― S T O R I E S F R O M T H E S E A S I D E →Ano<strong>the</strong>r <strong>Sea</strong>./ / / text: D e n i s s J e r s h o v , T A R T UFrom <strong>the</strong> Greeks we get <strong>the</strong> saying that you can’tenter <strong>the</strong> same river twice. Well, it certainly works withseas too. Especially, when it is <strong>the</strong> <strong>Baltic</strong>. Having lived15 years at its shores, I can state that you don’t evenhave to enter <strong>the</strong> sea. It is enough just to havea look, to see that it is not <strong>the</strong> same, it has changed,it is already ano<strong>the</strong>r.It was new, when tribes of Ugro-Finns finally reachedits shores after centuries of roaming, looking forhome, called Viru.It was expansionism, when <strong>the</strong> new kingdoms ofEurope, fed up of conflicts with <strong>the</strong>ir neighbours,headed <strong>the</strong>ir boats east and brought newtechnologies in exchange for local treasures, calledfur and honey.It was courage, when a young ruler decided to enter<strong>the</strong> circle of <strong>the</strong> greatest of his time and built on itsshores a city, called St. Petersburg.It was beginning, when it became a part of a flagwhich a few young people raised on <strong>the</strong> ruins of war,giving birth to a new country, called Republicof Estonia.It was scared, when <strong>the</strong> battleships of <strong>the</strong> SecondWorld War cruised its waters and engineers filled itwith explosives so hard, that decades later <strong>the</strong>re arestill places on <strong>the</strong> surface of <strong>the</strong> sea, which are notsuitable for navigation.It was news, when on a September night in 1994 itsstorms gave peace to passengers of a ship, calledEstonia.Rivers unite two banks, or two sides, or two countries.With seas it is different, as <strong>the</strong>y unite cultures,nations, histories, geographical parts. Especially,when it is <strong>the</strong> <strong>Baltic</strong> <strong>Sea</strong>.It was future, when it allowed Lenin to cross its frozenwaters, escaping to Finland from Tsarist police, whichfollowed him for ideas that later built a brand newsystem of relations, called Soviet Republics.28
―← S T O R I E S F R O M T H E S E A S I D E 〈 〈 〈 〈 〈La Mer./ / / photo: S t e p h a n i e E n d t e r , B E R L I N / / / music: C l a u d e D e b u s s y29
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