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EESTI ELU reedel, 28. jaanuaril 2022 — Friday, January 28, 2022
OPINION: Understanding, confronting Russian aggression toward Ukraine Marcus Kolga, Balkan Devlen and Richard Shimooka, Toronto Sun, Jan 23, 2022 As Russian President Vla dimir Putin continues his bel licose rhetoric and pours more and more troops across multiple fronts with Ukraine, the world holds its breath at a crucial juncture. What path we go down next, whether Russia backs down or makes good on its threats, will largely depend on whether we succeed in staring down Moscow’s challenge and deter open hostilities. To do this, we must under stand the situation on the ground, Russia’s goals, and how Canada fits in to contributing toward deterrence. First, Russia’s military preparations point to a possible invasion in several weeks time. Military action is becoming increasingly likely, but we are
On the Market: Estonia1918 – luxury watches with a patriotic twist Vincent Teetsov “What time is it?” someone asks, triggering a swarm of smartphones to come out. In that instant, the charm of this simple act, checking the time, is eroded. A phone can take on timekeeping, plus a million other tasks. It can do it with out any errors either. But it locks time up behind silicon chips, plastic, aluminosilicate glass, and lithium ion bat teries. And it’s paired with many other distractions. Comparatively, a wristwatch brings us closer to time, so that we can feel and hear it. Its physical components represent the control each one of us is able to exert on our future, if on nothing else. Without getting any more abstruse, this is what the company Estonia1918 is vying for with their numerous models of watches. Each watch model is dedicat ed to an occupation or role, for individuals who have made and continue to make mighty achievements with the time given to them. It started with the Wõitleja (“fighter”), a watch made in advance of the 100th anniver sary of Estonia gaining its in dependence. Referring to the Estonians who fought for inde pendence in the Soomusrongide divisjon, Estonia1918 explains,
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deployed toward making it crystal clear that the price Putin will pay for further incursions against Ukraine is just too steep. We should expand our military training mission for Ukrainian volunteers. Domes tically, Putin needs a short, swift, successful conflict; one that strengthens his revision of Russian history, with Kyiv under the Kremlin’s control. Furthermore, Putin’s centrali ty in Russia’s political system is predicated on his ability to keep oligarchs fat and happy. Canada needs to do more to prepare sanctions, particularly by using the Sergei Magnitsky Law against Russia’s ultra-rich and ultra-corrupt – to hit Putin and his comrades where it most hurts: their pocketbooks. Thus, Canada must work in concert with our allies to imme diately send arms and resources to Ukraine, giving the Ukrainian people an opportuni ty to defend themselves. We must also put in place clear plans to sanction Russian offi cials and entities that preserve Putin on his gilded throne. We should ready all necessary agencies to remove Russian members from the SWIFT
international payment system, greatly diminishing their capa city to transact in international markets to finance their wars of aggression.
Similarly, the window of opportunity to dissuade Russia is closing rapidly for the West. Putin has escalated too far to do nothing, and when he looks at how NATO has so far responded,
he may be encouraged rather than dissuaded. NATO’s response has been a mixed bag. While not entirely weak, it has been inconsistent. Powerful members like Ger many and France are waffling, with Germany even going as far as to block the export of Estonian weapons to Ukraine. Moreover, a lack of clarity out of the White House has not inspired confidence. Unlike our 2014 response to the EuroMaidan and initial Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada has been slow to contri bute to meaningful leadership, despite some recent diplomatic assurances. This is a contrast to countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic States which are far more resolute in their approach to Russia; we can do much more to learn from their leadership and sup port their assertiveness. So what should be done? We must respond urgently and resolutely with strength. The government’s decisions to deploy special forces and provide some financial aid are welcome moves, but far more can be done. Every available tool must be
“The name Wõitleja initially belonged to the artillery car of Armored Train Nr. 2, and the watch’s design is directly in spired by the intricate work manship of bronze gauges found on the heavy military equipment of the First World War era.” These gauges would have shown a train’s steam pressure, for instance. True to an armoured train, the watch’s case is dense, “... machined whole from a single block of true old-school CuSn8 brass, a marine-grade alloy of brass and tin that was de veloped to be submerged in saltwater for a lifetime without corrosion.” It’s big, it’s tough, and it knows it. But this watch was intended to be practical away from a battle field. It doesn’t look clunky on a wearer’s wrist and doesn’t fail to go under one’s sleeve. It’s easy to check the time, with the metal hands standing out against the black enamel dial. It’s streamlined – Radius Machining OÜ, known for building parts used in the famed ESTCube-1 satellite, were involved in the making of the case for the Wõitleja watch, and it shows. Named after those who look up to the sky and dare to fly, Estonia1918 later created the Aviaator. Each watch is techno logically customized to the per sonality indicated by the watch name. Thus, for this one, “The case of the watch is made in aerospace grade magnesium alloy which is coated in a simi lar type of coating (cerakote) as used in fighter jets to make [them] untraceable by radars.” It’s certainly stealthier, placed next to the Wõitleja. The com pany engraves “PTO4” on the face of the watch, referring to
the PTO-4 training aircraft used in Estonia during the Second World War. Only 161 of these aircraft were said to have been manufactured. As such, only 161 of the Aviaator watch were made, as shown by the engrav ing on the back of the case. For epic Estonian musicians, there’s the Maestro. Even more subdued than other models, this watch only shows itself as much as it needs to be seen, with a striking steel ring around that frames the black ceramic dial. From this centre point, the black leather strap flows out quietly. There is a separate, smaller section for the hour hand. Meanwhile, emphasis is placed on the thin minute hand, which has a kind of “bulb” on the bottom, similar to a con ductor’s baton. Nine watch models have been designed between when Estonia1918 started in 2014 and 2022. Across models, Esto nia1918 has endeavoured to make an increasing amount of parts in-house, in Estonia. Notable exceptions are the Swiss-made Unitas/ETA move ments that make the watch’s moving parts function. Even so, more equipment is being sought out for the milling of parts. The masterminds behind Estonia1918 are Tõnis Leissoo and engraver Viljo Marrandi. Leissoo started this business after many years of practice as a hobbyist. As a young boy, he examined the specimens of his grandfather, then moved onto assembling his own, and finally onto computer aided design and the 3D printing of parts. The latest technology has allowed what existed primarily as design concepts to become assembled intricately in metal. But that can only happen
once the design is drawn pre cisely and tested through 3D printing, after which the metal is milled to make the structure of the watch. There is also much involved in making the watches’ dials. Machines and presses engrave lettering and stamp the faces of dials. Enamel powder is applied and heated repeatedly for the coat ing. When everything is made, Leissoo assembles the parts in his studio, a vault of a former bank in Tartu. Underneath the beautiful face is the heart of the watch, the mainspring and the escapement that moves the hands around. In 2016, Estonia1918 launched an Indiegogo cam paign, rapidly raising 10,000 of its 25,000 Euro goal. A few weeks later, at the campaign’s close, 292% of the original target was met, with 102 backers contributing 73,221 Euros col lectively. Backers were given one of a limited run of 100 Wõitleja watches for three quarters of the full retail price.
If you browse the company’s inventory of watches nowadays, you’ll notice that many are out of stock; the result of a limitededition approach to manufactur ing. The company simply does not make that many of each watch before moving on to the next unique model. Among more recently available watches in their stock are the Aviaator, the Diplomaat (which has a glass back through which you can look at the Unitas 6498 movement), and the Arhitekt, the most radical of all, possess ing a stainless steel case with bevelled edges.
likely a few weeks away from an open attack. Even still, the lack of suc cess at the negotiating table likely points to a sobering fact: Putin appears to prefer launch ing a strike to accomplish his goals. The Russian president believes that a sovereign and successful Ukraine poses an existential threat to his regime and his attempts to re-establish Russia’s Soviet era spheres of influence. This explains the dis proportionate Russian response to trouble in Belarus and Kazakhstan. The window of opportunity is closing for Putin to reassert Russian dominance over Ukraine, and thus force is preferable to failure for the Russian government.
Estonia 1918’s Aviaator watch.
And we must immediately prepare ourselves and our allies for backlash – by hardening critical infrastructure against cyber attacks, working with allies to develop new energy supply chains free from Russian coercion, and upgrading our military capabilities to reinforce our allies in the region. We should also start, in consultation with allies, planning for the “day after” if Putin decides to reinvade Ukraine. Hope is not a strategy and the time to prepare for the worst is now. If we fail to act, not only is the sovereignty of Ukraine at risk, but we may embolden adversaries globally, such as China or Iran, who are eager to capitalize on inaction. We can and must disabuse the world’s authoritarians about their notions of Western weakness. (Marcus Kolga, Balkan Devlen, and Richard Shimooka are senior fellows at the Mac donald-Laurier Institute.)
Just like Estonia has its national flower and a national piano brand, this company is vying for that coveted, proud national status in the field of timekeeping devices. To achieve this, Estonia1918 are making watches that require much more labour and finesse to complete, watches that are more scarce and specialized. In the end, they are also more likely to become a favourite, worn for a lifetime.
Photo: estonia1918.com
