{"title":"Estonia","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"bloodlands-europe-between-hitler-and-stalin-by-timothy-snyder","title":"Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA powerful and revelatory history book about the bloodlands - the lands that lie between Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany - where 14 million people were killed during the years 1933-1944. In the middle of Europe, in the middle of the twentieth century, the Nazi and Soviet regimes murdered fourteen million people in the bloodlands between Berlin and Moscow. In a twelve-year-period, in these killing fields - today's Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Western Russia and the eastern Baltic coast - an average of more than one million citizens were slaughtered every year, as a result of deliberate policies unrelated to combat.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn this book Timothy Snyder offers a ground-breaking investigation into the motives and methods of Stalin and Hitler and, using scholarly literature and primary sources, pays special attention to the testimony of the victims, including the letters home, the notes flung from trains, the diaries on corpses. The result is a brilliantly researched, profoundly humane, authoritative and original book that forces us to re-examine one of the greatest tragedies in European history and re-think our past.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e﻿Paperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41786833961121,"sku":"","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/products\/Bloodlands.jpg?v=1649159466"},{"product_id":"understanding-the-baltic-states-estonia-latvia-and-lithuania-since-1991-edited-by-charles-clarke","title":"Understanding the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania since 1991 edited by Charles Clarke","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis book addresses a crucial question: the contribution of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the historic dissolution of the USSR in 1991, which in turn led to regained independence for the Baltic States in that year. This is an important history, relating to the interplay between divisions and tensions at the heart of the USSR and the growing Baltic independence movements.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIt also has great contemporary significance as a result of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of the Ukraine. To justify this act, Vladimir Putin has explicitly promoted a ‘Greater Russian’ version of history, including a dangerously inaccurate narrative of what occurred in the Baltics in 1991. He also continues to threaten military action against the Baltic states, all of which are members of NATO.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe contributors—who include Brendan Simms, Vladislav Zubok, Andrew Wilson, Mart Kuldkepp, Bridget Kendall, Kristina Spohr, Kaarel Piirimäe and Neil Taylor— analyse the struggles of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to secure their independence, and set out how Moscow is propagating fake history, as well as engaging in destabilising measures and cyber-attacks, to undermine these countries’ hard-won freedom. This indispensable volume addresses head-on the biggest geopolitical challenge facing the world today: responding to Russian military adventurism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e﻿Paperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43055387574433,"sku":"","price":22.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781787389410-web.jpg?v=1686153582"},{"product_id":"baltic-belles-the-dedalus-book-of-estonian-womens-literature-edited-by-elle-mari-talivee","title":"Baltic Belles: The Dedalus Book of Estonian Women's Literature, edited by Elle-Mari Talivee","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis anthology presents readers with a broad selection of fiction written between the late 19th century and today. The collection opens with the early realist \u003cstrong\u003eElisabeth Aspe\u003c\/strong\u003e, who described both village life and urban fear during the final decades of the 19th century. Early 20th-century works by female writers often discussed the young creative individual’s encounters in the transformed urbanised world, some of the most outstanding examples of which are by the great \u003cstrong\u003eBetti Alver\u003c\/strong\u003e. After World War II, Estonian writing bore the unmistakable signs of Soviet censorship. Nevertheless, \u003cstrong\u003eViivi Luik\u003c\/strong\u003e’s momentous novel \u003cem\u003eThe Seventh Spring of Peace\u003c\/em\u003e managed to avoid suppression, and the wonderfully unique \u003cstrong\u003eAsta Põldmäe\u003c\/strong\u003e seized her opportunity to write. Very strong authors such as \u003cstrong\u003eEeva Park\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eMaarja Kangro\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eMaimu Berg\u003c\/strong\u003e flourished with the return of freedom of expression in the late 20th century, and continue to do so today. They represent the best of Estonian short-story writing, handling social topics very sharply and suggestively, and scrutinising the country’s soul in a highly personal manner.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e﻿Paperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43148082938017,"sku":"","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781910213780.webp?v=1691747181"},{"product_id":"the-reconstruction-by-rein-raud-translated-by-adam-cullen","title":"The Reconstruction by Rein Raud, translated by Adam Cullen","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor five years, Enn Padrik has postponed the investigation into the apparently religiously inspired suicides of his daughter and her friends at a commune near Viljandi, but now he can postpone it no longer. He must travel all over Estonia and even as far as France, interviewing anyone who might remember anything relevant. Some of these people seem to have been waiting for him, others refuse to talk. And little by little, a bigger and quite unexpected picture starts to emerge. From the late 1970s through 2011, \u003cem\u003eThe Reconstruction\u003c\/em\u003e spans the lives of two generations, narrating the changes in the wider world and Estonian society in particular, the transition from a world of right and wrong to a world where most things are neither, but the yearning for absolute truths still won't go away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e﻿Paperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43151208906913,"sku":"","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9780916583804.jpg?v=1700492227"},{"product_id":"baltic-the-future-of-europe-by-oliver-moody","title":"Baltic: The Future of Europe by Oliver Moody","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'\u003cem\u003eMagnificent... As exciting to read as it is important\u003c\/em\u003e' Peter Frankopan\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Baltic: The Future of Europe” shows how Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and their neighbours around the Baltic Sea are shaping the continent’s future. Oliver Moody blends history, politics and reportage to reveal resilient societies reinventing themselves through technology, ecological projects and social innovation, standing as a beacon for Europe.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Baltic will decide the course of the West in the coming years.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese nine borderlands are not only the historical battleground of Russian aggression; they are also a factory of ideas for how to revive Europe. Shaped by the past one hundred years, each Baltic country offers lessons in adaptability, hope and prosperity in an era of instability. Innovation in Estonia, patience in Finland, resilience in Poland, even poetry in Latvia: with their tumultuous pasts and exposed geography, these poorly understood frontline states are reconfiguring the balance of power around the heart of Eurasia.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom pioneering environmental initiatives and world-leading innovations in technology to ever-growing economies, from tackling disinformation to tempering the populist right, the Baltic states are now key to understanding how political events might unfold in the coming years. Blending history, politics and reportage, this is the first book to explain why these are some of our most imaginative allies, yet most of us know so little about them. Interviewing prime ministers, presidents, generals, intelligence officers, business leaders and ordinary people, Oliver Moody traces the extraordinary emergence of a new fulcrum of great-power rivalry.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut the real reason we need to understand them is that their fate is ours.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55157340242298,"sku":"","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781399814270.jpg?v=1742301873"},{"product_id":"baltic-triennial-14-the-endless-frontier-a-reader-by-aleksei-borisionok-and-olia-sosnovskaya","title":"Baltic Triennial 14: The Endless Frontier (A Reader) by Aleksei Borisionok and Olia Sosnovskaya","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBaltic Triennial 14 focused on the geopolitical territory of Central and Eastern Europe, premised on the conviction that in a paradoxical time of fragmented integration, addressing the local is, simultaneously, to question the global. This reader contains a number of texts touching upon the definitions, histories, potentials, and futures of the region which is understood as having a composite, porous constitution and transnational connections. The region’s gravitational pull is further highlighted by the introduction or anticipation of numerous tensions, such as disinformation, human-made industrial disasters, nativist nationalism, and the oppression of non normative identities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStaged before the eruption of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Triennial took its title from Vannevar Bush, via Eglė Rindzevičiūtė’s essay on cultural wars “Transforming Cultural Policy in Eastern Europe: The Endless Frontier” (2021). In addition to the texts, this reader includes photo documentation and information from exhibitions and events that were presented across the city of Vilnius: at the Contemporary Art Centre, Atletika, Autarkia, Editorial, Lithuanian Artists’ Association, Rupert (hosted by Tech Arts) and Swallow.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55354075447674,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9788867495511.jpg?v=1746614077"},{"product_id":"dedalus-book-of-estonian-literature","title":"Dedalus Book of Estonian Literature","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Dedalus Book of Estonian Literature offers a wide-ranging selection of fiction from the end of the nineteenth century until the present day, including work by Estonia’s classic and most important contemporary authors. This is the most important selection of Estonian fiction to have appeared in English and will be essential reading for anyone wanting to gain an idea of Estonian Literature.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55468574933370,"sku":"","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781903517956.jpg?v=1749120057"},{"product_id":"estonia-a-modern-history-by-neil-taylor","title":"Estonia: A Modern History by Neil Taylor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith only 1.3 million inhabitants, Estonia is one of Europe’s least populous nations – yet it boasts one of the continent’s fastest growing economies. In the first serious English-language history of this small Baltic state, Neil Taylor charts Estonia’s long, arduous journey to its present-day prosperity, through a thousand years of occupation by Danes, Swedes, Germans and Russians. In the wake of the First World War, out of the heat of a national awakening and the collapse of the Russian and German empires, Estonia was recognised as an independent nation in 1920.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis was not to last – the country was tossed between the Soviets and Nazis during the Second World War, then fully integrated into the USSR, bringing on more than half a century of renewed occupation and misery. But hopes of true independence never dimmed and, in 1991, the Republic of Estonia was restored. This unflinching history includes charming moments of colour and levity, from ambassadorial reports on nude bathing and a presidential press conference deliberately held beside a dirty toilet, to the story of a blind pianist, the first foreigner allowed to visit the city of Tartu in the Soviet era.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55695553692026,"sku":null,"price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781805263159.jpg?v=1753869357"},{"product_id":"the-rules-of-bird-hunting-by-eeva-park","title":"The Rules of Bird Hunting by Eeva Park","description":"\u003cp\u003eEeva Park began as the author of mood poems depicting nature, and has said that she mixed feeling and thought in her poetry, while her prose is a mixture of understanding and memory. This original collection, translated by \u003cstrong\u003eJayde Will\u003c\/strong\u003e is an exploration of values, real and imagined incorporating the best of Park’s work from the last three decades.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Rules of Bird Hunting\u003c\/em\u003e is part of the Parthian Baltic project which was launched in time for the London Book Fair 2018. The poetry collections were launched at the Wheatsheaf Parthian Poetry Festival in April 2018.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55726475510138,"sku":null,"price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/Eeva_1024x1024_5e5e3acc-3fd4-4ec3-be98-072816a03c1d.webp?v=1754572134"},{"product_id":"flow-of-patterns-works-of-jaanus-samma-edited-by-krist-gruijthuijsen","title":"Flow of Patterns. Works of Jaanus Samma. Edited by Krist Gruijthuijsen","description":"\u003cp\u003eJaanus Samma’s work is known for queering seemingly harmless subject matters on national identity and representation through an exploration of sexuality and notions of ‘publicness.’ The concept of folklore also recurs throughout Samma’s work as a form of cultural circulation and exchange open to queer reinterpretation. By using traditional techniques, the artist navigates through various modes of communication, which at first seem innocent but on closer inspection reveal an array of gay and queer symbolism. Through archival research he has found ways of broadening socio-political perspectives on national and sexual identity by offering alternatives to recontextualize the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFlow of Patterns\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is Samma’s first monograph and presents works from the past twenty years—from his graduation work on swimming pools to his recent exhibition, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ekkm.ee\/en\/naitused\/jaanus-sammas-solo-exhibition\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eIron Men\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, which scrutinized masculinity as a form of national representation. The publication is edited by Krist Gruijthuijsen with in-depth essays by Linda Kaljundi, Jeppe Ugelvig, and Léon Kruijswijk.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJaanus Samma is a visual artist based in Tallinn, Estonia. Samma’s critical exploration of queer desire, public space, and cultural tradition spans photography, installation, sculpture, and video. Samma’s current fields of interest encompass history, ethnography, and museology as well as the intersecting narratives they entail. His work aims to locate queer subjectivity and desire in seemingly hetero-normative spaces. Combining fieldwork, oral history, and archival research,  the artist responds to absences of sexual representation by way of storytelling or semantic subversion, as he recovers loaded symbols and signs or inserts them in spaces where they seemingly do not belong.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55981850100090,"sku":null,"price":38.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9783753306636.webp?v=1759428377"},{"product_id":"the-cut-line-by-carolina-pihelgas","title":"The Cut Line by Carolina Pihelgas","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e“\u003cem\u003eIn less than one hundred pages, Carolina Pihelgas creates a depth that would perhaps not be possible without her poetic language, upon which she builds her rendering of the human soul. With this extraordinary little book, the poet undoubtedly reinforces her position as one of Estonia’s greatest prose writers today\u003c\/em\u003e” – \u003ci\u003eEstonian Literary Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the dog days of an Estonian summer, Liine flees to the countryside to put a conclusive end to her toxic 14-year relationship. She undergoes every stage of separation in a lone farmstead amid forests. A lot of physical labour and gardening help her withstand her ex-partner's threats, the incredulity of friends and family, and her own anguish.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDread is pervasive in this novel. Set in the near future, it is filled with vivid depictions of the threat of climate change. No less menacing is the presence of an expanding NATO base close to the cottage at the Russian border.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe world's largest military alliance is practicing for an attack. Explosions and shots ring in the distance while Liine tries to recover from fourteen years of violence. Yet she simply follows the rhythm of nature as summer unfolds.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhile her environment changes around her, Liine-always in the garden chopping wood, weeding, sowing-undergoes profound transformations, too. \u003cem\u003eThe Cut Line\u003c\/em\u003e is a story of fear, self-blame, grief, numbness, and anger ultimately giving way to hope and healing, joy and lightness.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56881319248250,"sku":null,"price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781642861617.jpg?v=1778580473"},{"product_id":"rebooting-a-nation-the-incredible-rise-of-estonia-e-government-and-the-startup-revolution-by-joel-burke","title":"Rebooting a Nation: The Incredible Rise of Estonia, E-Government and the Startup Revolution by Joel Burke","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eAn illuminating exploration of Estonia’s transformation into a global digital pioneer. Joel Burke captures the essence of innovative, bold policy-making that turned a small nation into a trailblazer in e-governance and the startup ecosystem\u003c\/em\u003e\" – Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s Cyber Ambassador-at-large, and former Minister of Digital Affairs\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eRebooting a Nation\u003c\/em\u003e is an informative and entertaining masterclass in Estonia’s modern history. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow did a small post-Soviet state become a digital and e-government powerhouse, producing world-leading tech companies and pioneering policies for remote residency?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThree decades after gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Estonia is a nation transformed. Today, the country is known worldwide as a startup hub, boasting billion-dollar companies including Wise, Veriff and Bolt – but even more impressive are Tallinn’s pioneering efforts in e-government. With 99 per cent of government services digitalised and accessible online, citizens can vote via computer, or file their taxes online in minutes; and Estonia’s use of artificial intelligence to enhance and automate its offering to citizens long predates ChatGPT.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDrawing on his experience as a former official for the Republic of Estonia, Joel Burke offers unique insight into the country’s rapid rise as a tech and e-government powerhouse since the turn of the century. From the founding of Skype to the future of the e-state, he unveils the tactics and stories behind Estonia’s spectacular journey – after years of Soviet occupation and mismanagement to global tech leadership. For those hoping to learn from Estonia’s incredible journey, Burke offers insights into the government’s use of AI, its creation of a digital society, and its cultivation of a culture driving public-sector creativity and innovation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57257396306298,"sku":null,"price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781805263012-web.jpg?v=1789135627"},{"product_id":"estonian-lessons-what-the-world-can-learn-from-a-brilliant-baltic-state-by-ross-allen","title":"Estonian Lessons: What the World Can Learn from a Brilliant Baltic State by Ross Allen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eA\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003es an ambassador fluent in the language, Ross Allen reveals how Estonia leads the world in innovation, education, love of nature and security. Discover its culture, resilience, and digital future; a model from which we can all learn\u003c\/em\u003e\" – Charles Clarke, former UK home secretary and education secretary\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn intimate portrait of Estonia and all things Estonian from the UK’s ambassador, as entertaining as it is informative.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNear the top of most international league tables comes a surprising name: Estonia. This small country has many brilliant achievements to its name which can and should inspire the rest of the world: top globally in both environmental performance and human rights; the second-biggest per capita donor to Ukraine, after Denmark; second globally in digital government; home to more tech unicorns per capita than any other state; and boasting the best exam results in Europe. Estonia has the best tax system (seven years in a row!) and the world’s most performed living classical composer. All underpinned by a deep commitment to freedom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRoss Allen, UK Ambassador in Tallinn and a fluent Estonian-speaker, explores how this country has come to excel in so many fields, and what the rest of the world could learn from it. He offers insights from his diplomatic work, but also shares his embrace of local culture, from song festivals to smoke saunas. Having travelled across Estonia’s towns, villages, islands and bogs, his understanding of and enthusiasm for this relatively obscure country shine through.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith elements of travel, history, geography and international politics, this highly enjoyable book will make you see Estonia and the Baltics in a new light.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57265954685306,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781805265757.jpg?v=1789382088"},{"product_id":"vivarium-poems-by-maarja-partna","title":"Vivarium: Poems by Maarja Pärtna","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslated by Jayde Will\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVivarium is a collection about connection and alienation, belonging and place. Pärtna explores the uneasy co-existence of the past and the present, on a national and global scale, and looks ahead to the future with anxiety as well as hope. She reflects on the effects of Soviet rule on Estonian society and the national mindset, and on humanity's treatment of natural habitats. Stories of personal trauma play out against a backdrop of major environmental changes, loss of biodiversity, and global warming. Maarja Pärtna is part of the new generation of young Estonian poets, and this edition has been awarded funding by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57270951117178,"sku":null,"price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/IMG_4575.webp?v=1789482358"},{"product_id":"vargamae-volume-1-of-the-truth-and-justice-pentalogy-by-a-h-tammsaare","title":"Vargamäe - Volume 1 of the Truth and Justice pentalogy by A. H. Tammsaare","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslated by Inna Feldbach and Alan Peter Trei \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWritten during the rise of dictators, Tammsaare's epic captures the evolution of Estonia from Tsarist province to independent state. Volume 1 introduces Andres and Pearu, and their life in an Estonian village in the last quarter of 19th century.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57270953771386,"sku":null,"price":14.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/IMG_4576.webp?v=1789482534"},{"product_id":"the-conspiracy-other-stories-by-jaan-kross","title":"The Conspiracy \u0026 Other Stories by Jaan Kross","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslated by Eric Dickens \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen these stories were written the Estonians were not masters of their own house: the Soviets had been the occupying Power since 1940, apart from the three years 1941-44 when the Nazis were in occupation. Young Estonians, conscripted into the armies of both belligerents, found themselves compelled to fight each other. This is the background of these six stories featuring Peeter Mirk, a young law student who is more often in than out of prison and labour camp during these years - like his creator Jaan Kross. Forever carrying a charge of guilt that he has only contributed to his friends' misfortunes, he describes two thwarted attempts at escape (\"The Wound\", \"Lead Piping\"), his own dilemma when he can save his life only by sacrificing a friend's (\"The Stahl Grammar\"), his hand in a practical joke perpetrated by prisoners on one of their number in Tallinn Central Jail, which goes badly wrong (\"The Conspiracy\"). The last two stories (\" The Ashtray\", \"The Day Eyes Were Opened\") involve train journeys, chance encounters, and the unavoidable necessity of giving Fate a run for its money.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIf the tone is necessarily sombre as Kross recalls the years when Hitler and Stalin determined his countrymen's destiny, a wry humour keeps slipping through at every turn, which will suggest to the reader that Peeter Mirk must be cousin to the Good Soldier Schweik.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57274048643450,"sku":null,"price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/IMG_4593.webp?v=1789555880"},{"product_id":"between-two-sounds-arvo-parts-journey-to-his-musical-language-by-joonas-sildre","title":"Between Two Sounds: Arvo Pärt's Journey to His Musical Language by Joonas Sildre","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslated by Adam Cullen \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBetween Two Sounds\u003c\/i\u003e follows the life of world-famous composer Arvo Pärt from his birth in Estonia in 1935 through 1980, when the Soviets forced him to emigrate because of the nonconformist and religious nature of his music.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on years of research and close collaboration with Arvo Pärt himself, Joonas Sildre paints an atmospheric portrait of a restless artist who does not shy away from confronting state control or his own internal contradictions.   \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArvo Pärt stormed Soviet-occupied Estonia's music scene in the 1960s as a brash young man pushing the limits of avant-garde modernism. Then he fell silent, no longer able to express what he felt through the musical language he had inherited. When he reemerged a decade later, he had found, in that silence between sounds, a new musical language inspired by ancient sacred music, the basis of his distinctive tintinnabuli technique. This graphic novel will appeal not just to fans of Arvo Pärt's music but to anyone who has known the struggle to remain true to oneself whatever the cost. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of NPR Best Books of 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cb\u003eTop Ten List, 2025 American Library Association Best Graphic Novels for Adults\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cb\u003eGold Medal, 2024 PubWest Book Design Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cb\u003eGold Medal, 2025 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cb\u003eGold Medal, 2025 IBPA Book Awards\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardback \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57274408993146,"sku":null,"price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/IMG_4613.webp?v=1789561472"},{"product_id":"gogols-disco-by-paavo-matsin","title":"Gogol's Disco by Paavo Matsin","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslated by Adam Cullen \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a parallel or future Estonia, whose language has been outlawed and its native population deported after the invasion by the Russian Tsardom, Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol is resurrected, Christ-like, bringing phantasmagoric mayhem to the sleepy town of Viljandi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the end of the story, four evangelists will have emerged from the novel's ragtag cast of Russian- speaking beatniks, bohemians, booksellers, blaggers, and Beatles- maniacs to write their subversive Gogol Gospels in the local insane asylum, despite efforts to thwart them on the part of the mysterious Murka, heroine of a criminal underworld ballad and agent of the Tsardom's secret police. By turns exuberant, grotesque, erudite, oneiric, hilarious, mystical, psychedelic, and dystopian, \u003ci\u003eGogol's Disco\u003c\/i\u003e tells the parable of a small nation, whose gigantic neighbor quite literally consigns its literature to the latrine, only for it to rise from the dead in a literarily spectacular apocalypse in the best traditions of Bulgakov and magic realism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57274485277050,"sku":null,"price":14.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/IMG_4615.webp?v=1789563368"},{"product_id":"to-the-cold-land-by-brigitta-davidjants","title":"J.M.K.E.'s To the Cold Land by Brigitta Davidjants","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book explores the album 'Külmale maale' (\u003ci\u003eTo The Cold Land\u003c\/i\u003e, 1989) by J.M.K.E. - the most legendary punk rock band in Estonia - concentrating on the meaning of the album in different sociocultural contexts from its release until today. In 35 years, the album has not lost its relevance: It was selected by 102 music critics as the best Estonian album of all time in 2014 and is listened to by all generations of punks.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe story of J.M.K.E. illustrates the subcultural organization not only in Estonia but in the Soviet Union in general, where pop music and the existence of subculture was more or less censored for 50 years. Broadly, it presents the influential role of pop culture in the transition from a totalitarian society to early capitalism and from subcultural to post-subcultural society.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57274505888122,"sku":null,"price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/IMG_4618.webp?v=1789563822"},{"product_id":"the-secret-of-saint-olafs-church-an-apothecary-melchior-mystery-by-indrek-hargla","title":"The Secret of Saint Olaf's Church: An Apothecary Melchior Mystery by Indrek Hargla","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslated by Adam Cullen \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA gripping and twisty historical murder mystery featuring a chemist turned-sleuth who battles ignorance and superstition-as well as killers-in 15th century Estonia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePerfect for fans of rich historical mysteries in the tradition of \u003ci\u003eThe Name of the Rose\u003c\/i\u003e and C.J. Sansom's Shardlake series.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Apothecary Melchior series plunges the reader into 15th century Tallinn when Estonia stands at the edge of Christendom, the Church's last foothold before the East: a town of foreign merchants and engineers, dominated by the mighty castle of Toompea and the construction of St Olaf's Church, soon to become the tallest building in the world...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eApothecary Melchior is a divisive figure in the city: respected for his arcane knowledge and scientific curiosity but also feared for his aura of mystical power. When a mysterious murder occurs in the castle, Melchior is called in to help find the killer and reveals a talent for solving crime. But a serial killer is loose in Tallinn, and Melchior is tested to the limit in a plot with as many twists and turns as the corridors of the castle itself. Melchior uncovers a mystery surrounding St Olaf's church and a secret society that has been controlling the town for years, revealing truths that may spell danger for any who dare to speak them aloud...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis 1st book in a series of historical mysteries sees the chemist-turned-sleuth Melchior battle ignorance and superstition-as well as a dangerous killer-in a richly atmospheric medieval setting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57278111121786,"sku":null,"price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/IMG_4651.webp?v=1789644353"},{"product_id":"the-beauty-of-history-by-viivi-luik","title":"The Beauty of History by Viivi Luik","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1968. Riga. News of the Prague Spring washes across Europe, causing ripples on either side of the Iron Curtain. A young Estonian woman has agreed to pose as a model for a famous sculptor, who is trying to evade military service and escape to the West. Although the model has only a vague awareness of politics – her interest in life is primarily poetic – the consequences of the politics of both past and present repeatedly make themselves felt. Chance remarks overheard prompt memories of people and places, language itself becomes fluid, by turns deceptive and reassuring.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ccite\u003eThe Beauty of History\u003c\/cite\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a novel of poetic intensity, of fleeting moods and captured moments. It is powerfully evocative of life within the Baltic States during the Soviet occupation, and of the challenge to artists to express their individuality whilst maintaining at least an outward show of loyalty to the dominant ideology. Written on the cusp of independence, as Estonia and Latvia sought to regain their sovereignty in 1991, this is a novel that can be seen as an historic document – wistful, unsettling, and beautiful, by one of Estonia’s most highly-acclaimed and well-known writers. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTranslated by \u003cstrong\u003eHildi Hawkins\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57294047641978,"sku":null,"price":13.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/Beauty_of_History.webp?v=1790086470"},{"product_id":"pobeda-1946-a-car-called-victory-by-ilmar-taska","title":"Pobeda 1946: A Car Called Victory by Ilmar Taska","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn Tallinn in 1946 a young boy is transfixed by the beauty of a luxurious cream-coloured car gliding down the street. It is a Russian Pobeda, a car called Victory. The sympathetic driver invites the boy for a ride and enquires about his family. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSoon the boy's father disappears. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIlmar Taska's debut novel captures the distrust and fear among Estonians living under Soviet occupation after World War II. The reader is transported to a world seen through the eyes of a young boy, where it is difficult to know who is right and who is wrong, be they occupiers or occupied. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eResistance fighters, exiles, informants and torturers all nd themselves living in Stalin's long shadow. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIlmar Taska is best known in his native Estonia as a film director and producer. \u003cem\u003ePobeda 1946: A Car Called Victory\u003c\/em\u003e is his first full novel, and is based on a prize-winning short story from 2014.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTranslated by \u003cstrong\u003eChristopher Moseley\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57294052721018,"sku":null,"price":13.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781909408425.jpg?v=1790086617"},{"product_id":"the-forest-brotherhood-baltic-resistance-against-the-nazis-and-soviets-by-dan-kaszeta","title":"The Forest Brotherhood: Baltic Resistance against the Nazis and Soviets by Dan Kaszeta","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e‘A well-judged and well-written history of the often-overlooked but vitally important story about the part of modern Europe caught between totalitarian communist Russia and totalitarian Nazi Germany. Kaszeta brilliantly sets out the facts and their contemporary significance.’ — The Rt Hon Charles Clarke, former MP and editor of \u003cem\u003eUnderstanding the Baltic States\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe untold tale of heroic battles for freedom in the Baltic states, during and after World War II.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA common view is that the Second World War in Europe ended in May 1945. But fighting continued for over a decade in the Baltic states. Stuck between two totalitarian regimes–Stalin’s USSR and Hitler’s Reich–the populations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had been subjected to a brutal Soviet occupation in 1940, Nazi invasion in 1941, and Soviet re-occupation in 1944, falsely branded as ‘liberation’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVariously labelled ‘freedom fighters’ or ‘Nazi bandits’ by historians, the Baltic partisans who would become known as the Forest Brothers fought a long campaign against occupation that eventually failed under the might of the USSR. Much of this history of armed resistance, which was also a front in the intelligence war between East and West, is little known outside the region. Treachery, betrayal, heroism and lost futures all play a role in this fascinating tale, as Dan Kaszeta explores themes of independence, nationalism, Baltic identity, the fluidity of boundaries in Eastern Europe, and the comparative weight of Nazi and Soviet oppression.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on extensive archival material rarely seen outside the Baltic states,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Forest Brotherhood\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eunpacks the forgotten story of this resistance movement, and reveals its continuing impact on today’s world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57294274298234,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781787389397.jpg?v=1790089514"},{"product_id":"the-cavemen-chronicle-by-mihkel-mutt","title":"The Cavemen Chronicle by Mihkel Mutt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe bunker-like café in Tallinn known as “The Cave” is the epicenter of bohemian culture in Soviet-era Estonia. The café’s regulars, the “Cavemen,” escape the dreary reality above ground with vodka and high-minded discussion in their private hideaway. Told from the perspective of a gossip columnist, the novel traces the lives of several of these misfits as they attempt to pursue careers as artists, writers, and politicians in pre- and post-perestroika Estonia.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe country’s march towards independence and democracy sets off a series of individual dramas that offer the reader a refreshing alternative to the grand narratives of world history. Written with great verve and humor, Mihkel Mutt’s novel provides an illuminating look at life on the fringes of occupied Estonian society.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57294323417466,"sku":null,"price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/9781564787088.jpg?v=1790090742"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.pushkinhouse.org\/collections\/estonia.oembed?page=2","provider":"Pushkin House Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}