People throughout history have used flags and standards to define their identity and their ideals. But let’s go back in time for just a decade: the great empire of the USSR collapsed, leaving people who were citizens of one country just a little while ago in foreign cultural and ethno-linguistic surroundings without the support of Soviet authority. Each and every one of these people had to decide whether they should go back to his or her motherland or to stay where they had been spending the recent years of their lives.
Estonia is a country that guards and respects its rich traditions and history: the country has become a part of a united EU, but its people are intent on preserving their identity. Perhaps that is the reason why Estonians understand and respect the same desire in other peoples. This sympathy resulted in the permission to display the Azerbaijani Republic’s national flag on the wall of the Azerbaijani cultural center in Tallinn in 1994 – a flag that made Azerbaijani people who live in Estonia feel more at home, confident and significant, even though the official Embassy of the Azerbaijani Republic would not be established for another 17 long years.
As time passed, with all its tumults and changes, the flag still decorated the wall of Azerbaijani cultural center building in Tallinn, making some passers-by wonder, making them learn the colours of the Azerbaijani national ensign. At the same time, Azerbaijanis who came home from Estonia told their compatriots about that country, thus sowing the seeds of future friendship between the two peoples.
Seventeen years is a long time for an individual, but a short time for History. Nevertheless, this time was long enough for the two peoples to realize the necessity of prolonged and stable communication. The visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Estonia opened an era of full-scale diplomatic relations between the two countries. At last, in 2011, an Embassy of the Azerbaijani Republic has been opened in Estonia.
And when the Azerbaijani flag was at last floating in its rightful place - above the Embassy of its sovereign motherland - Estonian people already knew and recognized its friendly colours.
Olga Olo, Tallinn, exclusively to VK
