The commander of the Estonian Defense Forces, Major General Martin Herem, called for an increase in the country's military spending in order to resist the "attack of Russia" for a long time.

“The eastern neighbor has shown that under favorable conditions he is ready to use military force to achieve his goals, for example in Georgia and Ukraine, and it is clear that Russia's armament is disproportionately large.

Therefore, Estonia should increase its defense spending to 6.5% of GDP, ”said Herem in the Uudis + broadcast on Vikerraadio.

He stressed that in order to repel a possible attack, the Estonian military will need long-range artillery, a medium-range air defense system, a defensive navy, as well as an additional six brigades to the ground defense forces.

Herem's statement came after the speaker of the Estonian parliament, Henn Põlluaas, announced on January 1 about territorial claims against Russia.

According to him, the Tartu Peace Treaty, according to which "the border was agreed" between the states, is allegedly still in force under international law.

According to this agreement, a part of the Pskov province (now the Pechora district of the Pskov region), the territory on the right bank of the Narva (now part of the Leningrad region) was transferred to the Estonian side.

In 1944, these lands were returned to the RSFSR.

The Governor of the Leningrad Region Alexander Drozdenko responded to this statement, advising Estonian politicians not to include historical memory selectively.

In particular, he recalled the centuries-old history of finding the Chud land as part of Russia and the Russian Empire.

In addition, in mid-December, Estonian Defense Minister Juri Luik announced during a meeting with his British counterpart about the danger allegedly emanating from the Russian Federation.

“Great Britain is one of Estonia's most important allies, with her we have a completely similar understanding of the threats to European security from Russia, and this was confirmed by today's meeting, as well as by more than 800 British soldiers who are in Estonia all year round.

We are very grateful to the British for the undertaken obligations, ”he said.

Not only in Estonia

Similar anti-Russian statements are often made by the authorities of other Baltic countries.

So, in February last year, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, during a speech at the Munich Security Conference, said that the forces of the North Atlantic Alliance, and in particular the United States, deployed in the country, make it possible to effectively contain the "Russian threat".

In December 2020, the State Security Service of Latvia stated that the Russian special services allegedly remain a significant threat to the republic.

At the same time, the department argued that the pandemic of coronavirus infection and the restrictions imposed because of it influenced the activity of the Russian special services and "their ways of carrying out actions against Latvia."

  • NATO symbols

  • Reuters

  • © Yves Herman

Moscow, in turn, has repeatedly emphasized the absurdity of statements about Russia's aggressive intentions towards the Baltic countries.

As Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted, the alliance is well aware that Moscow has no plans to attack anyone, however, they use statements about the "Russian threat" to deploy more equipment and battalions near the borders of the Russian Federation.

"Create nervousness"

Nikolai Mezhevich, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that the statements of the Baltic military leaders, including the commander of the Estonian Defense Forces about the need to raise defense spending because of the notorious "Russian threat", are only perplexing.

“The senior person in charge of the military must think about the economic and political aspects of their statements, not just the military.

An increase in defense spending to 6.5% will simply kill Estonia, ruin it, ”Mezhevich said in a conversation with RT.

The editor-in-chief of the Rubaltic.ru portal has a similar opinion.

Sergey Rekeda.

According to him, Estonia "can bring its military budget to at least 50% of the country's GDP, but in this case, the question arises of what will remain of this Baltic state."

“The calls for a serious increase in the budget look strange against the background of the fact that now Estonia needs investments, primarily in the social sphere and in health care due to the pandemic,” the analyst says.

As for the thesis of the Estonian military leader about an "attack" from Russia, Moscow is no stranger to such statements, Mezhevich said.

“The military-political class of the Baltic republics and Estonia in particular demonstrates just bestial emotions in relation to its eastern neighbor.

Their activity intensified especially against the background of the US elections.

The smaller the country, the louder the cry about danger supposedly coming from the Russian Federation should be.

If the Baltic politicians or the military say that Russia is aggressive, then he will be understood and, possibly, rewarded.

This is beneficial, and if so, the military-political circles will continue to come out with anti-Russian slogans, ”the analyst explained.

In turn, Sergei Rekeda noted that anti-Russian rhetoric in Estonia has been gaining momentum for decades.

“Estonian officials and the military take turns expressing stale ideas that the 'threat' from Russia has not gone away.

Although in reality this country, as well as other Baltic states, was not threatened in Russia, ”says Rekeda.

From his point of view, "speeches with anti-Russian statements are the basic foundation of the statehood of the Baltic republics."

“This is their main foreign policy function, and the domestic political situation is also determined by this.

Each of the three Baltic countries is a kind of buffer between Russia and Europe.

They always speak out before and louder than anyone else for sanctions, for strengthening the military component on their territory, despite the fact that this undermines them and so, to put it mildly, a weak security system, ”the analyst says.

  • Estonian military

  • Reuters

  • © Ints Kalnins

At the same time, Mezhevich explained that the task of the military in the Baltic countries is "to create tension on the Russian borders."

“It is clear that battalions on the territory of Estonia near the Russian border will not by themselves go to Perm or Kazan, no one in NATO assumes this.

Here the task is set - to create some nervousness, to cause retaliatory measures on the part of Russia, ”the expert explained.