Toomas Annus: Hunting for culprits is Estonia's national sport

Entrepreneur Toomas Annus, who brought the statue of a female equestrian that captivated Tallinn to the city's public space, discusses the challenges of installing art in the urban landscape, the unstoppable rise in apartment prices, and proposes solutions to make Estonia's tax system fairer. He also weighs in on problems in Estonian sports.

Entrepreneur Toomas Annus, whose initiative brought the female equestrian monument that recently attracted wide attention to Tallinn's public space, believes that installing public art in Estonia's capital has become unreasonably complicated. Annus describes a situation where every initiative attracts criticism and accusations instead of inspiring the city to develop and become more interesting.

According to Annus, Estonia has developed a habit of seeking culprits in every situation and punishing even those who have done nothing wrong. "Hunting for culprits and punishing the innocent seems to be our national sport," he says, referring to disputes related to shaping public space as well as a broader societal attitude.

Apartment prices and the tax system

On real estate matters, Annus has a clear position: apartment prices are rising unstoppably because construction volumes cannot keep pace with demand, and bureaucracy slows the construction of new residential buildings. The entrepreneur proposes concrete steps to make Estonia's tax system fairer, particularly so that work and entrepreneurship are rewarded more in society and wealth inequality is reduced.

The future of Estonian sports

Annus also dwells at length on the atmosphere prevailing in Estonia's sports world, which he describes as envy and malice. In his view, athletes' development and results suffer precisely because intrigues and mutual conflicts dominate instead of a supportive environment. The entrepreneur recommends sports organisations and society as a whole to move towards cooperation and mutual recognition so that Estonian sports can finally realise their full potential.