Monday—February 28, 2005
Russia condemns Berezovsky’s Latvia visit
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Latvia for not placing Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky under arrest when he visited Riga last Friday. Berezovsky is wanted for fraud in Russia and is on the Interpol list. Minister of Interior Eriks Jekabsons decided that Berezovsky would not be detained, since Great Britain had granted Berezovsky political asylum and travel documents. Berezovsky said that his visit to Riga would not make Latvian-Russian relations worse.
Sex slavery operation exposed
Lithuanian and British law enforcement agencies have uncovered an organized criminal organization which has trafficked seven Lithuanian women to the UK. The women, aged between 16 and 25 years, were sold as sex slaves to Albanian dealers. Two suspects were detained in the UK, and the other four were tracked town in Siauliai, Lithuania.
Mindaugas Petrauskas, head of the Lithuanian unit under Europol, said up to 15 women and girls are trafficked and sold in the UK each month. The price paid for a girl is typically 3,000-4,000 pounds. Experts say trafficking in Lithuanian women intensified after the entrance of the country to the EU last year. Most women trafficked from Lithuania to Great Britain come from dysfunctional families and are told they are going to the UK to work as cleaning women, dish washers, and ice-cream vendors.
Estonian pilots threaten to work abroad
The Estonian business daily Äripäev reports Estonian pilots are threatening to work for foreign airlines since their wages differ several times from what their European colleagues are paid.
The Estonian pilots union said that Latvian aviation firms have realized the seriousness of the situation. The union said Air Baltic increased its pilots’ wages by 30% from the beginning of the year.
Valters and Kazha to represent Latvia at Eurovision
Valters Fridenbergs and Karlis Bumeistars, singing a song composed by Martins Freimanis, “The War Is Not Over,†won the national Eurovision finals in Ventspils on Saturday, and will represent Latvia at the 50th Eurovision song contest in the Ukraine.
Wednesday—February 23, 2005
Ryanair connects Riga, Stockholm
The Irish airline Ryanair began flights from Riga to Stockholm on Monday. The airline expects passenger turnover on the route to exceed 100,000 passengers annually.
Lang named foreign minister
Estonian President Arnold Rüütel appointed Rein Lang as Estonia’s new foreign minister.
Lang was born in 1957, is a graduate of the Tartu University law school, and served on the board of Trio Radio. He was deputy mayor of Tallinn before being elected to parliament. He is a Reform Party member since 1995.
The previous Estonian foreign minister Kristiina Ojuland was dismissed from her post on February 11 after an audit revealed a number of confidential documents had gone missing from the foreign ministry.
Get thee to Lithuania: personal income tax to drop 3%
Personal income tax in Lithuania will drop 3 percentage points (to 30 percent) in 2006; In 2008, it will decrease to 24 percent.
To compensate, the government will introduce a 1 to 2 percent tax on real property. This tax will be levied only on second homes, however.
Lithuanians first, Estonians third in European suicides
A study by the Swedish-Estonian sociology institute says “difficult economic situations†is the main reason Estonians commit suicide. While suicides have decreased versus the 1990s, the number of young men committing suicides remains unchanged. Estonian residents committed suicide at the rate of 27 per 100,000 people. In Finland, for example, the figure is 21. Scientists say that Finns usually kill themselves from depression due to accumulated problems.
Estonia is only behind Lithuania and Russia in Europe as far as suicide rate is concerned.
Friday—February 18, 2005
Hooky-playing kids foiled by Latvian tech
The Latvian IT company DEAC plans to invest LVL 100,000 (144,000 EUR) in the e-klase (e-class) project currently being tested in Lielupe High School. The program informs parents about pupils’ marks and absences from school via SMS messages to parents.
US president congratulates Lithuania
On Wednesday, US President George W. Bush sent congratulations to Lithuanian state leader Valdas Adamkus on the occasion of the 87th anniversary of Statehood Restoration Day, February 16th. Yes, this stuff passes for news on slow days.
Estonian president congratulates Lithuania
Estonian President Arnold Rüütel sent on Wednesday a letter of congratulations to Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus to mark the Lithuanian Independence Day.
Burkina Faso president fails to congratulate Lithuania
As of press time, the president of Burkina Faso had not yet congratulated Lithuania. However, City Paper wishes to congratulate Lithuania.
Tuesday—February 15, 2005
A Pocket Guide to Expatriates
Vello Vikerkaar once again says what we’ve all been thinking(?)
„Why are you here?†is the question every local wants to put to foreigners. We have our stock answers, and often they’re true. Sometimes, though, the foreigner leaves out part of the story. He doesn’t want to admit he was fired from his job in Canada, or that he was caught on videotape robbing a Buenos Aires bank.
In American cowboy movies, if you weren’t smart enough to know cattle rustlers were bad, the moviemakers put them in black hats. It happens to be the simplest way to categorize foreigners in the Baltic: the good guys are the white hats, the bad guys the black hats. And so on from there with subcategories.
While my system is indeed scientific, it is not foolproof. Readers may find that expats fall into several of these categories. Also, readers should feel free to create new categories of their own.
The White Hats
1. Smart but lazy. He would have been a success story anywhere but likes the fact he can earn good money in the region working comparatively little. He puts in a half day of real work and still outdoes the locals. (Everyone likes to talk about how hard working Baltic people are, but this is polite nonsense. As one Estonian put it, „The Germans taught us to work, and we did it very well. Then the Russians came and taught us not to work. And we learned that well, too.â€)
2. Regional Corporate Babysitter. He’s a businessman dispatched to represent an international company. He is well educated, often smart, and will move on in three years. If he’s single, he hangs out at the Irish pub in the old city. If he’s married, he spends his time trying to find activities for his wife.
3. The idle wife. Her husband is the regional corporate babysitter. Her husband has a work permit, but she can’t get one. Hers is not an easy life, especially if she’s childless. She often does charity work or joins a book club to pass the time.
4. The female professional. These women are descendants of Sisyphus. (There used to be a good-news/bad-news joke about women’s liberation in the Baltics: The bad news is that women’s lib is coming; the good news is it won’t be here for 100 years.) There are few foreign female professionals here, and the reason is their lives are hard. In the workplace, the Baltic glass ceiling isn’t glass; and in terms of a social life, most foreign women aren’t interested in dating local men.
5. The Adventurer. He hates the 9-to-5 grind of his previous western existence. He thrives here on the difficulties of daily life and the fact that there is still a surprise around every corner. He enjoys the fact that his friends at home view him as something of an oddball.
6. Married a local. These fall into two subcategories: (a) He who came here with the express purpose to find a woman—often a pensioner-divorcee from the USA, and (b) He who accidentally fell in love. Members of both groups generally feel like they’ve won the lottery.
7. Our Man in Havana. Nice work if you can get it. Who among us never wanted to be James Bond?
8. Foreign Estonians/Latvians/Lithuanians.
i. Young exiles. Usually the 20-something son of a genuine exile. He owns seven black turtlenecks and smokes cigarillos. He hasn’t yet realized he’s not on the set of Casablanca. Some say this type of foreign exile was „screwed twice by the former USSR: once after WWII, when he was given an exile identity, and again in 1991, when that identity was taken away.â€
ii. True believers. He’s a foreign Estonian/Latvian/Lithuanian who is truly committed to a better country. He’s worked for the government for 15 years. And loved every minute of it.
iii. Finally home. He’s an older foreign Estonian/Latvian/Lithuanian who never quite fit in in his adopted country. He spoke with an accent and was made fun of. He never fully accepted life as a Canadian, American, or Australian. Now, he’s finally returned home, where he again speaks with an accent and is made fun of.
The Black Hats
1. The criminal. He’s here doing what he’s been disallowed in his home country. Perhaps he was banned from serving on boards of directors or banned from trading stock. He often moves in the highest circles of society or government. He is rarely caught, but when he is, it’s quickly hushed up in the local press.
2. Talented Mr. Ripley. So you always wanted to be a brain surgeon? Don’t let a little lack of education stop you. Fancy being the Duke of Edinburgh? Who’s to say you’re not? The Baltics are the perfect place to live dreams the home country wouldn’t allow. For example, in my last City Paper column, I claimed to have been a bass player with Reckless Dentistry. Have you checked me out?
3. Unemployable back home. He is such an obvious idiot that no company back home will employ him longer than three months. In this region, he’ll last a year.
4. Mr. Dysfunctional. He is mostly harmless, usually likeable, but has trouble getting out of bed in the morning. He tells people he’s a writer but hasn’t yet picked up the pen. He never pays for his own drinks, because he’s always broke. He’s held down jobs in the region, but never for very long.
5. The Mystery Man. No one is quite sure why he’s here. And he himself isn’t talking. At parties, he sits quietly in the background, sipping whisky and listening to others. You suspect Interpol might be interested in him, but he hasn’t been anything but nice to you.
Vello Vikerkaar, PhD., is a foreign Estonian (which type he refuses to say). He returned to Estonia in 1992 and began this exhaustive study of other expatriates. Needless to say, the opinions of Mr. Vikerkaar are not necessarily those of City Paper. Write to him at citypaper@citypaper.ee. We will forward all mail.
(Ed. note: We did indeed check out Vello Vikerkaar’s days as a bass player with Reckless Dentistry. We were unable to verify or disprove it.)
Monday—February 14, 2005
Victorious Latvia: Hockey team qualifies for Olympics
The Latvian national ice hockey team defeated Belarus 5-4 yesterday and qualified for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin. Latvia, down 2-4 with three minutes left to play, staged an impressive comeback.
Rüütel sends valentine: dismisses Foreign Minister Ojuland
After a failed reconciliation between the feuding Res Publica and Reform Parties, President Arnold Rüütel signed the order dismissing Estonian foreign minister Kristiina Ojuland.
In Ojuland’s wake: Atonen calls for PM’s resignation
Estonian Reform Party deputy chairman Meelis Atonen has demanded that Prime Minister Juhan Parts be replaced in order to preserve the current government coalition of Res Publica, Reform Party and the People’s Union. Atonen said that the problem lies in the trustworthiness of Res Publica chairman Juhan Parts. “The issue is not Res Publica giving up the prime minister’s job, but the issue is Juhan Parts in the prime minister’s job,” Atonen said.
Adamkus, as a private citizen, would not go to Moscow…
“…but as the head of the state I feel responsible for the country and the Lithuanian people, so I plan to make a decision that will serve the common interest,” Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus told reporters. On May 9th, the 60th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany will be celebrated in Moscow.
Tallinn Pedagogical University becomes Tallinn University
The Estonian parliament voted to create Tallinn University as the first step in an effort to create a larger university comprising Tallinn Pedagogical University, Estonian Humanities University, Viljandi Culture Academy and History Institute.
The Pro Patria Union proposed that the university be named Tallinn City University. Tartu forces opposed the Tallinn University name, saying it might create “overly high financial ambitions†for the new institution vis-à -vis Tartu University.
Whatever happened to cheap Estonian labor?
The days of attracting investors to Estonia with a cheap workforce is over, a labor costs study by Database Central Europe indicates.
The study, conducted in 12 countries, noted that the labor costs in Estonia last year were considerably higher than in Latvia or Lithuania. Estonian labor costs are more comparable to Poland and the Czech Republic. Last year in Estonia, the average monthly cost per employee was 9,813 kroons (627 EUR), while in Lithuania it was 7,277 (465 EUR), and 6,182 kroons (395 EUR) in Latvia.
Monday—February 7, 2005
The Last Days of Pompeii: Eurovision and Estonia
A City Paper Baltic News Special
On Saturday, February 5th, Estonians chose their 2005 Eurovision Song Contest entry. City Paper’s Vello Vikerkaar filed this report.
It’s another teen conspiracy. On Saturday night, every 13 year-old Estonian sat poised on the edge of her bed, mobile phone in hand, pushing buttons as fast as her little fingers would fly to cram calls into the ten-minute voting window. This year’s winner: “Let’s Get Loud†by Suntribe. They are four teens with turntables shouting lyrics like “I’m hot like Indian spice…†and “Give me the gee-tar.†Suntribe seems created not to make music but marketing: four ideal spokesmen for bubble gum, purple hair dye, and acne medicine. This gimmicky gang of adolescents should have been stopped before it started, but it’s too late now. It’s the last days of Pompeii: run for your lives.
The act that should have won, a young lady named Rebecca, singing “Have You Ever,†suffered for not having enough friends with phones. She was hands-down the favorite of jury, unfortunately present only to break a tie. Viewers had to like Rebecca’s sincerity. I want to get her a new haircut, teach her English (“…run toward the mars�), get her a new outfit, and then stick her back on stage. Rebecca can sing. She’s also likeable and genuine. The song itself has real potential as a good pop song, had the lyrics writer bothered to learn English. My condolences to Rebecca, who was, in this journalist’s opinion, robbed of her solo victory by the unfortunate eruption of Suntribe. (One should note that Rebecca is also a member of Suntribe, a kind of sick consolation prize at best.)
Also worthy of note was Airi Ojamets singing “Dream in a Dream.†Were she to banish the rhythmless dancers wiggling in the foreground and move her guitarist out front, Airi has real potential. Her voice is mature and rich, and she enjoys the stage. The song itself isn’t bad, save for too many English words crammed awkwardly into measures. Bravo, Airi.
Arne Lauri teamed up with the Cardinals to produce something you don’t see every day: a Sanskrit song with an Ali Baba dance. Arne has charisma and clearly enjoyed himself, and the song itself wasn’t bad. However, it’s hard for me to take the Cardinals seriously ever since the Estonian band the Genialistid pulled trash bags over their heads to do a Cardinal send-up. Hats off to Arne for not being a copy of a copy of a copy.
I like the blonde in the band Glow who sang “Break the Ties.†She has a voice, and I hope we hear from her again. But “Break the Ties†takes the prize for the most vacuous lyrics: “Feel the beat!…I don’t know what’s going on…Hey, girls, let’s be free!†Glow also performed a second time with “Dream,†a nice song with a danceable melody. I dream, too. I dream of a jury-driven Eurovision and a world where teens aren’t allowed to use the phone after 8 p.m.
Any encouragement must end when talking about the first act to present, Sobe. There is little to say other than they would have been an embarrassment to Estonia and to the band itself had they won. As some may remember from elementary school mathematics: Blonde + Microphone ≠Music.
As a foreign Estonian, sometimes I don’t get Estonian jokes. And Eha singing “Gotta go†was surely one of them. Was she perhaps making fun of Robert Palmer with her awful techno song and the male mimes dancing behind her? This song was so gimmicky that we have no idea whether this leggy blonde can sing.
The song “Moonwalk†was performed by Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy has an interesting voice and I believe the song is a very good first draft. The lyrics are naïve and silly (“I’m trying to escape, there’s no need to explain…â€), but this song has potential. Points deducted for the unoriginality of her bass and percussion players—perhaps they’re children of the Leningrad Cowboys?
In general, the event could be characterized as an amateur talent hour, the likes of which I haven’t seen since City Paper dispatched me to review a performance of West Side Story at the No. 3 middle school in Kilingi-Nõmme. Adding insult to injury, the host tortured Estonian Foreign Minister, Kristiina Ojuland, with questions such as “How are entertainment and politics connected?†Indrek Pertelson, the Estonian Olympic medallist, was asked which was better PR for Estonia “music or sport?†Certainly not this music, Indrek. And we’re sorry you had to answer the question.
Lots of time was spent by the show’s producers attempting to create a Eurovision history for Estonia which simply doesn’t exist. Estonian bands were asked to comment on past Eurovision winners, a weak substitute for actually having been there. The equivalent of this would be me being invited into the Estonian parliament to talk about Estonia’s Soviet past. As my father once said, “If you have nothing intelligent to say, then clam up.â€
And poor Ain Hanschmidt, chief of Ühispank. Coming off a recent roasting by Andres Kivirähk in the pages of the Estonian daily Päevaleht, Hanschmidt dared to appear on the broadcast wearing a purple pimp shirt and sharkskin suit. The banker, giddy at the prospect of being interviewed on TV, noted he was “very happy to be a sponsor.†Ain, we’re happy for you.
Unfortunately, Eurovision is not a talent contest. It is not even a search for the lesser of evils or the least offensive song in the bunch. Eurovision is about democracy and the will of the people. It is bread and circus. A human spectacle. More than that, it is a celebration of mankind’s least common denominator. Ironically, Eurovision supporters promote it and apologize for it in the same breath, saying it should not be taken too seriously. Like all of us, Eurovision is a living, thriving contradiction. And in that spirit, I salute the winner. Interviewed on stage after their victory, Suntribe noted they had “lots and lots of work to do†before their Eurovision debut. Here’s hoping they do it.
Vello Vikerkaar is a foreign Estonian, born and raised in Toronto. He returned to Estonia in 1992. Before turning to journalism, he played bass in the well-known Vancouver band, Reckless Dentistry. He also claims to be a distant relative of Terry Wogan. Needless to say, the opinions of Mr. Vikerkaar are not necessarily those of City Paper. Write to him at citypaper@citypaper.ee. We will forward him all mail.
Friday—February 4, 2005
Latvian residents support Vike-Freiberga’s decision
According to a January poll by Latvijas fakti, 65.8 percent of Latvia’s residents support President Vaira Vike-Freiberga’s decision to attend the May 9 event in Moscow. Among ethnic Latvians, however, a smaller percentage supported the president’s decision—54 percent of surveyed Latvians believe she should go.
Riga train collision kills 4, injures 29
An electric train from Lielvarde passed through a red light on Wednesday, causing the deaths of two men and two women. Rescue workers pulled bodies from the wreckage until midnight on Wednesday.
Baltic salmon banned on Latvian market
Lab test results in Great Britain show dioxin levels in Baltic salmon reach levels not unhealthy to consume. Latvia has banned salmon caught in the Gulf of Riga from the market.
Who’s drinking in Estonia? (It might be you.)
Tourists carried 4 million EEK (256,000 EUR) worth of alcohol out of the country last year, buying twice the quantity of vodka and beer as they purchased in 2003. While Finland reduced its excise tax on alcohol, Estonian alcohol was still several times cheaper. The average tourist purchased 3 liters of vodka and 22 liters of beer from Estonia last year.
Imports increased as well. Estonian companies import raw materials used for alcoholic beverage production. Also, the demand for foreign-made alcohol in Estonian shops has increased.
