VILJANDIMAA (Estonia aEUR”) The former President of Estonia now lives in Viljandia, a few hours from the Russian border. He lives on the farm that his family built in 1700s aEUR”. This farm was once a refuge for refugees who fled conflict.
Toomas Hendrik Ilve, Estonia’s president between 2006 and 2016, has been a vocal voice warning of the dangers of Russian aggression.
These warnings were recently proven true and Estonians are now taking action. Ilves, who flew a Ukrainian flag at his family farm on February 24, 2014, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Within weeks, he found himself hosting a family with Ukrainian refugees. Estonia has pledged the largest amount of military aid relative to its GDP.
Ilves spoke to NPR about the conflict on his family farm in April, just a few months after the start of the war. He also talked about Estonia’s history and how it led to Estonia being one of Ukraine’s largest supporters.
Ilves and others in the Baltic region thought that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision not to invade Ukraine was not surprising aEUR”, though Ilves acknowledges that this wasn’t true in other parts of the world.
Estonia, Lithuania and its neighboring Latvia and Lithuania were occupied by Soviet Union until the 1990s. Ilves explained aEUR that they had made predictions about Russia’s actions if it was left unchecked, especially after the invasion of Crimea in 2014.
Ilves stated that Estonia is used to being attacked, making it more mentally prepared for the next incursion. Ilves was also president when he met Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, his predecessor. Ilves stated that he was prepared for the unexpected when he met these leaders because Russia isn’t a rational country in terms decision-making.
Estonia’s support of Ukraine is also rooted in past Russian atrocities that the residents of the region still recall.
Ilves’s family is from Southern Estonia’s Mulgimaa region. This area was once quite rural and poor. However, flax seed became more popular than ever after the U.S. Civil War in the 1860s. Many Estonian farmers were able to become wealthy thanks to this increase in demand. This success eventually made the wealthy farmers of Estonia targets of Soviets. Numerous deportations took place in 1941, 1945 and 1949. Ilves’s family was among those who fled. Both his parents fled to Sweden alone, where he was born and where they met.
Ilves attributes the Estonian response against the invasion to these deep, personal connections. He said, “We know what it is about.”
Recent events have highlighted the stark differences between Eastern Europe and Western Europe, llves believes. According to his Estonian perspective, although the threat of Russian aggression has never faded, it exploded into consciousness in 2007 when Russia launched a huge cyberattack on Estonian websites.
Ilves said that he went to NATO to discuss the denial of service attack. It was one of the first major nation on nation digital strikes. He also claimed that at least one NATO ally had claimed Estonia was being “Russophobic.”
He watched from that moment on as Russia invaded Georgia 2008 and Crimea 2014,
Ilves stated that they said “No, the Estonians are suffering from post-Soviet trauma stress.”
Ilves saw Germany’s support for Nord Stream Two, a $11 billion natural gas pipeline that would increase the flow of Russian gas to Germany by more than doubling the amount, as a sign that it was not paying attention to the concerns of NATO members. (Construction was stopped in February, days before the invasion.
He said, “This type of attitude we’ve dealt with for 30 years…more than 30 years.” It’s a matter of “I told you so” – which I believe explains why countries such as mine, Latvia, Lithuania, or Poland contribute far more.
Ilves claims that what was surprising about the invasion was “how bad is the Russian army” aEUR. However, he believes it makes sense that Russian soldiers may have an overinflated sense of confidence after earlier victories in Crimea and Georgia, as well as because their propaganda might have infected them.
He said that they were shocked that the Ukrainians did not greet them with flowers to celebrate their liberation. “You know, it’s sort of like, don’t do your stash” referring to drugs or the phrase “don’t get high on you own supply” popularized by the 1983 American movie “Scarface.”
He means that Russian officials insist that they are only trying to save oppressed Russian minorities in the former Soviet Union. They may not have expected the strong resistance from Ukraine to be invaded.
He concluded that “You believe what is just propaganda.”
Russian officials like to claim that liberal democracies can’t survive in the former Soviet Union because of cultural differences. Estonia’s recent wealth and modernization over the past 30 years is often seen as an aberration by Ilves. It should instead be seen as an example for what’s possible.
Even so, Estonian propaganda is still a threat to parts of Estonia, including Narva. This city lies on the Russian border and has many Russian-ethnic residents. There are also supporters of the Putin regime despite the invasion.
Ilves believes that perception is a real problem in Europe. Ilves believes that Russian propaganda portraying Eastern Europe as corrupt and backward has been successful in Western Europe.
He said that Ukraine was “a kind of a victim of this type of disdain.”
Ilves stated that despite the corruption and other flaws in the government, Ukrainians fight to defend their liberal democracy and that they merit the support of countries like them.
He concluded that “they clearly need heavy arms.”
When Ilves was Estonia’s foreign minister, 1998-2002, one of his top priorities was to integrate Estonia into modern Europe. This meant enhancing Estonia’s status culturally and financially.
Estonia hadn’t been looking to join the European Union aEUR before Ilves became foreign minister. He stated that he was aware that Estonia would be difficult to allow into NATO if it were not for certain countries.
He stated that Estonia, just like its southern neighbours, only cared about NATO because of fairly obvious reasons. “But, my foreign policy experience, as well as being in Washington before that, convinced me that we wouldn’t be allowed to join NATO because of the opposition of Germany, France and other countries. They can’t veto your membership in the European Union. When I arrived here, I stated, “OK, we’re going reorient towards the European Union. And not only that, but we’re going all out to get there.” ”
Ilves explained that joining the European Union does not mean signing up. It is about organizing the country so that it conforms to European standards. He said that unpasteurized milk from a farm just down the street from his house requires a very specific process in order to be sold and consumed, which includes the elimination of all chemicals.
He said, “You don’t just join the EU… there are a whole body law.”
Ilves stated that Estonia was unable to join the EU without five years of hard work, but this helped Estonia gain an advantage in applying for NATO membership. Tallinn, Estonia’s capital is now home to the NATO Cyber Center of Excellence.
Ilves believes that the main conflict between Russia and Ukraine will be fought in digital space, even as Russia wage war on Ukraine.
“You can have proxy warfare, as in Ukraine… but the contested battlefield is digital.”
Ilves has always valued technology and how it can help his country and place in the world. Ilves has always seen the importance of technology since he was taught programming by a math teacher in Leonia, New Jersey high school. This was where his family lived at the time. It could be the way to the future for his country, he knew.
For a country that was not independent from the Soviet Union until 1991, it wasn’t an easy path.
He said, “When Estonia was independent, we were very poor.”
He was also concerned that Estonia would follow other countries’ lead to stay ahead. To get ahead of the rest, it took a huge technological leap. Estonia began small by purchasing computers for schools in the local area. But everything was eventually digitized. Estonia is a digital haven, and everyone born in Estonia has a digital ID that can be used to vote or access government services.
It’s been a huge success. There are 10 Estonian tech companies valued at over $1 billion. Many tech executives, including Karoli Hindriks, directly contribute to Ukraine’s assistance. Hindriks, CEO of Jobbatical uses technology to relocate employees at a EUR” and now she is using the same system for refugees fleeing to other countries. Ragnar Sass is another entrepreneur who donates vehicles, drones and other technology directly for the Ukrainian troops.
Ilves believes that, in addition to being a pioneer in the digital space Ilves also believes there should be an international alliance built around the concept digital conflict aEUR.” One that isn’t based on geographical proximity like NATO.
“Digital technology is a digital world where distance and time don’t matter. You know Tallinn, Torino and Toronto are all within a reasonable distance. He said that security in the digital cyber age should not be based solely on geography.
He concluded that “We need an alliance among liberal democracies who share cyber capabilities.”
