period, provided the countries of origin meet the benchmark of 15 or fewer COVID-19 infections recorded per 100,000 inhabitants, over the preceding 14-day period. Visitors from countries with higher rates of infection within the EU, EEA and Schengen Zone will still be able to travel to Estonia, but will have to undergo quarantine for 14 days. The development builds on the reestablishment of freedom of movement between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – the socalled Baltic Bubble – in midMay, and adds Finland to the list of quarantine-exempt nations, along with many others. As rates of infection change, countries with no quarantine requirement can be added/re moved from the list, but at the time of writing, visitors from the following countries can freely enter Estonia without a quarantine requirement: Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slo vakia, Slovenia, and Switzer land. EU/EEA countries of origin which still have a quarantine requirement for entry to Estonia at the time of writing (with reported COVID-19 infection rates per 100,000) are: Belgium (30.7), Ireland (20.7), Malta (21.3), Portugal (32.1), Spain (17.3), Sweden (70.7), the U.K. (53.8). As noted above, despite being one of the worst-hit nations worldwide in the early stages of the pandemic, travelers from Italy, which now has a 14.3/100,000 coronavirus infec tion rate, can enter Estonia without undergoing quarantin ing, and the Netherlands (14.4/100,000) also scrapes in below the benchmark rate of 15 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Correction In the 8th and 9th para graphs of of the May 29 article “From patriotism to treason, a classic case re visited” the name Volin should have been Metsavas. We apologize for the mis take and possible confu sion.
Estonian flag on Pikk Hermann. The Estonian Students’ Society (Eesti Üliõpilaste Selts) adopted blue, black and white as the colours of their fraternity on 4 June 1884. The date is now celebrated as Flag Day in Estonia. Photo: Kati Kiilaspea
Estonia handing over UN Security Council presidency to France BNS/TBT, June 2020 TALLINN – Estonia’s first presidency of the UN Security Council ended on Sunday and France will be taking over the heading of the Security Council. According to Foreign Minis ter Urmas Reinsalu, Estonia successfully completed its pre sidency program. “The month of May put Estonia’s foreign service at the heart of crisis diplomacy during one of the greatest global crisis – we handled this challenge well. Despite the complicated cir cumstances and novel working conditions, we attracted wide spread attention and managed to bring together an unprecedented number of countries on issues important to us,” Reinsalu said. “Our capable diplomats in New York deserve particular praise, as they prepared for and led discussions on Libya, Syria, Venezuela and other regions literally from their living rooms.
Other travel changes from June 1: Latvian carrier AirBaltic commences flights to Paris from Tallinn Airport from June 1, with Vienna and Berlin fol lowing later in the week. Ferry line Tallink is adding depar tures, and an additional vessel, on the Tallinn-Helsinki route from June 1. Free travel on Tallinn public transport reverts to its pre-pandemic situation, meaning it is available only to residents and requires swiping the ubiquitous green card upon entering a bus, tram or trolley bus, with municipal police (MuPo) spot check inspections likely to return. Other restrictions lifted from June 1: Bars and restaurants permitted to both remain open and sell alcoholic beverages after 10 p.m. Kindergarten fees
The pandemic-ravaged New York and the resulting tele working arrangements forced them and their families to face un expectedly complicated working conditions,” he added. According Reinsalu, Estonia made its digital mark on the UN with two major events – on May 8 on European security and on May 22 on cyber stabi lity. “We demonstrated that the video diplomacy of a period of crisis still makes it possible to bring together a large number of UN member states and thanks to smart solutions, the voice of small states can be heard by many. The event on May 8 was the largest high- level event of UN member states since the start of the coronavirus crisis, bringing to gether nearly 50 foreign minis ters and almost 80 UN member states. On May 22, 60 states discussed issues of cyber sta bility as a separate topic for the first time in Security Council (Continued on page 9)
in Tallinn are reinstated. Kindergartens remained open throughout the crisis. Public events of up to 100 participants permissible, to a maximum 50 percent audience/space occu pancy. Spectators allowed at outdoor sports events, again up to a maximum of 100. Tallinn opening public beaches. Indoor spaces at zoos and museums opened. Visitors permitted to care homes, though whether and to what extent is up to the individual care homes them selves. Ferry service between Tallinn port and the island of Aegna reopens. Drive-in cine mas either closing or starting to wind-down, as cinemas can re open, though not all will imme diately. Digital prescriptions is sued in Estonia now valid for use in pharmacies in Finland.
