"What has saved us from being overwhelmed by other cultures is disbelief about the things the world babbles on to us about. Estonians always doubt the values being offered to them without becoming too dramatic about it." ~ Estonian novelist Jaan Kross.
"My strongest arguments with Estonians have been conducted on their side in terms of icy politeness. On the other hand, it is impossible to stay for long in Azerbaijan [in Central Asia] without being struck by the excitability of many Azeris, the tendency of many people to fly off the handle and for arguments to become hysterical and end with kicks and punches being thrown." "Estonian virtues have proved of tremendous benefit to the Russian minority in Estonia…So while history and nationalism in Eastern Europe over the past eight years have indeed given birth to frogs and snakes, they have also produced a few swans." ~ British journalist and historian Anatol Lieven, writing recently in the National Affairs magazine.
"Language is of unique importance in the Baltics. Nowhere else in the world would one find three such small neighboring countries without an acceptable common language. Russian is almost universally spoken, but patriotic Estonian, Latvians and Lithuanians feel as comfortable speaking the [former] occupier’s language with each other as the Poles and Danes might have felt in 1946 if they could have communicated only in German." ~ British journalist Edward Lucas.
"Estonians have difficulty communicating emotionally, and that’s how Russians want to communicate… Russians think Estonians are icy and hostile, and Estonians think Russians are childish and hysterical" ~ Estonian writer Jaan Kaplinski.
"Anyone hoping to find a Baltic character will be disappointed. Anyone who relishes the chance to discuss ethnic stereotypes without worries about offending Western conversational conventions is in luck. If these three nations…share only one characteristic, it is the quite remarkable tendency for self-absorption and to delight in discussing the results." ~ British journalist Edward Lucas.
More Estonian Proverbs
- Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.
- One cannot make soup out of beauty.
- A good deed is written on snow.
- One woman never praises another.
- Earth is dearer than gold.
- A much-used plow shines; stagnant waters stink.
- Barking dogs don't catch hares.
- Do not choose your wife on your way to the church.
- Coal that does not burn gives little heat.
- A girl without a needle is like a cat without a claw.
