08.06.26 OPINION ... A mentality that tolerates violence still prevails in Estonia and a very large share of society sides with the perpetrator, Jüri Kolk writes.

08.06.26 OPINION ... With the right goals and ambition, it is possible to make history in just a year by reducing costly and unnecessary bureaucracy, writes Hando Sutter.

08.06.26 OPINION ... As it vigorously prepares for war, the Estonian legislature is undermining the already fragile bonds of trust within peacetime society, Kaarel Tarand writes in a commentary originally published in Sirp.

06.06.26 OPINION ... Physical inactivity imposes enormous costs on the social system and healthcare — we're talking about diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Prevention in schools and kindergartens leads to a healthier, more capable, and happier population, states Gerd Kanter.

05.06.26 OPINION ... This time, the background discussions focus on Aleksandr Vladimirov's "Foundations of the General Theory of War". In military activity, Vladimirov considers the creation of migration flows — that is, the triggering of mass, managed yet at the same time uncontrollable migration — to be important, notes Harri Tiido.

04.06.26 OPINION ... As Narva's political power struggle descends into a surreal standoff between rival administrations, the city's dual-power crisis is exposing deeper problems in local democracy, voter engagement and political accountability, writes Erik Gamzejev.

03.06.26 OPINION ... We have reason to be proud of our flag, our country and our freedom, and for that reason Tallinn is doing the right thing by erecting a large flagpole on Pirita tee, writes Marja-Liisa Veiser.

02.06.26 OPINION ... This time, our background discussion focuses on a new world order. The European Union — and Europe more broadly — must find new ways of operating in this period of upheaval, and what matters is what shape the EU's strategic capacity will take, Tiido notes.

01.06.26 OPINION ... Alma Ostra‑Oinas and her daughters deserve not only equestrian monuments but also our broad, profound respect and remembrance, writes Eerik‑Niiles Kross.

01.06.26 OPINION ... Estonia's entire political system has stopped listening to the people, is preoccupied with itself, its ratings, grievances and small victories, none of which changes anything in people's lives, writes Tatjana Gassova.

01.06.26 OPINION ... Every parent who has not yet vaccinated their children should honestly ask themselves why they have not done so, writes Irja Lutsar.

01.06.26 OPINION ... Aimar Ventsel writes about his relative Natasha, who lives in Russia, and about what she thinks of Estonia. People like Natasha do not change, no matter what our "friends of good Russians" may imagine, Ventsel notes.

30.05.26 OPINION ... Over the next 10–20 years, equestrian monuments should be erected across Estonia in every city, town, and village in Estonia. Worthy people would receive worthy monuments, and artists could earn money for their creative union, that has been driven into poverty by scammers, reflects Kaupo Meiel.

29.05.26 OPINION ... This time, the background discussion focuses on China. If we set aside Beijing's claims that it does not seek to become a hegemon, the impression remains that China's goal is nonetheless to take a leading role through control of international norms and algorithms, writes Harri Tiido.

29.05.26 OPINION ... The claim that the EKRE–Isamaa–Center Party coalition coming to power once more in Estonia is merely a theoretical possibility — since Isamaa and the Center Party could together secure enough votes to govern — is naïve self-comfort, writes Valdo Randpere.

29.05.26 OPINION ... The plan to raise a ten‑meter Estonian flag on a tall mast along Pirita tee in Tallinn feels alien — an idea that echoes an eastern or southern aesthetic. The standard dimensions of the Estonian flag are 105×165 cm and that should generally be sufficient, writes Argo Ideon.

29.05.26 OPINION ... From the public statements of politicians in the Riigikogu, it is clear that no serious process has been initiated to ensure the success of the presidential election in parliament. Therefore, there is no reason to expect President Alar Karis to rush a decision on whether to consent to running for a second term, writes Imre Kaas.

28.05.26 OPINION ... The debate surrounding Flo Kasearu's monument to Alma Ostra-Oinas has revealed how unwilling Estonia remains to confront the complexity of women's roles in its cultural and political history, Merlin Kirikal writes.

28.05.26 OPINION ... Raising children is increasingly discussed as a major financial expense and psychological burden where a child is no longer seen as a natural continuation of life, but rather as a kind of project, writes Mirjam Mõttus.

27.05.26 OPINION ... AI is already in schools. It is in students' phones, homework assignments, teachers' desktops and learning materials. Whether that is good or bad depends on what it does, writes Margit Sutrop.

27.05.26 OPINION ... The forest law being planned by the government promises to deepen the overharvesting of Estonia's forests. Time and again, decision-makers justify this by saying, "Estonia has never had as much forest as it does now," writes Eliisa Pass.

27.05.26 OPINION ... This time, the background analysis focuses on the development of Europe's defense capabilities. A report published in May bearing the name of Sauli Niinistö proposes three paths for strengthening Europe's defense capacity under conditions where U.S. involvement decreases — or even disappears at some point, notes Harri Tiido.

25.05.26 OPINION ... Tax policy works best when people understand what is being taxed, why it is being taxed and where the money goes. Once that connection disappears, trust in the system quickly disappears as well, writes Tõnu Kolts.

25.05.26 OPINION ... We are proud of our European values, centered on the individual, their freedom, the rule of law, security, and prosperity — but we are incapable of defending people by force against brutal aggressors. Poland and the Nordic and Baltic countries could take the initiative and begin creating joint air force, air defense, and air transport units, writes Siim Kallas.

23.05.26 OPINION ... The liberal camp is actively constructing a conservative "axis of evil." An image is already being conjured up in advance of an Isamaa-led Estonia as a reincarnation of Viktor Orbán's Hungary on the shores of the Baltic Sea, Tõnis Saarts finds.

22.05.26 OPINION ... The concerns voiced by the signatories of the tech entrepreneurs' open letter about the future of forests are understandable, but there is no reason to fear the disappearance of Estonia's forests. A well-managed commercial forest and sensible nature conservation are not opposites, writes Mart Erik.

22.05.26 OPINION ... We want Estonia to choose the best possible president, and we hope that — with the help of Estonia's wise citizens and by following the fundamentals of recruitment — we can find the best candidate, write Tõnis Arro and Mait Müntel, initiators of the civic campaign "Help choose Estonia's next president!"

22.05.26 OPINION ... Estonia's public economic debate does not consistently demand analytical precision. If a student fails to define concepts, they are corrected. If a public opinion leader does the same, people often simply move on, write Kadri Ukrainski, Luca Alfieri and Kadi Timpmann.

21.05.26 OPINION ... This time, geopolitics is examined with the help of Dominique Moïsi. Raw emotions have prevailed, and this is evident not only in the extreme rhetoric of leaders but also in the war in Ukraine, notes Harri Tiido.

21.05.26 OPINION ... The electricity grid is like a country road: if too many heavy trucks are directed onto it at once, the road must either be widened or traffic managed more intelligently, writes Merilin Metsik.

21.05.26 OPINION ... The old passenger terminal at Tallinn Airport is one of the rarest buildings in Estonia's aviation history, combining 1930s functionalism with postwar architecture, and as such deserves protected heritage status, writes Anita Staub.

20.05.26 OPINION ... Estonia and Tallinn need to invest in culture as public infrastructure to sustain innovation, writes Alessandro Paciaroni.

19.05.26 OPINION ... Fine speeches are not enough if action does not follow. Estonia's leaders are afraid to make decisions, which will have severe social, economic and security-related consequences for Estonia, writes Lavly Perling.

19.05.26 OPINION ... If a nuclear charge were detonated in low Earth orbit today, it is worth noting that there are not 24 satellites in space anymore, but 16,910 as of March 2026, of which 14,200 are operational, Harri Tiido points out.

18.05.26 OPINION ... In this installment of Harri Tiido's background series, Russia, China, and the West are examined through the lens of Michael McFaul. Both Russia and China seek to reshape the global order — much like the Soviet Union during the Cold War — but the ideological conflict today is less intense than it was 40 years ago, Tiido notes.

18.05.26 OPINION ... The military transition related to both mass robotics and the artificial intelligence that enables it should be managed with the same drive and energy as, for example, the switch to the euro. Otherwise, defense reality will pull too far ahead of us, warns Meelis Oidsalu.

18.05.26 OPINION ... Both President Alar Karis' position and his procedural role enjoy majority support, while the government's more rigid alternatives do not, writes Remi Sebastian Kits.

16.05.26 OPINION ... Russian leader Vladimir Putin must not be granted any lifelines nor any glimmer of hope that Russia's aggression in Ukraine will ever reap benefits, President Alar Karis said.

16.05.26 OPINION ... With 296 days remaining until the next general elections, Estonian politics is calmer, less polarized and more conservative in its outlook than during the previous election cycle, Mari-Liis Jakobson notes in a commentary on Vikerraadio.

15.05.26 OPINION ... A draft bill has been completed that would end the current blanket requirement to retain the most sensitive data — who spoke on the phone with whom, where and for how long — on a mass scale for an entire year, writes Liisa Pakosta.

13.05.26 OPINION ... For the past couple of decades, most municipalities beyond Tallinn's "golden ring" have been dancing around a leaky pot of money in a game called "Sustainable Decline," Hans Väre writes.

13.05.26 OPINION ... Russia is sorely tempted right now to test NATO and there is little comfort in assuming that as long as Russia remains tied down in Ukraine, it lacks the resources to challenge NATO directly. It still has ample capability for a targeted special operation, writes Peeter Kaldre.

13.05.26 OPINION ... There is no point in declaring that all problems have disappeared, because they have not, but there is equally little basis for claiming that the health of the Estonian economy has not improved or that things cannot get even better, writes Ardo Hansson.

12.05.26 OPINION ... With the world being ripped apart at the seams, remaining meek in geopolitics and matters of defense is no longer an option for Europe. What we need is action, to put our foot down and demonstrate that Europe is not a museum over which a lethargic haze lingers and that the titan of the Old World can be roused from its slumber, writes Mart Parind.

11.05.26 OPINION ... The mentality of "fine-tuning" has irreversibly discredited itself; what people want is a clear vision and the decisiveness to carry it out — something that would restore the once-prevailing faith in Estonia's future and motivate everyone to work toward it, writes Jaak Aaviksoo.

09.05.26 OPINION ... The Sildaru family saga lately took another unexpected turn when Tõnis Sildaru suddenly seemed to discover the concept of sports ethics, writes legal scholar Kärt Pormeister.

09.05.26 OPINION ... For decades now, Russia has been using May 9 as a showcase for touting its image of strength and "invincibility."

08.05.26 OPINION ... There is no justification whatsoever for preserving Soviet monuments in Estonia. Yet intelligent people still debate whether Soviet symbols hold some kind of value as part of preserving layers of cultural heritage. They do not. In the urban landscape, they serve only to fuel national discord and provoke new conflicts, writes Riina Solman.

08.05.26 OPINION ... We need to make a firm decision across all of Estonia that we want the people of Narva, that we want young people in the region to increasingly feel that they are part of our society, that we want them in our information space, writes Brit Koppel.

08.05.26 OPINION ... Instead of "culture war," we could talk about value debates, memory conflicts, polarization etc. While differences wouldn't be any less, it would help avoid a situation where language itself turns every disagreement into a battle, writes Marek Tamm.