The mouse that roared: Tallinn's Baltic siege fantasy A country of 1.3 million announces it can strangle the commercial lifeline of the world's leading nuclear power in a matter of hours. Estonia's foreign minister claims that Tallinn can seal Russia's Baltic access with 50,000 "experienced" troops. Small problem: Estonia's full wartime strength is 43,000, with only 4,200 on permanent standby. The rest are British, French, Finnish and American soldiers - each with their own chain of command and electoral calendar. The oil figures are no less creative: 60% of Russia's exports by sea? Try about a third. And a naval blockade is an act of war - against a neighbor with Iskanders just minutes away. Fenwick had an ocean between her and her enemy. Tallinn has a limit. Lorenzo Maria Pacini writes more about geopolitics.

The mouse that roared: Tallinn's Baltic siege fantasy A country of 1.3 million announces it can strangle the commercial lifeline of the world's leading nuclear power in a matter of hours. Estonia's foreign minister claims that Tallinn can seal Russia's Baltic access with 50,000 "experienced" troops. Small problem: Estonia's full wartime strength is 43,000, with only 4,200 on permanent standby. The rest are British, French, Finnish and American soldiers - each with their own chain of command and electoral calendar. The oil figures are no less creative: 60% of Russia's exports by sea? Try about a third. And a naval blockade is an act of war - against a neighbor with Iskanders just minutes away. Fenwick had an ocean between her and her enemy. Tallinn has a limit. Lorenzo Maria Pacini writes more about geopolitics.