The Ottawa Estonian Society celebrated Independence Day on Sunday February 28, 2010 at the Latvian church with “pot luck" late afternoon lunch. Attendance was down a bit this year because of the ongoing hockey match between Canada and the United States but still about 30 people showed up.

There were no long winded aktus-style patriotic speeches nor was there a man of the cloth present to say grace. Nobody seemed disappointed by this and all enjoyed themselves in the friendly relaxed atmosphere.

After the singing of the Estonian national anthem everyone settled down at their table with a plate full of very tasty food to watch a movie named Eestlased Kremlis: NSV Liidu lagunemise lugu (Estonians in the Kremlin; a tale about the collapse of the Soviet Union). This 2006 film was interesting in that it gave background information about the role the Baltic States and in particular the role that Estonian former high level "comrades" played in the collapse of what was aptly termed the evil empire. What was particularly interesting was that several of these people such as Rüütel ( both a one-time president of independent Estonia and former Secretary General of Soviet Estonia), Savisaar (currently mayor of Tallinn) and Lauristin (prominent academic) to name just a few seemed to carry on without missing a step. This obviously demonstrates what a tolerant, open-minded society present day Estonia is.

Many thanks to the organizers.

Märkmed: