Free Estonian Word

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VoC) held its annual Triumph of Liberty Conference and Gala Dinner on November 14th. The event takes place each year to remember the victims of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, and worldwide, while encouraging commitment to confronting today’s revisionist powers and defending the right of all people to live in freedom.   The Truman-Reagan...

Earlier this autumn, the Estonian World Council (ÜEKN) submitted an appeal to the Riigikogu seeking to have 19 September officially declared a Day of Remembrance to mark the mass exodus of Estonians fleeing occupying powers in 1944. The Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu, however, wants to leave the decision up to the next Riigikogu, which will enter office following the 2019 general election next...

Welcoming Remarks Delivered During Baltic Unity Day at Priedaine (Latvian Club) in Freehold, NJ on October 13, 2018.   Greetings fellow Balts and Baltic-Americans. We, as humans, often package things into groups of three, or we find them in nature and faith. We like trios. Triumvirates. Think of a three piece suit; the atom consisting of protons, neutrons, and...

President of the Riigikogu Eiki Nestor (SDE) has convened an additional sitting of the Riigikogu on Monday, November 26, the agenda of which includes the first reading of the draft on the UN Global Compact for Migration submitted by Social Democrats (SDE).   According to the SDE statement, the UN Global Compact for Migration is a non-legally binding cooperative framework, which...

Council members, Estonian Society representatives and guests who attended EANC's 2018 annual meeting in Philadelpia.   The EANC’s council for the 2018-2022 term held its first annual meeting in Philadelphia over the weekend of November 3-4, 2018. Twenty-eight of thirty council members attended, along with Estonian Society representatives from seventeen communities around the U.S. (some of whom...

On photo: holding a wreath is Indrek Uukkivi (TEM choir elder), to his left is Iri Luts (ÜEKN secretary), then Ülle Ederma (ERKÜ), and Arved Plaks (TEM).   I was 11 years old when I was sitting anxiously between two suitcases on the hard floor of a hay wagon. As the wagon rolled on an...

Erik (Reimo Sagor) with his baby daughter Nora.   Estonia's foreign-language Oscar submission “Võta või jäta” had 5 successful screenings in Los Angeles with the director Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, lead actor Reigo Sagor, and producer Ivo Felt present.    “Take It or Leave It” looks at a single father's struggles and is the fictional debut from documentary filmmaker Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo.   ...

One hundred years ago, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe declared their independence amid collapsing empires. But that independence was short-lived as Eastern Europe was consumed by the Nazi and Soviet empires.   In the 1980s, Europe’s Captive Nations led the dismantling of the Soviet Union, and are once again free, prosperous, and vital members of the Free World.   ...

The case of the Rutto family from Abkhazia, who lost their claim to Estonian citizenship following a recent Supreme Court ruling, has brought the issue of Estonian citizenship back into the media. Though the Rutto case concerns the matter of citizenship by birth, reactions have included other aspects as well, demonstrating once again how confusing the provisions of...

Thanks to the generous grant provided by the Estonian American Fund, the School of Law of the University of Tartu has been able to develop its international law program considerably. We are now much more visible in the field of international law and have become the focal point for international law-related academic activities in the Baltic States, particularly in Estonia.   ...