15.08.26 OPINION ... By allowing Yabloko to participate in the State Duma elections and failing to anticipate its rise in popularity, Vladimir Putin's administration has confirmed that it does not understand the people it governs, writes Anton Aleksejev.

14.08.26 OPINION ... When Tallinn decides how many traffic lanes to build, it is effectively choosing whether the city functions as a gathering place or a corridor for people passing between destinations elsewhere, Indrek Ibrus writes.

14.08.26 OPINION ... Reaching Scandinavian levels of crisis resilience is possible only by making smart choices, write Georg-Henri Kaup, Emilia Muuga and Jaanika Puusalu.

13.08.26 OPINION ... The parties participating in the political performance are cogs in a totalitarian system; real opposition in Russia has either been physically eliminated or driven into exile abroad, writes Argo Ideon.

12.08.26 OPINION ... Estonia's government has failed to attract foreign investment. Companies are choosing our neighbors instead. Now we cannot even distribute major investment support because there are simply no investors, Andrus Kaarelson writes.

12.08.26 OPINION ... We asked Estonia's top politicians — leaders of the small coalition and the large opposition, as well as would‑be presidential candidates — what they think about the solar eclipse and whether it will bring anything good or bad to Estonia.

12.08.26 OPINION ... Higher taxes, more debt and weak economic growth all at once begs the question whether Estonia's chosen policies are actually working, Lauri Laats writes.

11.08.26 OPINION ... If universal health insurance is not genuinely set as a goal, it will not be achieved. But if it is set as a goal, the rest becomes much easier, because the solutions already exist, writes Allan Eichenbaum.

10.08.26 OPINION ... It is entirely possible that by announcing a substantive but overall marginal shift in its threat assessment, the United States wants to influence Europe's war‑policy decisions, and at the same time is presenting an honest and sincere intelligence estimate. One does not exclude the other, notes Meelis Oidsalu.

10.08.26 OPINION ... While the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral's past cannot be changed, its future lies first and foremost in the hands of Estonia's Orthodox Christians, writes Archbishop Urmas Viilma.

10.08.26 OPINION ... The pipes of Tbilisi's Rike Park, whose demolition began in Georgia this August, were controversial, expensive, unfinished, politically charged — but they were symbolic, writes Arnold Rutto.

09.08.26 OPINION ... Vocational education must be a deliberate and valued choice for young people in Estonia, rather than a fallback option for those who did not get into university, writes Natalie Mets.

08.08.26 OPINION ... One thing is when non‑lawyer participants in proceedings trust artificial intelligence too much, but far more frightening is when real lawyers — or even attorneys — fall for AI hallucinations, writes Kärt Pormeister.

07.08.26 OPINION ... Estonia has reached a time when we could talk about the past in all its contradictions, not only through one permitted story, writes Birk Rohelend.

07.08.26 OPINION ... If autonomous vehicles become widespread at the pace currently forecast, today's decisions in city planning may prove inadequate within just a few decades, writes Rait Kallus.

07.08.26 OPINION ... It is important to prevent edible food from ending up as waste simply because its further use was not properly planned or because no suitable partner was available at the necessary moment, Katarina Papp writes.

06.08.26 OPINION ... Researchers at the University of Tartu note in their study that although the Just Transition Fund has initiated new activities in Ida‑Virumaa, the question remains of what will happen once the fund's money has been used up, writes Erik Gamzejev.

06.08.26 OPINION ... Under the planned amendment to the Waste Act, producers who place single‑use plastic packaging on the market would compensate local governments for litter‑cleaning costs. In its current form, the system does not encourage cost control or reduce littering, and therefore the draft needs changes, writes Sirje Potisepp.

05.08.26 OPINION ... At this week's Opinion Festival in Paide, uncertainty deserves to be celebrated rather than feared. The quality of our hesitation shapes the quality of the future as much as, if not more, than the decisions we ultimately make, writes Taaniel Raudsepp.

05.08.26 OPINION ... Nearly half of young people in Ida-Viru County plan to leave in search of better education and employment opportunities. According to researchers, the outflow could be slowed by a well-designed starter package that seamlessly links vocational education, a first job and access to independent housing.

04.08.26 OPINION ... I regret that a new symbol has emerged as a result of a single advertisement for grilling meat and the debate that followed. Fried onions are no longer simply a tasty food — they have become a battle cry, Mari-Liis Jakobson writes.

04.08.26 OPINION ... The fact that Russia, North Korea, Iran and China have not defined their relations as an "axis" does not reduce their dangerousness. These countries have mutual military agreements that can be activated quickly, writes Peeter Kaldre.

03.08.26 OPINION ... Before we spend a quarter‑billion euros on helicopters, we must know what problem we are trying to solve, writes Ivar Värk.

03.08.26 OPINION ... The debate over Tallinn's Alexander Nevsky Cathedral echoes a century-old struggle over the fate of Estonia's religious and cultural heritage, with past attempts to demolish the landmark ultimately thwarted by broad public opposition across religious and national lines, writes Marina Kasparovitch.

03.08.26 OPINION ... Can Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise run for president without resigning — when her candidacy would mean seeking a decision from the very institution she oversees?

01.08.26 OPINION ... In Estonia there is a clear distance toward Russia; for many Georgians, Kazakhs and Moldovans, by contrast, Russia occupies the same space and world, writes Aimar Ventsel.

31.07.26 OPINION ... We need an ambitious climate law that enables Estonia to meet its international obligations. The current draft of the Climate‑Resilient Economy Act does not consider the rights of future generations and offers no certainty for young people, write Linda Lees and Robert Pappel.

29.07.26 OPINION ... Mykhailo Fedorov's and Oleksandr Syrskyi's clash was a clash between two strategies. The first called for the systematic destruction of the enemy's infrastructure; the second was based on the simple fact that the front line must be held, and without soldiers no weapon — drone or missile — can fire, notes journalist Anton Aleksejev.

29.07.26 OPINION ... In infrastructure debates, the focus tends to return again and again to how much a particular road or rail section costs. For some reason, the question of how much more expensive it becomes not to invest in them is not treated with sufficient seriousness, writes Remo Kirss.

29.07.26 OPINION ... Tallinn's Old Town can be revived as a city center, but only by prioritizing local residents, services and businesses over unchecked tourism, writes PhD student Triin Talk.

27.07.26 OPINION ... When a person's income is already unstable, adding extra financial pressure is unfair. Health insurance is not a tool for the state to make money off its people, Riina Solman writes.

27.07.26 OPINION ... Estonia should take advantage of the European Commission's recent decision to ease the emissions trading system and demand that the current version be sent to the ash heap of history, Jaak Madison writes.

25.07.26 OPINION ... It seems that no one has enough political will to fight for making Estonia's presidential election system more open, transparent and democratic simply because it is the right thing to do, notes Martin Mölder.

24.07.26 OPINION ... The labor market wants increasingly mature people, and education prepares increasingly childish ones. What are the solutions? The honest answer is that we do not yet know, writes Raul Eamets.

24.07.26 OPINION ... Journalist Rein Sikk says he has created an inverted award, with its first laureates being those who frightened small entrepreneurs who had placed signs along the roadside.

23.07.26 OPINION ... The company acquiring Luminor, one of Estonia's largest banks, promises to grant private clients in Russia loans of three million rubles in three minutes, writes Argo Ideon. A wide range of services is available for Russian enterprises.

22.07.26 OPINION ... In Estonia, about 7.2 percent of the population has no health insurance. With this indicator, we have fallen to second‑to‑last place in Europe, just ahead of Romania, and are approaching the United States. The situation would be resolved by mandatory health insurance for all residents, write health economists Triin Habicht, Andres Võrk and Kaija Kasekamp.

21.07.26 OPINION ... Discussions held with roughly a thousand Estonian high school students revealed one important conclusion: the need for clearer agreements on the use of artificial intelligence in learning. Uncertainty is students' biggest concern, writes Mihkel Mariusz Jezierski.

20.07.26 OPINION ... Summer is probably the only season everyone wants to emerge from as a winner, notes Kaupo Meiel.

17.07.26 OPINION ... Estonia's leaders must understand that money does not ultimately come to the state from spreadsheets but from enterprise — and therefore the state's finances cannot be repaired without the economy, writes Mihhail Kõlvart.

17.07.26 OPINION ... The first target for cuts should be the Ministry of Climate, which engages in outright foolishness such as turning healthy forests into wetlands, fighting packaging or imposing new bureaucratic rules, Aivar Kokk writes.

16.07.26 OPINION ... A recent weight‑loss campaign drew public attention to the question of where a permitted health campaign ends and prohibited prescription drug advertising begins. The rules should be clearly worded, not vague, writes Kristina Schotter.

16.07.26 OPINION ... Most people would agree that a green‑fingered neighbour selling surplus potatoes and pumpkins from the backyard, or a schoolkid offering homemade lemonade, should not get caught in the gears of bureaucracy. But there must always be a limit somewhere, writes Hans Väre.

15.07.26 OPINION ... Personal difficulties and general satisfaction can exist simultaneously in any country. Eurobarometer results suggest that this is exactly the case in Estonia today, writes Ardo Hansson.

11.07.26 OPINION ... Back to the roots. Real life. The old new. Call it whatever you want. It does not matter. But something is happening. Quietly in the background, yet increasingly noticeable. What is underway is the normalization of normalcy, Mirjam Mõttus writes.

11.07.26 OPINION ... Reflecting on events 35 years after Estonia's re-independence, Kertu Saks argues that Estonia's greatest source of resilience was the quiet resolve to make calm, decisive choices together in the face of uncertainty.

10.07.26 OPINION ... While a child has the right to both parents and both parents have the right and responsibility to participate in raising their child, problems appear when a sound principle becomes an end in itself, Viktor Turkin writes.

10.07.26 OPINION ... The NATO summit in Ankara may go down in history for the decision that Europe will ultimately take over the alliance's future leadership role from the United States, Peeter Kaldre writes.

10.07.26 OPINION ... The goal of the tax debate should not be to raise taxes until Estonia reaches the European average tax burden, but to ensure a tax system that is as competitive as possible in financing public services, Raul Aron writes. This brings more money into the country and increases tax revenue.

09.07.26 OPINION ... Let's stop experimenting with half-finished solutions and instead develop a long-term, cross-party plan to reorganize Tallinn's hospital network, writes Irja Lutsar.