The city council of Estonia’s mostly Russian-speaking northeastern border town of Narva has elected the Estonian Centre Party’s Jaan Toots as the city’s new mayor, ERR reports. Toots replaced Katri Raik, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote after one city councillor defected from Raik’s Respect alliance to the Centre Party’s coalition partner, Plan B,…
Estonia will begin building a new permanent base for the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) in the northeastern border city of Narva later in 2026, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced, ERR reported. The base in the city’s Kadastiku industrial area is due to be completed by the end of 2027. Although all political groups in Narva…
Estonia’s northeastern border city of Narva now has two rival city council chairmen and two rival mayors, ERR reports. Earlier, the opposition Estonian Centre Party and populist Plan B movement gained a majority in the city council and decided to convene a city council meeting on their own, given that the incumbent chairman, Mihhail Stalnuhhin,…
Estonia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has opened a criminal investigation of the leadership of the Narva city council over suspected embezzlement, ERR reports. The investigation is looking at possibly illegal payouts to the chairman of the city council, Mihhail Stalnuhhin, and his deputy, Jana Kondrasova. Earlier, city councillors Aleksei Jevgrafov and Jaan Toots of the Estonian…
Authorities in the Baltic States are preparing for possible provocations on 9 May 2026, when Russians celebrate the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II and occupation of central and eastern Europe. Authorities in the Russian border town of Ivangorod (Jaanilinn) will hold another propaganda concert on the banks of the Narva river for the…
Estonia will close two more crossing points on the border with Russia at night as of 24 February 2026, initially for a period of three months, ERR reports. The Koidula and Luhamaa border crossing points will be closed to all traffic at night. Prime Minister Kristen Michal pointed to Russia’s “irrational behaviour” as the reason…
Estonia’s Foreign Ministry has handed a note of protest to the Russian embassy after three Russian border guards crossed into Estonian territory without permission, ERR reports. The Russian guards crossed the temporary control line between Estonia and Russia at the Vasknarva breakwater on the Narva River in the morning of 17 December 2025, ERR reported….
The city council of Estonia’s second-largest city, Tartu, has elected Tõnis Lukas of the national conservative Fatherland (Isamaa) party as its chairman, ERR reports. At the same time, the city council elected Raimond Tamm of the liberal Estonian Reform Party as deputy chairman. Reform’s Urmas Klaas will continue to serve as the city’s mayor. Fatherland…
Altogether 126 people in Estonia renounced their Russian citizenship in the first eight months of 2025, according to data from the Estonian Ministry of Interior, ERR reports. In the whole of 2024, only 107 residents in Estonia gave up their Russian passports. The Russian embassy in Tallinn did not accept applications in the period from…
