History is more interesting than politics.
Lennart Meri

I am not always happy with the compliments Estonia has received.
Lennart Meri

I was too busy looking into Yeltsin's eyes to notice what was under the table.
Lennart Meri

I've never met a general yet who could milk a cow.
Lennart Meri

If geography is prose, maps are iconography.
Lennart Meri

In the past, when I shot films about fishermen and hunters, I always had to admire their ability to perceive time in its entirety. The present was always temporary.
Lennart Meri

Looking in the mirror to check if my tie is straight is a waste of my time. I only look in the mirror once a day, and that's in the morning when I shave.
Lennart Meri

Our civilisation has lost this bond between times, and tends to measure time with a yardstick, bit by bit, from one point to another.
Lennart Meri

Science will liberate us from the chains of big cities and lead us back to nature.
Lennart Meri

Security is like virginity: you're either a virgin or you're not. You either have security or you don't.
Lennart Meri


That radio was very important for me. It meant I always knew what was going on in the world.
Lennart Meri

Throughout Soviet times, I understood what was really happening in the world around me.
Lennart Meri

Traveling is the only passion that doesn't need to feel shy in front of intellect.
Lennart Meri

With that radio I was always swimming with the current political streams in the West. I was never stranded.
Lennart Meri