Tallinn Mayor an 'Agent of Russian Influence,' Alleges Leaked Intelligence (65)

Published: 16.12.2010 10:20

Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar (wearing brown overcoat) in St. Petersburg, Russia, visiting the Levashovo cemetery on Russia's national day of remembrance for victims of political repression.
( Photo: Raepress )

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Sources have leaked that the Estonian President, Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior hold an intelligence briefing document from the Security Police that names Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar as a threat to national security.

Savisaar is chairman of the Centre Party, which has developed unusually close relations with the Russian Federation. This spring, Savisaar traveled to Russia on a relations building visit, which the national counter intelligence agency, KAPO, asserts in documents leaked to Postimees, led to "the most insipid story for our country's morale in the last 20 years."

The document provided to government leaders alleges that Savisaar has through mediators attained 1.5 million euros to enhance the influence of the Russian Federation in Estonia.

Savisaar refrained from commenting to Postimees on December 15. Savisaar's press conference on the issue has been scheduled at midday on December 16.

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Comments (65)

  • Freedom

    16.12.2010 12:10

    Although I disagree with the socialist central parties beliefs, Savisaar is the only voice of reason when dealing with Russia in the entire country. Having bad relations with your neighbors is a bad idea. Having bad relations with a neighbor that is a 100 times your size and can crush you militarily in about 12 hours is a really bad idea. Having bad relations with your neighbor and abusing members of your population that have direct ethnic ties to a country 100 times your size that can crush you militarily in about 12 hours is lunacy. The threat to national security is not Savisaar but those pretending he is. Estonia has become fiercely nationalistic, and is abusing the ethnic Russians. This will eventually bring the wrath of Russia. Russia is a scary place. I definitely don't want Estonia to be conquered by Russia, but if Estonia's trend towards hard core nationalism doesn't stop, that is probably what will happen. When the president, prime minister, and head of national security declare rival politicians as enemies of the state, it is clear that Estonia is heading in a dangerous direction. It is only a matter of time before they start breaking down the doors of anyone that disagrees with their policies.

  • Vares-Barbarus

    16.12.2010 12:49

    He is the new Vares-Barbarus

  • Brandao

    17.12.2010 04:48

    @freedom: don't forget the article V from NATO .. And in our days Russia would not gain anything with classical invasions.. that is past .. Today we are in a global world and the treats are not the Estonians or the Russians or Germans ... Things have changed deeply in the last years.. Cold war assumptions are past...the XXI century Geopolitics is so far away from the one that you had in 1989 when the Berlim wall fall down ... Imagine an invasion to Estonia : Russian economical ties with the west, specially Germany would go astray .. NATO would have to place their forces in the Baltic... Etc etc.. That kind of balance of power is happening in our days in Asia not in Europe anymore ...

  • Freedom

    18.12.2010 20:09

    @Brandao: Nato(The United States) will never go to war with Russia to defend Estonia. I am an American, and I am 99% sure my country will never honor the obligations it made to Estonia. Russia will use the abuse of ethnic Russians a pretext for invasion , and because the United States isn't willing to commit suicide, it will find an excuse to accept it. Germany and the rest of Europe are dependent on Russian oil and gas, so they won't do a thing. Doesn't happen in Europe? Most of Europeans consider Georgia and Russia part of Europe, but you can consider them Asia if you want. Although Georgia is not part of NATO, you can get a pretty good idea of how things would play out in Estonia if Russia invaded by looking at the response of Europe and the United States. Back to my point, although I disagree with the center party's political agenda, Savisaar is the only responsible politician in the country. He doesn't want to harm anyone, and wants to help EVERYONE in the country have a happy life. He understands the importance of getting along with Russia, and he understands that everyone in Estonia has the right to expect equal treatment regardless of the language they speak, regardless of the religion they worship.

  • Freer Freedom

    19.12.2010 08:29

    @Freedom: You make fair points regarding the USA's likelihood to defend Estonia if Russia invades. But I don't get your love for Savisaar. Your point is fair that he is the only one who seems to keep up dialogue with Russia, but are you convinced it's a dialogue (is he perhaps going there to receive their monologue)? And that he cares about everyone? You paint him as a saint. You write as if you on the Centre Party payroll.

  • Freedom

    19.12.2010 10:29

    Some people in the world are willing to stand up for people being treated unjustly without being paid for it.

  • @Freedom

    19.12.2010 21:05

    I also am an American and I am absolutely sure the US and the rest of NATO will go to war with Russia over an invasion of Estonia. To not do so would lead to the immediate end of NATO as an effective organization. Using your logic, Russia could basically re-establish control over all of eastern Europe without fear of the rest of NATO because they don't want a war with Russia and the loss of its gas and oil.

  • Freedom

    20.12.2010 13:24

    @@Freedom According to article V NATO isn't required to respond militarily to an invasion. In addition, as soon as the Security Council comes to an agreement as to what to do about the situation NATO members would no longer have any obligation or authority to do anything. What this means is Russia will invade. The United States will call an emergency session of the Security Council. The U.S., Britain, China, France, and Russia will sit down at a table and decide that Estonia needs a peace keeping force sent by Russia. Problem solved for NATO, all obligations are met. You won't hear so much as a whimper from anyone other than the two other Baltic States. I don't think they could walk into all of Europe, but they could easily get away with Estonia. There isn't even an official border between the two countries yet.

  • @Mathew

    20.12.2010 14:37

    Simply put, they denied citizenship to a sizable portion of the population thereby disenfranchising them from national elections. They then used their lock on power to direct the State paid jobs to Ethnic Estonians, when in fact the ethnic Russians should reasonably have expected to have 30% of those positions. The same goes with government contracts which are also disproportionately directed to ethnic Estonians. Teachers were fired from their jobs for speaking the language of the land at the time of their birth. In fact, under Estonian law you can be fired and your employeer fined if you work in any position at all that deals with the public if you don't speak Estonian. Several taxi drivers were made unemployable from this. You must understand, most of these ethnic Russians were born in Estonia, there Family all lives in Estonia, the only land they know is Estonia. Russian was one of two official languages at the time. They grew up speaking the official language, they got an education in the official language, they worked in the official language. One day they woke up and were told they can't speak it anymore, move back to Russia. The problem is, they aren't Russians, they are Estonians. They just speak a different language. It would be equivalent to telling an Italian speaking Swiss to move back to Italy. He isn't Italian, he is Swiss. It is unrealistic to take a grown adult and expect them to become fluent in a different language. Some people have this gift, but most do not. If Estonia wants one language (it is questionable if they have a moral right to demand this) they need to do it over 3 generations, not one. It is abuse to run around the country firing anyone that doesn't speak the newly declared only official language of the land. I have no connections with any ethnic Russians. My wife is Estonia, my children are Estonian. My arguments are because of my expectation for people to act with common human decency, and the fact that I see Estonia's current path as leading to the destruction of Estonia. Which is not something I want to happen.

  • avatar

    auslane

    20.12.2010 15:34

    Perhaps it the Soviets had made more of an effort to educate their Estonian citizens in the Estonian language the situation would not be as it is now? It's hardly reasonable to place all the blame on modern Estonia for lack of Estonian speaking ability. And as for 'becoming fluent' - it's not necessary to be fluent to conduct most social and business interactions. The point here is willingness to try; lack of even trying to learning the official language of the country you are resident in is disrespectful, and divisive.

  • Karl Rove

    20.12.2010 16:17

    Freedom, you should not countinue to mislead people. NATO responds militarily when a member state being attacked otherwize political credibility of NATO and the U.S. will be destroyed. And there is an official border between Estonia and Russia. Freedom, you sound like an " Agent of Russian influence " Are you going to build a church in Tallinn?

  • Freedom

    20.12.2010 16:55

    @auslane It is irrelevant what the totalitarian Soviets did. What is relevant is what the current government is doing. The ethnic Russians living here are not at fault for what Stalin and his successors did anymore than ethnic Estonians are. Punishing them for the abuses of the Soviet Union is wrong.

  • Freedom

    20.12.2010 17:03

    @Karl Rove I am not miss leading anyone. I am giving my opinion. It is a fact that NATO nations are not required to respond with military force. You can read the North Atlantic Treaty yourself if you would like. . By calling someone an agent of influence because their opinion is different from yours is exactly the point that I am making that started this discussion because this seems to be the attitude of the ruling political parties in the government itself.

  • Freedom

    20.12.2010 17:20

    @Karl Rove as far as I am aware Russia still has not signed any treaties accepting the current De facto borders between the two counties. If the U.S. can spin a store as to why they have to invade a country they certainly can spin one as to why they won't. Giving them legitimate reasons doesn't help the situation.

  • Karl Rove

    20.12.2010 17:54

    Freedom, you say you expless your opinion. Well, sounds like playing a game of words. Here the subject is real politics and history which affects people's feelings and lives. You say " Soviet Union is Wrong " " Not People " ...Well, What is Soviet Union? Russians. Period. And Russians have to carry its own history light-side and dark side all together. Estonians don't put Russians in jail or send to re-education camp even so many of the samll nation's men, women and children had been by Russians. Estonians simply asking them to share to speak the Estonian in the Republic of Estonia. Show your respect before talking other's attitude.

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