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EESTI ELU reedel, 10. juunil 2022 — Friday, June 10, 2022
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VEMU fundraiser a success
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
Russian propaganda’s imprint in Russia, in Estonia Targeting Russians at home and abroad since it started planning the invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s propa gandists have been in over drive. They have stuck to a consistent litany of lies. In justifying the war, Moscow insists that the Ukrainian leadership are irre deemable Nazis; NATO is plot ting to take over Ukraine as a staging area for attacking Russia; Ukraine and the US are jointly developing nuclear weapons; the US uses Ukraine to advance bio-chemical capa bilities. The Nazi aspect of Russian propaganda has now broadened to include the entire country and Ukrainians there fore qualify for some form of punishment. Has Putin’s all-out misinfor mation campaign shown any success? Polling results covering political opinions are question able since Russians, especially the older generation, are reluc tant to reveal their genuine opinions on controversial issues, for fear of the current govern ment’s retribution. But the younger generation, without any experience of Soviet repres sions, is more candid in their responses to polling questions. That’s why recent Levada Centre surveys could be an indication of change. In mea suring the effectiveness of Putin’s efforts in nurturing p ro-war sentiment among young Russians, the available data shows some gains for the Kremlin. A March survey showed that 71% of 18-to-24year-olds supported the war, 10% below the national average (which could be distorted). In addition 54% of the same group harboured negative attitudes to wards Ukraine, only 3% below the national average. The general thrust of the Kremlin’s messaging has been a condemnation of anti-war acti vity colouring it as unpatriotic and anti-Russian. Coupled with this is the government’s intimi dation tactics against protesters, who were led mainly by the youth during the first weeks of the war. The Kremlin’s suppres sion has worked. But has this intensified pro paganda barrage had any impact on the public mindset in
Estonia? A recent poll indicates that nearly one quarter of Estonian residents do not blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. When considering that 23.9% of Estonian residents in 2019 self-identified as Russians, is this worrisome?” Some 380,000 or 30% of those living in Estonia are Russian speaking. One could easily assume that the vast majority of them do not accuse Russia for starting an un provoked invasion, that it’s the fault of the west. Thus, are only 6% of Russian speakers in Estonia aligned with the West on this issue? Has Putin grabbed the hearts and minds of a significant segment of the Estonian popula tion? Different indicators make this though to answer. The results of the GLOBSEC poll, conducted throughout East and Central Europe, seem to be inconsistent with other trends and don’t help in forming hard and lasting conclusions with confidence. Holding Russia as a general threat were 68% of Estonian respondents. In line with this were an equal 68% who blamed Russia for starting the war. Is this low? In Poland, fully 90% of the population sees Russia as a threat. Opinions do shift over time. One year ago, 30% of Estonian residents viewed Putin positively. Now this has declined to 22%. In the Russian presidential elections of 2018, fully 94% of those voting in Estonia gave their vote to Putin. In Russia it self, Putin won 76.6% of the vote, which might even be low er according to international ob servers. These votes were cast by Russian citizens only, total ing 28,077 people – of the ap proximately 83,000 who were qualified to vote in Estonia. Within shifting loyalties caused by Russian aggression are other indicators that make understanding of public anxieties and political stances somewhat unpredictable. Recent media reports indicate that a signifi cant number of Russian citizens in Estonia have applied to de nounce their Russian citizenship and apply for Estonian citizen ship. In fact, estimations put it at three times the rate of that 12
Sebastian Buccioni, Executive and Artistic Director for Estonian Music Week and the Development Manager for Estonian Museum Canada / VEMU Fundraisers are not just about raising money. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the year’s achievements with cherished supporters and, in this case, share some exciting news about future plans. Here is my recap of the 2022 annual VEMU fundraiser. The VEMU fundraiser has taken place yearly from 2010, and went online during the pan demic. This year the fundraiser not only supported VEMU, but also Ukraine. Each year has a theme and this year guest speakers Alar Kongats and Kristian Kirsfeldt spoke about the upcoming project to build the Estonian Museum Canada. No VEMU fundraiser is com
months ago. For all of 2021, some 300 Russians made the move. Since February 214, when Russia in vaded Ukraine 113 have already officially begun the process. The Estonian Interior Ministry has also indicated that there’s a marked increase of those with Russian citizenship, living in Russia, but with Estonian ancestry, applying for documents proving their qualifi cations for Estonian citizenship. Since Estonia requires a minimum of an eight-year resi dency in Estonia before submit ting an application for Estonian citizenship, many Russians who do not yet qualify have to maintain their permanent resi dent status as an alien. It’s not a simple procedure to give up Russian citizenship. One has to apply to be deleted from the Russian taxation sys tem before denouncing Russian citizenship. This might take months, sometimes more than a year. While Putin’s propaganda has made an impact on Rus sians domestically, it’s difficult to accurately establish its suc cess on Russian speakers in Estonia. The hearts and minds of Estonians still favour truth. LAAS LEIVAT
plete without tasty food and wonderful music, but I’ll get to that in a moment. Chief Archivist Piret Noor hani kicked off the evening with a year-in-review. Although COVID-19 presented many challenges, VEMU continued to offer strong programming througho ut 21/22. VEMU clocked thousands of views online and even managed to of fer some in-person events via Estonian Music Week. Another major achievement was the rebranding process to “Estonian Museum Canada / VEMU”. As we learned, it’s not just about slapping on a new coat of paint, it’s about reconnecting with VEMU’s mission and taking a step towards a vision for the future, that is, building the Estonian Museum Canada. For those that say these events aren’t about the food, they haven’t tasted food from the Ukrainian caterers Baby Point Lounge. Their Ukrainian classics were not only satisfying but were part of our focus on the country. Our fundraiser raised an additional $225 toward the cause through the sale of our Estonian-Ukrainian soli darity t-shirts. On display were the devastating photos of the exhibit Ukrainian Frontline Photography. We continue to try to do our small part to bring attention to the war and its effect. Our first guest speaker of the evening was ambassador Toomas Lukk. Ambassador Lukk shared his enthusiasm for the new museum project and the impor
tance of the endeavor. He then bestowed the Medal of Honour of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Piret Noorhani for her contribution to the promo tion of Estonian interests in the world. Next we heard from architect Alar Kongats who shared with us the latest designs for VEMU’s new home, so fresh that many on the VEMU team had not even seen them yet. One of the most striking up dates was the window facade inspired by the turrets of the walls of Tallinn. The half- turrets turn inward, creating a welcoming alcove to look out over the Bloor Street corridor. Although Kongats refers to his contribution as just the shell, it already exudes character and creativity. Next Kristian Kirsfeldt, Creative Director at Velvet Design Agency, brought us up to speed on the planning in terior of the new museum. The planning involves a permanent but evolving exhibit telling the story of the Estonian diaspora. Although it’s very early in the process, Kristjan took us through the inspiration gather ing, which looks to put VEMU on a level playing field with Canada’s top museums. It is clear, even at this early stage, that the museum will provide an engaging world-class ex perience. For my part, I selected two young musicians to perform. As I shared in my introduction, it’s particularly exciting to hear (Continued on page 11)
