Politics & Society

While the Estonian foreign ministry is planning to close its consulate general in San Francisco and the historic, monumentally important consulate general in New York City under the pretext of cost-cutting, the ministry is actually spending USD 30,000 a month on the residence of the Estonian ambassador to the United...

Renee Meriste, President of the Estonian Society of Los Angeles The strongest guarantee of freedom and a free country lies in the unwavering commitment of its population to uphold and protect the fundamental principles of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. To safeguard this freedom, it is imperative...

Jaak Treiman, the Honoray Consul in LA The Foreign Ministry’s decision to close the New York and San Francisco consulates has generated explanations and commentary. I want to add my commentary to the mix, offering what is perhaps a different perspective. My connection to Estonia’s foreign ministry predates the reacquisition...

This decision shows a lack of respect for the historic importance and symbolism of the New York City consulate to Estonians abroad and in the USA. The existence of the New York consulate symbolized legitimacy and continuity of the Republic of Estonia during the Soviet occupation and beyond. National security...

Siim Sööt, Honorary Consul of Estonia in Chicago This is the first of three articles that explore where people of Estonian ancestry live in the United States. This article focuses on the number of individuals of Estonian ancestry (hereafter called US Estonians) and the recent change in that number. The...

Karl Altau / JBANC On August 1, 2023, the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) hosted a visit and briefing in the United States Congress for rising high-school seniors from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The three dozen students had completed a three-week program in Maine under the auspices of the...

There is an expression: turning swords into ploughshares, restoring despair to hope, war to peace, and putting an end to the chaos that has now taken over our major cities, where thousands are cowering behind closed curtains, while mobs are massing in the streets, looting, trashing, and burning what we...

Members of the Riigikogu's Economic Affairs Committee want to reopen talks with the government about Estonia's participation in the World EXPO in Japan. They question whether denying entrepreneurs opportunities is the best way to save money. The government, after Minister of Economic Affairs Tiit Riisalo's (Eesti 200) decision, ruled out...

Estonian residents have the highest trust in the rescue service, Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), and the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), new polling commissioned by the Ministry of Defense shows. The Rescue Service is considered to be completely or mostly trustworthy by 96 percent of Estonian residents, the Police...

The short-lived June 23-24 Russian mutiny led by the Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin placed the instability of Russia on full display, from the uncertain domestic military response to the coup attempt to the dissonance of Putin’s message labeling Prigozhin and Wagner as traitors. The fact remains that the Wagner Group...