On Wednesday 15 October, HCSS research director Tim Sweijs will be joining a conversation with Estonia’s former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves at De Balie in Amsterdam. Together with photographer Claudia Heinermann, they will discuss Europe’s security challenges now that Russia is increasingly testing the borders of Nato-territory, in a panel moderated by Yoeri Albrecht.
Losing democracy happens in much the same way as a character goes bankrupt in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises: “gradually, and then suddenly”
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, in The Economist
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace without permission on September 19th. The incursion lasted only twelve minutes, but the message was clear: Russia continues to test NATO’s borders. What does this mean for Europe’s security? And how do the Baltic states – after decades of Russian oppression – view the future of our democracies?
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the former president of Estonia, faced increasing Russian cyberattacks and efforts to destabilize the region during his presidency (2006-2016). On October 15, he will discuss cyberwarfare, Russian aggression, and the fragility of Western democracy, during a special event at Amsterdam’s De Balie.
He will be joined by Tim Sweijs, research director at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) and photographer Claudia Heinermann, moderated by Yoeri Albrecht, for “At the frontline of Russia’s shadow war: In conversation with Estonia’s former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves”.
The recent incursions are just the latest example of the threat of Russian aggression. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, eyes have also been turned towards the Baltic states. Twenty-four years after the fall of the Soviet Union and the restoration of independence, the Baltic states have become frontline nations between Russia and the West.
Will Putin risk invading Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania? How do Russia’s neighbours, who have endured years of Russian oppression, view Europe’s security challenges now that Russia is increasingly testing the borders of Nato-territory?
Join us at De Balie for an evening on power, threat, and resilience along Europe’s eastern frontier.
- 🗓 Wednesday 15 October, 20:00
- 📍 De Balie, Amsterdam
- 🎟️ Tickets: link
About the speakers
- Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia from 2006 to 2016, has been a key figure in shaping Estonia’s post-Soviet transformation and its role in Europe. Born in Sweden to Estonian refugee parents who fled Soviet occupation and mass deportation to Siberia, Ilves was deeply influenced by their experience of displacement. Before becoming president, he served as Estonia’s Ambassador to the United States and played a pivotal role in Estonia’s accession to the European Union and NATO in 2004. Durign his presidency he focused on Estonia’s digital innovation and cybersecurity and European integration.
- Dr. Tim Sweijs is research director at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS). He conducts research on the changing nature of armed conflict and advises governments, international organizations, and (military) decision-makers on defense and security. He recently co-authored “De Oorlog van morgen” (The War of Tomorrow) with Martijn Kitzen.
- Claudia Heinermann is a freelance photographer, dedicated primarily to long-term documentary projects and contemporary historical issues as well as genocide and the consequences of war. She has worked in countries such as Bosnia, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, Germany and Rwanda.
Tickets for this unique event can be bought at De Balie website.
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