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June 26 – July 2, 2025Stockholm-Narva-Tallinn The 2025 Global Estonian Cultural Festival, ESTO, will be hosted in Stockholm, Tallinn, and Narva from June 26 to July 2, 2025. The ESTO Festival has brought together Estonians from around the world since 1972 to celebrate their shared culture, heritage, and achievements –...

Laas Leivat, Eesti Elu Estonia is slated to celebrate its cultural diversity throughout 2014. The year will be declared “Kultuurilise Mitmekesisuse aastaks”. One may ask how this is compatible with the widely accepted notion that Estonia is a 'nation-state', which usually denotes territory that is ruled in the name of...

Our father was a big man. Maybe not physically, but anyone who knew him knew he was intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally a very big man. The three of us know all too well that most any question we asked always resulted in a broad smile and trip to the bookshelf....

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...

This article represents the first in a series of occasional notes to help our diaspora understand the types of companies coming out of Estonia and heading to the United States. Personally, it is an immensely fulfilling opportunity to bring my two native countries together and see both benefit. This first...

A comparative study of rental and real estate prices shows that since 2010, both have increased more in Estonia than in any other European Union (EU) country. According to Eurostat, rental prices in Estonia have increased by 212 percent between 2010 and the first quarter (Q1) of this year, the...

Competitive swimmer and Ocean Ambassador, "The Mermaid," Merle Liivand was honored as a Wonder Woman by the Wonder Woman Initiative during the Miami Swim Week on July 8 weekend. The Wonder Woman Initiative launched during Miami Swim Week in 2018, opening with an inaugural award show in honor of 4...

The Estonian TV Girls Choir (ETV Tütarlastekoor) started its USA tour in Stanford with two concerts with different programs: Estonian/folk/contemporary at Meyer Green and with a sacred music program at the very beautiful Memorial Church. The choir also performed at the Golden Gate International Choral Festival this week, with concerts...

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...