How Estonia solves the problems of its “Donbas”

The Ukrainian Week spoke to Estonia’s Prime Minister about reforms, business environment they way Estonian investors see it in Ukraine, economic benefits of e-governance and international response to the Russian threat

NATO does not know how to deal with small, confusing challenges, so Russia unleashes them. If they go unpunished, they set a precedent

In his interview for The Ukrainian Week, Mr. Ilves draws parallels between transformations of the international order caused by Russia’s actions today and circumstances that encouraged the establishment of NATO and EU over 60 years ago, and between the presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian soil today and Soviet occupation of Estonia

One of the biggest crises the newly re-independent state of Estonia faced was an attempt to establish an autonomous region in its northeast part in 1993

Up to now, it has been common knowledge that all the Soviet republics started from scratch after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. As the Estonian example shows, this was not actually the case and already by 1991 the former Soviet republics had unequal starting positions

The path from kroon to euro and decisions from 20 years back that make Estonia’s finance minister proud today

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Estonia has fared much better than other former Soviet republics. The Estonian economy has developed rapidly, and society as a whole is very free and democratic. The reason? Not only timely and judicious political decisions, but also the strong influence of Estonia’s northern neighbour Finland.

Estonians took radical action to get rid from the Soviet legal system and laid the foundation for the rule of law, with a clear separation of powers and an independent judiciary.

Why the Baltic States succeeded in defending their states in 1917-20 while Ukraine failed

On December 8, 1993, when the new Income Tax Act was passed, was the first time that a piece of legislation had drawn an ovation. On that day, Parliament laid the capstone on the entire process of tax reform, which signified the start of a brand-new period for Estonian tax policy

On 19 September 2008, Estonian Defence Ministry adviser Hermann Simm and his wife travelled to a small town near Tallinn to pick up a three-kilogram cake that Simm had ordered for his mother-in-law’s birthday from a local shopping centre. When they came out of the shop carrying their purchases, neither noticed the black Volkswagen minibus - or the ambulance positioned just around the corner, there in case Estonia’s most wanted traitor should put up resistance, have a heart attack or take a capsule of poison.

Elections to the new Estonian Parliament, the unicameral Riigikogu (as it is called in Estonian), on 20 September 1992 marked a watershed in the Estonian politics and laid the foundation for further successful development.

Property reform is one of the most controversial issues haunting Estonia today. The restitution of property grew out of the need to return the property to those who lost it during Soviet nationalisation and collectivisation.

Unlike many other nations in the Second World War the foreign troops did not leave Estonia in 1944 or in 1945, but in 1994.

20 August 1991 is the Estonian Re-Independence Day. Namely, on that day just a few minutes before midnight, the Supreme Council of Estonia declared Estonia independent and some days later the international recognitions began to pour in. The way Estonian independence was declared and what was written in the Supreme Council’s declaration continue to influence Estonian society today.

The new Constitution brought Estonia back to the Western Hemisphere and constituted the backbone around which life in the new Republic would concentrate.

Despite the euro-zone crisis, euro membership gives Estonia more credibility and makes the country clearly visible among former republics of the USSR.

Estonia’s Ambassador to Ukraine Lauri Lepik talks about his country’s path to the European Union, the experience of integrating the Russian-speaking population and establishing business contacts with Kyiv

Lithuania was and continues to be unimaginable without its historically formed minorities and its precious voices.

Being small offers both negative and positive opportunities in international politics.