Skip to main menu 16.03.24 NEWS ... Estonia's National Library (Eesti Rahvusraamatukogu/ RaRa) contains approximately 9,000 historic French works and, now, for the first time, they have been mapped and studied. French cultural historian Dr Sophie Turner told ERR News about her experience and discoveries.
28.02.24 NEWS ... Construction work is set to begin on Rail Baltica this spring, but the rails will not be laid down yet, nor will designs for the entire Estonian section be complete. Trains will start running on Rail Baltica in 2030, but, as things stand, there will only be a single pair of tracks for the first decade. Regional stops will also be built at a later date.
27.02.24 NEWS ... In case you hadn't heard, 2024 is a big deal in Tartu. This year, Estonia's "City of Good Thoughts" is one of three European Capitals of Culture. But in challenging times like these, what does "arts of survival," the artistic concept underpinning this celebration of all things South Estonia really mean?
13.02.24 NEWS ... On Vastlapäev (Shrove Tuesday), thousands of buns — vastlakuklid — topped with whipped cream, marzipan, jam and many other things will be sold and eaten across Estonia. But where did they come from?
30.12.23 NEWS ... As 2023 reaches its final days, ERR News sums up the most important and interesting events of the last year, month-by-month.
20.12.23 NEWS ... It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Tallinn. But while the city's annual festive market may be in full swing, I was interested in a different kind of presence when I arrived in the Estonian capital on a snowy December morning. Following a short notice deployment, British Royal Navy ship HMS Richmond was coming to town and, despite my patchy recent track record at sea, I'd been invited along to find out why, writes Michael Cole.
16.12.23 NEWS ... Having dealt with the northernmost point in Latvia last week, Mike Collier of Latvian public broadcaster LSM now turns our attention to the southernmost point in Estonia in the third installment of a feature series.
06.12.23 NEWS ... Thankfully the Latvia-Estonia border is not the cartographically satisfying but extremely boring straight line such as one finds between certain of the United States or countries owning shares in the Sahara Desert. On a large-scale map it looks fairly consistent, but the closer you zoom in, the more irregular and oddball it becomes, Latvian public broadcaster LSM's Mike Collier writes in the second installment of a feature series.
04.12.23 NEWS ... A senior researcher believes there is no problem with families wanting to have children in Estonia, but many have fewer than they would like. The main reason is economic security.
28.11.23 NEWS ... Estonian and Latvian ministers putting themselves forward as "unofficial candidates" for NATO's secretary general can "force the discussion" about who can lead the alliance, Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Krisjanis Karins said in an interview with ERR News. Karins announced his interest in the job earlier this month.
27.11.23 NEWS ... In 2024, Tartu – or rather, Tartu and a large chunk of Southern Estonia – will be European Capital of Culture, something as relevant to neighboring Latvia as it is to the rest of Estonia, as Mike Collier of Latvian public broadcaster LSM writes in a piece reproduced in full for the benefit of ERR News readers.
23.11.23 NEWS ... Estonian officials have been ready to face a so-called migration attack from Russia for a long time – the only real question was when it would occur, Veiko Kommusaar, deputy director general at the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) said. ERR News outlines the situation and what could happen next.
19.11.23 NEWS ... Estonia has already pledged approximately €25 million to help rebuild Ukraine – next year's budget permitting. ERR News spoke to Margus Gering, head of the Ukrainian Development and Cooperation Program at the Estonian Center for International Development (ESTDEV) about plans, priorities, and why work needs to start now.
14.11.23 NEWS ... Ten years ago, Lithuanian director Romas Zabarauskas' debut feature was screened at the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF). Now, he's back in Estonia to share his fourth – "The Writer." Days before the world premiere in Tallinn, Michael Cole caught up with Zabarauskas to find out more about the movie and why he believes we need to keep on having difficult conversations.
11.11.23 NEWS ... The leader of the democratic forces of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, opened a conference in Tallinn on Friday. "We are much stronger than the regime, the only thing we don't have is our tools, and we don't want it to have this brutality," she said, referring to political detainees and human rights violations in Belarus today.
08.11.23 NEWS ... The Belarusian regime is systematically attempting to destroy its own culture and Russify it, Estonia's special representative to the Belarusian democratic forces believes. ERR News spoke to Marko Koplimaa about his first six months in the role, the situation in Belarus, and what Estonia is doing to support those who oppose the regime in exile.
06.11.23 NEWS ... Laura De Jaeger tells Jerry Mercury about her experience as an expat from Belgium and her work on the Estonian art scene.
23.10.23 NEWS ... As the popularity of cafés in Tallinn shows, Estonians love coffee. And, although prices have risen, the number of customers does not appear to have fallen. ETV show "AK Nädal" wanted to find out how current coffee prices in the Estonian capital compare to those in other big cities around the world.
03.10.23 NEWS ... Every year the Russian Embassy in Estonia invites hundreds of young Estonians to study at universities in Russia for free. However, the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) said the purpose of these invitations is to recruit people into the Russian intelligence service.
02.10.23 NEWS ... Shameema Binte Rahman explores Estonian companies' support during the Baltic Pride Festival and for the LGBT+ cause in Estonia in general.
27.09.23 NEWS ... Ella Marie Merle Kari tells Jerry Mercury in an interview about her summer therapy sessions at community gardens, her work as a therapist and her love of nature. She urges everyone to take some time to just be active outside.
23.09.23 NEWS ... Over the past three years, anthropologist Francisco Martínez, along with artists Anna Škodenko, Darja Popolitova and Viktor Gurov, have visited 37 basements in Ida-Viru County. Their aim has been to explore "the underground material culture of eastern Estonia's post-industrial, Russian-speaking, and ecologically devastated region."
18.08.23 NEWS ... Jerry Mercury and Estonian artist Ingrid-Silvia Erikson talk about quitting one's day job to pursue art, its challenges and how to be inspired by competitors.
16.08.23 NEWS ... For swings, slides and climbing frames in regular playgrounds, safety is usually considered paramount, though they may not always encourage children to play quite so freely. In contrast, the more recent trend of adventure or "junk" playgrounds, which is quietly spreading around the world, places a higher value on the need children have for independent play and decision-making. This week, a temporary adventure playground is being constructed in Tartu as part of the Urban Festival UIT.
04.07.23 NEWS ... After a year in Estonia, which followed my fleeing Russia, interviews with two locals in Tallinn gave me some serious thoughts. It was May 6, 2023 when I came to the Kadriorg Community Garden for the event, where people got their flower beds ready for the season. There, I was lucky to be able to contemplate the blooming flower buds of grassroots movements in Estonia. No way could I imagine something like this blossoming on Russian soil!
29.06.23 NEWS ... Since 2018, the Rural Urban Art (RUA) Festival has been bringing color and positivity to the grey walls and "never-changing cityscapes" of Estonia's small towns. But what do street artists from all over the world make of the kinds of out-of-the-way places that most Estonians have never even been to? Michael Cole headed to Viljandi County for this year's RUA festival to try and find out.
06.06.23 NEWS ... Gen. Martin Herem, commander of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), warns that some losses are inevitable should war break out in Estonia, and that people need to be prepared to mitigate the initial shock. The general would not close Estonia's borders during a mobilization as he is convinced the army would assemble.
03.06.23 NEWS ... Last week, ERR News was invited on board British Royal Navy amphibious assault ship the HMS Albion. Fresh from taking part in this year's Spring Storm (Kevadtorm) military training exercise, the Albion's continued presence in Estonian waters is a sure sign of the UK and NATO's enduring commitment to security in the Baltic.
30.05.23 FEATURE ... Podcasting is hardly a new phenomenon, and Estonia is often referred to as one of the foremost digital states globally, so it will come as no surprise that there is a multitude of podcasts out there, in English, about different aspects of the country.
18.05.23 OPINION ... ERR's Allan Aksiim sums up his experience and takeaway from the 2023 Lennart Meri Conference, with perspectives of other regions and states brought into perspective at the event this year.
17.05.23 NEWS ... Shameema Binte Rahman writes about the past, future and life after death of the iconic Linnahall building in Tallinn.
13.05.23 NEWS ... In his forthcoming posthumous memoirs, legendary art historian and former rector of Tallinn University of Art (now Estonian Academy of Arts) Jaak Kangilaski (1939-2022) admits to having been an agent of the Soviet military intelligence (GRU) and, behind their backs, a collaborator of Swedish intelligence, or a double agent, in a career that spanned 40 years.
12.05.23 NEWS ... "Noored Kotkad" (Young Eagles) is a boyscout-like organization financed by the Ministry of Defense via the Defense League (Kaitseliit). Their goal: Education of children and teenagers to become better citizens and to be prepared for crisis situations – like a war against Russia.
09.05.23 NEWS ... Thousands of people visited the Bronze Soldier Monument in Tallinn to honor the 1945 victory of the Soviet Army.
25.04.23 NEWS ... Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas visited Kyiv on Monday. Speaking about the European Union, Kallas gave Ukraine reason to expect more progress. However, she also advised Ukraine against asking for NATO security guarantees and to instead focus on the goal of attaining membership to the alliance. All this against the backdrop of Ukraine's long-anticipated spring counter-offensive.
18.04.23 NEWS ... For the last seven years, the sTARTUp Day business festival has been bringing all kinds of people together to celebrate entrepreneurship, creativity and inspiration in Estonia's smart city of Tartu. But what does it really mean to have a "startup mindset"? To find out, ERR News stepped into the world of unicorns, incubators and angel investors and took a look around.
17.04.23 NEWS ... Estonia's new government was sworn in today (April 17). ERR News looked at the data behind the new Riigikogu members, the government, and the coalition agreement.
04.04.23 NEWS ... Tartu and Southern Estonia 2024 celebrates Põlva as a highlight on the upside-down Estonian map and the edge of Europe for an anti-centric view of cultural significance.
31.03.23 NEWS ... This week, British Royal Navy patrol vessel the HMS Mersey stopped off in Estonia. The Mersey is midway through a two-month tour of the Baltic Sea as part of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). To find out more about what it was doing in the Baltic and get a taste of life at sea, ERR News headed out to Muuga Harbor and stepped aboard.
23.03.23 NEWS ... This week, Tallinn's extensive port facilities played host to another NATO military ship, this time the United States Navy's USS Porter. ERR News was able to get a look round on board, on one of the first bright, crisp days of spring.
21.03.23 INTERVIEWS ... In an interview with ERR earlier this month, Estonian Ambassador to Finland Sven Sakkov spoke about the year 2022, which proved a seminal one for Finnish politics, post-Finlandization, Defense Minister Jyri Häkämies' three earthshaking words in 2007 — and the significance of the large number of beautiful old American cars in Finland.
14.03.23 NEWS ... In the short podcast series entitled "Estonia Explained," historian and ERR journalist Maarja Merivoo-Parro fuses cultural insight with research results, to create an insider's view into topics that might seem bewildering to people who are not from this neck of the woods.
04.03.23 NEWS ... Over 313,000 people voted online in the Riigikogu elections this year, setting a new record. This is the first time more than 50 percent of ballots have been e-votes.
06.03.23 NEWS ... Following record online voter turnout in the 2023 Riigikogu elections, in which more than half of all votes were cast electronically, the State Electoral Office (riigi valimisteenistus, RVT) explained to ERR exactly how online votes are counted, recounted and kept secure in Estonia.
06.03.23 NEWS ... The 2023 Riigikogu election result is known and the Reform Party have won by far the largest number of seats of any single party, at 37. Does this mean that Reform will duly enter office at the helm of a coalition government? Well, probably, though not automatically, as we will find out.
06.03.23 NEWS ... ERR News lists the key takeaways from the 2023 Riigikogu elections.
04.03.23 NEWS ... This Sunday, after six days of online and advance voting, Estonians go to the polls in the 2023 Riigikogu (parliamentary) elections. While only Estonian citizens can vote, the results will surely have an impact on everyone living in the country. On Friday, ERR News headed out to the streets of Tartu to find out what non-Estonians in the city are making of it all.
24.02.23 NEWS ... ERR News is running a series of election interview videos in English with leading members of all the parties running on March 5.
23.02.23 NEWS ... ERR News is running a series of election interview videos in English with leading members of all the parties running on March 5.
23.02.23 NEWS ... ERR News is running a series of election interview videos in English with leading members of all the parties running on March 5.