By Months: Riina Solman
Total Months: 19
Fully Profiled: 19
10.2025
20 Speeches
While the focus is on the national organization of education, examples are given of the breadth of the issues, citing the concerns of parents in Valga municipality, Ida-Viru County, and Tallinn. This regional focus is illustrative, highlighting the fact that national changes have created problems throughout Estonia.
09.2025
44 Speeches
The regional focus addresses the issues of sparsely populated areas and the migration of people from rural regions (including Ida-Virumaa and the islands) to major centers. It is emphasized that there is a need to restore the hobby group subsidy for large families, which provided significant assistance to many families in rural areas. Questions are also being asked regarding the plans for restoring financial instruments for local governments.
06.2025
45 Speeches
The strong regional focus is on marginalization and regional inequality, which is worsening due to tax hikes and internal migration. Specific emphasis is placed on the problems in Ida-Viru County (the closure of Toila Gymnasium, poverty) and rural areas (secondary roads). He/She is calling for the creation of regional support packages to keep life viable outside the "golden circle" of Tallinn and Tartu.
05.2025
38 Speeches
A strong regional focus, highlighting the emptying out of rural areas and regional inequality, stemming from the loss of essential services (shops, public transport, state institutions) and the rising cost of living. It calls for local governments (KOV) to be financially incentivized to create jobs (via corporate income tax directed to KOVs) and criticizes the reorganization of educational institutions in Hiiumaa.
04.2025
33 Speeches
The speaker focuses heavily on the problem of regional decline (peripheralization), particularly in the context of poverty and the internal migration pressure that forces people to move to Tallinn and Harju County. Separate emphasis is placed on the socio-economic importance of Ida-Viru County and its high rate of relative poverty (affecting over one third of the population), demanding the preservation of oil shale-based energy production.
03.2025
24 Speeches
Although the focus is national, it is emphasized that government policies (especially the car tax and cuts to family benefits) hit large families the hardest *in rural areas*, where a car is an essential means of transport. In the context of security, Ida-Virumaa and the Narva border crossing are mentioned as a theater of hybrid warfare.
02.2025
19 Speeches
The focus is primarily national and international (security, Israel, Russia). Regionally, the security of rural areas concerning predators (wolves) is addressed, with emphasis placed on the safety of children traveling to school. Furthermore, the Tallinn city government (Lasnamäe) is criticized regarding issues surrounding national symbols and Estonian-language education.
01.2025
21 Speeches
It focuses heavily on the deepening inequality between rural areas and regions, criticizing the detrimental impact of government policy on rural life. It stresses that the car tax and the declining availability of services (such as state institutions) hit large families in rural areas particularly hard, citing examples like the closure of shops in Põlva municipality.
12.2024
42 Speeches
The focus is primarily national and international, but specific regional policy security concerns are highlighted. The plan to close the Jõhvi courthouse is criticized, being labeled both a security risk and a disregard for regional policy impact, while emphasizing the necessity of state representation in Ida-Virumaa and Southeast Estonia.
11.2024
33 Speeches
A strong regional focus, criticizing the departure of state agencies (such as the MTA, SKA) from county centers (Põlva) and the concentration of services in the Tallinn region. It stresses that the government's tax hikes disproportionately harm the ability of rural residents to cope and exacerbate regional inequality. It demands cross-sectoral cooperation on regional policy matters.
10.2024
45 Speeches
The concerns of rural residents are strongly emphasized, highlighting the poor availability of mental health services and the negative impact of the tax cascade specifically on rural families. The need to expand the network of family support centers across Estonia is mentioned, and the isolation experienced by residents of sparsely populated areas who are left to deal with their problems alone is criticized.
09.2024
18 Speeches
The focus is predominantly on national and international issues (Israel/Palestine, the UN vote). Regional policy is addressed in the context of internal migration and the concentration of the population in Tallinn, noting that the capital’s population has surpassed the 600,000 threshold due to external migration. He/She criticizes the tax hikes, which make living in the countryside more difficult for young families.
07.2024
11 Speeches
The focus is predominantly on national issues (tax policy, demography). The regional focus is limited to a remark that the motor vehicle tax should be allocated to the road maintenance plan to develop the road network and paved roads in rural areas, which are currently scarce.
06.2024
11 Speeches
The speaker focuses on the issues facing Ida-Virumaa, specifically the preservation of Estonian-language education, using the Toila School as a case study. Emphasis is placed on the county’s strategic importance along the eastern border and the necessity of slowing the growth of the Russian-speaking population’s share, with Jõhvi being cited as a crucial administrative center.
05.2024
12 Speeches
The primary focus is on national policies, but it highlights the issues facing rural areas regarding the unfairness of the car tax and the declining population share outside Harju and Tartu counties. The emptying out of rural areas is viewed as a direct consequence of government policy.
04.2024
11 Speeches
Although the main focus is national, significant attention is being paid to rural areas and the high cost of maintaining sparsely populated settlements, contrasting this situation with urban centers. Specific regional examples include heritage conservation issues in Viljandi, Valga, and Võru, where the Tallinn-centric management is heavily criticized. Furthermore, the importance of funding for extracurricular activities is highlighted, especially for large families residing in rural areas.
03.2024
24 Speeches
A strong regional policy focus, emphasizing the deteriorating livelihood of rural residents (large families, schoolchildren) due to the car tax and inadequate public transport. It draws attention to the social consequences in Ida-Virumaa resulting from the rapid termination of the oil shale energy sector. It criticizes the cutting of Elektrilevi’s network development investments, which affects the security of supply in rural areas.
02.2024
13 Speeches
The speaker places a strong emphasis on regional inequality and the issues facing rural areas. It is pointed out that the motor vehicle tax accelerates urbanization and is unfair to people in the countryside who rely on cars due to the lack of public transportation. Families living in the municipality of Lääne-Nigula are used as an example.
01.2024
10 Speeches
Focuses strongly on regional policy and the problems faced by rural residents, mentioning his/her personal connection to rural life. He/She highlights issues in Ida-Virumaa (oil shale value creation/refinement and the failure of the JTF) and problems with electricity supply security in Saaremaa, the North Coast, and Southeast Estonia. The text demands that regional difficulties be alleviated through the reallocation of the equalization fund.