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EESTI ELU reedel, 3. juulil 2020 — Friday, July 3, 2020
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Art Historian: Päts monument interpretation in eye of beholder ERR, June 2020
Kivioli Recreation Centre.
Photo: kinkekaart.ee
International influences on recreation in Estonia Vincent Teetsov “Parim kink on elamus!” signs off an email newsletter from Piletilevi. “The best gift is an experience!” In a lot of ways, I agree. If we have a lot of stuff lying around at home already, it’s a relief to make some memories instead, and do something out of the ordi nary. Even when technology and other goods seem to break too easily, we’ll still remember good times with our friends and family. Piletilevi’s tagline is scrawled in a curly font over an image of a colourful chair swing. In their promotional images, you’ll see ziplines, inner tubes on water slides, boxy race cars, an escape room, a spa, and the shipping crate structures of Aloha Surf in Pärnu. These places have transported the relaxed vibes of California and Hawaii to the shores of the Baltic Sea. It was the same feeling when I went a few years back to Surfer Joe Summer Festival in Livorno, Italy. The late June sun was beating down on my neck. I’m pretty sure I got a mild case of heat stroke, so it didn’t take much more than twangy guitars, a burger, and a cool drink to send me to the Pacific. This kind of magic, made possible by Lorenzo “Surfer Joe” Valdambrini, has swept across Europe. I’m curious as to where it has come from and where it will go. Of course, fascination with North America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands is no new thing. We can look back at least as far as the rise of jazz and the Charleston dance in the 1920s. In the 40s and 50s, an amalgamation of palm tree postcards, Googie architecture,
and carved tiki replicas became symbolic of the future and a bright, amusing existence some where far away. This abridged idea has come back in waves in the 90s and in bits and pieces thereafter. Looking at what’s on offer in terms of recreation across Estonia, you’ll find whatever you want. Kiviõli Adventure Centre in Ida-Virumaa has a hill and a zipline. In Tartu, you could battle in the armour of a knight with the Estonian Historical Fencing Association. These places, whether indepen dent (as in the Historical Fenc ing Association) or associated with gift packages, show a wide open future for recreation. Especially when it comes to kids. Experience-based gifts are suggested as summer presents, for students who have finished up a crazy school year. Physical activities give us something real to do, when so much requires connecting to the internet and watching something. Usually sitting down. Usually at home. Why not turn action and drama into an experience; and further, why not venture somewhere new at the same time? Actually, one of the gift cards does relate to physical goods: for 109 Euros, you can have a tailored, custom dress shirt made for you at Gowri Style House in Tallinn’s Old Town. For 999 Euros, a tailor will measure you and make a full ülikond (suit). Yet, there’s something extra significant about it. It’s made to last, it’s just right for your specific mea surements, and you get to be a part of the craftsmanship. In Estonia, international in fluences on recreation are just another part of variety and be ing able to choose for yourself what you spend your money on.
ESTONIAN LIFE
Your source of news about Estonia and Estonians, home and abroad
Art historian Anders Härm says the jury in a recent com petition to pick a memorial design for Estonia’s first presi dent, Konstantin Päts, picked the best of what they had been presented with, adding that it allows for more interpretations than its crea tors may have originally envisaged. “It has a certain artistic qua lity, that is, it is not necessarily associated with solemnity and staidness, but has brought with it all sorts of comparisons already widespread on the Internet – from those calling it ‘soft and furry’, to Päts’ head to Japanese manga,” Härm said, ERR’s Culture portal reports. The winning design, entitled “Head of State” (“Riigipea”) and designed by Toivo Tammik and Vergo Vernik, has met some pushback, with Estonian Art Academy rector Mart Kalm calling it hardly Estonia’s great est artistic achievement. Jury panellist and art profes sor Krista Kodres said you can’t please everyone all of the time, with Härm saying it was not worse of a choice than any of the other entrants. Härm said any solemn con notations could be offset by more playful interpretation, even if this was not the artists’ intention, adding the unveiling could be the clarion call for more public debate on what works of art in public spaces should look like. The statue is to be housed next to the Estonia Theater, home of the Estonian National Opera (Rahvusooper), in central Tallinn. Another person who spotted
Estonians’ natural population growth positive for second year in a row ERR, June 2020 Last year, the number of ethnic Estonians living in Estonia increased by 348 due to natural population growth and another 794 due to net migration. According to Sta tistics Estonia data, a total of 909,552 ethnic Estonians lived in Estonia as of the beginning of 2020. According to Alis Tammur, a leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, Estonians’ natural population growth has remained near balanced for the past 12 years. “From 2008–2012, Estoni ans’ natural population growth was positive, after which it re mained negative for five years in a row, and for the past two years has been positive again,” Tammur said. “Over the past dozen years combined, a total of 3,600 more [ethnic] Esto nians have been
Belorussians in Estonia protest for free and fair elections in Belarus ERR News, June 2020
Photo: ERR
a real-life resemblance between the design and a notorious figure was Erkki Bahovski jour nalist and editor-in-chief of Diplomaatia, published by the International Centre for De fence and Security (ICDS). “I looked at the design of the Päts statue and recalled quite automatically the fascist head quarters, with its image of Benito Mussolini,” Bahovski wrote on his social media page, referring to the Palazzo Braschi in Rome, which housed the Italian dictator’s headquarters during his reign (see photo). Konstantin Päts (1874–1956) was the first president of the Republic of Estonia (1938– 1940). He is considered to be the most remarkable politician of the pre-war Estonian Re public and repeatedly led Esto nian governments including during the most difficult time the state faced, at the beginning of the 1918–1920 War of Independence. At the same time, he remains a controversial figure to some due to perceptions of authori tarian rule, particularly during the so-called “era of silence” in the mid-1930s. He died in Siberia in 1956 after being de ported by the Soviets.
born than died.” For the past three years, Estonians’ net migration has been positive as well, indicating that more Estonians have re turned to their homeland than have moved abroad. Following the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991, the country saw a period of negative net migration, at the beginning of which a large number of Estonians of Russian background left the country, followed by an increase of ethnic Estonians’ migration abroad. After Estonia joined the EU in 2004, the country saw a further increase in migration abroad as the borders opened to the rest of the union. “For the past five years, overall net migration in Estonia has been positive, and for the past three years, Estonians’ net migration has been as well,” the analyst said. “It is difficult to highlight any one specific primary motivation for people returning to their homeland, but the country’s general economic stability saw people return ahead of the previous economic crisis as well, for example.”
Dozens of protesters gathered to call for free and fair elec tions in Belarus recently out side the Belorussian embassy in Tallinn. Protesters held homemade banners and placards and flew the red and white flag of the Belarusian Democratic Re public, which was created in 1918 and used between 1991 and 1995 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now the Belarusian diaspora and nearly all opposition parties in Belarus consider it as the only true flag of Belarus, Belarus Digest explains. The rally in Tallinn echoes those held in other cities across the world in recent weeks calling for the release of Belarussian political prisoners so they can participate in the presidential elections which will be held in August. Several opposition candidates have been put in jail in the last month. The current president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has been in power since 1996. Belarussian protester Volia Chajkouskaja has lived in Tallinn for two years and told ERR News at the rally: “We are here today because we want to express solidarity with all the political prisoners in Belarus and all the activists in Belarus who fight for justice and for transparent and fair elections.” Chajkouskaja said the pro testers, who were also chanting at the rally in Russian and Belarussian, were calling for justice, freedom for political prisoners, fair elections, and for Lukashenko to step down. Explaining the reason for holding the rally, the organizers wrote on Facebook: “The past month has been marked by unlawful detentions of potential presidential candidates, and mass arrests of people who dared to protest. Add to that the questionable handling of COVID-19 pandemic by the authorities, and you can see why now, more than ever, people want to come out and stand against injustice. “In this critical time for our country we want to express solidarity with the political prisoners in Belarus and show our support of fair elections.” On June 20, Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) expressed concern for opposition candidates, protest ers and journalists in Belarus ahead of the election. Freedom House says Belarus is an authoritarian state in which elections are openly or chestrated and civil liberties are tightly restricted. Reporters Without Borders ranked Belarus 153 out of 180 countries in this year’s Press Freedom Index. Estonia was ranked in 14th place.
