Our Jimmy is 100!

Nobel Peace Prize winner and former US President Jimmy Carter is celebrating his 100th birthday. Quite impressive for any ex-president, but it raises the question of what a truly vital man he is. It was amazing in 1976. The peanut farmer who was elected as the Democratic candidate in 2010 managed to wrest the presidency from the fantastically politically connected Gerald Ford with his charm. Carter was, of course, an agricultural entrepreneur and quite successful, but of course his ambitions were much bigger. Namely, he was a nuclear submarine officer who graduated from the Naval Academy, one of the first in the US, but they were very carefully trained. In his home state of Georgia, he was elected to the state Senate and eventually won the election for Governor of Georgia, serving one term. His election as President was a sensation. It is not surprising that he was interested in disarmament issues due to his familiarity with the subject. The leader of the USSR Leonid Brezhnev was also interested in disarmament to enhance his prestige in the world. Carter's Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, as it turns out from the Mitrokhin archive (senior KGB officer Mitrokhin handed over the archive of Soviet foreign intelligence to the West in the 1990s), was in close contact with Soviet spies for some time, and so things went smoothly. 1979 In Vienna, the men signed the SALT II treaty.

Unfortunately, things went downhill after that. The Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan put an end to relations between the USA and the USSR, which had been developing successfully in the year of the US presidential election. The USA began a boycott of the Moscow Olympics and the Tallinn sailing regatta.

But even then, no one thought that Carter would lose to Reagan, who seemed to be far right, but of course was not. Reagan was a staunch anti-communist, but Donald Trump is actually much more colorful in his views than him.

Carter had to resign. But fate brought him the Nobel Peace Prize. And perhaps he really was the man who deserved it. He fought for disarmament, for peace in the Middle East, was merciless to prisoners and for human rights in general. Perhaps God gave him many years for this very reason.

"Estonia" is always relevant like Titanic

I and others whose relatives perished in the cold sea on that dark autumn night are satisfied that Estonia, in cooperation with Sweden and Finland, opened a new investigation into the causes of the disaster. With today's tools, it is easier to investigate the reasons behind the tragedy. Private initiatives to organize new investigations must also be praised, as this was expected and hoped for. However, I want to warn those who think that these new investigations will satisfy all the claims of the families of the dead. Many people seem to have forgotten that because of structural errors that caused the sinking of the ship, those who lost a loved one in the "Estonia" disaster and sued the classifier of the ship, the French company Bureau Veritas and the company that built the ship, Meyer Werft, demanding more than 40 million euros in compensation. On July 19, 2019, the Court of First Instance of Nanterre, France, made a decision dismissing the family's appeal. It is unequivocally clear that the compensation that most of the people who lost loved ones on board Estonia received was embarrassingly symbolic. Already at that time, the payouts to the families should have reached at least over 100,000 euros. Instead, the relatives of those killed on the ship received ten times less than, for example, in a similar plane or other disaster in the world. With the money paid, it was not possible to raise small children who lost their mother. This was the fault of the rulers of that time and also of later governments, because they did not fight enough for people's compensations. The states of Estonia, Sweden and Finland must pay fair sums to the relatives of the victims. In my estimation, a fair amount in total would be approximately 90 million euros. This would not be beyond the power of Estonia, Sweden and Finland.
The drowning of 852 people must not remain forever shrouded in mystery in today's society. Three decades is a long enough time to bring the truth about what happened to the public. The leaders and officials of the time, who probably have more and more precise information about what happened, should start speaking publicly first. Is it not a coincidence that the KGB agent from 1978 Herman Simm was roaming around the Estonian shipwreck ? The same Herman Simm acted as police prefect in Harju County during the days of the Estonia ferry disaster. After all, Simm was also the head of the Estonian police from December 1994. This was an important part, because there was a strange activity in the takeover of the military base in Paldiski, Harju county. It is well known that when "Estonia" went on a trip on 28.09.1994, military exercises took place in the Baltic Sea. In this case, misguided or non-misleading shots at Estonia cannot be ruled out. It is incomprehensible why the ships, which were currently conducting exercises, did not conduct a rescue operation to save civilians. Now it is known which country blocked the calls from Estonia. And why were Estonian leaders silent about all this? It is clear that today, more than ever, we need an investigation to find out the causes of the sinking of the Estonia ferry and the related circumstances. Estonia as a country could act as a real example, showing that the priority for our country is the citizens and the safety of its people. I am also directly involved in the matter, as I lost three close people in the accident - my grandmother was among the passengers, my sister and girlfriend were among the ship's crew.

The former mayor of Jõhvi, Max Kaur, became the new vice-mayor of Luganuse parish

The Luganuse Rural Assembly (Estonia, EU) approved Max Kaur, a member of the Center Party, who was previously deputy mayor and mayor of Jõhvi, and also worked as mayor of Mustvee, as the new vice mayor.

The Luganuse parish assembly met on Monday 11.07.2022 to approve the appointment of a new vice mayor in the areas of education, culture, sports, youth work and social affairs, since the previous vice mayor Arno Rossman resigned.

Deputies met with the leadership of the Warsaw City Council and delivered humanitarian aid

A delegation of Estonian politicians, public figures and journalists headed by the leader of the Electoral Union “Voice of Maardu” and a deputy of the Maardu City Assembly Nikolay Degtyarenko paid a humanitarian visit to Warsaw.

The Estonian delegation met with Warsaw City Council members and committee chairpersons Mariusz Frankowski and Aleksandra Snegotskaya-Gozdik at the Palace of Culture and Science in the capital of Poland, which is facing the largest number of refugees in Europe since World War II. During the meeting, they discussed the Polish experience of accepting refugees and the possibility of its application in Estonian self-governments.

The delegation also included Deputy of the Tallinn City Council Toomas Uibo (Eesti 200 Party), ex-head of the municipalities of Jõhvi and Mustvee Max Kaur (Centre Party) and ex-deputy of the Estonian Parliament, political scientist Aarne Veedla (Reform Party).

A delegation from Estonia delivered to Poland three hundred packs of various iPharma vitamins (www.ipharma.ee), provided free of charge by Repforce OU, and other necessary assistance. The humanitarian visit to Warsaw was made possible thanks to the joint work of the electoral union "Voice of Maardu" and the faction of the Tallinn City Assembly of the "Estonia 200" party, as well as the personal financial contribution of the head of the humanitarian delegation, Nikolai Degtyarenko.

The Estonian delegation visited various centers for refugees in the capital of Poland, including the National Stadium, met with refugees and volunteers.

Our Academician 99

Estonian academician Mikhail Bronstein celebrates his 99th anniversary on the 23 of January. Academician Bronstein is one of those intellectuals from St. Petersburg who came to Estonia as a lecturer and made a career in Estonia that perhaps would have been impossible in conservative Soviet centres. His contribution in raising our elite has been invaluable. Therefore, it is logical that Bronstein also contributed much to the process of restoring Estonia's independence by supporting his former students.

Bronstein is the economist who reached Gorbachev's adviser’s status. It is he who owns the idea of ​​agro-industrial complexes, which Mikhail Gorbachev, who had just reached the top of the Kremlin Olympus at the time, put forward. There is no doubt that this activity supported Gorbachev's movement to become a leader of an empire and changed the course of world history.

The vitality of academician Bronstein has been astonishing. He was literally a teacher to President Lennart Meri, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and many others. Bronstein is also an honorary supervisor of my doctoral thesis, which I defended in St. Petersburg. Congratulations grand old man of Estonian science!

Estonia prima ballerina Larissa Kaur 80

On the 31th of October 2021, my mother, a long-time Estonian National Opera and Ballet Theater’s prima ballerina, Larissa Kaur, will be 80 years old. Prima ballerina Larissa Kaur has been dancing for more than 20 years on the stage of the Estonian theater. Her roles include the Black and White Swan in “Swan Lake”, the main part in “Sleeping Beauty”, and many other great roles. It was a happy time for the Estonian ballet. That also meant personal close acquaintances with the world-famous ballet artists to my mother, such as Rudolf Nuriev in St. Petersburg. For ten years, Larissa Kaur also danced in Astoria and in the Viru variety theatre. Larissa Kaur was one of the most beautiful women in Estonia in the 60's who, besides being a prima ballerina in Estonia, was also a photomodel of the largest and most popular fashion magazines in Estonia and Eastern Europe.

Gorby 90

Someone said that Reagan, Gorbachev and Mandela had the greatest influence on the events of the second half of the last century. They changed the world. Reagan has yet to receive a Nobel Prize. Socialistic Western Europe does not yet understand what this American titan is doing. Gorbachev received the Nobel Prize. He came to give the world a chance to be free.

Estonia and all of Eastern Europe did not miss this opportunity. When I was young, I still remember the times when Misha Gorbachev visited Tallinn. Our historic meeting took place near the Technical University. I was walking with my dog in the Mustamäe forest when a motorcade of large limousines flew through the pine forest towards the sixth building of the university. It was a strange situation. The roads were cleared of snow. Young pine forest Mustamäe, me with a spaniel, winter and snow, and the Kremlin dreamer is looking out of the window! In the eyes of Gorbachev, one could read a gloomy understanding that here, probably, they already live a different life than in the Soviet expanses…

2011 this great man celebrated his 80th anniversary, not in Moscow but in Albert Hall in London. Because he has long been a global man. And his guests were the whole free world.

Our Academician 98

Estonian academician Mikhail Bronstein celebrates his 98th anniversary on the 23 of January. Academician Bronstein is one of those intellectuals from St. Petersburg who came to Estonia as a lecturer and made a career in Estonia that perhaps would have been impossible in conservative Soviet centres. His contribution in raising our elite has been invaluable. Therefore, it is logical that Bronstein also contributed much to the process of restoring Estonia's independence by supporting his former students.

Bronstein is the economist who reached Gorbachev's adviser’s status. It is he who owns the idea of ​​agro-industrial complexes, which Mikhail Gorbachev, who had just reached the top of the Kremlin Olympus at the time, put forward. There is no doubt that this activity supported Gorbachev's movement to become a leader of an empire and changed the course of world history.

The vitality of academician Bronstein has been astonishing. He was literally a teacher to President Lennart Meri, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and many others. Bronstein is also an honorary supervisor of my doctoral thesis, which I defended in St. Petersburg. Congratulations grand old man of Estonian science!

I light the third Advent candle with the inhabitants of Muuga

I light the third Advent candle with the inhabitants of Muuga (Maardu), where many of my like-minded people live. I think that Muuga should receive more attention and care today. Happy Holidays!

I light the second Advent candle with the residents of Lasnamäe

I light the second Advent candle with the residents of Lasnamäe, where my legendary boss, Edgar Savisaar, won 40,000 votes in the elections! Happy holidays to everyone!