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EESTI ELU reedel, 29. juulil 2022 — Friday, July 29, 2022
Narva Mayor: Narva will not relocate Soviet tank monument ERR, July 2022
Rannahotell in Pärnu.
Luterma 1930 chair set.
Photo: visitestonia.com
Photo: 1stdibs.com
The presence of Art Deco design in Estonia Vincent Teetsov On New Year’s Eve 2019, upon seeing the festive headbands with wide letters of gold and zigzag embellishments that many people were wearing, it struck me that maybe the Art Deco style that was big during 1920s and 30s was about to make a comeback – at least as some kind of retro novelty. It stands out as a design movement due to its brazen modern simplicity and selective splashes of grandeur. Something is enticing about the agility of Art Deco; how it embraces what beauty can be found in symbols of human invention. Art Deco’s visual gusto can be found in train stations, movie theatres, skyscrapers, furniture, and even coffee cups. Elements we can identify include geo metric shapes, shiny chrome, brass, and wood details. Art Deco, having existed for a relatively short period of time, certainly isn’t the most common design or architectural style found in Estonia. More preva lent styles include baroque (for example, Kadriorg Palace), neo classical (such as the University of Tartu’s main building), or Art Nouveau (like the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn). However, one building that does embrace the clarified, sleek Art Deco architectural style is the Viljandi Grand Hotel. Since the building was completed in 1938, it has con tained a hotel, a bank, a restau rant, a clothing store, and a pharmacy; all at once at one point. The building, designed by architect Eugen Sacharias, is dominated by two rectangular wings that jut out from a round ed entrance. Wide windows abound across the sides of the building. In between the win dows are columns that extend from the second floor up to the roof. Over the entrance, tall windows with square panes of glass elongate the building up ward towards a belvedere, from which one can look out below.
Christine Myrvang of the Norwegian Business School defines the end result of Art Deco as being “...in the direc tion of elitism. This was mainly aimed at the middle class with spending power, who embraced the effortless urban life in the cities.” Hotels fit into this life style of leisure, travel, wealth, and comfort. Thus, another excellent example of Art Deco is the Rannahotell in Pärnu, located within a short walk of the beach and Pärnu Bay. In the 30s, Olev Siinmaa and Anton Lembit Soans designed the hotel to meet the city’s need for a place for tourists to stay when they visited the waterfront. The hotel was opened in the summer of 1937. In its lifetime, it has also housed German and Soviet soldiers and was a sanatorium for almost 50 years, before be coming a hotel again in 1994. Rannahotell has an elongated profile, with a row of balconies extending outward, looking out across the grass and to the water. Positioned every few metres along this profile are round porthole windows. All around the hotel are railings that resemble those of a cruise liner. The walls are painted a spotless white. The patio area below is illuminated by simple spherical lamps resting on tall posts. The building suits the seaside location well. In the lobby, the hotel has a checkerboard pattern tiled floor, arched doorways, and an accent of carved details, sculpted by Paul Horma, next to the front desk. The style of the Ranna hotell is what Olev Siinmaa called “Pärnu Resort Functional ism.” This is hand-in-hand with Art Deco, in that both ap proaches strived for modernism. Estonian Art Deco endures in the plywood furniture of Luterma (the A. M. Luther Mechanical Woodworking Fac tory). Luterma was also known for making suitcases, address ing the new travel possibilities of the time. But of what re mains today, you’ll more often
In an interview with ERR, Mayor of Narva Katri Raik said the city authorities will not move the tank monument dedicated to Soviet troops. Raik said most people in Narva are against it, and that Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has warned against dividing society. “Neither the city administra tion nor the city council are planning to move the tank,” said Raik responding to an EPL (Eesti Päevaleht) editorial on Tuesday. “We have no plans to either paint the tank pink or transport it to the Narva Fortress,” she added and pointed out that Narva Fortress is a medieval fortress museum and the twen tieth-century battle tank does not belong there. “The tank is not Estonia’s biggest problem. The tank is not Narva’s biggest problem. Housing, the cost of power, employment, and the transition to all Estonian education [are the problems],” Raik said on Vikerraadio’s “Uudis+” on Tuesday. In response to the idea that people in Narva could be asked to sign a petition calling for a referendum on the tank’s fate, Raik said Narva city officials will definitely discuss the issue, but she does not see the need for a vote because the outcome is very clear. “Personally, I don’t see the point in a poll. It’s almost as if you’re asking if the weather is nice today. Yes, the weather in Narva is pleasant, and that is also clearly visible. In any case, we are aware of what the locals say about the tank,” said the city mayor. Raik added the tank is a part of the identity of the Russianspeaking population of Narva: “Part of the pride that lingers stems from the fact that, as
see sets of chairs that they manufactured. They used ply wood because they wanted to make something light, strong, and reliable. Luterma was founded in 1883 and was operational until 1940. Though they did have moments of more decorative designs, as the years went by, their work veered more and more towards functionalism and modernism. This was in re sponse to the construction of more apartments and smaller dwellings for working families in Estonia’s bigger towns. These homes needed simpler, standardized furniture that could be shifted around to address different needs in a space. One example of Luterma’s designs are the bistro chairs they made in 1930. The top of each chair’s backrest is rounded and follows a comfortable
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Citizens of Russia can no longer receive visas or residence permits for the purpose of studying in Estonia The Estonian government approved the sanction, which limits Russian citizens from applying for temporary residence permits or visas for the purpose of studying in Esto nia. In addition, the sanction, established by the regulation, specifies that citizens of Russia and Belarus can register short-term employment only if they have a valid visa issued by Estonia. Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu emphasized that Russia’s unjustified war against Ukraine, not only grossly vio lates Ukraine’s territorial integ rity, sovereignty and indepen dence, but also threatens the security of Estonia and of the European Union. Reinsalu states, “The continuation of sanctions against Russia is es sential to ensuring relentless
pressure on the country. If the sanctions help in stopping Russian aggression, a positive effect on our own security will ensue.” With the amendment of the sanction, it is specified that the short-term employment of citi zens of Russia and Belarus with a legal residence permit issued by another member state will no longer be registered, and therefore they will additionally not be able to apply for a longterm visa for the purpose of short-term employment. “With this amendment, we will eliminate scenarios where a short-term Schengen visa is applied for, for tourism purposes, for example, from another member state in order to bypass the current sanction,” added Reinsalu.
Russians here, they represent those who liberated Estonia from the fascists [Nazis] and rebuilt Narva. So the tank is a small token of that identity and pride.” Despite the fact they bring flowers to the tank and support its preservation, people in Narva are fond of Estonia, Raik said. “I understand today’s Narva residents, who are mostly at a crossroads regarding their future and identity. However, the people themselves are very clear about their love of Estonia, and I have faith in it, seeing many of them on February 24, as well as on June 23, the Estonian Victory Day. We lit our city’s Midsummer Night bonfire from the Victory Flame – it was solemly lit by the Young Eagles [a youth orga nization of the Defense League]. So, the population of Narva sincerely loves Estonia.
This is something I’d like to emphasize to all radio listeners at this time. “Narva is an Estonian city, Narva is part of Estonia, and this ends most of my tank- related discussions with Narva residents,” Raik said. Raik added there are about a dozen other Soviet monuments in the city, some of which bother her more than the tank memorial. “I have to be honest, the plaques in St. Peter’s Square, with the names of military units named after Narva, are far more eye-catching to me. /---/ Or the obelisk in Castle Park. So we’re not just talking about the tank in Narva, but about 20 different memorials and name plaques honoring Soviet troops,” she continued. Raik further explained her unwillingness to deal with the dismantling of the tank memo rial by referring to an interview with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform), published in daily newspaper Õhtuleht. in which the head of government discussed Russia’s imperialist ambitions to divide the societies of other nations. “Looking at Russia’s actions in Georgia and Ukraine, the excuse for invading is often that there is tension and instability, and then they go to the aid of the so-called local Russian community. “When we are divided and at odds with one another, we are weaker in the face of the enemy,” Kallas said. “And it is precisely this separation that I aim to elimi nate in my day-to-day work as mayor of Narva, so that there is no division and we are more united. We agreed before May 9 that it was not the right moment for a large celebration, and we got through May 9 in Narva without incident. 22,000
shape around one’s back. They’re built in an uncomplicat ed way, except for a geometric detail in the bottom of the back rest: three wooden squares of decreasing width, which looks like a chandelier. What was Art Deco design and architecture trying to achieve with their combination of simplicity and occasional decoration? In “Art Deco: A Mode of Mobility” Dr. Michael Wind over of Carleton University writes that Art Deco’s central theme was mobility in “migra tion, transportation, commodity exchange, capital, and commu nication.” The examples of Art Deco we do have from Estonia tell us about how eager some of the country’s designers and architects were to move out of the shell of the past.
ESTONIAN GOVERNMENT
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