“The Land of Fencing,” said another congratulatory headline. It was a great night for Estonia. Interestingly enough, neither of the champions, Nikolai Novosjolov and Julia Beljajeva, has a particularly Estonian-sounding name (granted they are transliterated in Estonian and not English fashion). Indeed, some of Estonia’s top athletes have Russian names. Vassiljev in football, Glebova in figure skating. And not just athletes. The list of household names expands to culture, business and politics. Sometimes the Estonian word for Russian (venelane) might as well be a swear word, but when it brings Estonians a claim to fame - this most often occurs in sports - countrymen are quick to parade the heroes as their own.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 07:47:48 +0000