24.02.2026 Republic of Estonia 108
Published on 24.02.2026 in Tiit Lepik’s mailing list (in Estonian). The original letter in Smaily
Kiiu, 24.02.2026
First of all, a happy and wonderful 108th birthday of the Republic of Estonia to everyone. In my opinion we have been lucky with the Estonian state. During the Singing Revolution none of us could have dreamed of such a fine country. Of course there are worries everywhere. Our strength is that everyone can grumble freely. That is a great privilege. Thirty years ago we came from a society where grumbling was not allowed. Once, when I was talking about these topics with my good friend, the historian Ott Sandrak, he had a generalisation ready to hand: countries where grumbling is not allowed tend to be the losers in wars too. So let us try to enjoy our country while we can.
Listening to the news on 23 February, a story about the clearing law caught my eye. Jaan Riis, who follows these topics more closely, knew that the story had already been on air several times. Unfortunately it is again so topical that Rohke Debelakk could not leave it off the air. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M5NURhxjuM
