Who’s next? Eyes on the Baltics

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, eyes have also been turned towards the Baltic states. Will Putin risk invading Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania? We speak with Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the former president of Estonia, who, during his presidency (2006-2016), faced increasing Russian cyberattacks and efforts to destabilize the region.

Twenty-four years after the fall of the Soviet Union and the restoration of independence, the Baltic states have become frontline nations between Russia and the West. How do Russia’s neighbors, who have endured years of Russian oppression, view Europe’s security challenges now that Russia is increasingly testing the borders of Nato-territory?

Losing democracy happens in much the same way as a character goes bankrupt in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises: “gradually, and then suddenly

Toomas Hendrik Ilves, in The Economist
About the speaker

Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia from 2006 to 2016, has been a key figure in shaping Estonia’s post-Soviet transformation and its role in Europe. Born in Sweden to Estonian refugee parents who fled Soviet occupation and mass deportation to Siberia, Ilves was deeply influenced by their experience of displacement. Before becoming president, he served as Estonia’s Ambassador to the United States and played a pivotal role in Estonia’s accession to the European Union and NATO in 2004. Durign his presidency he focused on Estonia’s digital innovation and cybersecurity and European integration.