Value for Money 2: How to Win Friends and Influence People

In the aftermath (for want of a less melodramatic term) of the rush on euros for fear of a devaluation of the kroon, Minister for Justice Rein Lang has been doing his best to win round the Russian-speaking population almost exclusively affected by the scam and who already feel a sense of injustice at the treatment they receive from the government.

"If people are stupid enough to fall for [such things], I don't see how it's the government's fault," he said at a press conference yesterday. "The very purposefully directed misinformation that has been spread about in recent months in Russian-language publications in Estonia is a big problem. It incites hostility. I hope the state security services are looking into it."

So speaks a man so sensible and tactful that he chose a Hitler/Nazi theme for his 50th birthday party and contributed to the recent celebrations marking the anniversary of the Estonian constitution by suggesting that a new beer should be named in its honour. ("It will make people more interested in it," he said.)

Value for money

Foreign exchanges the breadth of Estonia, if not the length, have seen a rush on euros as the Russian-speaking population trip over one another in their hurry to offload their Estonian kroons in response to false reports that the currency was set to be devalued.

The reports - which stated that the Bank of Estonia and the Monetary Committee had agreed upon an imminent and unannounced devaluation of the kroon from its current rate of 15.6 to the euro to 24.6 to the euro - first appeared on the website of the Night Watch (an allegedly Russian-backed group linked to the rioting and looting that took place in Tallinn in April) and quickly did the rounds among the Russian-speaking communities of Tallinn and north-eastern Estonia. As a result, foreign exchanges saw queues of people cashing in their life savings for euros, pounds and any other 'dependable' currency they could get their hands on.

The Bank of Estonia has quashed all suggestions of devaluation, and the police have said they may launch an official investigation into the incident, which is being viewed as yet another attempt [by Russia] to destabilise the country.