Video Installation Marks Anniversary of March 1949 Soviet Deportations
A video installation marked the 71st anniversary of the March 25 Soviet mass deportations of Estonians to Siberia. The installation was organized by the Human Rights Institute. It included an outline of the former Soviet Union’s territory, along with rail lines which led to the Siberian Gulag system from Estonia. Traditional candle-lighting events marking the occasion were canceled this year due to the coronavirus state of emergency. The public was urged to light a candle in their window at home instead. Another installation to mark the tragic events saw the walls of the former Patarei prison on Tallinn’s waterfront flooded in red light.
Passport Issuing to Estonian Citizens Residing Abroad Continues During State of Emergency
Estonian passports will continue to be issued to Estonian citizens residing abroad through a secure postal service by order of the Director General of the Police and Border Guard Board. The postal service is being provided by a courier contracted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
World’s First Online Quarantine Regilaul Choir
On March 21, International Day of Forests, the world’s first online quarantine choir singing ancient Estonian “regi-verse” folk songs was born. A regi song was sung together via video conference to support both forests and each other during this trying time of the corona pandemic.
Soomaa Logboat Nominated for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Status
Minister of Culture Tõnis Lukas signed an application to include the construction and use of the single log dugout canoe (haabjas) of the Soomaa area on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The decision to include this aspect of Soomaa national park culture on the world list will be made at UNESCO by the end of 2021. Dugouts canoes are necessary for transportation during the so-called “fifth season” of spring floods at Soomaa, which means “swamp land”.
