Bad Baltic Takes
@BadBalticTakes
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The worst account on Twitter according to various tankies, vatniks, & “realists” who can’t get over that the Baltics freely exist. Run by volunteers for Help99.
Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania
Joined June 2022
Just negotiate with russia to end the war, they said. In the 1990s, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria made multiple ‘peace’ deals with russia. Each time, russia used the lull to prepare its next more devastating military offensive, while still waging war though other means to
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The perfect Prime Minister doesn’t ex…. Actually, here’s Estonian PM @kajakallas learning to use a javelin today.
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Can you imagine if Eastern Europeans talked about the rest of the world using the same clichés, tropes, stereotypes, & propaganda commonly used about them?. 🧵….
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Estonia has decided. A clear win for PM @kajakallas & staunchly pro-Ukraine policies. Remember last year, Kremlin accounts spread a false story that she’d resign from a backlash to her support for Ukraine?. Well, she just received more votes than anyone in Estonian history.
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Shit. Didn’t think of that. We all better cancel our Siberian holidays. 😢
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The Koran burning protest that infuriated Turkey and derailed Sweden’s NATO application was organised by Russia. Here’s how… 🧵.
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The first competition between a Ukrainian athlete and a “neutral” russian athlete since the start of the full scale war went exactly as you’d imagine. Ukraine’s Olha Kharlan defeated “neutral” Anna Smirnova in fencing. Despite Kharlan clarifying before the match that she
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Dear western journalists. No. Russia does not “remember World War II” on 9 May. It doesn’t remember signing the Nazi-Soviet Pact that started the war. It doesn’t remember its invasions and illegal annexations of sovereign European countries in agreement with the Nazis. It
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Russian TV has spent years trying to ignore @Kasparov63 and pretend he has no significance. Today, they cracked. They flew into a rage, publicly calling for his assassination - like the gangster, terrorist state that they are. What got them so worried?. Kasparov has been
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The Killers performed in Georgia last night and attempted to teach the crowd that “Georgians and Russians are brothers and sisters”. It went down about as well as you’d imagine. Look, I know we all live in our own bubbles, but if you still don’t know that the concept of russian
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Mass deportations are something that much of the world just doesn’t get. The soviets used mass deportations in an attempt to eradicate entire nations who were dispersed across remote parts of the empire to provide hard labour. Here in the Baltic countries, their mass
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Just in case you needed any more proof that Lithuania is absolutely based. This is one of the buses specifically for visitors to the NATO summit. #GoodBalticTakes
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Latvia, 1992. After half a century of brutal occupation, Latvia annulled the nazi-soviet pact and ordered its occupiers out. Yet these were russia’s “elite” occupier units still prowling Latvia’s streets. They were drunk and aggressive, abusing ordinary people, and expecting
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BUSTED!. Hubert Seipel, a top German journalist regarded as a key “russia expert”, has long promoted suspiciously pro-russian talking points (including plenty of bad Baltic takes). Leaked documents just revealed by the Guardian shows he received €600K in undisclosed payments
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Why did the NYT publish such a bizarre article, which normalised a mass murdering russian terrorist and invasion commander as a mere “critic of Putin’s war effort”?. Meet its author, NYT reporter Ivan Nechepurenko, a russian national who still lives in russia. Ivan denies russia
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This “russia expert” has been wrong about EVERYTHING in this war. Anatol Lieven said before russia’s full scale invasion that russia wouldn’t invade because “there clearly is a desire in Moscow to pursue a diplomatic path”. He said the world had no options anyway beyond cutting
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Russian border guards demanded the removal of this poster in Narva, Estonia which faces the spot where a concert will be held across the river in Ivangorod, Russia tonight. The Estonian police explained that the poster doesn’t break any Estonian laws. 👍
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Meet Alina Vorontšihhina, a school teacher from Narva, Estonia. When Russia staged its propaganda concert across the river, Alina wore her ‘Putin is a d***head’ t-shirt. After some parents complained (on the basis of ‘bad language’), the principal asked her to resign. But then
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Worth a reminder of this tweet now that we know @benandjerrys is literally a sponsor of russia’s war as part of @Unilever. As the troops it sponsors were poised for genocide, Ben & Jerry’s tried to claim that abandoning democratic allies to mass murder was a progressive cause.
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A new report says Estonia gave Ukraine advanced warning of russia’s airborne assault on Hostomel airport last year. The intelligence helped Ukraine reposition its defences in time and thwart russia’s ‘elite’ troops in the pivotal battle to prevent the fall of Kyiv. Estonian.
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Are you a tankie who needs to justify that awkward Nazi-Soviet alliance that started WW2?. Don’t worry. We put together this helpful guide based on the best bad takes we’ve seen. 🧵.
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Today we remember the March deportations. On 25 March 1949, the Soviet Union resumed its mass deportations in the Baltic states, mostly targeting women & children. Even babies, pregnant women, and separated children were snatched in the night, packed into cattle wagons, and
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Nothing scares russian patriots more than the risk of losing their western lifestyles and western possessions, all enabled by the democratic freedoms that they preach hatred against. In Tallinn, the Estonian police stopped a group of provocateurs displaying ‘I am russian’ on
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This meme actually unfolding on Twitter right now over that NYT article on Girkin. For anyone still confused about why it was bad, let me try and break it down. A standard principle of news journalism is to prioritise key details most relevant to the story. (The opposite is
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OMG. Seymour Hersh’s handler really messed up. The “anonymous US official” supposed to be briefing Hersh used a russian expression (мальчик в трусиках) that English speakers don’t use. 😂
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Latvia did this meme today for real - and I am absolutely all for it. We should all be more like Latvia.
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While the international media keeps talking about Russians in the Baltics as a monolithic group with a single worldview dictated by the Kremlin, we’d like to introduce you to German Barinov - a Russian speaker who is now the first Estonian to be awarded for bravery by Ukraine. 🧵
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Exactly 32 years ago, the world was watching the ‘Moscow coup attempt’ unfold. It’s a story usually told from the russian perspective: Soviet hardliners wanted to seize power & reverse Gorbachev’s reforms, but were defeated by Yeltsin & his supporters. But events were also
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“I just want to avoid nuclear war”. …say the people who want to reward a nuclear-blackmailing genocidal dictator with more territories and signal to him that further atrocities he commits would go unpunished. That’s not how you avoid nuclear war. That’s how you encourage it.
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My favourite thing on Twitter (genuinely) is people discovering the Baltic Way. No mobiles, no social media, limited freedoms. Yet, on 23 August 1989, 2 million formed a nearly 700km chain across 3 countries demanding freedom. However, the key context is often missed… 🧵
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One important lesson from yesterday is that all supporters of Russia are VERY flexible with their beliefs. - Both sides insisted the other was an extreme threat to the very existence of russia yet very few people actually picked a side, preferring to just wait and see whoever.
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I don’t remember EU tanks crushing Londoners. Turns out you can leave whenever you want.
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Many of us have shared this wonderful image without knowing who to credit. Well, it’s Ukrainian illustrator @kudriaken. Let’s all give her a follow! ❤️
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“As you can see, Ireland is mostly pro-London. The white areas are where the English [speakers] live and where there wouldn’t be resistance to an English invasion.”. #parody
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The Estonian police have begun criminal proceedings against a Russian man living in Estonia who called for the Russian occupation of Estonia - less than a day after he posted his rant to TikTok.
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Yes, this is real and you can probably guess which 3 EU countries minted their coins with messages of support for Ukraine. This is an Estonian €2 coin, designed by Daria Titova from Kharkiv who arrived in Tallinn as a refugee.
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UEFA has just fined Lithuania’s football federation because fans chanted “putin - khuilo” at a recent game. Here’s the thing though, @UEFA. Putin is a khuilo. Earth is round. 2+2=4. And putin is definitely a khuilo. (Imagine the most insulting word in your language. It’s worse.
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🔥 @Kasparov63 at the NATO Public Forum today demonstrating exactly how to respond when your country is committing imperial genocide:. “The liberation of Russia from Putin’s fascism will not start until the Ukrainian flag is raised over Sevastopol. Period. Anything else is.
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“I am once again begging russia’s neighbours to learn about their countries through the russian imperial lens like the rest of the world did.”. Um, no. The soviet union reinvaded its neighbours, declared russia as its principal nation, enforced brutal russification policies,
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“Much of the US voted for the pro-Russian party - including Alaska, which is historically Russian anyway (Tsar Alexander II’s mistake). A referendum on unification with Russia held under occupation would solve America’s political issues.”. #parody
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79 years ago today, Tallinn was devastated by Soviet bombs that primarily & deliberately targeted homes & cultural landmarks. Let’s talk about what happened (with then & now pics) …and why it strengthened Estonia’s determination to rebuild its independent nation. 🧵
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Russians are sharing this picture on Telegram. Notice there’s not a single person in the square?. The Baltics are so firmly, untiringly supportive of Ukrainian victory that this vatnik had to set his alarm for like 4am so he could bravely show his message to local pigeons.
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This sounds familiar, @ClareDalyMEP. No serious person thought the Baltic states could free themselves from Moscow’s occupation, we heard. International law couldn’t prevail. We were a lost cause. Yet here we are. We didn’t listen to people like you. Neither will Ukraine.
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Latvia has elected @edgarsrinkevics as President of the Republic. He’s sharp, hugely respected as a long-serving Foreign Minister, always clear on containing russia, and is a staunch supporter of Ukraine “as long as necessary”. (He’s also the world’s first openly-gay President)
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Jeremy Corbyn, the former Iranian state TV presenter, used to always call for “troops out” to end wars & occupations. But when Russia is waging a genocidal war, he switches to calling for a settlement that keeps troops in. 🤔. Let’s talk about Jeremy Corbyn. 🧵…
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Good bye Kalinin!. Estonia is to join Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland in officially dropping the soviet name of Kaliningrad. The semi-exclave and city should instead be known as Königsberg, says the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament led by @markomihkelson. The.
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The short answer: Because we are 3 different countries and we like it that way. 🙂. A bit more context though:. There are roughly 7,000 living languages in the world today. Yet only a very tiny proportion, like the Baltic countries, have their own state to represent their people.
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If you want to understand the Estonian temperament, remember this is considered a normal reaction to hearing you’ve just been elected President of the Republic.
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Someone added a laughter track to Soloviev and now I think this is how all russian propaganda should be presented.
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“These are artificial states that owe their existence to Britain but they are just confused as they are really one fraternal people with the British. We should respect Britain’s historical sphere of influence.”. #parody
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“How can countries expect to be taken seriously anyway as viable states when they elect an entertainer as President? You really think this mere actor can stand up to Russia?”. #parody
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Russians, yet again, totally unable to read the room while protesting in Finland against border crossing closures. There is still no one among them that thinks: “Doesn’t it look bad if we only protest for petty, self-interested stuff that is harmful to our host country’s
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Russia’s “neutral” athletes are like much of russia’s “opposition”. Entangled with the regime. Unopposed to russian imperialism. Focused on criticising and tone policing the victims of their country’s genocide. The most tone deaf, self-absorbed people in the world.
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Watch this latest video from russian state TV. It will be shown at russia’s tribunal. It will be studied in history classes by your children and grand children. “You understand that this list [of territories to be conquered] is incomplete. Everyone understands that this list is
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If you’re writing about another country’s politics, please run the article past someone in that country before publishing. - Finland’s top 3 candidates across 3 parties were all women. - Marin won increased votes & seats. - ‘Partygate’ wasn’t an election issue.
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Spot the leader who’s not afraid of their own military.
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I think it’s fair to say the Estonians are quite happy Finland joined NATO.
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A King embracing an anti-imperialist leader while people who call themselves anti-imperialists but support imperialism complain he doesn’t meet some Royal dress code that doesn’t actually bother the actual King. What a time to be alive.
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This is your regular reminder that Twitter is not real life. The overwhelming majority of people on this planet dislike russia. Even the narrative about the ‘global south’ supporting russia is way overblown. Don’t call our region hawkish just because we have governments
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Kasparov’s main message at the NATO summit is that only Ukrainian victory can end russia’s imperialism and cycle of genocidal aggression. Until then, he emphasised, “you could put me on the main russian news channel during prime time and I still wouldn’t be able to convince.
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83 years ago today, the soviets invaded Latvia and Estonia, after invading Lithuania the previous day - all as illegally colluded with their nazi allies through the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. At the time, the world was largely distracted by the fall of Paris to the nazis. While
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“But why would Russia do something that kills Russians too and might not even be very strategically advantageous for them?”. - People who have seemingly never heard about Russia before.
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Halloween isn’t really a thing around here (although we have something a bit similar on 10 November). Nevertheless, these are our favourite costumes for scaring Russian imperialists every day of the year. 🙂. Happy Halloween.
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Thank you to all 25K of you now for following probably the worst account on Twitter. 🙂
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Lake NATO is particularly beautiful at this time of year. 🙂
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Let’s be honest, people like this would hate Eastern Europeans just as much (or possibly more) for putting on an expensive suit.
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Unilever is designated as a sponsor of russia’s genocidal war. It gave the Kremlin more than $300m last year while ensuring russians can continue to enjoy products like Ben & Jerry’s & Magnum ice creams. But across social media, Unilever brands hoping to just post their boring.
We are delivering a message from bombed out Borodyanka, Ukraine to @Unilever’s boardroom: Stop helping fund Russia’s war in Ukraine. This is the cost of your decision to stay in Russia.
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There was a time, not too long ago, when people debated if sending helmets to Ukrainian soldiers would cross russia’s “red line”. Seriously. Yet every single time one of russia’s so-called red lines is crossed, the people telling you to fear apocalyptic consequences suddenly.
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In case you needed any more reasons why the Baltics are based. This is DJ Heidy Purga at a ‘Rave For Ukraine’ inside London’s Fabric nightclub, raising more than £30K for 🇺🇦 children impacted by russia’s war. Heidy Purga is the Minister of Culture.for the Republic of Estonia.
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The Baltics know Russia too well. Their sober analysis - dismissed for decades as paranoia - has proven to be 🎯. Estonia's latest Foreign Intelligence assessment has never been more widely read. but, if you found that interesting, there's something else worth reading. 🧵.
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“Britain has never been an imperial power because, as you can see, it never took part in the colonisation of Eastern Europe. It just had to fight some defensive wars elsewhere which doesn’t count as they developed their colonies.”. #parody
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That’s not what happened. The Estonian driver has only just politely asked the guy not to smoke at the entrance to the coach and not to film him. The driver says absolutely nothing about tickets or not being able to board because of language. Obviously, really. He would surely.
Russian speakers in Estonia (whether with a residence permit or "guests from Russia" because Narva is on the border) are desperate: they are no longer allowed to use public transportation because of their language! . They have a ticket, but the driver won't let them in because
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The irony is that everyone inside the red wished the vatniks who tweet this stuff would genuinely believe it so they’d stay away.
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This is your regular reminder that people who support russia have always known exactly what russia is doing to Ukraine. No need to argue with them when they selectively feign ignorance. Just hold them accountable for being the nazis they know they are. Victory for Ukraine.
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russian “diplomats” spoke again at the OSCE today. Here’s how that went. (They didn’t actually bother finishing their speech to the empty room because even they were embarrassed for once).
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14 June. It’s a date seared into our memories. The start of Moscow’s mass deportations in Baltic countries. Today flags fly are raised, candles & black ribbons line railway platforms, victim names are read. Here’s Tallinn’s Freedom Square. 🧵 on what the world needs to know…
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A board member at @amnestyfinland, @SyksyRasanen, shared an anti-Ukrainian article in defence of the organisation. Now let’s check the views of @eshaLegal who wrote that article…
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Compare and contrast these reactions from fellow athletes towards human rights gestures. During the iconic podium protest at the 1968 Olympics, Australian silver medalist Peter Norman didn’t feign hurt and surprise. He didn’t demand to be declared winner. He didn’t whine that
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@DefenceU We stand with Ukraine! Lots of love from your fraternal nations here in the Baltic states.
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Decolonisation is beautiful. Here’s just one example from one small corner of one small Estonian town, Viljandi. Picture 1: An ugly communist party building and car park, built by the soviet occupiers on top of a memorial they demolished for local people who died fighting for
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In the first year of russia’s war against Ukraine, there were 707 recorded attacks on Ukrainian hospitals, health workers, and other medical infrastructure with the deliberate aim of devastating Ukraine’s health system: That happens to include multiple
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