C00174743 Page: 19 of 28 Concatenated JPRS Reports, 1992 , Document 13 of 20 Page 1 Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Status: [STAT] Document Date: 06 Oct 92 Category: [CAT] Report Type: JPRS report Report Date: Report Number: FBIS-USR-92-136 UDC Number: Author(s): G. Sapozhnikova, KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA correspondent: "Autumn Double-Dealing: New Turn of Events in Russian-Estonian Relations"] Source Line: 93UN0051A Moscow KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA in Russian 6 Oct 92 p 3 Subslug: [Article by G. Sapozhnikova, KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA correspondent: "Autumn Double-Dealing: New Turn of Events in Russian-Estonian Relations"] FULL TEXT OF ARTICLE: 1. [Article by G. Sapozhnikova, KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA correspondent: "Autumn Double-Dealing: New Turn of Events in Russian-Estonian Relations-] 2. [Text] Autumn in Estonia is quite different than in Russia. 3. Tallinn still smells of roses, not poverty. A single Estonian kroon, like a single ruble, will buy virtually nothing-just a newspaper or a rose, whichever you prefer. The sweet taste of overripe bananas and grilled chicken, the plastic bags bearing store logos in brand-name stores, the relatively full shelves and the numerous price reductions and sales: Tallinn is becoming a city for the rich. The everyday nationalism in stores has disappeared without a trace. Nowadays you can speak any language, even Swahili, and they will understand you and respond-just as long as you buy something. Going into stores in Estonia has become almost as disgusting as going into stores in the West. You go in because there is nothing else to do, just to look, and in both places some salesman immediately asks: "Can I help you?" 4. True, the produce situation is not very good-still not up to the level it was under the communists. Soon it will probably get even worse, because the Russian government intends to impose economic sanctions on Estonia which "will not affect the interests of ordinary Estonian citizens." As an example of those sanctions Russian government press secretary Gennadiy Shipitko mentioned Russian refusal to accept Estonian agricultural products. Nov the Estonian people's age-old dream will finally come true-they will no longer have to feed their neighbor to the east. UNCLASSIFIED Approv d for Release 1) To [0 C00174743 Page: 20 of 28 Concatenated JPRS Reports, 1992 Document 13 of 20 Page 2 5. The Russian side is behaving in an interesting manner all around. First it sets a deadline for verification of respect for the rights of ethnic minorities in Estonia-the elections slated for 20 September. Then, on 7 September, it concludes a free trade agreement with Estonia-perhaps forgetting its previous intention? For two years prior to this time it has been signing a massive number of agreements with Estonia and joyously agreeing with the Estonian side's reasoning, i.e that all those who are dissatisfied with the new Estonian democracy are not Russians, they are Soviets. The comrades do not understand. Then suddenly Russia remembers that it has forgotten its ethnic offspring scattered around the national periphery, takes a diametrically opposed stance and begins actively defending its ethnic kinsmen. Too late, brothers: thanks to efforts by the Estonian side European public opinion is already formed. And the world, despite Russia's desperate gestures, readily agrees: no, the "guest workers" should not be given the right to vote. It was recently reported that Europe has decided to fight illegal immigration, and lo and behold- Estonia is already going around acting as if it were quietly engaged in repatriation of its illegal immigrants, i.e. everyone who arrived in the republic after 1940. It would be interesting-if it does in fact do that-to find out if Yeltsin recalls how in January 1991 during a visit to Tallinn he refused to meet with the local Russian population. Or how he printed handbills in Estonia at a time when he was forbidden to do so in Russia. Did Estonian minister of foreign affairs Jaan Manitski kindly remind the world community of that at a recent session of the U.N. General Assembly? 6. The Russian-Estonian "cold war" is becoming international in nature. Formerly the two ministries of foreign affairs merely "exchanged shots" via diplomatic notes, but now they are operating out in the open. All Kozyrev and his team had to do was raise the issue of human rights violations before the U.N., and Manitski immediately responded with a counter-speech, saying he supposedly could not understand why Kozyrev was demanding that voting rights be given to citizens of other states. And that the term ""ethnic minority" in no way extends to foreign workers and colonists. So that is how it is. According to him, Russia's firm stance "is dictated by a desire to preserve its military influence in Estonia at all costs. That is the purpose of the international campaign demanding Estonian citizenship for citizens of Russia, so that Russia will retain the right to act as their patron." To which Kozyrev retorted just before flying out of New York: `Our Baltic neighbors are resorting to the old Soviet tactic of crying 'you're one, too' instead of discussing existing problems." 7. Truly amazing metamorphoses. I recall that about three years ago C00174743 Page: 21 of 28 Concatenated JPRS Reports, 1992 Document 13 of 20 Page 3 the most derogatory word in Estonia was "Kremlin," the situation was depicted like this: in Russia there were a handful of sinister forces and a sea of healthy ones (i.e. the ones that supported Estonia), and they were fighting among themselves, and the healthy ones would prevail. Nov it is the same picture, except that the formerly healthy forces have somehow become sinister. But now new, abstract healthy forces are on Estonia's side, and they are about to begin correcting an historical injustice. That is, they are going to immediately withdraw the occupation troops, recognize the Tartu Peace Treaty (and along with it the border which includes the ancient Estonian cities of Izborsk, Pechory and Ivan-gorod) and facilitate the voluntary return of Russia's citizens to their homeland. 8. The official lists of election victors were finally published a few days ago. Incidentally, they can only be termed "victors" very provisionally, since only 17 candidates out of 101 garnered enough votes to be elected. The rest got into parliament with the help of the "redirected" votes of their fellow party members, because Estonian election law is oriented toward team play. As a result there are people in parliament who got only 50-60 votes, while some candidates who got 3,000 votes or more did not make it. Under this system none of the independent candidates could get elected. One pleasant surprise was the victory of the royalist party, which unites many of Estonia's best-known humorists under its banner. 9. It will be pleasant to visit the Estonian State Assembly, because our newspaper has many acquaintances there: writer Jaan Kross, poet Jaan Kaplinski and UFO enthusiast Tunne Kelam. Pianist Vardo Rumessen was the one who this past winter, when there was nothing at all to eat in the republic, appealed for an end to the sale of Russian bread. Marg Nutt is head of the Estonian delegation to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. He is the one who has attempted to prove to the world that Russians here are the same as Turks living in Germany. Kalle Kulbok, the royalist leader, is an inspector with the Official Language Department. Back in the spring he demonstratively ripped down a sign reading "Bistro" from a Swiss cafe and fervently demanded that the owners write the word Estonian-style, i.e. with a double "o.11 Pastor Hallaste is the author of the idea of making foreigners in both East and Vest equal. Remember how in early June the Estonian Republic attempted to demand $30 from each CIS citizen for an entry visa just as it does from Americans? And, finally, there is Jaanus Raidal, the youthful mayor of the city of Otepaa, who is preparing to destroy Russia, China and Great Britain, build an air bridge between Groznyy and Tartu, and reorient Otepaa's industry toward weapons production. 10. Today Jaanus Raidal, as a full-fledged member of the Estonian parliament, is declaring political war on Russia. Since some Russian C00174743 Page: 22 of 28 Concatenated JPRS Reports, 1992 Document 13 of 20 Page 4 politicians have mentioned the fact that they do not recognize the new Estonian parliament because one-third of the republic's population did not participate in the election, Raidal has mentioned in reply that he does not recognize the Russian parliament, either. His logic is that since it was elected while the Soviet Union still existed, the present membership of parliament does not reflect reality, specifically the confederative structure of Russia, the fact of Chechnya's and Tatarstan's independence and small peoples' striving for autonomy. Jaanus, as a figure of some importance in politics, is declaring that he does not recognize a parliament that is out of touch with the people, that the Estonian delegation will not go to Moscow for negotiations any more because St. Petersburg is Russia' capital, and that henceforth Estonia will reach agreements with each oblast capital and each people individually and will only deign to direct its attention to Moscow and the Russian parliament after new elections have been held. 11. In view of the highly eccentric composition of the new Estonian representative organ, and knowing Jaanus as I do, I can be certain that he really will do everything he says. 13. The first session of the Estonian State Assembly and the second round of presidential elections have now been held. Lennart Meri, leader of the radicals, Estonia's ambassador to Finland and formerly minister of foreign affairs, has been elected President of the Estonian Republic.