Another message to Sokos - a new revelations, and I feel like an ignorant jackass - tourism to Tallinn, Estonia

Dear Harry Põder

First of all let me express my gratitude for such a prompt response.

I believe I made two mistakes for which I have to apologize.

There are fewer Russian visitors than Norwegians. I did not know that. Thank you for letting me know that the number Norwegian tourists in the Sokos Viru Hotel is greater than the number of Russian tourists?  It does sound however highly implausible judging by the number of transport connections and other factors but if you say that then I guess I would take it for granted, namely that Russian Federation passport holders are the fifth group by number at Tallinn (Sokos) Viru hotel.


My second misconception was about the Viru hotel itself. I was under a false impression that the Viru Hotel was constructed by the Moscow-based Intourist and is almost identical to a building they put together in Togliatti at the same time and Moscow-based Intourist hired companies from   Finland and Finland (though not exclusively Finnish) contractors participated in the building project for which they were of course most handsomely paid.  I just finished my own small hotel project in Moravia, in Czech Republic, in which I converted an old building (the foundation may be dates from the 14th century) to a small hotel / bed and breakfast use. I had different contractors working at the site, but I'd say I put this hotel together (there is a fine German word for it, Bauherr) and, let's say, not Hungarians, although I had one gentleman working who might have been of Hungarian origin or he at least confided that.  From what you implied the Viru Hotel was not built by Moscow-based Intourist but was a donation of the Finns. Sadly I was  unaware of that part story -I did not know that the building was a gift of the Finno-Ugric inhabitants of Finland (of course not just Finns live in Finland) to their Southern brethren. This would obviously be a fantastic marketing asset for the hotel, I was not aware of the fact and I apologize for my ignorance. I would certainly publicize this act of a historically unprecedented collective ethnic generosity.

As you've mentioned the much maligned USA - I must say you are absolutely right, I am a US national (and I spent a few years in Austria and I live in the Czech Republic), with a disclaimer that  Americans of Russian descent or those who were born there are Americans and not "Russians in America"  and I'd say that  in Austria (which is not an ethnic state) someone who has an Austrian passport is an Austrian (it is so believe me)  and I guess in the Czech Republic that tends also to be the case -  sometimes even if you don't have the Czech citizenship (as I don't) - I feel very much like a local.  I speak Czech but when I didn't I don't believe I had any encounters of the kind I had at your much esteemed establishment or in today's Estonia.  So while you are correct that someone of Russian descent would consider the flag of the United States as his or her as it would right be or someone who is of Russian background but is a citizen of France (I know that country also well) he would certainly feel French, I am not quite sure it is the case in Estonia - not at least after I talked to a few locals here.

Once again, thank you very much for your prompt response.
There are two points that I noted
first that at this time the number of Russian overnight visitors is smaller than of Norwegians though that might change in the future.
secondly (an important point to keep in mind and to spread around) that the Viru Hotel was a gift of the Finnish speaking nationals of Finland.

Warmest regards,


 

A letter to the Sokos (Finland-based) hotel chain

(let's wait for the answer):

Sokos Hotels
P.O. Box 1, 00088 S GROUP, Finland
Switch board: Tel. +358 10 76 8011

To Whom It May Concern:

I recently walked by the Viru Hotel in Reval, Tallinn, which was built by the Soviet Union in the 1972s (or about that time). There are enormous, staggering flagpoles on the side of the hotel displaying the flags of the Estonian ethnostate as well as Finland, Germany, Sweden, Norway and of the European Union.

As far as I know after Finnish tourists the largest group of people who stay at the Sokos Viru are Russian Federation nationals,  however the flag of the Russian Federation is conspicuous by its absence.

Would you please explain why the largest group, after the Finnish passport holders,  the greatest spenders by volume who collectively support your establishment financially is being discriminated against by your hotel chain? What would the reason be of such manifest and seemingly mindless, ungracious Russophobia?


Although I am not nominally a Russian passport holder I am informally studying the instances of corporate discrimination in the post-Soviet Baltic statelets, the purpose behind this effort is to single the most obvious and brazen offenders out  - those who discriminate against Russian language, Russophone speakers, or even, inexplicably, the flag  (discrimination here means that someone or something is treated differently from others even when demographics and history would warrant otherwise or in case of Estonia for instance only accepting the Estonian ethno-Nazi narrative as only one) and to punish them by organizing boycott in the Russian Federation itself or by leveling legal sanctions against by passing law on anti-discrimination in the former Russian Empire and the republics of the Soviet Union.

While I am not making any judgment yet, I believe that the number of Russian customers of Sokos Viru in Reval (today's Tallinn), a city where over one of inhabitants speaks Russian natively which has been a part of the Russian state or of the Soviet for close 300 years is probably somewhat greater than that of Norwegian - with all due respect to Norwegian visitors (I happen to like Norwegians a lot) and that begs the question why would the Norwegian - or the German flag - be displayed publicly, but not the flag of your Russian customers?



Sincerely yours,





PS: employees at Sokos Viru also refused to speak to me in Russian - that happened in the Mexican themed bar and another bar - it is obvious that hiring someone bilingual would make sense in a city where at least one third of inhabitants speak Russian natively and the second largest foreign group are Russian speaking tourists. Unfortunately the personnel does not speak German or French either.