Afterthoughts

A few illustrations to Russian anti-Estonian propaganda. This time, it is neither official, political or media originated fury - this is every-day life for you.

The sign on the shop door says: "Attention! There are no products from Estonia, and there will never be any again!"

The sign on the restaurant door says: "No entry for Estonians"

The billboard shows a road sign to Estonia being crossed over and says: "All other countries without restrictions and with friendly prices"

The sign says: "No entry for Estonians and dogs"

While Russia seems to be far from reconciliation, the life in Estonia is moving on, almost as usual. I suspect that there is still a lot of emotion boiling under an apparently peaceful surface, but I believe in the calm-loving nature of our people.

After weeks of silence and no-talk on the controversial issue of the Bronze Soldier events, my Russian friends in Estonia have started sharing brief comments. I guess everyone has much to say, but no-one really wants a discussion. I am amazed at the deep shock that these events have caused.

At least one consolatory observation I have made over the last weeks. While many Russians in Estonia do not approve of the government's decision, many more have said that Russia should have no business in this, but it has pursued its interests nevertheless. This unacknowledged fear of Russian meddling seems to be the only point that everyone agrees on. And that is a refreshing sign after all. We all want our future in Europe, and there is no other way.

PS. For the sake of intellectual property rights and in response to a comment on this posting, I have to say that the pictures used here were not taken by me. They first appeared (as video, not still images) in a TV news and have been later forwarded through internet without any reference to the source. Therefore, all I can say is that they were found on-line.