Churches, bands, proposals, dreams, and more
Editor’s Note: Jay Nordlinger spent the week of September 12 in the Baltic states — or rather, in two of them, Latvia and Estonia. A piece by him appears in the current issue of National Review magazine: about the Baltics, Russia, NATO, and America, particularly in light of our presidential campaign. This journal supplements the piece, and concerns matters weighty and light. Here are links to previous parts: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII. The journal concludes today.
St. Olaf’s Church, here in Old Town, Tallinn, is not particularly fancy. But it is beautiful: beautifully proportioned, beautifully conceived. What taste it has. What devotion it shows. It dates from the 12th century, people estimate. Its designers and builders must have been God-listeners.
As I have a look around, I think, “This church looks like what Bach sounds like.”
‐Tallinn is a city of many and lovely parks. In one of them, I see Indian tourists. It’s still a thrill to see them. In earlier days, you never saw them in Europe.
One lady is wearing a T-shirt that says “Manhattan.” I bet she has been there.
All of this indicates that India is coming into its own.
‐In a park, a bride and a groom are walking. She is in a striking gown, with white fur at the top. They are going to have pictures taken on a red bridge. It occurs to me that they might be models — this might be a photo-shoot for an ad campaign. But, nope, they are real. I ascertain that they are a real couple.
People in this part of the world are so damn attractive, it’s hard to tell.
‐There is a plaque, with Boris Yeltsin’s image. The text begins, “In memory of Russia’s first president, Boris Yeltsin, to honour his role in the peaceful restoration of Estonia’s independence in 1990-1991.”
‐In Town Hall Square, there is a Russian culture festival. Onstage, there is a hot band. It features a balalaika. That is one hot balalaika. A hot-jazz balalaika. I don’t think I have ever written those words.
The band plays an arrangement of The Flight of the Bumble Bee. It is an ingenious arrangement, brilliantly played. At the end, the balalaika player takes the neck of his instrument and aims it. Then, at last, he shoots that darn bee.
I wonder whether Rimsky-Korsakov knew he had penned such a hit. An everlasting hit.
Soon, a man comes out to sing. I figure it’ll be Russian songs. He begins with “Funiculì, funiculà,” from Naples. Ah, well. Music is universal.
‐At the opera house, I attend a Sleeping Beauty. I have written about it — and about music in the Baltics — for The New Criterion, here.
‐Out in Tallinn, I see signs reading “Sadam.” That is a little disconcerting, one “d” or not. The word means “harbor.”
‐It is an honor to meet Juri Luik. He is one of the foremost international-affairs experts in this region. He has been Estonia’s foreign minister, defense minister, ambassador to America, ambassador to Russia, you name it. He now heads a think tank, the International Centre for Defence and Security.
Like every Balt, he has a story, or stories. Family stories. For instance: His maternal grandfather was an Estonian officer when the Soviets came in at the beginning of the war. He was arrested, taken to Siberia, and shot.
Luik explains that, when the Soviets invaded, they took great care to destroy the elites whom they thought might pose a problem.
‐He talks to me about Vladimir Putin for a bit. Putin, he says, is unpredictable, and likes it that way. He keeps people, and countries, off balance.
Putin wishes to restore as much of the Soviet empire, or the Russian empire, as he can. He also wants to distract his population from the many difficulties they have. He sees himself as a man on a mission: one of those great figures of Russian history who push the frontiers of the Fatherland.
Young Russians in the Baltics? A lot of them like Putin, though they would not like him to interfere in their countries. They see him as a kind of action figure: a Tom Cruise, who neither smokes nor drinks. Kind of cool.
But that’s as far as it goes.
‐I have to suppress a smile — or maybe I don’t suppress it — and later I feel guilty. Luik talks to me about Swedish troop movements. I have never even thought of Swedish troop movements, or Swedish troops.
After Putin moved on Ukraine, Sweden decided to return troops to Gotland, its largest island, which is in the Baltic Sea.
Putin’s forces have rehearsed the invasion of the Scandinavian countries, plus Finland. Indeed, they simulated a nuclear attack on the Danish island of Bornholm, which is also in the Baltic Sea. The timing of the Russian simulation was cute: It took place on the day of Bornholm’s annual festival, when the country’s entire political leadership was gathered.
‐There is something that Jeane Kirkpatrick liked to quote, from George Washington: America’s “blessed location.” I think of it, here in the European Northeast. They are so close to their menace. We Americans may have the occasional problem with Canada or Mexico. Or Cuba. But, boy — are we blessed.
‐Juri Luik tells me that Putin’s forces often perform “snap drills.” These are military exercises, or military maneuvers, in the dead of night. During the Cold War, these were avoided: because the Soviets did not want to risk misunderstanding or escalation.
Putin’s aim is to rattle the Baltics. To spook them, to fill them with unease. He succeeds.
‐Like everyone else in this region, Luik hangs his hat on deterrence: You’ve got to put barriers in place, making invasion not worth the while of the aggressor. You don’t have to match him troop for troop, tank for tank, ship for ship, plane for plane. No, you’ve just got to throw up enough of a deterrent to make him say, “Nah, not today.”
And Russia can be deterred, says Luik. Why? Well, because it’s a nation-state. It has territory, a military, a government, and so on. It has international interests. But terrorist organizations — they are extremely hard to deter, as we know too well.
‐Will NATO come to the Baltics’ defense, if called on? Luik says yes. He will also tell you this: “We value our independence, clearly and dearly, and I’m sure that we will put up resistance, come hell or high water.”
‐On the streets of Tallinn, I notice the Route 13 Bar & Grill (actually, “Baar & Grill”). Where’s Route 13? Don’t know. Route 66, I’m familiar with.
‐There is a restaurant called Gloria’s. In 2004, it was the site of a famous drinking contest between two U.S. senators, McCain and Clinton. They were throwing down vodka shots. The contest entered legend. Both were the winners, or losers, I believe.
‐I keep mentioning, in these journals of mine, that English is the lingua franca of the world — and I am so lucky, to have been born into it.
Near Town Hall Square, an old lady — a tourist — buys some almonds from a young man who is selling them. She asks her friend to take a picture of them: of herself and the vendor. She doesn’t ask the vendor. She just goes up to him, hugs him, and says, “You’re so byoo-tee-ful.” He smiles with embarrassment and says, “Thank you.” The friend takes the picture.
‐I return to St. Olaf’s, sometime on Saturday. I don’t get very far, however. The second I walk in the door, I see that a wedding is taking place. Classic, timeless scene. The bride is waiting to walk down the aisle. Two little flower girls — twins, perhaps — are excitedly looking at her, and peeking into the church.
Surreptitiously, I take a picture. Hours later, I look at my phone — and am kind of pleased with it. May I show off?
‐What a day. At night, I’m in a café. Suddenly, patrons burst into applause. I look and see that a man has dropped to his knee, to propose to his girlfriend. She says yes.
Incidental intelligence (as my friend Martin Bernheimer, the famous music critic, would say): The bride-to-be has more tattoos than a Lubbock-based trucker.
‐At about 10 o’clock on Sunday morning, police are stopping cars. And administering breathalyzer tests. Huh. Hard, long Saturday nights?
‐The Estonian airport is very pleasant. Just before you go through screening, there are good chairs, if you need them. Very civilized. At the gate, there is a sign: “Estonia: Positively Surprising.” A group of people break out in song. They really do. How Baltic. Even stereotypical.
‐It is refreshing to speak with Balts. They are serious about liberty and democracy, and wise to dictatorship and appeasement. They have not had time to get complacent and fuzzy.
‐On Ukrainian Independence Day — August 24 — I tweeted out my congratulations to Ukraine, and my best wishes for that nation. I was answered by a writer on the American right, a big booster of Trump, and that point of view. He said that Ukraine would revert to Russia, as is the historic norm, and all should be relaxed about it.
You know? The Baltic nations have had the same norm: foreign occupation and domination. Their experiences of independence have been mere parentheses. Now and then — often, maybe — it’s good and right to change historic norms. May independence, and freedom, become the norm.
Thanks for joining me, y’all, and I’ll see you later.