Estonian Review: June 28 - July 4

04.07.2006

FOREIGN NEWS
DEFENCE NEWS
DOMESTIC NEWS
ECONOMIC NEWS
CULTURAL NEWS
IN MEMORIAM

FOREIGN NEWS

President Rüütel Met with Queen Elizabeth II in Edinburgh

Jul 4 - Within the framework of his visit to Scotland, President Arnold Rüütel and Mrs Ingrid Rüütel met with the Queen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland Her Majesty Elizabeth II and with the Scottish First Minister McConnell.

President Rüütel said the meeting was very warm and friendly. Elizabeth II inquired about Estonian history and the present day and gave a high opinion about the country's achievements, including in the economic sphere.

The Estonian president thanked Great Britain for support in the Estonian War of Independence 1918-19. The two heads of state also addressed later cooperation until today, including economy, culture as well as joint operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The queen and the president also spoke about Elizabeth II's visit to the Baltic countries, including Estonia, this autumn, and potential places she would like to visit.

In fact, one of the aims of the Tuesday meeting was to make preparations for the state visit of Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to Estonia, which will take place this October at the invitation by the Estonian head of state.

It will be a historic visit, a British monarch visiting Estonia for the first time.

The queen will be in the Baltic countries on October 16-20.

The schedule of President Rüütel's visit to Scotland featured several over events and meetings on yesterday and today, including an encounter with Jack Mcconnell, First Minister of Scotland.

FM and His Russian Colleague Discussed Bilateral Relations

Jun 28 - The Foreign Ministers of Estonia and Russia, Urmas Paet and Sergei Lavrov, talked about bilateral agreements and pledged to seek ways to continue the dialogue between the two countries at a meeting in Moscow.

The ministers discussed bilateral treaties in preparation. Paet described as practical and helpful the mutual wish to sign an agreement on commercial and economic cooperation and an accord serving as the basis for the work of the intergovernmental commission before the end of this year.

The ministers talked also about the Estonian-Russian border treaties but the sides' positions concerning this issue remained unchanged.

Paet and Lavrov discussed opportunities for regional cooperation in the fields of environment protection, education and transport in the framework of the Northern Dimension.

They spoke about cooperation to prevent oil pollution in the Baltic Sea, management of the border lake Peipsi, and prevention of HIV and AIDS.

In Paet's words, the above-named projects serve both sides' interests. "Implementation of such projects meets the interests and practical needs of both Estonian and Russian citizens," he said.

Regarding the construction of a new bridge over the Narva river, both ministers found it necessary to speed up the preparatory work of experts. "The new bridge would smooth border crossing for both countries' citizens," the Estonian minister noted.

Paet also gave his Russian colleague an overview of Estonia's new Foreign Service Act. Lavrov spoke about forthcoming changes in the remuneration of Russian diplomats. He also said more frequent exchanges of information about all topics of professional interest would be necessary and beneficial.

At Lavrov's request, questions relating to the pace of naturalization and social guarantees for Russian military retirees in Estonia were touched upon.

The ministers consider it necessary to regularly seek suitable opportunities for continuing the dialogue, the Foreign Ministry said.

Paet and Lavrov met on the fringes of a conference of world Foreign Ministers in Moscow.

Estonian MEP: EU Will Continue Monitoring Ukrainian-Moldovan Border

Jun 30 - Estonian Member of the European Parliament Marianne Mikko from Estonia, who heads the parliamentary delegation to Moldova, has met with the Chairman of the Supreme Council (legislature) of Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria, Yevgeny Shevchuk.

Mikko, who paid an official visit to Moldova, stressed that the EU will not retreat from its position that Moldova's internationally recognized borders will not be changed.

Mikko advised the Transnistrian legislature to start communicating with the Moldovan parliament.

The European Parliament delegation visited the Headquarters of the EU Border Assistance Mission in Odessa, Ukraine. The aim of the mission is to prevent smuggling on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border where Transnistria is situated.

European lawmakers talked to the Head of the Mission, Brig. Gen. Ferenc Banffy, and an Estonian officer serving on the mission, Omar Otlot. Four more Estonians are to join soon the two currently participating in the mission.

"Good borders are a prerequisite for goodneighbourly relations. The EUBAM is a success story, another step toward restoration of Moldova's territorial integrity," Mikko said after the meeting.

Thanks to the measures against smuggling, Transnistria will this year miss an estimated 30 million euros in revenues, which makes up at least one-sixth of its budget, she observed.

EU Experts Satisfied with Work at Estonia's St. Petersburg Consulate

Jul 3 - After inspecting the Estonian Consulate-General in St. Petersburg in May, a Schengen evaluation commission gave a positive opinion of the work of the consulate.

A session of the Schengen evaluation working group took place in Brussels on Friday where a general assessment was given of the evaluation of new members countries, including of the Estonian Consulate-General in St. Petersburg.

The preliminary assessment of the commission was positive and the inspectors did not find any considerable shortcomings to prevent Estonia's accession to the common EU visa space in the near future.

The Estonian Embassy in Kiev was evaluated on June 21, and the results of the evaluation are not yet known.

When the reports are completed, they are sent for comments by the evaluated countries. The Finnish EU presidency has assumed the writing of reports of the evaluation of EU member countries wishing to accede to the EU common visa space as one of its priorities.

The final report of the evaluation of foreign missions should be completed by the beginning of September.

Lithuanian President Thanked Estonia for Support in EU Over Euro

Jun 30 - President of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus has sent the Head of the Estonian Government a letter of thanks for support at the European Council over the adoption of the common euro currency.

As the Lithuanian Head of State sees it, both countries have taken a step forward in this question and are tasting the first fruits of cooperation.

Adamkus expressed the hope Estonia and Lithuania will continue joint efforts to achieve transparency of and equal treatment in the euro adoption process.

He recalled that in accordance with an earlier agreement an analysis and clarification of the euro adoption criteria are expected from the EU executive Commission and the European Central Bank within the next few months.

"I am convinced that a concerted effort is required to arrive at solutions which better reflect the dynamics of the expanded EU," Adamkus added.

EU Promises Extra Environmental Funds to Estonia

Jul 30 - The EU member countries Environmental Ministers' council meeting in Luxembourg supported a preliminary agreement of an additional environmental subsidy of 50 million kroons (EUR 3.2 mln) to Estonia.

The EU allocation is intended to be granted via the environmental financing instrument LIFE+ for the years 2007-2013 and it can mainly be used to work out environmental policy, to spread information about the environment and to protect the nature, the Environmental Ministry said.

The Council also addressed the issue of genetically modified organisms (GMO). Most of the member countries, including Estonia, underlined that in risk analyses on the introduction of GMOs into the environment it is necessary to take into consideration more than before the principle of caution, particularly in the evaluation of long-term effects. Cooperation with the member countries, the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority must significantly improve.

Jun 28 - The decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to finally end the post-monitoring procedure in Latvia is most welcome, the Head of the Estonian PACE delegation, Marko Mihkelson, says.

Despite Russian efforts to keep the issue alive as long as possible, the ending of post-monitoring could be expected for quite some time already, Mihkelson said.

"Latvia has done a good enough job of defending its positions and the Council of Europe has had no reason to continue the monitoring process. Closing it was the right decision," he said.

Although the Russian delegation has over the past year brought strong pressure to bear on the assembly, the decision has been made and there is no reason to believe it will be reviewed in the near future, Mihkelson added.

"Questions can always be raised but they won't find support if they lack sufficiently strong argumentation and backing in the Council of Europe," he observed.

Estonian MEP Awarded Robert Schuman Medal

Jul 4 - Tunne Kelam, an Estonian Member of the European Parliament, was decorated in Strasbourg with the Robert Schuman medal and diploma, the highest award of the biggest faction of the European Parliament, the European People's Party - European Democrats.

"The Schuman medal is a surprising recognition and I am deeply glad over it. I also see this as recognition of Estonia's national-democratic forces, who set the clear aim of restoring the place of Estonia in Europe from the first years of the process of liberation," Kelam said.

"Of all promoters of European cooperation and mutual understanding Robert Schuman has been personally the closest to me over decades," Kelam said.

Estonian Police Liaison Officer at Europol Replaced

Jun 28 - Estonia's central criminal police has dispatched a new liaison officer to Europol; Ivo Kolk relieves Peeter Palo who has been serving in this post since 2002.

Kolk's posting to the European law enforcement body is effective as of June 27 and lasts for three years.

A graduate of the Public Service Academy, Kolk has served with Estonia's security police. His position in the central criminal police is that of superintendent.

Estonia signed a cooperation agreement with Europol in 2001 and became a full member of the agency last year. Since then, a representative of the Tax and Customs Board has been posted to Europol in addition to the police liaison officer.

Jun 28 - President Arnold Rüütel received the leaving Lithuanian Ambassador, Antanas Vinkus, and gave him the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st class.

The Estonian-Lithuanian relationship is rich and businesslike as can be expected of two good partners and has acquired new additional colours during the nearly four years of the ambassador's tenure, the president said.

"Big changes have taken place in Europe during the time you have been working in Estonia. We can together look back on the days both Estonia and Lithuania took the crucial steps toward the European Union and NATO whose members we have by now been for more than two years already," the Head of State added. "I am sincerely glad Estonia and Lithuania followed this road together."

Armenian Ambassador Presented Credentials in Estonia

Jun 29 - Armenian Ambassador Ashot Galoyan presented his letters of credence to President Arnold Rüütel.

Ruutel noted at the meeting that Estonia and Armenia are bound by continuous cultural ties which have a long history.

According to the president, Estonia is eager to intensify bilateral economic ties which are rather modest at present.

In Galoyan's words, Armenia sees itself as part of Europe. "I am certain that Estonia is a strong partner of ours in this," he said.

The ambassador resides in the Polish capital Warsaw.

DEFENCE NEWS

ESTPLA-13 Found Cache of Arms in Iraq

Jul 3 - The Estonian ESTPLA-13 light infantry platoon found a cache of arms in a village near the town of Sab-al-Boori during a patrolling operation.

The ESTPLA-13 patrol found the cache while collecting information on the makers of improvised explosives, the Defence Forces Headquarters reported.

A mine detector the Estonian platoon has been using since this March was used to find the buried cash. The cache contained an RPG grenade-launcher with ammunition and, on a closer check, some handguns.

The patrol detained two suspects for interviews and later released one of them.

"Discovery of the cache shows that ESTPLA-13 is doing good work. The platoon has become well adapted to the situation, the boys have become used to their 12-hour operations in full gear and the climate within the platoon is good," said Capt. Veljo Raude, Head of the Estonian contingent in Iraq.

Operations of ESTPLA-13 support information and civilian-military operations carried out at the brigade level, the aim of which is to achieve as close a contact as possible with the tribal leaders and families in their area of responsibility. ESTPLA-13 relied on hints received from local inhabitants also in the discovery of the cache.

The Estonian Defence Forces have been taking part in the operation since June 2003. In December the parliament extended the Estonian soldiers' mission in Iraq until the end of this year.

French Navy Chief Gets Acquainted with Estonian Navy

Jun 29 - The Chief of the French navy, Adm. Alain Oudot de Dainville, was given an overview of Estonia's national defence and the present situation and plans of the navy during his two-day visit to this Baltic state.

The French admiral visited the naval headquarters where his Estonian colleagues familiarized him with the navy's development and training plans, a spokesman for the defence forces general headquarters reported.

The parties pledged to continue mutual visits of ships and develop cooperation in training. The French navy possesses extensive knowhow of a wide spectrum of naval operations which it is prepared to share with Estonia.

The discussion touched also on the safety of the marine environment and the cooperation of countries on the Baltic rim with Nordic countries.

Estonian Officer to Serve on OSCE Mission in South Ossetia

Jun 29 - Maj. Kristjan Moora of the Estonian Defence Forces is going to take part in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mission in South Ossetia as military observer.

Moora sent in an application for the post after the OSCE announced a competition for it and was chosen, the Defence Forces General Headquarters said. His stint in South Ossetia lasts for six months, ending in December.

The task of a military observer is to monitor the situation and developments in the mission area and report his findings to the OSCE.

DOMESTIC NEWS

President Promulgated Foreign Relations Act

Jun 29 - President Arnold Rüütel promulgated the Foreign Relations Act passed by the Parliament for a second time earlier this month, which overhauls the general rules of foreign contacts and specifies the competence of institutions dealing with foreign relations and the domestic procedure of processing foreign agreements.

The new Foreign Relations Act is based on the earlier law effective since 1993, which should be now declared null and void.

Estonian Parties Pare Down List of Presidential Candidates

Jun 28 - The five Estonian parties set on finding a common presidential candidate pared down their list to four names: Member of the European Parliament Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ene Ergma, businessman Jaan Manitski and Tartu University Rector Jaak Aaviksoo; the joint candidate should be named at the beginning of August.

An extraordinary session of the Parliament to elect the next Head of State is set for Aug. 28.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Currency Rates in Kroons
(Bank of Estonia)

Lithuania Studies Estonian E-voting Experience

Jun 30 - Lithuania intends to introduce online voting and is studying very carefully the ideas and experience of the Estonian e-voting system.

A conference on electronic voting took place at the Lithuanian parliament at which also Estonia's e-voting project manager Tarvi Martens and head of the central electoral commission secretariat Mihkel Pilving made reports.

The Internet voting concept prepared in Lithuania and presented for public discussion largely follows the principles applied in Estonia but because of the absence of an electronic ID card an alternative system for electronic voter identification needs to be devised. At present the possibility of using online banks' identification codes is under consideration.

The discussions at the conference highlighted the reliability of the banks' identification system as a stumbling block and no conclusion on its adoption was reached.

According to Martens, the discussion brought to mind the debates held in Estonia a couple of years ago. "We have an excellent opportunity to help them by sharing our experience," he added.

Estonian President Arnold Rüütel recently promulgated election law amendments which secure the possibility of online voting in all elections and referendums. Estonians' next chance to cast their vote electronically will come already in the parliamentary election next March.

Estonian Economy Grows by 11.7 pct in Q1

Jun 29 - According to updated figures the Estonian gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 11.7 percent year-on-year in Q1, the Statistical Office reported. In the forecast published at the beginning of June the Statistical Office gave the quarterly growth figure as 11.6 percent, so the growth remained at the expected level.

In current prices the Estonian gross domestic product added up to 42.9 billion kroons (EUR 2.74 b), and 33.4 billion kroons in stable prices of 2000. Like in the previous quarters, economic growth was mainly based on domestic demand, which climbed by 13.4 percent.

Of spheres of activity, the growth in GDP was the most affected by real estate, rental and business, manufacturing industry, transport, warehousing and communications, as well as wholesale and retail trade. These spheres accounted for 63 percent of added value.

In stable prices the value added increased the most in financial brokerage in Q1 this year against Q1 2005, by 21.4 percent.

Expenses on private consumption increased in stable prices by 14.3 percent to 19 billion kroons, total investment of capital into fixed assets surged by 12.8 percent to nearly nine billion kroons and the end consumption expenses of the government sector went up by 8.5 percent to nearly six billion kroons, supporting domestic demand.

The import of goods and services grew faster than export, the growth being by respectively 21.6 percent to 31 billion and by 17.3 percent to 35 billion kroons.

Survey: Estonian Consumers', Entrepreneurs' Optimism Hits Record High

Jul 4, - Economic confidence and optimism indicators of entrepreneurs and consumers were in the second quarter of this year at their highest level in the last few years, it appears from a survey by the Estonian Institute of Economic Research.

Economic analysts interviewed by the institute rated the general state of the economy in June at a high 8.8 points out of a maximum nine. Confidence indicators of industrial, construction and trade enterprises calculated on the basis of company leaders' evaluations were at a 10-year high. Consumer confidence hit the highest level since 1993.

Passenger Numbers of Tallinn Airport Continue Growing In June

Jul 3 - The number of passengers served by the Tallinn airport continued growing in June, showing an increase of 10 percent both month-on-month and year-on-year.

Freight turnover however decreased by nearly 15 percent in comparison with June 2005 and almost 38 percent from May. The airport made 3,400 flight operations in June, 3.5 percent more than in the same period last year.

Port of Tallinn's Six-Month Freight Turnover Up 4 Pct on Year

Jul 3 - Estonia's state-owned Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) handled in the first half of this year 20.7 million tons of goods, an increase of 4.2 percent against the same period a year ago.

In June freight turnover was 3.6 million tons compared with 3.26 million tons in May and 3.35 million tons in June 2005. The volume of transit freight increased 4.8 percent year-on-year to 17.59 million tons. The amount of goods imported through the company's ports grew 8.5 percent to 1.52 million tons while export declined 6 percent to 1.50 million tons.

The number of passengers served dropped 4.7 percent in comparison with the first half of 2005 to 2.997 million. Passenger numbers on the Tallinn-Helsinki line declined 5.2 percent to 2.523 million whereas the Tallinn-Stockholm service saw a 4.1 percent increase to 278,200 people. The Tallinn port received 97,700 cruise passengers in the first half of the year. During January-June 1,548 freighters and 3,518 passenger ships called at the port.

Operators Invest Eur 128 Mln in Port Of Tallinn in 2005

Jul 4 - The companies operating in the ports of the Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) company invested last year a minimum of two billion kroons (EUR 127.8 mln) in the ports, preliminary figures suggest. The major investors were Coal Terminal (430 million kroons), Tallink shipper (357 million kroons), Trendgate (322 million kroons) and Alexela (256 million kroons), an analysis of the ports' operations results shows. Coal Terminal built one of Europe's most modern coal terminals at Muuga, Estonia's main merchant port east of Tallinn. The state-owned company itself plowed 345 million kroons into the ports in 2005.

Russian Firm to Overhaul Estonian Power Plant's Ash Removal System

Jul 3 - A new ash removal and storage system expected to reduce the negative environmental impact will begin to be built at Eesti Elektrijaam (Estonian Power Plant) under the direction of Russian engineers.

A ceremony to lay the cornerstone marking the start of construction of a pilot structure of the ash removal system took place at Eesti Elektrijaam, one of Estonia's two large Narva-based power plants, on Friday. Under the agreement concluded in March, the works to overhaul the ash transport and storage systems of two units of the plant will be carried out by the Russian firm Engineering Center of Urals Energetic. The pilot installation to be built will serve two generating blocks of Eesti Elektrijaam and its capacity is up to 240 tons of ash per hour. The thick pulp technology suggested by us will be used for the transportation of ash. The pilot installation is to be finished by the end of this year. The cost of the works reaches 130 million kroons (EUR 8.3 mln). After completion, the facility will be used at full capacity and tested for reliability in the winter period.

Survey: Estonian Newspapers' Advertising Turnover Up 21 Pct on Year In June

Jul 3 - The combined advertising turnover of Estonia's five largest newspapers grew in June 20.8 percent year-on-year to 30.2 million kroons (EUR 1.93 mln), a survey by media analyst Toomas Leito indicates.

According to Leito, the advertising market in Estonia stayed at its peak in June while the previous months' trend of advertising space being sold at substantially higher prices than a year ago continued. Compared with June 2005, the five leading papers' advertising volumes increased by 83 pages or 7.3 percent to 222 pages, Leito said. The growth of the advertising market is further promoted by the fast increase in Internet advertising.

Estonian Paljassaare Cannery Launches Export to Middle East

Jul 4 - Paljassaare Kalatoostus (Paljassaare Fish Processing Co.), a Tallinn-based fish and vegetable products manufacturer, has started the export of frozen fish products to Iraq and Kuwait.

The company has dispatched to Iraq and Kuwait two 18-ton sea containers with fish burgers, fillet fingers and snacks. "The deal was in preparation for more than six months. We had to harmonize the assortment, design of the packaging, the supply and payment conditions," CEO Mauno Leppik said. According to Leppik, the firm's cooperation partner in the Middle East is one of the region's leading distributors of refrigerated and frozen foods, Al Yasra Food Company. "We have concluded with the Kuwaiti company a long-term cooperation agreement whereby we have to supply them 200 tons of frozen fish products a year," Leppik said.

Paljassaare Kalatoostus exports its output into 27 countries of the world. The firm's export markets are the Baltic states, Scandinavia, central and eastern Europe, and from now also the Near East.

Estonian Railway posts EUR 4 mln profit in 2005

Jun 30 - According to a report that is not endorsed by shareholders but was submitted to the commercial register by the company, Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railway) made a profit of 61.8 million kroons last year; the year before it made a loss of 133 million kroons. Eesti Raudtee CFO Stephen Archer told BNS that the loss for 2004 was the result of one-off revaluation of assets and there were no such changes in the report for 2005. The sum total of the company's operating proceeds was 1,802 million kroons against 1,738 million kroons the year before. Eesti Raudtee owners are Baltic Rail Services (66 percent) and the Republic of Estonia (34 percent).

Estonian Capital Hosting Conference on Development of Railway Sector

Jul 4 - A high-level conference on the development of the railway sector began in the Estonian capital Tallinn. Participants in the event include representatives of European and Asian forwarding agencies, railways and the ministries supervising them who are members of the international railway cooperation organization OSJD.

The conference discusses ways to improve the competitiveness of the railway sector and more general questions of its development. The participants are going to visit Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) and Eesti Raudtee's depot at Muuga.

OSJD is an international organization for the cooperation of railways whose membership consists of railways of European and Asian countries and the ministries that supervise rail transport. The organization has 27 members ranging from Albania to Vietnam.

Estonian Dairies' Q1 Sales Up 16 Pct on Year

Jul 5 - Estonian dairies' combined sales turnover in the first quarter of 2006 totaled 998 million kroons (EUR 63.77 mln), representing a year-on-year growth of 16.4 percent, the Statistical Office reports. The growth of export more or less matched the increase in sales. The aggregate volume of export grew to 311 million kroons. Export thus accounts for 31 percent of dairies' total sales, equaling last year's figure.

Estonia Keen to Conclude Base Agreement with European Space Agency

Jun 30 - Estonia wants to open official talks with the European Space Agency over concluding a base agreement; accession would cost the Baltic state roughly one million euros a year.

Minister of Economy and Communications Edgar Savisaar sent a letter to ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain, expressing on behalf of the government the wish to start formal negotiations over a base agreement between Estonia and the agency.

Savisaar said in the letter that a base agreement on cooperation with the ESA would for Estonia represent an essential step toward a knowledge-based economy. "Several Estonian businesses and research institutions already possess the technical capability to participate in space programs," he said.

As a member state of the European Union, Estonia is automatically involved in joint undertakings of the ESA and the bloc, the minister observed. "Such connectedness stimulates our wish for cooperation and increases our contribution and capability to participate in other space programs," he said.

CULTURAL NEWS

XV Baltic Student's Song and Dance Festival Gaudeamus 2006

30 June - 02 July - Over 10 years Baltic students' song and dance festival takes place in Tartu. During three days Tartu will be full of students, exhibitions, events and concerts. There are 6000 singers and dancers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania coming together to take part in the jubilee celebrations. The festival will start with Grand opening ceremony on Town Hall Square and on river Emajõgi. Saturday starts with the wake-up singing by male choir on river Emajõgi and with early rehearsals for the participants. Starting from 12 the concert on Town Hall Square will start with many performances by musicians, singers and dancers. In addition to Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian performers Gaudeamus will also host quests from Street-Organ festival, United States and Denmark. The song and dance festival will take place on Sunday on Songfestival Arena that is preceded by traditional Procession through the city of Tartu. The start will be given in Toomemägi with exhilarating singing competition on Angels Bridge.
The patron of Gaudeamus is the President of Republic of Estonia, Arnold Rüütel.

http://www.gaudeamus.ee

David Oistrakh Festival 2006

01 July - 30 July - The traditional grand musical summer event of Pärnu and the whole Estonia - the David Oistrakh Festival - is held from 2 to 22 July. The festival programme contains 20 concerts, some of which will be also given outside of Pärnu. Besides Pärnu Concert Hall, concert venues include the Town Hall, Elisabeth Church, Tori Church, Jõhvi Concert Hall and KUMU auditorium in Tallinn. This year's performers include, for example, talented Japanese conductor Kiyotaka Teraoka, who has faithfully participated in the festival from 2000, the year when Neeme Järvi's Summer Academy was born. Frequent or even regular performers are Andres Mustonen and Hortus Musicus and internationally recognised Finnish pianist Antti Siirala. There will also be many first-time musical encounters: soprano Patricia Rozario from the UK as one of the main visiting performers of the festival; Kroumata Percussion Ensemble from Sweden, alto violist Kim Kashkashian from the USA, German cellist Ramon Jaffe, early music ensemble Trio Medieval from Norway, Aviv String Quartet from Israel and the Swiss renaissance lute player Hopkinson Smith, to mention a few.

Each year there are a few surprises. This year, an imposing selection of opera music will be performed at the concert “Golden Voices of Russia”. Great arias will be sung by young soloists from the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow and the city's other music theatres. There will also be an interactive concert where several well-known Estonian musicians will play a guessing game on composers and their pieces with the audience.

As in previous years, Neeme Järvi's Summer Academy - an international conductors' master course - will join the festival, this year also featuring Paavo Järvi. Part of this tradition is the “work orchestra” of the master course. This summer's work orchestra is Pärnu City Orchestra, but there will also be two promising youth orchestras - Belgian Symphonic Youth Orchestra of Edegem and Bromley Youth Chamber Orchestra from England. The festival also offers concerts by St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra both in Pärnu and Jõhvi.

20^th Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival

02 July - 16 July - 20th Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival
will take place on July 02 - July 22, 2006. There are four categories of competition:

international documentary competition, international art documentaries competition, Estonian national documentary competition and TV-competition. For further information see the web page.

http://www.chaplin.ee/english/filmfestival/default.htm

International Theatre Festival BaltoScandal

28 June - 02 July - BaltoScandal international theatre festival was first held in 1990 and has since then become a biennial event. BaltoScandal is a festival for different dance, innovative music and audio-visual forms, but is principally still meant for contemporary theatre. Besides very intensive festival program (5 performances a day) there are discussions, midnight open-air films and more. Estonian theatre program is put together from different special theatre, music and dance projects under the name "non-existing theatre".

At the same time with BaltoScandal, an alternative theatre festival, festival for the Youth Amateur Theatres "B'OFF" will also take place. The idea to organize such an alternative Festival at the same time with Baltoscandal grew out from the previous experiences of the "Rakvere City Youngsters Rehearsal Stage" of participating in the program of the Scandal and of having a share of the atmosphere at the Festival. The Organization wishes to offer the same opportunity to the others, to develop international relations and to inspire the passion of theatre among the youth.

Mark Raidpere's Exhibition in Paris

24 June - 29 July - A celebrated Estonian Mark Raidpere is holding his first solo show in France. The Estonian artist (born 1975) will present a selection of his recent video-based works: "Shifting Focus" (2005), "Father" (2001/2005), "Voiceover" (2005) and "Work In Progress" (2005).

In 2005, Raidpere represented Estonia at the 51st Venice Biennale and has just won the Hansapank Group Art Award. In 2006 he has shown his video-work "Ten Men" at Kiasma (Finland), Witte de With (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), and at galerie Michel Rein (within the group exhibition Carnets du Sous-Sol), among other places.

Tartu Student Theatre Takes Part in the Apostof Theatre Festival in Prague

30 June - 05 July - Tartu Student Theatre participates with its play “Cleansed” in the theatre festival in Prague. The Student Theatre will perform a play based on Sarah Kane' s story. Apostrof festival is a festival for independent and amateur theatres and this festival has been taking place in Prague for eight times already.

The Concerts of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber in Paris

26 June - 30 June - On Monday, June 26 at 8 pm in Saint-Louis des Invalides, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir will perform a concert to celebrate the Victory Day. They will performe the music of Cyrillus Kreek, Arvo Pärt and Francis Poulenc'i. Conductor of the choir is Paul Hillier. This concert is produced by the Estonian Embassy in Paris.

On Thursday, June 29 and on Friday, June 30 at 8.30 pm in the Basilica of Saint Denis the choir together with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris will perform a concert “Mozart: Messe en ut mineur”. These concerts are part of the Saint-Denis Music Festival.

Navitrolla's Exhibition in Paris

09 June - 13 July - In the Pont Neuf gallery the exhibition of Navitrolla could be visited. Navitrolla is an artist from South-Estonia who mainly practices painting and graphics.

Jaan Toomik in Florence

21 June - 21 July - Jaan Toomik presents his Video “Father and Son” in the exhibition “Human Game. Winners and Losers”. The curators of the exhibition are Francesco Bonami, Maria Luisa Frisa ja Stefano Tonchi

The concert tour of the Folkdance Ensemble “Sõprus” in Japan

03 July - 14 July - The folkdance ensemble “Sõprus” flies on Monday, July 3 to Japan in order to perforce their program, which includes folkdances and folk music, in four different Japanese cities. The tour takes place on the invitation of the international agency IAC, which residences in Tokyo. On Thursday, July 6 the ensemble will perform in the City Hall of Funabour. A few weeks ago a photo exhibition on the topic of Estonia was also opened there. After that the ensemble will perform on the island of Hokaido and in the city of Saku. They will return to Estonia on July 13.

The Trencianske Teplice Film Festival in Slovakia

23 June - 01 July - The puppet film of Estonia's film director Riho Unt “Brothers of the Bearheart” won two prices in the Trencianske Teplice festival. He won for his film the price of the best director in the category of anime and a special price of the FICC.

The Film Festival of Karlovy Vary

30 June - 8 July - July 4 is the date for the international premier of Estonian film “Tühirand”. The film was chosen to compete in the 41^st International Filmfestival hold in Karlovy Vary. The film is based on Mati Unt's short story “Tühirand”, which tells the story of a love triangle and discusses the questions of love and . The director of “Tühirand” is Veiko Õunapuu.

The Operfestival of Savonlinna

30 June - 29 July - Estonian conductor Anu Tali conducts the opera “Carmen” in Svonlinna. This version of “Carmen” is staged by Marianne Mörcki.

IN MEMORIAM

Estonian MP Robert Lepikson

Jul 1 - Member of the Estonian Parliament Robert Lepikson from the People's Union party, former Interior Minister and Mayor of Tallinn, died.

Lepikson was born in Tallinn on June 14, 1952. He graduated in 1980 as an electronics engineer from the then Tallinn Polytechnical Institute.

His early career includes jobs at the Tallinn audio cassette factory and the metal export company EMEX. Later on he served as Chancellor of the Defence Ministry and Mayor of Tallinn. Lepikson held the Interior Affairs Portfolio in the Mart Siimann-led government in 1997-98 and was governor of the southern Võru County. He was elected to parliament in 2003 from the electoral district comprising the Valga, Võru and Põlva counties.

Lepikson has been member of the now discontinued Coalition Party, Center Party and lastly the People's Union.