Tallinn, Estonia

Overview:

Estonia suffered the fate of other Baltic countries, occupied for hundreds of years by stronger neighbors, with Swedes, Russians, and Poles fighting over the region. Russia finally took over from the Swedes in the 18th century. Estonia enjoyed a brief period of independence from 1919-40, then came under Soviet domination as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Only lightly damaged in World War II, Tallinn expanded quickly after the war as Russian industrialization drew ethnic Russian immigrants from other republics. Estonia regained independence with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Politically, Estonia has gone far in building democratic institutions. But some problems remain, particularly with respect to the Russian-speaking minority, which constitutes about a third of the population, and to government efforts to integrate these minorities into Estonian society. Internationally, Estonia is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Given its strong desire to become part of western security structures, Estonia has a goal of NATO accession in 2002. Estonia is one of the most market-oriented, open economies in the former Soviet Union, and maintains a moderate, sustainable economic growth. By itself a small market, Estonia occupies a strategic geo-economic position between the EU and Russia and encourages investment from firms that plan to expand their operations in the region. Bilaterally, the embassy operates in a friendly environment and is well positioned to support Estonia's desire to integrate into western institutions.

American Embassy Tallinn:

The inspection took place from November 1-15 another ten workdays and two welcome weekends.    The Ambassador had left the country before the inspection and the embassy was in the capable hands of the charge d'affaires, Dolores Brown, who went on to be the Management Counselor in Cairo when I was there TDY in the summer of 2009.    The Management Officer, Mike Tulley, became the Director of HR/OE and I had numerous contacts with during the survey phase of future inspections.  Mike was an avid supporter of Manchester United of the English Premier League whereas I was a fan of Arsenal, which he didn't appreciate.    

Findings:

Some of the formal recommendations involved: 

• An issue regarding the disposition of value added taxes that did not comply with Department of State instructions for handling and reporting receipts.

• It was surprising that Tulley was not consistently performing the monthly unannounced verification of the principal cashier's accountability as required.

• Supervisors of sub cashiers did not perform unannounced cashier verifications as required. 

• For management to verify the monthly consular receipts with official collections, and the accountable consular officer monthly summary of the daily accounting of consular fee receipts.

• The need to establish an accounts receivable ledger to track collections for long-distance personal telephone calls, mileage for authorized use of vehicles, outstanding travel advances, and other official bills for collection. 

Highlights:



Besides visiting Toompea Castle, the Old Town main square, St. Catherine' s Passage and St. Olaf's Church I enjoyed shopping for local crafts in medieval-style workshops for sweaters, quilts, linens and leather goods. 

We stayed at the Raddison hotel which was a short walk to the embassy.  In terms of food the first course in traditional Estonian cuisine is based on cold dishes—a selection of pickles, meats and sausages served with potato salad.  Estonian signature dish similar to a Swedish dish includes beetroot, potatoes and herring. Small pastries, like the Polish pirozhki, are filled with meat, cabbage, carrots, rice and other fillings often served with bouillon. Herring is common among other fish as a part of the Estonian cold table. Smoked or marinated eel and crayfish dishes are considered delicacies. One of Estonia's national dishes is the Baltic dwarf herring, along with flounder, perch and pike are also popular.                                                 

   

                                                  

                     In Town                                                                 Bob, Joanne, Joe and I having drinks
 

Liquors included Vana Tallinn a rum-based liqueur and different berries like Cloudberry from Lapland that Carl Troy and imbibed on several occasions.    

Our team leader Fred Rondon was an avid bird watcher and would take every opportunity to go birdwatching on a weekend.  Estonia is one of the three top places to go birdwatching because of its location and migration of birds travelling between North America, Europe and Africa.  In fact there are a number of national parks along the western Estonian coast with its large bay to see migratory birds.  I went out with Fred once in while in Tallinn and froze my tail off but he did manage to see a couple of birds that he had never seen before. 

 In old Tallinn one sees medieval walls, buildings, spires, and narrow   cobblestone streets that give the city a distinctive atmosphere of the   14th and 15th centuries. The making of Tallinn goes back to the 13th   century when the Danes built a castle on Toompea hill overlooking   the Gulf of Finland. After the Danes sold northern Estonia to the   German knights, Tallinn became a major center for merchants.   Many of the characteristic German—style buildings were   constructed during this period. With nearly 2km of its original city wall   still standing, Tallinn boasts one of Europe’s best preserved Medieval   fortifications. In fact, a large part of what gives Old Town its fairytale   charm is the system of walls and and towers that surrounds it. Work on the   town's defenses first began in 1265, but the current outline of the wall   dates to the 14th century.







 

 Picturesque Town Hall Square has been the   undisputed hub of Old Town for the last eight   centuries. Surrounded by elaborate merchant   houses and, in summer, packed with café tables,   it's a natural magnet for tourists. Historically it   served as a market and meeting place,

 Perched on a limestone cliff and towering over the   rest of the city, Toompea Castle has always been   the seat of power in Estonia. Ever since the Danes   and the Knights of the Sword first built a stone   fortress here in 1227-29, every foreign empire that   ruled Estonia used the castle as its base. Today,   appropriately, it's home to Estonia's Parliament. The castle has been revamped countless times.




Street in old town




Riga, Latvia

Overview:

Situated in north-eastern Europe with a coastline along the Baltic Sea, Latvia has borders with Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania. It has linguistic links with Lithuania to the south, and historical and religious ties with Estonia to the north.  A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940.  Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, some 26% of the population remains Russian and propaganda efforts are a cause of concern for the Latvian authorities. Latvia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the euro zone in 2014 and the OECD in 2016. A dual citizenship law was adopted in 2013, easing naturalization for non-citizen children.  Like its Baltic neighbors, Latvia has made a rapid transition to the free market since the early 1990s.  

American Embassy Riga:

The inspection took place between October 18-31 and we actually had two weekends in Riga.  The Ambassador, who left Latvia before the team arrived summarized our bilateral relations tied to the role the United States can play for the advancement of the Baltic States' security, their integration into European institutions, and cooperative relations with their neighbors, including Russia.  In the absence of the Ambassador, the Charge d’Affaires, was Tracey Jacobson, an impressive young woman, who went on to become the Ambassador to Tajikistan and Kosovo.  The Management Officer was John Lamson, very experienced.  The senior financial specialist, Edmund Glevicks, was very sharp.  He still works at the embassy and used to email me on occasion asking for advice.  During the inspection the newly designated Inspector General (IG), Clark Kent Ervin visited the team to get an overview of an overseas inspection.  Ervin was a Harvard educated lawyer and was the Assistant Secretary of State of Texas.  He lasted two years and was appointed the first IG for the Department of Homeland Security.    

Findings:

• The physical facilities of the embassy chancery and Ambassador’s residence were unsafe. The OIG raised these issues with the Department in our report citing the risks to the safety of embassy personnel.
• Lacking a dedicated American Human Resource Officer it was recommended that the Frankfurt Regional Support Center to establish a regular schedule of visits to provide human resources support.  At the time of the inspection, there were 34 past-due performance evaluations from supervisors.  
• The Department had implemented the automated Travel Manager software program, but the embassy was still doing manual calculation.
• In terms of funding obligations there needed to be more coordination in monitoring funds for grants between the PAO and financial management.
• There should also be a publicized administrative policy for personal long-distance calls made from official telephones an accounts receivable ledger to track collections.  

With Joe drafting my section of the Inspection Report

Highlights:

We stayed at the nice Radisson hotel which was a short walk past a nice park to the embassy.  The team did get a chance to get out and visit the sites and partake in eating some Latvian dishes mostly soups with different meat, potatoes and vegetables.  Fish was also plentiful.  Joanne was a Vegan so we had to make sure to check out the menu at restaurants for vegetarian and organic dishes when we went out to dinner.  

•   Riga Castle

•   Dome Cathedral

•   Museum of the Occupation

   

Riga lies on both banks of the river Daugava in the form of a circle and can roughly be divided into two   parts, the right and left side of the river. The right   side of the city is where Old Riga, New Riga and other districts are located. The left part of the city is also called “Pārdaugava”, meaning “Across the Daugava," and suburbs and are located on this side.Āgenskalns & Ķīpsala located on the left bank

  

Old Town Square





Old Town



 In the northwest corner of Old Town is Riga   Castle, a large cream coloured building with four   floors. It dates back to 1330 when it first was   constructed as residence for the grand master of   the Livonian Order. In 1487 the castle was   destroyed, but it was rebuilt again in 1515. Since   then it has been added to and renovated many   times.  Today there are two museums in the castle,   the History Museum of Latvia and Museum of   Foreign Art. 

 Museum of the Occupation:  Housed in a former   Soviet built building, there is a large collection of   artifacts from and descriptions of the 50 years of   occupation by the Soviets, then the Germans, then   the Soviets between 1940 and 1990. Over 15,000   Latvians were rounded up and sent to Siberia   just before the Nazis invaded in   1941.

 Sweden ruled over Riga between 1621 – 1710.   During this period the Swedish Gate was built,   more exactly in 1698. The Swedish Gate is the   only remaining of the old city gates. The gate   passes through a house and in the rooms above   the gate lived the city’s executioner. A legend   says a young woman was walled up in the gate.   The young woman had fallen in love with a   Swedish soldier so this was made as a warning to   others.