Christoffer Cederschiöld: Time flies in Tallinn

2009 marks the 20th anniversary of Äripäev and events will occur almost back to back. 

A chess competition was recently held in which 20 people simultaneously competed against Äripäev CEO Igor Rõtov — a former professional chess player who toured and competed in the Soviet Union before he started at Äripäev. Whoever lost had to donate 1 989 EEK (about 190 USD) to charity. Of course, Igor maintained and lost only two games. I got a chance to play the champ too, but I didn't last long.

Work is going well and I have met many people both at Äripäev here in Tallinn and at di.se in Sweden who have been able to discuss my project and offer information. Times are exciting with several ongoing projects and big opportunities to gain market shares. The atmosphere is positive and it really goes to show that everyone puts in the extra effort during these tough times. Therefore it's especially good to see that Äripäev is mentioned within Bonnier Business Press as one of the best-performing companies in Central and Eastern Europe.

Also, I've been invited by the head of the Swedish Trade Council in Estonia, Henrik Avasalu, to attend the Swedish Business Awards. The event is focused on the economic situation in the Baltic States, but also raises environmental issues and speakers such as Mattias Klum, a famous Swedish nature photographer working for National Geographic, will be there.

According to the Swedish news media, the epicenter of the financial crisis is right here in the Baltic states. However, there's no sign of that on the streets of Tallinn. Perhaps it's like a colleague said, that they have been through worse. After all, it's only 15 years since the last of the Russian troops left the country. And by the way, the cinemas here are more or less as great as the ones in Sweden. Next week sees the grand opening of a new, hyper-modern cinema complex with nine auditoriums.

Looking forward to the rest of my time here in Tallinn! Don't miss the nice pictures from Tallinn city shot by master photographer Rivo Sarapik in the right column.