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TVTranscript
00:00and I'll talk to you again soon.
00:02I'm gonna go.
00:04Bye-bye.
00:06Thanks a lot.
00:10Bye.
00:12Bye.
00:13Bye.
00:16Bye.
00:17Bye.
00:18Bye.
00:19Bye.
00:20Bye.
00:21Bye.
00:23Bye.
00:24Bye.
00:25Bye.
00:26Bye.
00:27Bye.
00:28Bye.
00:28Bye.
00:29For 50 years after the Second World War, Soviet muscle, both military and political, dominated
00:43the Baltic states.
00:48But in 1991 they gained their independence.
00:51Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were now free to live their lives, revive their culture
00:58and clear up the mess.
01:14This is Tallinn, capital of Estonia.
01:19From here I'll be travelling through the Baltics, south to Kaliningrad.
01:23When I was last here, 16 years ago, it was an unwelcoming Soviet republic.
01:30Left to its own devices, Tallinn has boomed.
01:36Estonia has a population not much more than Birmingham.
01:39And everyone is doing rather nicely.
01:43I'm driving along the coast to meet some of these newly affluent Estonians who are trying
01:48to come to terms with it all.
02:02The days of communist conformity are long gone.
02:05Our hosts, Margus, Evelyn and their family, live in a pyramid.
02:09Evelyn, what's it like living inside a pyramid?
02:16It helps to find the way to do things and the way you really feel and find the power
02:23inside you that's like God in you.
02:29It helps to find God in you because God is everything.
02:38I mean, God is like the basic energy.
02:42And if you find this God, you can create whatever.
02:47Are Estonians particularly interested in spiritual things?
02:53Many people are searching for spiritual enlightenment and are looking for different practices and
03:03how to get their life flowing easier and to be happier.
03:12Living in a pyramid is clearly not the only way to make your life happier.
03:15And tonight, friends and neighbours are here to try another approach.
03:19At the moment, it mainly involves staring.
03:28The sun is at last beginning to set and Margus, our host, is making final preparations.
03:48It looks like any summer barbecue, but the only difference is that what's going on this
04:09barbecue are the guests.
04:30Margus leads off.
04:38The intrepid ladies follow him.
04:45Some of the men are not so sure.
05:02Why do you think people do this, Marcus?
05:07I think they do that because the same reason why I do that.
05:12It gives me good feeling and my heart will be open.
05:18I know who I am better.
05:23Is it about conquering fear?
05:27Yes, yes.
05:29To understand that fear, how we can be without fear.
05:35We have to bring fear so close, if we can, to look what is fear.
05:41I have to say, I feel I'm scared at the moment more than...
05:50Really?
05:51Really.
05:52That's great.
05:53It's so funny.
05:54Really, I feel, what I have to say, how can I say?
05:58You did very well, very well, very good.
06:02It's a curiously emotional evening.
06:04I'm afraid the only things I'll be putting on fire are chestnuts.
06:15Further up the coast are 100 concrete suitcases.
06:22They symbolise the plight of all those Estonians who fled abroad when the Red Army marched
06:27into their country in 1944.
06:30A part of an art collection assembled by Jan Manitzki, who was a baby in arms, was caught
06:35up in it all.
06:37Just from this coastline here, many small fishing boats left over the Finnish Gulf of
06:45Finland or the Baltics of Sweden.
06:48Most people could only bring with them a suitcase.
06:52Many times when the small boats were crowded, they even had to leave them on the shore here.
06:59This is some kind of reminder of what has happened on these shores.
07:11Having made his money as business manager of the pop group ABBA, Manitzki came back
07:15home and offered his expertise to Estonia's new free market economy.
07:21Now all his energies are going into this art centre.
07:28His paintings by Estonian artists are a bit of everything, the good, the bad and the ugly.
07:36As my mother would say, I don't think I could live with that.
07:39I would neither put it in my living room.
07:43No, exactly, perhaps in the bathroom.
07:48Jan shows me his latest acquisition, and very topical it is.
07:52This is the painter Yuri Arak's view of the organised by individuals demolishing of the
08:03monstrum.
08:04The monstrum being?
08:05This is the Soviet system.
08:08We started up in a very, very difficult situation.
08:14The Estonian economy and the whole society was so integrated in the Soviet system.
08:21For example, to illustrate it, a big shoe making factory in Tallinn produced left foot
08:30shoes number 44.
08:33The right foot shoes were made in Irkutsk maybe or Murmansk or somewhere else.
08:42Back in Tallinn, the incoming ferries are full as yet more people discover the unhurried
08:46appeal of the old town.
08:51Across the Gothic rooftops rises the new Estonia, a mini Manhattan with a state-of-the-art electronic
08:57economy.
09:00But in Old Town Square, I discover there are limits to the Estonian dream.
09:06Businessman Peter Noll tells me that for the Russians who stayed on here, the government
09:10has devised an exquisite torture.
09:14Russians are obliged to learn Estonian, aren't they?
09:16That's correct.
09:17In order to become an Estonian citizen, you must pass the test in Estonian, which comprises
09:21about 3,000 characters.
09:25That's why we have still, I think it's around 10,000 or just slightly below, of residents
09:30in Estonia without nationality.
09:32So they're not citizens of Estonia, but they're not Russians anymore because they've given
09:36up their Russian citizenship.
09:38So what rights do they have?
09:40They have the right to live here.
09:43They are mainly elderly people which are not learning the language anymore, but the family
09:48are taking care of them.
09:51However, this has been already discussed by the European Union as well, because you cannot
09:55have it that somebody is a resident in your country who has been living all his life and
10:00cannot have a citizenship.
10:02So it's an issue actually on the European Union agenda.
10:13In Soviet times, the Baltic states were seen as something of a bracing seaside sanatorium.
10:19I've been recommended a clinic outside Tallinn, where all sorts of traditional treatments
10:23await the tired traveller.
10:26The lady I've come to see is one of those Russians who stayed on.
10:34Her name is Lyudmila Agayeva, and she's an Herudo therapist.
10:41Next.
10:42Hello.
10:43Hello, how are you?
10:45Very bad.
10:47Oh, I'll help you.
10:49Let's go with me.
10:51I'm very bad because I've come here.
10:59What do you want, the take-off shirt?
11:03Everything?
11:03Small striptease, please.
11:05Small striptease?
11:05Yes.
11:07Okay.
11:10All right.
11:12There we go.
11:14You see it though?
11:16I can go behind the screens.
11:20There we go.
11:22Small, not very good striptease.
11:24Is that okay?
11:26Enough?
11:28Very nice.
11:30Very nice.
11:32Please.
11:34On back or front?
11:36No.
11:38Ah.
11:40You see, I've never done this before.
11:42This is the first time, so I don't know what happens.
11:44Comfort? Do you have comfort?
11:46Yes, I'm comfortable, very comfortable.
11:48Yes.
11:50My heart's beating rather fast.
11:52Isn't it?
11:54Quickly, quickly.
11:56Very fast, yes, I'm nervous, you see.
11:58I've never had small creatures.
12:00These are books.
12:08You can see.
12:10Yeah.
12:12Oh, right.
12:14Oh, yes,
12:16that doesn't make me feel any better.
12:18Better, very better.
12:20But they work.
12:22They do work to make me feel
12:24stronger.
12:26Yes, translator.
12:28Because I've been doing so much travelling.
12:30I just, oh, is that on my body now?
12:32So it is.
12:34Well, I experience a slight sting.
12:37Nothing more than
12:39having an
12:41injection.
12:43So it's
12:45sucking out
12:47bad blood?
12:49Yes, yes.
12:51Bad blood.
12:53It's stuck to you now, isn't it?
12:55Oh.
12:57That was enough.
12:59Definitely like a little
13:01electric charge.
13:03These special
13:05leeches?
13:07Yes, yes, special.
13:09It's not so bad.
13:11It's just
13:13if you start
13:15thinking about
13:17what is going on.
13:19Little black things
13:21with their heads
13:23into your body.
13:25Oh, it's like
13:27a series of quite sharp
13:29electric shocks.
13:32Oh.
13:34Oh, it's quite
13:38quite a
13:40strong stinging sensation.
13:46Put it this way.
13:48I won't be doing it again for a bit.
13:54I feel better.
13:56How much blood do they take?
13:58One glass of vodka.
14:00One glass of vodka?
14:02Yes, please.
14:04200.
14:06Maybe 300 millilitres.
14:08Are you enjoying it?
14:10Oh, look, we're getting quite engorged.
14:14Is that
14:16growing?
14:18Stimulation.
14:20Stimulating the leech?
14:22Oh, gosh.
14:24That's something I thought
14:26I'd never seen in my life.
14:29Stimulating the leech.
14:31First time for everything.
14:39Do they have
14:41teeth?
14:43Yes, teeth.
14:45Understand?
14:47300 teeth.
14:49300 teeth? Each of these little
14:51fellows? Yes.
14:53And three jaws.
14:55Three...
14:57Jaws. Oh, jaws, yes.
14:59Three jaws.
15:01That gives them some power.
15:03Three jaws.
15:05I mean, that's great.
15:07Breakfast, lunch and dinner
15:09at the same time.
15:13After they finish
15:15take the blood,
15:17then what?
15:19What happens then? Do you kill them?
15:21I kill them.
15:23I kill.
15:26Why?
15:28I want to be fond of them.
15:30Yes, please.
15:32I don't want you to kill them.
15:34Can they go somewhere
15:36where they can retire?
15:38Sit quietly?
15:40It's a surprise for you.
15:42Read leech weekly?
15:44Yes.
15:46You're a hard woman.
15:48When they are hungry
15:50you
15:52bite
15:54OK.
15:56They're still sucking away
15:58those, aren't they?
16:00Can you imagine that? Halfway through a nice little steak
16:02and someone comes and pulls
16:04a chair away. Don't want.
16:06OK.
16:08Is that
16:10blood in them? Yes.
16:12Can I just touch them?
16:14Very nice blood.
16:16Yes, there you are. Thank you very much.
16:18Thank you, Frank.
16:20Thank you, Arthur.
16:23Thank you, Frank and Diana.
16:25Thank you, Arthur and Elizabeth.
16:27You've done a good job.
16:29There they go.
16:31Yes.
16:33They know alcoholics.
16:35Ow!
16:37Now that hurts.
16:43I don't want to wash them.
16:45Very strong vodka.
16:47That's what it is.
16:53You're right.
16:57Can I have some of that vodka?
16:59Do you want vodka?
17:01No.
17:03Yes, lovely.
17:05But they've had the vodka.
17:07I have vodka.
17:13Now that's something.
17:15That is something else.
17:19Spore breasts.
17:23Merci.
17:25Your friends.
17:27I don't want to wash that.
17:29All finished.
17:35They die like that.
17:37Yes.
17:39Now I was a mafioso.
17:41You were?
17:43You're a caring person
17:45but when the moment comes
17:47you can
17:49turn into a killer.
17:51Natasha!
18:09This is Ape.
18:11My idea of the perfect border post.
18:15No cues, no metal detectors.
18:17Just a man in a hut.
18:26Pausing only to correct my pronunciation
18:28to Arpe, not Ape,
18:30my courteous guard shows me into Latvia.
18:34Half as big again as Estonia,
18:36its population is little more than 2 million.
18:38Is this why their trains are so short?
18:44Something's missing.
18:46This is supposed to be the 750.
18:48Maybe it's a national holiday.
18:50Maybe they've heard about the leachate.
19:00Eventually an engine arrives
19:02and we become, officially,
19:04the 750 from Luchsni to Gulbeni.
19:18The train is arriving.
19:20The train is arriving.
19:22The train is arriving.
19:24The train is arriving.
19:26The train is arriving.
19:28The train is arriving.
19:30The train is arriving.
19:32The train is arriving.
19:34The train is arriving.
19:36The train is arriving.
19:38The train is arriving.
19:40The train is arriving.
19:42The train is arriving.
19:44The train is arriving.
19:47The train is arriving.
19:49The train is arriving.
20:03Our progress through this sylvan countryside
20:05seems unreal, almost dreamlike,
20:07which seems entirely suitable
20:09for this is Midsummer's Eve
20:11and a big night for Latvians
20:13as people up and down the country
20:15pagan festival of Jani.
20:23The Latvians converted to Christianity much later than most of Europe, so resolutely pagan
20:29were the local tribes that in 1198 the Pope launched a crusade against them.
20:40Here in the heart of the countryside the pre-Christian traditions of Jani are being painstakingly
20:45revived.
20:46The women wear garlands which must contain at least 27 different flowers.
20:53New arrivals at the celebration are ritually insulted and then expected to reply.
21:09Once you've shown you can hold your own, you're allowed to hug the host.
21:21Jani is a celebration of birth, growth and fecundity, and they do it in style.
21:27The Latvians have preserved 1,200 melodies for this one night, to sing on this one night.
21:36And 28,000 texts and little song lyrics.
21:41Are these written down or just handed down?
21:43Yeah, they're written down.
21:44Yeah, they're written down.
21:45It's a book.
21:46Yeah, at the moment the sad thing is that people just get drunk on Jani and they think
21:56that tradition is not necessary and they don't know what to do on Jani, so that's all they
22:01do.
22:02In the evening we say goodbye to the sun, in the morning we welcome the sun again.
22:07And you can't sleep tonight?
22:09No, I don't think we're going to.
22:11No, you're staying here?
22:14Dancers circle the oak tree, symbol of strength and virility.
22:23Single women are entreated to find partners.
22:27The food consists of cheese and bread, a little severe, but bread and cheese were all that
22:35was left to eat before the new harvest.
22:40Mind you, there's plenty of homebrew to wash it down.
22:48I hear my name called out and fear the worst.
23:05I hear my name called out and fear the worst.
23:10I hear my name called out and fear the worst.
23:17I hear my name called out and fear the worst.
23:31What were they saying?
23:32They were saying to you that you are now Michels, not Michael, Michels, which is the Latvian
23:39version, and the oak is always the symbol of strength and virility and on Midsummer
23:47Night it's in the circle, it's concentrated on your head, so you are crowned with strength,
23:57virility and they're singing and wishing that you will see everything well, you will
24:03hear everything well and you will film everything well.
24:08The filming part is part of the ancient tradition.
24:11Do I have to wear this throughout the rest of the filming?
24:14Of course, and the rest of the night.
24:17The rest of the night.
24:19Believe me, it's not easy to dance with half a national park on your head.
24:49The setting of the Midsummer Night's Sun is the most important moment of the evening.
25:02Just before 11 o'clock we process up the nearest hill to watch and to celebrate.
25:08This is developing into quite a test of stamina.
25:14And I've lost my national park.
25:23As darkness falls, last year's Yanni wreath is ceremonially burnt.
25:28And a symbolic new fire is lit.
25:39The Yanni wreath is a symbol of strength and virility.
25:44It's a symbol of strength and virility.
25:48It's a symbol of strength and virility.
25:52It's a symbol of strength and virility.
25:55It's a symbol of strength and virility.
26:07A blazing wheel of hopes and fears and thanks bowls down the hill and we all cheer.
26:25Riga, the Latvian capital, rich in buildings from Stalinist grandeur to medieval Gothic,
26:31has recently acquired a reputation as a safe place for summit meetings.
26:42To find out more about Riga's status as a world host,
26:45I'm on my way to meet one of the Baltic's top chefs, Martin Rittins.
26:50A Latvian who learnt his trade in Canada and Corby, North Hans,
26:54he now cooks for the world's most powerful.
26:58This is a starter that we did for George Bush when he was here.
27:01Right, OK.
27:02And crayfish. And crayfish is very, very traditional.
27:05Did he ask for this?
27:06No, he didn't.
27:07No, he didn't.
27:08But we talked to his...
27:10Yeah.
27:11OK.
27:12To his...
27:13Oh, look.
27:14I mustn't get too fond of it. That's my problem.
27:16You can take this home with you.
27:18Oh, thank you.
27:19So, it's a Baltic crayfish, is it?
27:21It's a Baltic crayfish. It's a fresh water.
27:24It's a teamwork.
27:25Yeah.
27:26And Bush has a team.
27:28So do we here.
27:30So, it's...
27:32The sauce...
27:35It's onion...
27:37Sauce americaine.
27:38Yeah, yeah.
27:39With Latvian produce.
27:41Carrots, onions, tomatoes, garlic,
27:45and cognac.
27:47Cognac.
27:48Cognac.
27:51Now, I want to see how can you...
27:56All right.
27:59Up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up.
28:01Higher, higher.
28:06Now...
28:07Oh.
28:08Now, when George came, he only had an hour and a half.
28:10He was...
28:11Well...
28:12Now, can I...
28:13Now, I'll show you.
28:14I'll show you the trick.
28:15Like in tennis.
28:18You don't shake the pan.
28:19You shake the wrist.
28:21All right.
28:22It's so heavy, though.
28:23Oops.
28:24It's incredibly heavy.
28:29Now, how do you think...
28:30Oh, wow.
28:31That is heavy.
28:32Respect, you guys, who do that.
28:34How do you think Fanny Craddock did this?
28:36Yeah, I don't...
28:37She did...
28:38I think she must have had a...
28:39I don't know.
28:40She did...
28:41I think she must have had a few pints beforehand.
28:43And a bit of a colour.
28:45I mean, something stronger.
28:47When you have someone like the President of the United States
28:50or have a...
28:51Well, not...
28:52Whatever.
28:53When you have your friend George, President of the United States,
28:55and Laura to cook for,
28:56is it a big palaver?
28:58Have you got security people coming around,
29:00keeping an eye on you?
29:01It's very, very much so.
29:04Like we do all the state dinners,
29:08but never anything has been like this.
29:11And we had three days with their security people,
29:15their chefs.
29:16Three days?
29:17For one meal?
29:18For one meal, yes.
29:19I was with their chefs for three days.
29:21We discussed the menu,
29:22we went through it very much in detail
29:25and had to show them where everything came from.
29:29Did they give you any juicy details about it?
29:31Absolutely.
29:32No, no.
29:33Don't give him apricot jam,
29:34because his legs start to wobble.
29:37INDISTINCT CHATTER
29:43Now, here, we'll try again.
29:46Oh, God.
29:52No, it's in the wrist.
29:58It's not...
29:59It's heavy.
30:00It's not shake and bake.
30:01No, no, no.
30:02But in my case, it is there.
30:04That's...
30:06Let me see your wrist.
30:08Look at that.
30:09Look at that.
30:10That is a wrist.
30:11That's mobile.
30:12That's a tennis wrist.
30:13I'll work on it.
30:14I'll work on it.
30:20A lot.
30:21Not the whole lot.
30:22OK.
30:23As you...
30:24We nearly had a volatile cocktail.
30:27Yes, we did.
30:32You were telling me, actually, in the kitchen,
30:34that the process is, he vets,
30:36that his chefs are with you for three days.
30:39For three days.
30:40We cook for 22.
30:43And I cook for...
30:46I cook for...
30:47I cook for...
30:48I cook for...
30:49I cook for...
30:50I cook for...
30:51I cook for...
30:52And I couldn't say this.
30:54I usually say, the nicest one,
30:56that's for our president
30:57or that's for that prime minister.
31:00But we weren't allowed this time.
31:02I had to keep my mouth shut,
31:04which is difficult for me.
31:08And they said, that's the one.
31:10Even if it was the most horrible one.
31:12Because this is...
31:13We're under stress, pressure,
31:15very quick, a la minute.
31:17It was all cooked in the last minute.
31:19It wasn't pre-cooked.
31:22And that was the one that he had.
31:24Now, another one I had to taste.
31:27And another one,
31:29one of his security people tasted.
31:31Really?
31:32Yes.
31:33So it was very exciting.
31:34Life was on the line.
31:35It was like a movie.
31:36It was like a movie.
31:37Really?
31:38Yeah.
31:39And that's the way they do it.
31:40That's it.
31:41Yeah.
31:52On Latvia's Baltic coast
31:54stands an abandoned cluster
31:56of concrete housing blocks,
31:57the remains of a once substantial
31:59Soviet presence.
32:13Once they spoke of pride,
32:15achievement and a better future.
32:18Now they're turning to dust.
32:22And this is the reason
32:24why they were here.
32:26This was one of the Soviet Union's
32:28most important ears
32:29on the outside world.
32:32Here we are.
32:34In the belly of the beast.
32:37It was so important
32:38that when the Cold War ended,
32:40the people who built it
32:41tried to destroy it.
32:43But they reckoned
32:44with a high price
32:45to pay
32:46for the destruction
32:47of the Soviet Union.
32:49Tried to destroy it.
32:51But they reckoned
32:52without world opinion.
32:54In the old control room,
32:55Joris Zagars,
32:56a Latvian astronomer,
32:58explains how they saved
32:59the Ventspils radio telescope
33:01in the nick of time.
33:03And it was like in a fairy tale.
33:05Let's say some 15 minutes
33:07before execution
33:09or a little bit more,
33:11the order of destroying
33:13was changed
33:15for some kind of
33:16electrical demolition
33:17but not touching
33:18the important parts
33:19of the instrument.
33:20And it was because
33:21the world's
33:22radio astronomical society
33:24was making
33:25some protestations
33:27as well as
33:28the Russian Academy of Science
33:30that to destroy
33:31the best radio telescope
33:32in Northern Europe
33:34only on political reasons,
33:36it's some kind of vandalism.
33:38Instead, they sent in
33:39a wrecking team
33:40to make it impossible to use.
33:42This is one of the examples
33:44of electric sabotage
33:46because all these connections
33:48have been dismounted
33:50and disconnected.
33:52And no any paper,
33:53no any diagram
33:54how to connect them.
33:56So, it was some kind
33:58of a scientific puzzle
33:59for our engineers
34:00and some challenge
34:02to really put them together.
34:03And this is not
34:04the only box.
34:05We have at least four
34:07such boxes,
34:08eight panels.
34:09But how to connect it
34:11was a hard job.
34:12And this demolition work,
34:14it was performed
34:15during one week.
34:17We have worked
34:18four years
34:19to put them back.
34:21How does this compare
34:23sort of size and scale
34:25to other radio telescopes?
34:27From the point of the scale,
34:29it's not the biggest one.
34:31In Europe,
34:32here are three to five
34:33the bigger radio telescopes
34:35of the scale of 70 meters
34:37as in Jodlbank,
34:38in Robledo in Spain,
34:40and in Effelsberg in Germany.
34:42But the value
34:44of the telescope
34:45is not only the size,
34:46the value is also
34:47the accuracy of the surface.
34:49And the accuracy of the surface
34:51is very high
34:52for this telescope.
34:53It's really the best
34:54radio telescope
34:55of the northern Europe.
35:04Let's come.
35:06OK.
35:09Like a submarine
35:10more than a
35:11submarine in the sky.
35:12And now
35:14next level.
35:28Here is our submarine,
35:30let's say.
35:31It looks like a submarine
35:33and it's tilting
35:34when we are working.
35:35This whole
35:36chamber tilts,
35:37does it?
35:38Yes, and you can walk
35:39on the left one.
35:40How does it tilt?
35:41How many degrees?
35:43About 100.
35:44Really?
35:45So more than 90 degrees.
35:46It must be
35:47a weird sensation.
36:10Be careful.
36:11You could have
36:12got a lift.
36:13It's tall.
36:14Wow.
36:15Fantastic.
36:16Let me help you.
36:17Here we are
36:18pointing at the heavens.
36:19Down this
36:20top.
36:21I really feel
36:22well done
36:23to you and your team.
36:24You have saved
36:25this thing,
36:26you know.
36:27Yes, we have saved
36:28but we have saved
36:29it for
36:30not so many
36:31beautiful
36:32radio telescopes
36:33in the world
36:34but
36:35we have
36:36saved
36:37it
36:38for
36:39the most
36:40beautiful
36:41radio telescopes
36:42in the world
36:43and this is
36:44one of the
36:45really
36:46of the top
36:47instruments
36:48so it's
36:49to be used
36:50for
36:51extragalactic
36:52radio astronomy
36:53it's the best
36:54application
36:55we can
36:56offer.
36:57And it's a
36:58wonderful
36:59sun trap.
37:00Yes,
37:01as well
37:02as for
37:03Yes,
37:04you could have
37:05a few loungers
37:06around here
37:07you could
37:08use it
37:09for the most
37:10valuable part
37:11of the telescope
37:12its accuracy
37:13is better
37:14than one
37:15millimetre.
37:16Saving the
37:17telescope was a
37:18rare victory
37:19for common
37:20sense.
37:21Across
37:22the border
37:23is the largest
37:24of the Baltic
37:25Republics
37:26Lithuania.
37:27Influenced
37:28more by Poland
37:29than Sweden
37:30it's staunchly
37:31Catholic
37:32and in the
37:33middle of its
37:34green and
37:35pleasant
37:36countryside
37:37This is
37:38the
37:39hill of
37:40crosses
37:41a symbol
37:42of
37:43Lithuanian
37:44defiance
37:45for over
37:46150 years.
37:47The
37:48Communists
37:49bulldozed it
37:50three times
37:51and once
37:52even flooded
37:53the area
37:54with sewage
37:55before a
37:56papal visit
37:57which only
37:58served to
37:59make it
38:00even more
38:01popular.
38:07The
38:28skyline of
38:29the capital
38:30Vilnius
38:31shows
38:32Lithuania's
38:33mixed fortunes.
38:34One of the
38:35most enlightened
38:36in the world
38:37and under the
38:38sway of
38:39Poland
38:40Sweden
38:41Germany
38:42and Tsarist
38:43Russia.
38:44The
38:45television
38:46tower above
38:47Vilnius
38:48has become
38:49a shrine
38:50to Baltic
38:51liberation.
38:52In
38:531991
38:5413 unarmed
38:55Lithuanians
38:56were killed
38:57by the
38:58Red Army
38:59as they
39:00tried to
39:01protect the
39:02freedom to
39:03broadcast
39:04Lithuania's
39:06freedom.
39:07This
39:08was the
39:09climax
39:10of three
39:11years
39:12of
39:13protest.
39:14Two
39:15years earlier
39:16an estimated
39:17two million
39:18men
39:19women
39:20and children
39:21from all
39:22the Baltic
39:23Republics
39:24joined hands
39:25in a human
39:26chain
39:27which stretched
39:28over 300
39:29miles
39:30from Tallinn
39:31to Vilnius.
39:32The
39:33chain
39:34marked
39:35the
39:36beginning
39:37of
39:38a
39:39new
39:40revolution.
39:41Song
39:42festivals
39:43which
39:44were
39:45permitted
39:46provided
39:47an outlet
39:48for
39:49anti-Russian
39:50feeling.
39:51The
39:52protest
39:53which
39:54became
39:55known
39:56as
39:57the
39:58singing
39:59revolution
40:00was
40:01something
40:02quite
40:03unique
40:04in
40:05politics
40:06and it
40:07led to
40:08the
40:09freedom
40:10of the
40:11Baltic
40:12States.
40:13We
40:14are a
40:15singing
40:16nation.
40:17Well
40:18I've heard
40:19a lot
40:20about this
40:21that you
40:22are a
40:23singer.
40:24Algis
40:25Greytai
40:26is a
40:27Lithuanian
40:28TV
40:29star.
40:30I want
40:31to see
40:32just how
40:33good
40:34your singing
40:35is.
40:36I have
40:37a friend
40:38from England
40:39who doesn't
40:40believe that
40:41we Lithuanians
40:42are a
40:43singing
40:44nation.
40:45Can you
40:46show them
40:47that we
40:48are a
40:49singing
40:50nation and
40:51that we
40:52would sing
40:53together?
40:54On
40:55the
40:56mountain
40:57wall,
40:58right?
40:59We
41:00will stand
41:01up.
41:02Very
41:03good.
41:04Very
41:05good.
41:10Beautiful.
41:11Now I'm
41:12convinced,
41:13yes.
41:14Maybe they
41:15can stand
41:16and get some
41:17other people
41:18and we'll sing
41:19together.
41:20Yeah,
41:21have a
41:22sit down
41:23and we'll
41:24find.
41:25That's
41:26very good.
41:27You get
41:28a little
41:29choir to
41:30do that,
41:31not that
41:32one.
41:49Do you
41:50know this
41:51man?
41:52Do you
41:53know him?
41:54Yes.
41:55Yes.
41:56Yes.
41:57Yes.
42:01Yes.
42:02Yes.
42:03Yes.
42:04Yes.
42:05Yes.
42:06Yes.
42:07Yes.
42:08Yes.
42:09Yes.
42:10Yes.
42:11Yes.
42:12Yes.
42:13Yes.
42:14Yes.
42:15Yes.
42:16Yes.
42:17Yes.
42:18Yes.
42:19Yes.
42:20Yes.
42:21Yes.
42:22Yes.
42:23Yes.
42:24Yes.
42:25Yes.
42:26Yes.
42:27Yes.
42:28Yes.
42:29Yes.
42:30Yes.
42:31Yes.
42:32Yes.
42:33Yes.
42:34Yes.
42:35Yes.
42:36Yes.
42:37Two vegetables, two vegetables and a green apple.
42:42A seed, a seed.
42:45Is that enough? Maybe another song?
42:47I don't know. We don't know the words.
42:48Very good.
42:49That's very good. You've made the point. I think that's excellent.
42:51So it's $50.
42:52Very good. Eurovision Song Contest next year.
42:55OK.
42:57This is Nida in southern Lithuania.
43:00And the chunky boat taking me out of the harbour is an old Baltic fishing bark.
43:24We're heading towards one of Europe's most intriguing landscapes.
43:27A 60-mile-long, 2-mile-wide sandbank they call the Coronian Spit.
43:38This formidable wall of sand is one of the most extraordinary and fragile environments on the continent.
43:47Now protected as a national park, these still-shifting sands curve away to the south and west
43:52with the Baltic waves on one side and lazy lagoons on the other.
43:56Forests have been planted to help hold this young and delicate strip of land together.
44:27As I follow the paths and roads that lead through them,
44:31I find that the curiosities of nature are matched by a few political surprises.
44:45In one of the odder twists of post-war politics,
44:48this part of East Prussia was ceded to the victorious Russians.
44:52They kicked out the Germans and renamed the ancient city of Königsberg Kaliningrad.
44:57But now their neighbours have won independence, Kaliningrad is marooned.
45:02A Russian island in the European sea.
45:11But today the mood in Kaliningrad is resolutely optimistic.
45:15It's exactly 60 years ago today that the old Prussian city of Königsberg was consigned to history
45:21and Kaliningrad, named after a Stalinist president of the USSR, took its place.
45:29Today it's the red, white and blues of the Russian Federation that are the colours of celebration.
45:39As a result of the ethnic cleansing of the Germans,
45:41everyone gathered here can trace themselves back to Mother Russia.
45:46The opening ceremony in front of the new Victory Monument owes more to Eurovision
45:51than any memories of Red Square.
45:58Note the brand-new Orthodox cathedral in the background,
46:01of which the old Communist regime would certainly not have approved.
46:15KALININGRAD
46:40Now it's the turn of the suits, followed by a press circus hanging on every word.
46:46The mayor of Kaliningrad welcomes, amongst others, President Putin's man from Moscow.
46:51Putin's wife, by the way, is a Kaliningrad girl.
46:55Also on parade is a Russian Orthodox priest,
46:58and a much-bemeddled veteran of the Great Patriotic War.
47:04Representing Russian power today is the Admiral of the Baltic Fleet,
47:08whose nuclear submarines lie just up the coast.
47:12VLADIMIR PUTIN
47:27Then it's time for the Russian National Anthem.
47:29Old tune, new words.
47:31RUSSIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
48:02RUSSIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
48:08The rest of the celebrations are delightfully unsolemn.
48:15A bride's bus cruises the streets,
48:17disgorging a dozen young girls, all with one cry.
48:20Splashnikov! Happy holiday!
48:24Splashnikov!
48:30What is there not to like about Kaliningrad?
48:36I ask my guide, Olga Danilova, whether Kaliningraders feel Russian or European.
48:45We feel Russian. This goes without saying.
48:49But maybe special Russian, different from Russians living in the mainland Russia.
48:55Due to this geographical location we found ourselves in.
49:01In what way would you say you feel different from the others in what you call mainland Russia?
49:07Because we are so close to Europe. We are a geographical part of Europe.
49:11And we travel more to Poland and to Lithuania, further to Europe, than we travel to Russia.
49:17And some of the children living here have never been to Russia.
49:21But to go to Poland or to Lithuania is quite a common thing.
49:26Is there any appetite here for independence from Russia?
49:29Oh, no. No way. We don't even have this idea in our minds.
49:34Because it's not possible. We are Russians.
49:37Though we travel to Russia, not very often, most of us.
49:40But we are Russians.
49:46Kaliningrad, Lithuania
50:17So this all-open-air singing-dancing big thing?
50:21Yes, yes, yes it is. It is very popular.
50:24Especially among older generation.
50:27Who just enjoy themselves.
50:30And women? Women a lot. Single women.
50:33Oh, thank you.
50:36Is that because of the lack of men?
50:40Correct, correct.
50:42It's a war, legacy of the war, is it?
50:44Yes, well spotted.
50:47I shall be leaving from this dockside early next morning.
50:50And very hospitably, the captain of this venerable old banana boat, Vityaz,
50:54has agreed to let me use his cabin as a temporary base.
50:59Famous ship.
51:02Hello.
51:04Hello, captain. How are you?
51:06Thank you very much indeed for letting us come here.
51:09Very, very kind of you.
51:11After its banana boat days, Vityaz evacuated 20,000 Germans from here in 1945.
51:18It was given to the British, who in turn gave it to the Russians,
51:21for whom she ended up mapping the world's deepest seabed,
51:24the Mariana Trench in the Pacific.
51:28This is quite a tour, isn't it, to get to the captain's cabin.
51:32Oh, a bridge.
51:35It's now the centrepiece of Kaliningrad's Museum of the World Ocean.
51:41Welcome. It's your room.
51:43Oh, thank you.
51:45Here you are sleeping. It's your bed.
51:47Fantastic. That's lovely. Captain's cabin. Thank you very much.
51:50Dobre noche.
52:01Not wanting my last night to be an anti-climax, Olga's laid on a cultural visit.
52:12TUTONIC NIGHTS
52:25Part historical re-enactment, part general punch-up,
52:29this homage to the Teutonic Knights ends in group hugs and a huge bonfire.
52:34TUTONIC NIGHTS
52:40It may be European rather than Russian history they're celebrating,
52:43but tonight in Kaliningrad nobody really cares.
52:47TUTONIC NIGHTS
53:02Hi. Hello there.
53:04Poland, I gather.
53:06Can I give you that? That's great, thanks.
53:11Thank you. Spasiba.
53:13OK.
53:15I'd hoped to sail down the River Pregel and across the Bay of Gdansk
53:19to my next destination and 17th country, Poland,
53:23but a sudden maritime tiff between the Russians and the Poles
53:26has resulted in a resounding nietz to my plan.
53:36While I think of what else to do,
53:38I settle for a farewell cruise with Max and Sergei
53:41along the Kaliningrad waterfront.
53:45Past disused wharves and idle cranes.
53:49Past my old friend, the Vityaz.
53:59Remnants of the Baltic fleet are in for refits,
54:02but on the whole this is a ghost port.
54:10Kaliningrad, more than anywhere else I've seen,
54:13is a victim of its history.
54:15Physically European, but emotionally, spiritually and politically
54:19clinging to the Kremlin.
54:43THE END