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EESTI ELU reedel, 16. septembril 2022 — Friday, September 16, 2022
Nr. 37
Estonia and Canada send in their best funksters for the TC 50+2 celebrations
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
Can Putin still claim victory in defeat? It’s perhaps one of the questions most often posed recently. At the time of this writing, Ukrainian forces were making significant gains in the eastern Russian-occupied areas. In fact, a sense of an inevitable Ukrainian victory was pal pable. Putin’s bound to retaliate. But will an end to the conflict, which cannot be perceived by the world as even a partially successful campaign for Mos cow, translate into a weakened, politically vulnerable Putin? The prognostications range over a wide spectrum. Putin is already seen as a pariah internationally, which doesn’t mean he’s lost any overbearing sense of contempt for the West. But the “we must avoid humiliating Putin”, is a cautionary warning that has significant resonance among European politicians. The most audible proponent has been French President Emmanuel Macron who stated this to the media in June. His reasoning? The fighting will eventually cease and a diplomatic solution will be available only if Putin is treated as a competent, reasonable party to a possible agreement. This conventional wisdom also stresses that Putin must not be humiliated so as to keep him from doing something dangerously insane. Many say it’s vital that a self-confident, proud Putin be invited to the negotiation table because a disgraced adversary will not co-operate in any meaningful way. Other observers insist that Macron got it wrong. Humilia tion is not about shaming Putin. It’s about achieving real peace and the only path to this is a total defeat of the Russian military, a dismantling of the Putin regime so that a significant part of the Russian popu lation – Putin supporters – will abandon their delusions. The Kremlin has consistently propagated the bizarre notion that the West intentionally provoked Russia into its “special military operation” in Ukraine so as to humiliate Russia. The Kremlin insists that had Ukraine not been a battleground of choice for the West, another country would have been chosen for its deliberate humiliation campaign. This convoluted argument, with humiliation as a
central aspect, has found some traction among the domestic audience. Sociologists note the consistency of results from the Levada Centre’s opinion polls which still indicate significant support for Putin’s war. (Although Levada’s polling reports are deemed to be undistorted, we must take into account the veracity of (espe cially older) respondents with lingering memories of Soviet repression, who still are reluctant to provide candid answers for fear of retribution. But Levada’s conclusions can be somewhat confirmed by some more unobtrusive measurements. The highest viewer ratings have been drawn by TV programs such as “Sunday Evening with Viktor Solovyov” and “60 Minutes”, where rabidly na tionalistic hosts and guests have called for the annihilation of Ukrainian independence. We also note that Kremlin TV often airs clips of Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Russian propaganda thrives on approval from abroad.) Some Kremlin critics see a Russian deep-seated sense of humiliation amplifying resentment of the West, making Russians into victims. This humiliation leads to aggression. Some psychoanalysts suggest that the humiliated, for their own emotional survival, feel it necessary to humiliate others, to make others suffer like they have. The perpetrator enjoys this sadistic behaviour and the victim in trying to cope with the humiliation would learn to enjoy it too. A theory perhaps not as far-fetched as it seems. Isn’t it unnecessarily risky then, to push Putin into a corner? But Putin doesn’t need to be embarrassed to undertake something totally deranged. The Ukraine invasion is vivid proof. However, wouldn’t a humiliated Putin, not capable of keeping others from losing respect for him, lash out in a deranged fashion with nuclear arms? He has thoroughly convinced us of his willingness to act out his delusions, such as conquering Ukraine in three days. It’s delusional to believe he can now win the war and that Russia can in the long-run survive sanctions. It’s madness to risk an accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The list is long.
If you’re looking for confirmation on your information about your transportation from Spadina Station, you’re in the wrong place... However, if you’re in the area and want the scoop on some stellar parties, then keep reading! We’ve had to wait patiently to celebrate the 50th anniver sary – now titled TC 50+2 – of Tartu College, the student resiPhoto: Taavi Muide dence and Estonian community Lexsoul Dancemachine bus concert. hot spot at Bloor and Spadina. But now, we’ll have two nights to use our pent-up energy. What’s fuelling all of this partying? The raw, unrestrained funk of Estonia’s Lexsoul Dancemachine and the Shuffle Demons from Toronto. On the evening of Wednes day September 21st, these two bands will storm through three free 30-minute performances in the heart of Toronto. At 7:00 PM, they’ll start grooving at Tartu College. Then, the musicians and a few contest winners will hop on a double decker Shuffle Demons busking. Photo: Avard Woolaver City Sightseeing bus and make their way south to Kensington Estonian Music Week, with having a great manager really Market, before finally riding on major funding coming from the pays off: things started happento stir things up on Queen Estonian Foundation of Canada ing really fast and the next day Street West. For details on the and sponsorship from Northern we had a bus, a driver, a sound contest and specific locations, Birch Credit Union. system, and approval from so you can follow the bus or What makes this musical Tallinn City Council. 3.5 hours wait for it to come by Tour de pairing so ideal is how much of non-stop music on a beau France style, visit www. the two bands have in common. tiful summer day, with people estonianmusicweek.ca. At face value, their music is cycling along, waving on the Though the TC 50+2 cele- founded on a certain hedonism, streets, and listening on their brations carry on throughout the allowing you to drop your cares balconies. At some point we weekend, the last musical to the wayside. This manifests even had a police escort!” component will be a gig on itself in their zany outfits. They both have an exuberant Friday September 23rd at The Lexsoul Dancemachine has Axis Club (22 College Street, matching tracksuits, as seen on stage presence. In Lexsoul M6G 1C4). Starting at 8:00 the cover of their 2020 album Dancemachine’s collaboration with Cory Wong, “Money,” the PM, beloved singer-songwriter Lexplosion II. mischievous, bouncy guitar and Vaiko Eplik will lead the night The Shuffle Demons have as master of ceremonies. Esto suits designed with Keith drum patterns give you a good philes will particularly appreciate Haring-esque patterns by sense of how this presence his rendition of his favourite Toronto-based artist Kurt comes to be. According to guitarist Jürgen Kütner, “The Estonian diaspora songs. Swinghammer and refreshed by Lexsoul guys are big fans of all General admission tickets Alison Young, “[incorporating] cost $25 and student tickets are images from some of our things Vulfpeck... and for me $20, available from Eventbrite. songs...” Lexsoul Dance personally, I really clicked with Presenting the concert are Tartu machine’s singer, Robert Linna, Cory’s style of guitar playing... College, Estonian Museum remarked that they look like especially his magic right-hand work. It started as a sort of Canada / VEMU, and its project futuristic people from Back to joke, that we should get Cory to the Future Part II. play on “Money” because it It’s serendipitous that the sounded so unlikely to ever Others see a vanquished, bands have a common asso happen. A little later, our disgraced and abysmally dis- ciation with buses, too. The manager Henrik got in touch credited Putin less able to act Shuffle Demons created local with us again and said that he out destructively, than a lore when they recorded their had talked with Cory’s team hip- and that they liked the track! So macho-strutting Putin sure of hit “Spadina Bus,” a funk- hop fusion “that really gets the suddenly, it was on and we his public esteem. Some obcrowds going.” servers are convinced that the couldn’t believe it. Cory absogenerals, who actually push the As described by Robert lutely funked it to pieces and he button, will in the end, recoil Linna, their band has had a actually did two solos for us. from obeying a thoroughly colourful experience playing on We liked them both so much humiliated loser. a bus before. He explains, “I that we put them both in the It’s morally unacceptable had a vision for a long time, song layered on top of each that a leader who sees atrocities about playing live on the back other.” as valiant battlefield successes of a truck driving through the Comparatively, for the be allowed to save face. For city, where the crowd would be Shuffle Demons, exuberance is most Russians to acknowledge on bicycles following the truck. enabled by resounding saxoPutin’s decision to attack an un Like a rolling concert. The bus phones, drums, and double provoked a neighbour and ruin idea kind of evolved from that. bass. The first two elements are Russia economically, only a We had just released Lexplosion a product of their street band completely humiliated Putin II and were thinking about prowill suffice. LAAS LEIVAT mo stuff... and this is where (Continued on page 13)
