Justin Petrone sat down with the Estonian folk musician, Tuulikki Bartosik, in Viljandi to talk about her albums, her life as a musician and how, despite practical difficulties as an accordionist, playing the instrument is liberating and like an extra pair of lungs for her. Tuulikki Bartosik is one of the …
So bloody heavy: the exploits of an Estonian accordionist Read More »
Estonia’s “pro-NATO” government was not toppled in favour of a “pro-Russian” one. The forces guiding former prime minister Taavi Rõivas and his successor, Jüri Ratas, are very local and are rooted in differing concepts about what Estonian independence is actually supposed to mean, Justin Petrone writes. The previous Estonian coalition …
Justin Petrone: Rõivas and Ratas – mere lieutenants Read More »
By becoming president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves was able to reconcile Estonia’s twin past – of those who stayed and those who fled when the Soviet Union occupied the country; his presidency meant that the Estonian nation had to redefine itself as a whole, to accept that there were people who …
Justin Petrone: Toomas Hendrik Ilves – a new national folk character Read More »
Young generation of Estonians cannot conceive of an Estonia that was not free, writes Justin Petrone, an Estonia-based columnist and writer. On a cold winter’s night, not too many weeks ago, I was enjoying a sauna with my eight-year-old daughter Anna when she turned to me and asked me a …
I learned a lot about my wife’s people – Estonians – from Prime Minister Andrus Ansip. When I look back to how much I thought I knew about them in 2005 when he was named prime minister after two years of chaotic ministerial sackings and resignations under his predecessor, Juhan Parts, …
This article is in relation to the recent Estonian-French movie “An Estonian Lady in Paris”, directed by Ilmar Raag. The film tells the story of Anne (Laine Magi), a divorced 50 year-old woman who leaves a small Estonian town to care for an elderly woman in Paris, a free-spirited fellow …