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EESTI ELU reedel, 17. juulil 2020 — Friday, July 17, 2020
Today, on behalf of the Board of the Estonian Relief Committee, I regretfully announce the retirement of Einar Medri, who has been the Chief Executive Officer of Ehatare for the past six years. We do this with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Einar will be off to enjoy a much deserved break from his labours. On the other hand, we will miss his leadership at Ehatare. Though I have been the Chairman of the Board for only a year, I will miss Einar for the sage advice and wise counsel he has given to me in this time. As Einar departs, cooperation between the Board and the CEO has never been stronger. The Board would like to highlight Einar’s vision and work towards transforming Ehatare into a boutique retirement home that has resulted in larger, beautifully renovated rooms and suites. Thanks to Einar’s leadership in the renovation project, Ehatare has become a place where our seniors want to come and live. We now have a waiting list for the newly renovated rooms and suites. I also want to point out Einar’s strong support of Estonian culture at Ehatare. Finally, Einar has assembled a great leadership team who, I am confident, will continue to do a great job for Ehatare in the future. As all of you no doubt know, the province has been under a state of emergency in the past four months due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. And you will know that this cruel virus has hit senior citizens the hardest, particularly those at retirement and nursing homes. Some of the nursing homes in the Greater Toronto Area have suffered greatly as a result. As of the time I write this letter, Ehatare has been spared the potential ravages of this awful virus. Everybody in our community owes a profound debt of gratitude to Einar, as well as his staff and employees, for making this possible. During this crisis, Einar has been consistently pro-active, always looking for new ways that Ehatare could be better prepared, and always coming up with newer and better contingency plans. It is no exaggeration to say that the past four months have been the most challenging in Ehatare’s history. Thank you, Einar, for the leadership you have shown in this crisis. As a result of Einar’s retirement, the Estonian Relief Committee has begun a search for a new executive director of Ehatare. We hope to have this person in place by September of this year. Though the details haven’t been fixed, we hope to keep Einar on as a special projects manager for Ehatare. In summary, the board wishes you the best in your well-deserved retirement Einar. You deserve the break. Sincerely, Markus Alliksaar Chairman of the Board Estonian Relief Committee in Canada
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I am today announcing my decision to begin the process of transitioning to retirement. After joining Ehatare as CEO nearly 6 years ago, I had expectations, but little did I know what a wonderful, challenging and fulfilling role it would be. The hallmarks of wonderful include an unprecedented opportunity to apply all of my lifelong management experience in a unique environment where service to our beloved Residents and the Community in which we operate has included working with quality staff, board directors, other volunteers, and key suppliers. This has been a united effort to enrich the lives of our Residents and their loved ones in ways impossible to understand without having been privileged to be part of the Ehatare family. Who would have thought challenging would include the still emerging story of COVID-19, and how it has fundamentally tested the very best in all of us. In an environment where many individuals and Homes have been negatively affected, I am so grateful to all my staff who have played a vital and sacrificial role in being able thus far to keep the scourge of COVID away from our Nursing and Retirement Homes. This is something we are all thankful for, and I hope part of a lasting legacy for the Ehatare Community to take note of how important and credible Ehatare continues to be to our present and future generations of Estonian heritage Residents.
Fulfilling includes watching our Leadership and Staff be able to change direction, work differently yet together as a Team, be willing to recommit daily to serve our Residents, and achieve excellent outcomes. Of equal importance is a sense that we have firmly begun and advanced the necessary revitalization and changes that will be essential for Ehatare to remain relevant in the future for many people, including myself, who are getting ever closer to being future Ehatare residents. The list of people deserving thanks are too long to list here, but let me take this opportunity to specifically thank all of the Residents and family members I have been able to serve. I will never forget or undervalue the incredible trust and prayers that the Residents extended immediately upon arrival and throughout my tenure. They gave me incredible motivation, wisdom and confidence to move bravely into the future knowing that the Residents were always supportive and understanding of what we tried to achieve on both their behalf, as well as future Residents. I am confident that Ehatare has an exciting future ahead and would urge our Community to do more in terms of supporting Ehatare’s continuing future plans and related needs. Einar Medri, CEO Ehatare / Estonian Relief Committee in Canada
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Why is there a monument to Ivan the Terrible’s executioner in Estonia? ERR, July 2020 A monument to Ivan The Terrible’s executioner Malyu ta Skuratov is located in Mäo, a village in Järva County. Astrid Kannel, a guest report er on “Ringvaade”, went to find out why there is such a monument in Estonia. There is a monument in the middle of Estonia, in Mäo, which is dedicated to one of the most famous murderers in Russian history. From a dis tance, the monument resembles
Monument built for Ivan The Terrible’s executioner Malyuta Skuratov. Photo: ERR
an old chimney and it has also been considered as a pillar of the War of Independence. Its location is in a pea field on the top of a hill and there is no passage or path to get to it. Raul Vaiksoo, an Estonian architect, has called the monu ment an obelisk in the book called “101 Eesti monumenti” (“101 Estonian monuments”). It is the evilest monument in Estonia. Russian tourists and visitors to the monument are often sur prised to find that Skuratov died in Paide, a town in Järva County. The monument is dedicated to Russian soldiers who died during the Livonian War in 1573 during the conquest of Paide Fortress (the siege of Weissenstein). Ivan the Terrible’s most famous executioner, Malyuta Skuratov, was the leader of the Tsar’s personal punitive army the oprichnina, and was present at the battle. During the last days of 1572, the Russian army besieged Paide Fortress. Ivan The Ter rible himself was experiencing war for the first time in Estonia. Skuratov was one of the first ones who ran into the castle to murder him. Some of the chro nicles write that he was im mediately shot or stabbed. 314 years later, Olaf von
Stackelberg, a landowner of the Mäo area, built an obelisk for Russian soldiers who were killed in the conquest of Paide Fortress. Grand Duke Vladimir, the brother of Emperor Alex ander the Third, visited Paide in 1886 to and learnt he was not the first blue-blooded Russian to visit that town. Ründo Mülts, the director of research at Wittenstein Center in Järva County, explained: “During the Paide visit, a mem ber of Tsar’s family heard that Ivan The Terrible and Malyuta Skuratov have been here before and they were both killed here. During the conversation, a dis cussion arose that such an important and dignified event cannot be unseen without a no ticeable reminder – a monu ment. The landowner of Mäo, Stackelberg came up with the idea that he would build an obelisk on the top of a hill on the lands of his manor.” Ivan the Terrible was the first to be proclaimed tsar of Russia in 1547. His reign saw the com pletion of the construction of a centrally administered Russian state and the creation of an empire that included non-Slav states. Ivan engaged in prolonged and largely unsuccessful wars against Sweden and Poland, and, in seeking to impose mili tary discipline and a centralized administration, he instituted a reign of terror against the hereditary nobility.
Eesti Sihtkapitali Kanadas stipendiaat
Colden Palo Colden Palo is one of 7 exceptional Canadian-Estonian youth to be granted a 2019 EFC Scholarship. Colden is a 3rd year Vocal Performance student at the University of Alberta. He hopes to become a professor of Music in the future. His family celebrated numerous Estonian traditions growing up and he describes this connection “The act of singing a piece in your father’s language is a profound experience, and one that makes me very proud as a first genera tion Canadian.” On being Estonian: “Estonia boasts incredible artistry and technology, and a beautiful language. Estonia lives on in my father, but my mother also embraced this special heritage. Estonia means never giving up and celebrating uniqueness and diversity. I see these values in my family, and I am thankful for the heri tage that we get to celebrate.” On the role of EFC: “The history and legacy of Estonia is an important thing to protect, and the Estonian Foundation of Canada is committed to just that. The significance of an organization such as the EFC cannot be overstated, due to its commitment to preserv ing Estonian heritage and supporting its people in Canada. Ultimately, the EFC brings Estonians together in Canada, allowing us to celebrate our past and look forward to an exciting future.” ••• Thanks to the generosity of our donors, Estonian Foundation of Canada has granted over 130 scholarships to CanadianEstonian youth since 2003. See www.estonianfoundation.ca for details on eligibility and application dates or to make a donation to help support youth in our community.
