{"id":14084,"date":"2025-05-16T11:09:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T11:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vabamu.ee\/?post_type=news&p=14084"},"modified":"2025-05-16T13:42:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:42:59","slug":"edward-lucas-gave-a-lecture-at-vabamu","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/vabamu.ee\/en\/news\/edward-lucas-gave-a-lecture-at-vabamu\/","title":{"rendered":"Edward Lucas gave a lecture at Vabamu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Edward Lucas gave a lecture at Vabamu <\/div>\n
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Security expert, journalist, and Estonia\u2019s first e-resident Edward Lucas said in a public lecture held at Vabamu on May 15, that Estonia\u2019s right to statehood must never again be called into question. \u201cThe world must know that Estonia is a real place, inhabited by real people \u2013 it is not a cartographical construct, a historical error, or a square on a geopolitical chessboard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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The lecture, entitled \u201cEstonian Lessons: What Europe Needs to Learn,\u201d<\/i> <\/b>was organized in cooperation between Vabamu and Estonia’s e-Residency programme. In it, Lucas reflected on his more than 30-year-long relationship with Estonia, recalling vivid historical events he had personally witnessed and pivotal moments in the country\u2019s history. \u201cEstonia correctly assessed the risks of rejoining the free world and, as a young nation, boldly chose to ignore Western advice, standing firm on decisions from fiscal policy to the national language and citizenship laws,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou live in a bad neighbourhood to the east, and that has forced Estonians to work extraordinarily hard to make themselves seen and heard,\u201d Lucas remarked. He added that although Estonia\u2019s history is a masterclass in resilience, the danger of being overlooked remains\u2014especially due to the spread of falsehoods by \u2018amateur historians\u2019 like Vladimir Putin. \u201cDisinformation is lethally dangerous to democracy. Fortunately, Estonia understood this early on. Twenty years ago, Western powers were still skeptical of the Russian threat\u2014but not anymore,\u201d Lucas stated.<\/p>\n

He praised modern-day Estonia for its commitment to developing both its digital state and defense capabilities. \u201cEstonians were right not only about the Russian threat, but also about the importance of deterrence\u2014keeping defense spending at 2% while others shamefully underfunded theirs. If more countries had listened to Estonia, we wouldn\u2019t now be in a situation where the American public and political leaders see European allies as freeloaders,\u201d Lucas noted.<\/p>\n

As an e-resident, he expressed hope that the rest of the world will soon catch up. \u201cMany countries, including my own, have spent billions on national IT systems that don\u2019t work nearly as well as the ones the Estonian people use every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEstonians have been right about many things. Listen to them when they speak about the economy, innovation, and digital identity\u2014but especially when they speak about defense,\u201d Lucas urged European countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cEdward Lucas\u2019s support for Estonia has made an invaluable contribution to our visibility in the world. We are sincerely grateful and proud to count among our e-residents a friend who believes in us and helps make Estonia greater,\u201d said Liina Vahtras<\/b>, head of the e-Residency programme.<\/b><\/p>\n

Graduating students who participate in Noorte Vabamu’s activities and are finishing the school year were invited to attend the lecture. \u201cWhat struck me most about Edward Lucas lecture was that Estonia was the one who correctly understood the geopolitical situation as early as 1939-40, before the Western European countries even realised what was happening,\u201d said Alice Kangro, a senior from Gustav Adolf Grammar School <\/b>in Tallinn. \u201cThis is what these countries should do today, instead of just saying that the Baltic countries are right. Looking at today\u2019s difficult transatlantic relations, it is easy to blame the United States for everything, while most European countries have not bothered to increase their defence spending for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edward Lucas is a British author, journalist, security expert, and senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). He is also a columnist for The Times and the Estonian daily Eesti P\u00e4evaleht. Over the decades, he has written numerous international articles about Estonia. In 2014, he became Estonia\u2019s very first e-resident. \u201cEstonia\u2019s electronic identity is perhaps a greater honor for me than any state decoration\u2014and certainly more practical,\u201d he has said.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photos from the event (by Karli Saul)<\/h2>\n
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On May 16th Edward Lucas gave a lecture at Vabamu titled \u201cEstonian lessons: what Europe needs to learn\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14061,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","news-category":[50,66],"class_list":["post-14084","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-category-global-conversations","news-category-nova"],"yoast_head":"\nEdward Lucas gave a lecture at Vabamu - Vabamu<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vabamu.ee\/en\/news\/edward-lucas-gave-a-lecture-at-vabamu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Edward Lucas gave a lecture at Vabamu - Vabamu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On May 16th Edward Lucas gave a lecture at Vabamu titled \u201cEstonian lessons: what Europe needs to learn\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vabamu.ee\/en\/news\/edward-lucas-gave-a-lecture-at-vabamu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vabamu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-16T13:42:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vabamu.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Edward-Lucas-8-scaled-e1747384880172.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1702\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vabamu.ee\\\/en\\\/news\\\/edward-lucas-gave-a-lecture-at-vabamu\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vabamu.ee\\\/en\\\/news\\\/edward-lucas-gave-a-lecture-at-vabamu\\\/\",\"name\":\"Edward Lucas gave a lecture at Vabamu - 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