Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 After discussions on whether Estonia should withdraw due to the Russian participation in the 2008 South Ossetia war in Georgia, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) announced that, due to public demand, they would participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, to be held in Moscow. In August 2008 Estonian Minister of Culture Laine Jänes announced a possible boycott could be held between the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Latvia later rebuked the boycott and announced that they would be present at the 2009 contest. In September 2008 a public poll was held on
Economy of Estonia for Latvia. Estonia today is mainly influenced by developments in Finland, Russia, Sweden and Germany – the four main trade partners. The government recently greatly increased its spending on innovation. The prime minister from the Estonian Reform Party has stated its goal of bringing Estonian GDP per capita into the top 5 of the EU by 2022. However, the GDP of Estonia decreased by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter of 2008, over 3% in the 3rd quarter of 2008, and over 9% in the 4th quarter of 2008. The Estonian economy further contracted by 15.1% in the first quarter of