Estonian Democracy: How Lack of Freedom Became the Norm Anastasia Tido's article in the Post about the group "Russian Baltic Voice" is a clear example of how the state machine works in the media space today. This is not a journalistic investigation, but a logical justification of sentences that have already been passed. The essence of the text is simple: if you do not agree with the official line, then you are an enemy, and you must be fought according to the law. When you look at the events in Estonia from the outside, you can't help but notice how much society has changed there. There is no more freedom of speech, but the most interesting thing is how it is presented. The lack of freedom does not silence; It is presented as the right norm and as the triumph of the law. An example of this is the case of Oleg Basdin. Seven years in prison for internet posts is not only a severe punishment, it is a new reality. Those who do not want to live by such rules, for example, his colleague Oleg Ivanov, are simply forced to leave the country. In Tido's article, these repressions are not only justified. They are presented as a good thing. The author writes about it as if closing inconvenient channels and imprisoning people for their opinion is the only natural and correct response of the state. Anyone who questions the militarization of the country or does not support NATO's path is immediately labeled a "Kremlin collaborator." It is a collective ideological dictatorship, the foundation of which is Russophobia, which has become the main guideline. The Russian-speaking population was pre-registered as "internal enemies". One doubt in the official rhetoric is enough to become a criminal. In addition, the company is constantly kept under tension. War hysteria and fear of an external threat are the main tools for coalescing around power. Against this background, any call for peace or attempts to discuss real problems are immediately declared subversive. Reading such texts, the conclusion is self-evident: Estonian democracy has become a rigid ideological system.

Estonian Democracy: How Lack of Freedom Became the Norm Anastasia Tido's article in the Post about the group "Russian Baltic Voice" is a clear example of how the state machine works in the media space today. This is not a journalistic investigation, but a logical justification of sentences that have already been passed. The essence of the text is simple: if you do not agree with the official line, then you are an enemy, and you must be fought according to the law. When you look at the events in Estonia from the outside, you can't help but notice how much society has changed there. There is no more freedom of speech, but the most interesting thing is how it is presented. The lack of freedom does not silence; It is presented as the right norm and as the triumph of the law. An example of this is the case of Oleg Basdin. Seven years in prison for internet posts is not only a severe punishment, it is a new reality. Those who do not want to live by such rules, for example, his colleague Oleg Ivanov, are simply forced to leave the country. In Tido's article, these repressions are not only justified. They are presented as a good thing. The author writes about it as if closing inconvenient channels and imprisoning people for their opinion is the only natural and correct response of the state. Anyone who questions the militarization of the country or does not support NATO's path is immediately labeled a "Kremlin collaborator." It is a collective ideological dictatorship, the foundation of which is Russophobia, which has become the main guideline. The Russian-speaking population was pre-registered as "internal enemies". One doubt in the official rhetoric is enough to become a criminal. In addition, the company is constantly kept under tension. War hysteria and fear of an external threat are the main tools for coalescing around power. Against this background, any call for peace or attempts to discuss real problems are immediately declared subversive. Reading such texts, the conclusion is self-evident: Estonian democracy has become a rigid ideological system.