Estonia
I wasn't sure if I had already posted this pic a year ago, but this is the remains of a great castle built during the Knights of the Sword period of Estonian history. Half of the castle has been restored, and that part of the building is used as a library for the main university of Tartu. If this building was in Australia or the US the whole site would be fenced off and everyone would be too worried about being sued to allow people to wander around the ruins of a once great place. I still think it's the coolest warning sign that I have ever seen!
I thought I'd clarify something I'd mentioned in my last entry. I had referred to the troubles in south eastern Estonia still brewing, but since I had last read about it a few years ago whilst completing my International Relations degree at uni, I had not read the latest developments regarding the area of Petserimaa - the area around the town of Petseri. Since Soviet times, Petseri has been officially called Pechory. Estonians have traditionally considered this region one of the 11 counties that constitute their Nation, and this has been the source of many simmering tensions with Russia. I found a great map that shows the disputed territories, it also includes the area around Narva and also Latvia's border dispute area with Russia.
Wikipedia seems to suggest that the Petserimaa issues were resolved in 2005, (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petseri ) but I am not sure what the Estonian people think of this. I notice that Wikipedia have entered their summary in a way that suggests this is an historic Russian area that has been returned. I'm not so sure if other historical sources would agree with that either. I will have to read more about it.
Some other webpages for Estonian history for all you history geeks if you are interested..
http://www.einst.ee/publications/12/viies.html
http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Estonia/History
http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-200389
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0858036.html
I thought I'd clarify something I'd mentioned in my last entry. I had referred to the troubles in south eastern Estonia still brewing, but since I had last read about it a few years ago whilst completing my International Relations degree at uni, I had not read the latest developments regarding the area of Petserimaa - the area around the town of Petseri. Since Soviet times, Petseri has been officially called Pechory. Estonians have traditionally considered this region one of the 11 counties that constitute their Nation, and this has been the source of many simmering tensions with Russia. I found a great map that shows the disputed territories, it also includes the area around Narva and also Latvia's border dispute area with Russia.
Wikipedia seems to suggest that the Petserimaa issues were resolved in 2005, (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petseri ) but I am not sure what the Estonian people think of this. I notice that Wikipedia have entered their summary in a way that suggests this is an historic Russian area that has been returned. I'm not so sure if other historical sources would agree with that either. I will have to read more about it.
Some other webpages for Estonian history for all you history geeks if you are interested..
http://www.einst.ee/publications/12/viies.html
http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Estonia/History
http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-200389
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0858036.html
posted by mrlederhosen at 10:46 am
3 Comments:
Estonians have traditionally considered this region one of the 11 counties that constitute their Nation, and this has been the source of many simmering tensions with Russia.
this is simply not true. Yes, this region was a part of the Estonian Republic's territory until the Soviet occupation, and yes, there still is a considerable Estonian minority living in Petseri.
but no, none of the Estonia's governments has ever raised the question of getting it back. First of all, the Russians wouldn't give it to us anyway and we have no means to convince them otherwise. So we're being realistic.
Hell, Russia hasn't even given us back Estonian President's official necklace (which was taken to some Russian museum during the occupation), although they acknowledge that Estonia is its legal owner. Yes, you read it right - they acknowledge its not theirs, but they can't give it back yet. There have been speculations that museums' workers have simply stolen the jewels from the necklace - wouldn't be surprising. But frankly nobody here today gives a s*** about Petseri or the necklace: after all, we've got our independence, we are in NATO and EU and we have much higher living standards than they have(that applies to Estonian Russians as well - that's why there haven't been a Russian exodus from Estonia to Russia. Rather they would go live in other European states). And I won't even start comparing the situation of free press and basic human rights.
i hope you don't mind me being a smart-ass, it seems to me that you like getting information.
actually there is 15, not 11 counties in Estonia nowadays. and grabbing Petseri wasn't made by Russian Federation (which, at the beginning, was eager to condamn all the atrocieties of the Soviet era) but of Stalin back in 1940s.
but there really haven't been any "latest developments" about Petseri. We've lost the territory to a conqueror stronger than us and we accept the fact.
Thanks so much for your words! It's great to find out about what is the real deal about such places. I have checked out the website you recommended to me, it's very informative.
I didn't see your comments as smart-ass at all, I saw it as you letting me know how it is in Estonia. Cheers heaps for that!
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