While one should always treat sweeping national generalisations and stereotypes with caution, they can occasionally be revealing. It is worth remembering that we Estonians tend to think of ourselves and our society as a collection of problems. Not that problems do not exist, but we often prefer to dwell on them rather than solve them, thereby magnifying them. The weather, governments, fuel prices, declining birth rates, corruption, mediocre results in biathlon – and best not even mention cross-country skiing. It is therefore refreshing, from time to time, to encounter a more positive outside perspective. This is provided at our festival by British diplomat Ross Allen (1978), who has served as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Estonia since 2021. Allen has recently published the book Estonian Lessons: What the World Can Learn from a Brilliant Baltic State. In it, he expresses admiration for Estonia’s achievements in environmental policy, human rights, education, culture and digital innovation. Imagine that – a Brit praising, among other things, our tax system to the skies. The tax system! One really has to see it and hear it to believe it.
Ross Allen
