#viljandi

[herukapadmajungiansworld]

Decolonisation is beautiful.

Here’s just one example from one small corner of one small Estonian town, Viljandi.

Picture 1: An ugly communist party building and car park, built by the soviet occupiers on top of a memorial they demolished for local people who died fighting for independence.

Pictures 2 & 3: The memorial, lovingly recreated down to every last detail, is back at the heart of a public square.

There are some commentators abroad who like to lecture russia’s neighbours not to “erase history” by removing the scars of occupation.

It’s weird because this kind of thing is normal everywhere else in the world. In fact, the very same people who get particularly upset about occupation monuments being removed here also tend to be very articulate about the importance of removing statues to ousted oppressors elsewhere. They just think russian imperialism gets a free pass.

Newsflash: It doesn’t.

Rather than erase history, plenty of occupation junk across the Baltic countries has been transferred to museums so that future generations can learn about it in its proper context. But it doesn’t belong in our public spaces. Local people here hated that brutal communist party building, which desecrated the memorial in a way so symbolic of the wider ugliness of russian imperialism.

Public spaces belong to the people who actually live here and should reflect the kind of free, modern, open, independent countries that we are - and which remember those who made it possible.

The other bad take on this issue is to constantly frame this kind of thing as a ‘reaction/response/message to russia’. That, again, is imperialist thinking. We make decisions for our countries based on what we want our countries to be. We’d want to remove this kind of junk even if russia had ceased to exist in 1991 or if it had flourished into a friendly democracy.

In fact, here in Viljandi, it took three decades of planning and sculpting to recreate the monument based off grainy photos of the original. The building was finally knocked down a couple of years ago and the memorial unveiled this midsummer.

In the interim, the building was expanded after the occupation to serve as Tourist Information, which was pretty ironic considering the communist aim was to keep us closed to the world. But that has a new home and the time has come to return the space.

There was quite a debate locally about whether to recreate it exactly or update it with some kind of modern reinterpretation. Both are legitimate, interesting ideas.

In the end, the only difference is that the materials are now of a much higher quality. I think they made the right decision.

And the fact that it was recreated in perfect detail by people who never saw the original but emerged from occupation with the same determination to live free does send its own new message from our time too. We will continue to exist.

Decolonisation can suffer setbacks, horrendously painful as we see in Ukraine, but the long term trend is unstoppable. The special protection that russian imperialism still enjoys in the minds of many around the world is starting to shatter.

I stopped by to take a photo of it for you all and a rainbow appeared. 🙂

[dailystreetsnapshots]

Viljandi, Estonia

[forgottencards]

Rippsild Viljandis / Suspension bridge in Viljandi / Foto: O. Vihandi / «Eesti Raamat» 1977

[witekspicsoldpostcards]

WILJANDI / VILJANDI - ESTONIA / EESTI

[travelew]

[jackiehadel1]

VILJANDI, ESTONIA 🇪🇪 STREET ART: …and life…

VILJANDI, ESTONIA 🇪🇪 STREET ART: …and life…

12nov22

[kinnisvarakool]

Domus Kinnisvara oktoober 2022 ülevaade: Hinnatõus on pidurdunud

Domus Kinnisvara oktoober 2022 ülevaade: Hinnatõus on pidurdunud

Maa-ameti tehingustatistika andmetel sooritati 2022. aasta oktoobris Eestis kokku 3643 kinnisvara ostu-müügitehingut koguväärtusega enam kui 397 miljonit eurot. Tehingute arv vähenes septembriga võrreldes 8%, eelmise aasta oktoobriga võrreldes on tehinguid toimunud ca 32% vähem. 2022. aasta oktoobrikuu tehingute maht oli viimase 12 kuu keskmisest ca 18% madalam. Oktoobris müüdi Eestis kokku 1776…

[erliblogi]

3 aastat

Ma vahepeal käin siin ja vaatan oma vanu postitusi.. siis võtan uue postituse akna lahti ja üritan kirjutada.. kuid midagi ei tule. täna sattusin jälle siia oma postitusi lugema ja avastain, et mu viimane postitus oli täpselt 1 aasta tagasi. oi

see sügis on eriline erinevate tähtpäevade poolest.. ühe just nimetasin :D pole 1 aasta siia midagi kirjutanud- vahepeal on nii palju juhtunud.

3 a tagasi ma otsustasin Tallinnas asjad kokku tõmmata, tulin üksi koos oma Corneliusega Viljandisse elama nii, et ma ei teadnud siin mitte kedagi. Kõik oli uus - varem olin Viljandis ainult 2 korda käinud. Praegu tagasi mõeldes üllatun üha enam, et kus see julgus mul tuli. kust see mõte tuli. kust see kõik tuli. Minu jaoks oli see tõepoolest tabula rasa - uus leht elus. 2 aastat töötasin linnavalitsuses tugiisikuna ja nüüd selle aasta septembris sai juba 1 aasta kriminaalhooldusametnikuna töötatud. Uskumatu, kuhu aeg lendab. Hiljuti pärjati mind parima uue riigiametniku nominatsiooniga. Võit läks kellelegi teisele, kuid minu jaoks on nominatsioon ka juba suur võit. Juba see, et mind märgati. Algus kriminaalhoolduses oli päris väljakutsete rohke - olin ju ainult 2 nädalat tööl olnud, kui vanemad olijad jäid äkitselt haiguslehele ja mina koos teise uuega siis proovisime uppuval laeval ellu jääda. Ausalt, see oli päris keeruline. Arvestades kõike seda, et kriminaalhooldusest oli mul alustades 0 teadmist, 0 kogemust ning 0 ettekujutust sellest tööst. Minu suureks plussiks oli kogemus sotsiaaltöötajana, ei kartnud neid inimesi, kes seal vastuvõttudel käivad. Muust osast ma ei teadnud mitte midagi. Nüüd aga 1 aastaga olen meeletult palju õppinud sellest ametist ja ma arvan ka, et ma olen inimesena kasvanud.

Viljandisse tulles üsna kohe hakkasin ma ka rahvatantsu trennis käima, sellel suvel oli siis esimene Viljandimaa tantsupidu, kus sai osaleda. Mu esimene tantsupidu üldse.

Vahepeal tekkis segane olukord mu elus - esile kerkis küsimus kas minna Tallinnasse tagasi - ma vahepeal hirmsasti tahtsin sinna, aga nüüdseks olen aru saanud, et see oli ilmselt lihtsalt mingi mälestus või igatsus. Reaalsuses tunnen, et Viljandi on minu linn, leiaks nüüd siin ühe toreda inimese ka, kellega elu siin nautida.

magistritööga endiselt tegelen, püüan selle tuleval talvel ära kaitsta.

endiselt tegelen käsitööga - viin ikka ehteid Svetasse müüki. hiljuti käisin neid vaatamas. mul hea meel, et ma saan neid endiselt sinna viia, inimestele pakub huvi. Kahjuks töökoormuse ja magistritööga seonduvalt ei ole väga palju uut midagi tulnud.

olen tänulik selle üle, mis mu elus on

aitäh

[tiilfoto]

viljandi>elva.

[newestmusic]

(Öine Koer)

[ristokask]

Auhinnaline külm kosutus. #jaanipäev #viljandi #ristokask #viljandijärvejooks (at Viljandi Järve Rand) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfQ9yXOo-Cr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[letgomypartypiece]

at a folk festival rn and the dj put chachacha on ive never screamed like this my voice is GONE

[thinkingimages]

Hilja Riet. Sketch for a postcard. 1930s. From the collection of the Museum of Viljandi. Publicity photo

Exhibition “Silver Girls. Retouched History of Photography”10.06.2020 From 12 June the exhibition “Silver Girls. Retouched History of Photography” can be visited in the Tartu Art Museum. The exhibition introduces a selection of works by ten early women photographers from Estonia and Latvia and places them in the company of three contemporary European artists who contemplate the lost and the neglected in our visual history.

[hildegardladyofbones]

Damn i didn't know concerts could be so loud, my noise cancelling headphones were shaking.

The band is Le Diable a Cinq ("the five devils" in English i think??? Don't quote me on that)

[random-brushstrokes]

Konrad Mägi - On the Road from Viljandi to Tartu (1915-16)

[cyberneurotism]

Uno Pohrt & his hydrocopter

viljandi, estonia 1912