my abroad - Moscow's hunger for power - The Baltic states in Putin's shadow
"There is only one enemy, and that is Russia", Estonian Ain Tähiste makes it clear in one sentence how things stand for him: "Latvia, Finland, Sweden - and on the Baltic Sea Poland, Germany, Denmark", he continues, they are all friends, just not the Russian neighbour. "It's naive to believe that Russia is far away."
Ain Tähiste guides ZDF correspondent Natalie Steger and her team through the Hiiumaa Military Museum. The Estonian island in the west of the country used to be off-limits to tourists under Soviet rule because Hiiumaa on the Baltic Sea was strategically important for Moscow. With the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Estonia removed old Soviet monuments from public spaces and banned some of them to museums. "The Soviet Union occupied Estonia in 1940," explains Ain. And he continues: "Do we still have to honour the troops that occupied us? No, it was really about time!"
The Balts have been independent again for a good 30 years and look to Russia with particular concern. Especially after the start of the war in Ukraine, many people wondered whether Moscow's hunger for power would spread to the Balts again. Matthias Merelaine, 22 years old, is from Tallinn and never lived through the Soviet era. For him, there is always the question of "whether Russia will come to the Baltic states. We would be ready," he says on the beach in the evening sun and party atmosphere, "to go to the front with a weapon in our hands, to fight the enemy and defend our homeland."
Home armies are booming in the Baltic countries. Lithuanian Paulus Jurkus wouldn't run away either, he says. He has just finished university and would rather become a fisherman like his father. His father Virgis is a fisherman - and a proud Lithuanian. "I'm not afraid of anything," he says. "If the Ukrainians can beat the Russians, then so can we. Just let them come."
The new aversion to Russians is also present in Latvia. Lauris Aleksevejs is a top chef in Latvia's chicest seaside resort - Jurmala. The Russians used to give Lauris a run for his money. As a result, he has lost a lot of business since Latvia closed its border to Russians. Nevertheless, his Latvian heart refuses to do business with the old, new enemy. "In terms of money, you might miss it," says Lauris, "but when you look at it from the other side, you don't miss it."
Broadcasting on 14th of February 2024 at 04.15pm on Phoenix/ZDF
Music: POPVIRUS Library