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A few days after submitting last month’s Vaba Eesti Sõna article (“Baltic Security Initiative Update: To Be or Not to Be?”) about the endangerment to the BSI, there were positive developments, this time coming from the United States Senate. By a vote of 77-20 on October 9, the Senate passed...

The 8th New York Baltic Film Festival returns to Scandinavia House (58 Park Avenue, NYC) from November 5–9, 2025, with a U.S. virtual program running November 10–16. The festival plays a vital role in bringing the voices of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to an international audience. As the leading Baltic...

Lembit Beecher’s new composition for string quartet – Cassette Dreams of the Singing Revolution – will be premiered by the Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players as part of their program ENLIGHTEN on November 15. The work is Lembit’s reflection on the nonviolent uprising in the Baltic Countries during the ’80s and...

A consular mission is an alternative way to apply for Estonian documents and provide fingerprints. The Estonian Embassy regularly organizes missions to cities with honorary consuls and larger Estonian communities. During consular missions the consul provides all consular services, except visas. Pre-registration is required — email: [email protected] Please include: The...

In late 2021, I made a shocking discovery: My local Syrian baklava shop in Providence, Rhode Island had a Latvian Auseklis motif in its logo. As a Latvian-Estonian-American, I had to investigate. I walked into the store, ordered some baklava, and asked staff behind the counter: “What star is this?”...

In early September, sources reported the sobering news that the Trump administration intended to halt established United States security assistance programs with allies and partners, including those for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. As Noah Robertson wrote in The Washington Post on September 4, 2025: “Among the programs to be suspended...

In the war Russia wages against Ukraine, we primarily see kinetic forms of warfare. These are the tangible horrors of bombs, missiles, and rockets exploding against civilian centers, ordinance dropped by drones onto military vehicles from above, and sometimes the terrible trench warfare that persists on the frontlines. There are...

“On 28 May 2025, in the gracious setting of the British Ambassador’s residence in Tallinn, we celebrated the launch of Silverwhite — the first-ever English translation of Lennart Meri’s iconic book Hõbevalge”, writes Alexander Tskihilov on his Facebook page. This project was born a few years ago during a conference...

The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC) seeks to fill the full-time salaried position of Assistant Managing Director starting in July 2025. The position would provide a platform for eventual leadership and oversight of overall operations and strategic planning for the organization. The employee would report to the JBANC...

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency TASS recently that, to achieve peace, NATO must “withdraw” from the Baltic states. Russian officials have made plenty of threats over the years. If it is more than just rhetoric, and we take the comment at face value, it would...