Eesti Elu / Estonian Life No. 5 | Feb 7, 2020

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EESTI ELU reedel, 7. veebruaril 2020 — Friday, February 7, 2020

Nr. 5

Foreign ministry stops issuing China tourism visas ERR, ERR News, February 2020 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

Trump and Putin – birds of a feather? He’s a billionaire. He’s called a narcissist. He’s fixated on virility. He uses vulgarities. His referrals to historic events are either distorted or out­ right fabrications. He revels in his macho image. He craves media attention. He promises to revive the might of his country, to renew its national glory. We all can guess who he is. No, who THEY are. Is Putin really a Russian version of ­ Trump who may be an Ameri­ can version of Putin? There is a palpable basis for seeing the resemblance between the two. Trump not only bullies his opponents, be they GOP or Democrat, he has utter disdain for them. He belittles them with childish meanness. Putin goes even further – he has high-profile dissenters exiled, jailed, or assassinated as traitors on ­foreign countries. Although the White House reaction is not as harsh as the Kremlin’s, Trump has banished dissenters and aimed the treason accusation against apostates such as the whistle-blower. Both are power­hungry and are obsessed with the slightest criticism. Both handle adversaries with predisposed finality. Trump’s mantra, ‘make America great again’, bespeaks of international admiration, power and respect for winners. Putin’ glorification of the WWII victory is his campaign of diverting attention from Russians’ grievances about corruption, poverty and gross violations of human rights. They idolize tyrants, especially those that exude charisma and strength and wield unfettered power. Trump has quoted Benito Mussolini: “It is better to live as a man, than 100 years as a sheep.” He has admired the strong-arm tactics of autocrats such as Saddam Hussein, Moammar Gaddaffi, Bashar al-Assad saying they might be bad guys but “at least they kill terrorists”, blatantly dismissing international accusations against Gaddaffi as a promoter of terrorism. Strongmen are ad­ mired because they have no ­reservations, no inner torment. The rise in popularity of Josef Stalin hasn’t prompted Putin’s disapproval. For him

Stalin’s ‘excesses’ are quite justified. The Soviet Union needed a ruthless despot to control the population without restraint because the country was under fierce a­ttack by Nazi Germany which had to be destroyed. Likewise, the sovietization of society had to succeed, even by manufacturing starvation against Ukraine and recalcitrant farmers. In wielding unlimited power, Stalin programs were implemented. All perceived political enemies had to be killed or banned to the Gulag. To Putin, Stalin was a ­‘saviour’ of the Russian people. To many, Trump sees himself as a ‘saviour’ also. Trump’s brazen affiliation with tyrants who act without impunity is somewhat scary. His infamous claim: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” His total contempt for his ‘base’ that remains slavishly loyal is bewildering. He scornfully takes the Republican Party for granted for he knows he’ll get absolute acquiescence. Putin’s similar strangle hold on United Russia results in total obedience. Control over the press is paramount for both Trump as ­ well as Putin. While the Krem­ lin has practically taken over all traditional as well as domestic on-line media in Russia, Trump’s continuing battle with U.S. “main-stream” journalism has not succeeded. But his intentions are the same. Any ­ perceived criticism is “fake news”. Opinions and observations that don’t coincide with his own aren’t believable. The U.S. press is a conspiratorial adversary, an enemy to be ­berated. Putin’s and Trump’s ad­ miration for dictators is consistent with their admiration for each other. During the 2016 presidential race, Putin lauded Trump as a “brilliant, talented person”. Trump was grateful: “I’ve always felt fine about Putin. He’s a strong leader, he’s a powerful leader. It’s always a great honour to be complimented by a man highly respected ­within his own country and beyond (??? ed.).” Putin and Trump have enthusiastically fed each other’s egos.

Estonia has stopped issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, also known as the Wuhan coronavirus. The embassy is also evacuating diplomats’ families from the country, and reducing its foreign mission functions in Beijing. “We have made the decision to return diplomats’ family members in Beijing to Estonia,” foreign minister Urmas Rein­ salu (Isamaa) told ERR Tuesday afternoon. “We are also reducing those aspects of the embassy’s ­functions which do not provide consular assistance to Estonian nationals,” he added, noting that the embassy would still otherwise continue work. No tourist visas to Estonia are currently being processed in Beijing either, Reinsalu said, with that information being passed on to relevant companies in Estonia. “We have also forwarded a warning to Estonian tourism firms,” Reinsalu said, noting that China itself is not permitting tourist groups. Sole Estonian in Hubei ­province now in quarantine in France The sole Estonian resident in Hubei province in central China, the epicenter of the outbreak (Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province), has been removed from the country by a French-led initiative, and is currently in quarantine in France, Reinsalu added. “France launched a civil protection mechanism for EU ­ To a massive audience at a typical rally, he explained why he’s tickled by Putin’s praise: “Why should I disavow that? A guy calls you a genius.” Trump’s promotion of Pu­ tin’s supposed integrity and statesmanship takes a bizarre twist. Most Kremlin observers have pointed to Putin as the main suspect in arranging the killings of crusading journalists. “It’s never been proven that he killed anybody,” Trump claimed. While an investigation into a ssassination of dissident ­ Alexandr Litvinenko in England concluded that Putin “probably” sanctioned the killing, Trump utterly rejected the finding. In a kleptocratic state Trump would be a monarch answerable to nobody. It’s said that Putin, in his advocacy of constitutional reforms his steadily nudging Russia towards one man, uncontested rule. Trump’s ad­ miration for Putin will grow, in tandem with his envy. LAAS LEIVAT

It’s indisputable! A basic essence of ‘Estonianism’ is singing, particularly in choirs. Also listening to choirs. Last year’s anniversary of Estonia’s massive Song and Dance Festival obviously didn’t quench the thirst for song for the numerous Canadians who participated and visited the event. Recently the audience filled St. Peter’s Estonian Lutheran Church to capacity as they listened to the voices of Estonian choirs from Toronto and Hamilton. A comforting sound, a welcoming Estonian milieu. Estonia’s choir conductor of the year, Triin Koch was at the ­podium. Photo: Andres Raudsepp

citizens last week and a return operation from the province for EU citizens. Two flights were organized – the first on January 31 and the second on February 1. The second flight brought 199 people from 17 EU countries, including, to our ­ knowledge, the only citizen of the Republic of Estonia, who was in quarantine in that ­province,” Reinsalu said. “This citizen has been happily taken to France, is going through a corresponding 14-day quarantine, and then will be fine with them,” he added. Reinsalu noted that according to his ministry, 19 Estonian citizens are in China on a shortterm basis, and 78 are resident on a permanent basis. “Everyone the ministry has been able to contact has been informed that China may impose additional travel and ­ movement restrictions, including quarantine on entering and leaving the country. China has not made that decision as yet, [but] we are asking people to seriously consider whether they can justify remaining in the

country,” he said. The ministry has called for all Estonian citizens there to register on its website so they can be kept up to date with information and contacted if ­ ­additional assistance is required. The ministry recommends avoiding travel to China as a ­result of the spread of the coronavirus, the ensuing, rapidly changing situation, and a resulting sharp decline in mobility and accommodation options, ERR’s online news in Estonian reports. “We strongly advise people avoid traveling to Hubei pro­ vince. Estonian citizens in China are advised to consider the feasibility of remaining in the country,” the ministry’s website stated. As of 4 February 2020, approximately 20,673 cases of the novel coronavirus (designated 2019-nCoV) have been confirmed, with 427 confirmed deaths. Coronaviruses are primarily spread by close contact, in particular via coughs and sneezes within a range of about two ­meters.

Tartu reusable cup scheme proving popular with customers

Speaking on behalf of all the bars involved, Kivi baar’s Kristo Laimaa told ERR News: “We see it as something we can do to help against destroying nature, and another big motivator is keeping our hometown’s streets cleaner. “Reusable cups will definitely help us use less plastic – the first few weeks of the new system has already shown us ­ this. Since cups cost €2 to rent, people won’t leave them lying around the streets, so the loss of cups is much lower than ­before.” The bars started with 10,000 cups and said so far the scheme has proved popular with custo­ mers. “First impressions are very good; people have received the new system very well,” Laimaa said. He also said feedback from customers has been positive: “Because reusable cups have been very popular at big events,

Helen Wright, ERR News, February 2020 Popular bars in Tartu have joined forces in the fight against single-use plastic by creating their own rentable reusable cups which can be used across four different bars. The cups work on a deposit system and cost €2 up front, which is then returned to the customer when they return their cup to any of the four bars. The idea to work together was first suggested by Kivi baar on Rüütli tänav, and the inspiration came from seeing other rentable reusable cup schemes at music festivals in Estonia. Previously, the bars used a mix of glasses and single-use plastic cups.

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