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EESTI ELU reedel, 26. veebruaril 2021 — Friday, February 26, 2021
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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
Report: Intelligence update on foreign adversaries Estonia’s recently published annual Foreign Intelligence Service report focuses on the aggressive activities of two main adversaries – Russia and China. Historically Rus sia has been a primary con cern for Estonia’s clandestine services. Its activities have not decreased since Estonia regained its independence, but have shifted in tradecraft and tactics. Estonia is not alone as a target for Moscow’s active measures. Russia is the primary threat for the EU, the latter being besieged by cyber war fare, online espionage and the deployment of growing deep fake technology. The report predicts that Russian special services will boost their development of ‘deepfake’ technology within cyber warfare. This technology involves the generation of synthetic media, mostly video, employing artificial intelligence and machine learning tools. This permits an individual’s facial expression and speech to be altered so that the fake appears to be real. This threat is of serious concern, because the technology will inevitably make messages so convincing that an audience will be unable to dis tinguish between true and false information. By delivering falsified mes sages by well-known leaders, the technology is the perfect tool in deploying politically motivated ‘deepfakes’ to foment social u nrest and political polar ization. Europol, the EU’s law en forcement authority has already urged the development of con firmation processes to expose ‘deepfakes’, new screening technologies that could help in detecting its malicious use. The COVID pandemic has given Russia a prime opportu nity to weaken Western unity. With the West absorbed in fighting a monumental crisis both at home and abroad, it would facilitate the emergence of populist and extremist move ments. This could leave the field wide open for Moscow to gain more prominence in inter national affairs and a decline of Western influence on the world stage.
The report predicts that Russia will actively discredit COVID-19 vaccines developed in the West. Moscow has al ready called the vaccine pro duced by the British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca at Oxford University as a “monkey vac cine”. Russia’s efforts in Europe to promote its vaccine, Sputnik V, has resulted in only two purchase orders, from Serbia and Hungary. The first country has historically held a pro-Russian position, especially during and after the break-up of Yugoslavia. Hungary’s current government enthusiastically aligns with Russia’s anti-im migration and anti-EU policies. But its known that dozens of orders have been submitted by third world countries. The Russian misinformation efforts have probably taken hold and been a deciding purchasing factor for some. In focusing on China’s clan destine services, the report describes Beijing’s efforts in silencing foreign criticism and dominating key technologies in Estonia and elsewhere. Through flexing its economic muscle, keeping an eye on Chinese nationals abroad and cultivating local elites in key countries, China has augmented its ability to execute influence operations. Estonia has a long history in weathering Russia’s authoritarian encroachment. China’s actions in recent years ring similar alarm bells in Estonia’s intelli gence services’ analysts. Under standably Russia has been an enduring security concern for Estonia, and China doesn’t pose any immediate military threat for the country. But Estonia has recognized the Chinese use of economic coercion for geo political gains, its cyber espio nage capability and its growing economic co-operation with Russia. The report states that China has an obvious goal of making the world dependent on Chinese technology. It states that 5G producer Huawei and the navi gation system BeiDou are two most fitting examples of Chinese tactics. The report points out that China has increased its distribu tion of biased and misleading information with more aggres
Raised glasses and raised voices: Estonian folk singers in Russia Vincent Teetsov In 2004, Elviine Klimson and Emilie Floren sat around a small table with what appears to be sliced sausage and dark bread on the table, and glasses of vodka in their hands. They sang the song “Hellad vennad astkem kokku” (“Dear Brothers Let’s Step Together”), gesturing to those behind the camera to grab a glass and join as they had fun around the party table (“lusti pidulaua ümber”). Based on the way they sang with aban don, it was clear that the song had been sung countless times before, from when they were young women, into the 21st century, as older ladies. This party wasn’t in Estonia, but in Tomsk oblast in western Siberia. Surveying the online collection of “Songs of Siberian Estonians”, based on a 2005
sive content since the outbreak of the pandemic. Its influence operations in Europe clearly aim to weaken Europe’s open society. China is also aware of its confrontation with a united West and thus is set on disrupt ing Western unity, namely forc ing rift between Europe and the USA. The Chinese embassy’s reac tion to the report was swift and brimming with anger: “It is full of hearsay and patchwork, and smears China by citing sources which ‘can not be commented’, spreads fake news publicly, and misleads the public with faint motives. ... China expresses its dissatisfaction and firm opposi tion to it.” Estonia, like the Czech Republic have been more forth right and open in their criticism of China than larger EU mem bers. It was the experience of Soviet domination that allows these smaller states to recognize the ulterior goal of Beijing’s foreign policy. It’s been said that this isn’t the first time that the small European states have pointed others in the right di rection by identifying potential threats. LAAS LEIVAT
Estonian vocal ensemble in Tsvetnopolye (1997).
CD of the same name published by the Estonian Literary Museum, there are many more examples of songs like this. Performed by Estonians in Russia. When talking about Siberia, the deportation of Estonians to forced labour camps there during and after the Second World War is likely the most associated thought. However, as Anu Korb (Senior Researcher of the Estonian Literary Mu seum) explains in the online collection she compiled, Esto nians were in Siberia since at least the 1700s. Korb states, “From the first half of the 19th century, the numbers of con victs and forced labourers sent to Siberia started to increase dramatically... With the core settlements becoming over crowded, new ones were estab lished primarily along ethnic lines.” Prior to the First World War and Russian Civil War, Esto nians in Siberia were able to maintain a relatively comfort able existence, with collections of towns that practiced regional Estonian traditions and lan guage. But in the subsequent decades of war and instability, residents left these towns for cities or returned to Estonia. The recording of these people’s music, stories, and dances was done between 1991 and 2012, offering a glimpse into this far away community. The lyrical content may be perplexing to listeners now, but it is a record of what they believed and what was on their minds. It gives us an idea of how old songs like these became the soundtrack to their lives as they proceeded through good and
Photo: Anu Korb
bad times alike. One song that I found in teresting was “Kui mina alles, umpa-umpa”, a song about a boy named Juku, who makes a pipe and is caught smoking by his younger sister. When Juku’s parents find out, they break the pipe he made. The song is sung by Pauliine Frei, Linda Grigošina, Ilda Holland, Aine Kislova, and Elfriede Paukson in the town of Tsvetnopolye, with Juri Netsel on mandolin and Valeeri Talvik on accordion. It’s a boppy tune with a narra tive that could just as easily have taken place today with a misbehaving teenager. To learn Estonian folk songs like this one, to keep singing them and teach others how to sing them, is not easy even with accessible internet. Estonian folk music doesn’t always show up on song lyric sites or stream ing platforms. It takes some digging to find the songs’ chords and lyrics. Even more difficult to find is sheet music with melodies. So it’s im pressive to hear audio resources recorded by the Estonian Folklore Archives. The fact that these Estonians were able to keep the music going long enough to share it with re searchers in the field means there is a capsule of cultural knowledge to inform the new work of musicians even 100 years from now. Whether you have an ency clopedic knowledge of Estonian folk songs or haven’t heard these songs before, there is much to learn about on this website (http://www.folklore.ee/ pubte/eraamat/siberilaulud/ eestlased/index-en.html).
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