Alan (the Lone Librarian) Teder’s Reviews > Estonian Lessons > Status Update

In 2024 I was speaking to a group of members of the Estonian Parliament who were from a range of parties with very different ideologies ... I noted that they seemed to set aside their differences when it came to foreign policy and, specifically, the threat from Russia. One of them explained why: 'When the Russians invade, they will line us all up against the same wall and shoot us all together.'

Swimsuits are generally seen as something only strange foreigners wear, although you may find a small towel around your waist is acceptable. I hope you will take my word for it that the nudity part of the experience rapidly seems pretty unimportant, and you just forget you are naked.

[About sauna culture.]

For other people, like me, the most affecting song is 'Ta lendab mesipuu poole', meaning 'He/she flies to the beehive'. This is a song also performed at most state events to remember the thousands of Estonians killed and deported in World War II, so as an ambassador I heard it quite often, and it is simply a beautiful piece of music, with lyrics about Estonians outside Estonia longing to be home.

The opening song for every festival is 'Koit' (Dawn), and hearing the first few bars sends a shudder through you. By the end, there are plenty of singers and people in the crowd in tears.

Under the Soviets, Estonians demonstrated an incredible will to endure, to protect their identity, culture and language, and to regain their freedom. When the world is in such turmoil, resolve like this offers a lesson to us all. It is one reason Estonians and Ukrainians have so much mutual respect.

If there are other countries currently in poor shape environmentally, they might look at the progress Estonia has made since 1991 and try to apply the same approach. Back then, I do not believe anyone in Estonia or elsewhere could have imagined Estonia topping a list of 180 countries in overall environmental performance with just two generations.

There has also been something of a revival in paganism, or neo-paganism, with a focus on nature.

Estonia was the fifth-least religious country in the world in 2022, after China (where 13% answered either 'very important' or 'somewhat important'), Japan (14%), Denmark (19%) and Czechia (21%). In Estonia, the figure was 23%, although that was an increase from just 18% in 1993. For comparison, in the US the figure is 61%, in India 86%, and Nigeria is top with 99%.

It also helps if you publish plenty of books in your own language, and here Estonia comes second only to the remarkable Iceland (where 10% of the population has written a book!). Based on figures from relatively recent years, by my calculations Iceland publishes roughly 4,800 books per million people, Estonia publishes roughly 4,500 books per million people ...

Then there is the sound õ, which almost defies description. The best way I came up with to explain how to make this sound is to put your teeth together and then make the noise a child would make if you put a plate of really disgusting food down in front of him, a bit like 'urgh' but with your teeth together.