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.
24.03.23 NEWS ... "Lihtsad uudised," meaning easy or simple news, is for anyone who wants to improve their Estonian language skills. Listen and read a selection of this week's top news stories below.
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.
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.
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.
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.
20.02.23 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?
11.02.23 NEWS ... With Estonia going to the polls to elect a new Riigikogu next month, it might be timely to look at how parties win seats.
17.01.23 FEATURE ... Officially illegal yet flourishing under a unique tacit agreement with city authorities, street art in Tartu is becoming an integral part of the city's identity, similarly to Bristol, Berlin and Amsterdam. Tartu's street art has risen from the underground to museum archives, and will even be celebrated as part of the official Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture program.
16.01.23 NEWS ... Svetlana Štšur writes about how the mentality of Homo Sovieticus and the inertia of old mindsets continue to shape Russians' attitudes, including towards the war in Ukraine.
13.01.23 FEATURE ... In the podcast series 'Estonia Explained', historian and ERR journalist Maarja Merivoo-Parro provides an insider's view into topics that might seem bewildering to people who are not from this neck of the woods. Part five examines the sauna culture.
11.01.23 INTERVIEWS ... After 30 years, Estonia's words carry just as much weight as those of France and Germany within the European Union, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said in an end-of-year interview, while speaking about the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and the future.
01.01.23 NEWS ... ERR News takes a brief look at the year ahead.
30.12.22 NEWS ... The ERR News team sums up the outgoing year, with a month-by-month overview of more important events and developments in Estonia in 2022.
02.12.22 NEWS ... As Tartu gears up to become 2024 European Capital of Culture, discontent amongst those working in some of the city's cultural institutions has reached breaking point. With talks of a strike in the air, ERR News tried to find out how it has come to this, and what the impact might be on cultural life in the city.
21.11.22 2023 ELECTIONS ... Estonia's national elections are held every four years and the next vote will take place in 2023. ERR News lays out the basic facts.
16.11.22 NEWS ... On Tuesday, Minister of Education and Research Tõnis Lukas (Isamaa) announced a draft proposal to amend the Language Act. According to Lukas, the proposal aims to reflect changes in Estonian society by addressing the "low or nonexistent Estonian language knowledge of many employees in the service sector," including food couriers. ERR News spoke to two of Estonia's leading food delivery platforms about the proposal, before hitting the streets of Tartu to get the views of couriers themselves.
11.11.22 NEWS ... What started as a group of Erasmus students going to football matches in Tartu, soon grew into a close-knit community. Throw a bunch of flares and a drummer playing with some heart and soul into the mix, and it's easy to see how things can be taken to a whole new level, writes Michael Cole.
10.11.22 FEATURE ... During the Estonian winter, it is mandatory to wear a reflector both inside and outside cities when it gets dark. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the rule and ERR News looks at its impact.
04.11.22 FEATURE INTERVIEWS ... Curiosity and part-Estonian heritage were the key reasons Kirsten, a 21-year-old American studying international business management at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) decided to come to Estonia, even as the dark fall days and a far more reserved populace sometimes make this a challenge, she tells state integration program New in Estonia.
19.10.22 FEATURE ... After running a survey on social media to figure out expats' favorite coffee places in Tallinn, ERR News contributor Svetlana Štšur decided to deep dive into the coffee world with Jozo, an expat and professional barista from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
12.10.22 NEWS ... The recent news that a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) vessel carrying Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) would be sailing to to Finland rather than to Estonia, albeit to supply both countries, is the latest chapter in a saga going back a decade-and-a-half, linking the politics of both countries, and that of Latvia and Lithuania, not to mention the European Union, with the use of natural gas as a weapon on the part of the Russian Federation.
08.10.22 FEATURE ... Autumn is a beautiful season in Estonia. After striving to get the most out of a short northern summer, the arrival of autumn in Tallinn makes it guilt-free for us to spend quality time indoors, enjoying the little things to keep us happy (and sane) for the rest of the dark and cold season, Svetlana Štšur writes as she ranks Tallinn's cafes based on the preferences of expats.
07.10.22 FEATURE ... Third country citizens' voting rights have been thrown into the headlines in recent weeks as political parties discuss rolling them back in the name of national security. But how many of these citizens cast a ballot in Estonia's elections? And where do they come from? ERR News looked at the data (and for EU citizens too).
06.10.22 NEWS ... Estonia's eastern border is currently under particular pressure from people fleeing Russia and Ukraine. How do Estonian border guards decide who to allow into the country and who not? ETV investigative program "Pealtnägija" was granted rare access and spent a Friday shadowing the work of officials at Narva's border checkpoint.
22.08.22 FEATURE ... Change isn't easy, even if, in the end, it's what more and more people in Narva want, Michael Cole writes.
20.07.22 NEWS ... While the principles agreed by the new coalition to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis will help to alleviate its symptoms, the electricity market needs deeper reform, says Arvi Hamburg, chairman of the Energy Council of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. The entire Baltic and Nordic region requires a comprehensive and consistent energy development strategy.
15.07.22 NEWS ... Svetlana Štšur polled and interviewed expats in Tallinn about their favorite meeting and free time spots in Tallinn this summer.
14.07.22 NEWS ... On Thursday, the three coalition parties put forward candidates for ministers of the next government. There are old and new faces. ERR News introduces them.
23.06.22 NEWS ... Estonia was at the forefront of the transition to a Western system of competitive research funding in the early 1990s. However, the doctoral dissertation of the Estonian researcher demonstrates that, at least initially, the change was nominal and did not transcend Soviet-era practices of funding allocation. Moreover, social science and humanities scholars are currently entangled in a research funding structure that disregards their professional development needs.
22.06.22 NEWS ... Flavien Delhaye, a French entrepreneur, moved to Tallinn in January to create his private limited company, known in Estonia as an osaühing. The young digital nomad came with one aim: being free of French administrative and fiscal constraints.
22.06.22 NEWS ... Estonia ranked fourth out of 180 countries in the 2021 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. While Estonia has consistently been close to the top of the RWB ranking, fourth place is the country's highest to date. ERR News discussed media freedom in Estonia with head of news for ERR Anvar Samost.
20.06.22 NEWS ... On the occasion of the basic school graduation ceremony for ninth grade students on Friday, Peter Pedak, director of the Tallinn French Lyceum, revisits the history of the school.
17.06.22 FEATURE ... Today (June 17), Estonia and Georgia celebrate the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. ERR News spoke to the Georgian Ambassador to Estonia Archil Karaulashvili about plans to further develop economic relations, EU membership aspirations and Russia's war in Ukraine.
14.06.22 UKRAINE LATEST ... Since Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians have fled to safety in the European Union. Some of those people make their way through Russia and cross into the EU via Estonia. Many of those in transit need assistance and one NGO Friends of Mariupol has sprung up to help. ERR News spoke to the organization's spokesperson Aleksandra Averjanova to find out what it does and why it formed.
11.06.22 NEWS ... Last month two Estonian restaurants were awarded Michelin stars — the first in Estonia. ERR News spoke with 180 Degrees' head chef Matthias Diether about the award, working in Estonia and why the hospitality industry.
29.05.22 FEATURE ... It was a changed security situation after 2014 led directly to the formation of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup based at Tapa, transforming the town of a little over 5,000 inhabitants, and about an hour's drive east of Tallinn, into a hive of activity and endeavor.
15.05.22 FEATURE ... 'History is more interesting than politics,' Lennart Meri, president of Estonia 1992-2001, is reported to have said. History is, perhaps, sometimes more surprising than politics too.
14.05.22 FEATURE ... In the ongoing absence of a new ambassador, U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires Brian Roraff remains the ranking U.S. diplomat currently serving in Estonia. Tallinn is not his first assignment in the region, however, and as he said in a longer recent interview with ERR News, he knew the focus of the U.S.-Estonian relationship would be security and NATO cooperation.
13.05.22 FEATURE ... Svetlana Štšur interviews young Ukrainians Valeriia and Yelyzaveta on their upbringing in Ukraine as Russian-speaking Ukrainians, the feeling of guilt that a lot of Ukrainians experience outside of Ukraine and their relationships with their Russian friends and relatives.
03.05.22 FEATURE ... Ukrainian refugee Valentyna and her daughter Liza, who has been living in Estonia since 2017, talk to Svetlena Štšur about her escape from Ukraine and welcome in Romania, Poland and Estonia.
