--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the mid-1980s, however, the Estonian…" description: "\"In the mid-1980s, however, the Estonian TV programmers came up with a clever idea: they asked Moscow for millions of rubles to make propaganda in Eston..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/jaak-kilmi-49634_clever_in-the-mid-1980s-however-the-estonian-tv_802713.jpg" --- # In the mid-1980s, however, the Estonian TV programmers… ![“In the mid-1980s, however, the Estonian TV programmers came up with a clever idea: they asked Moscow for millions of rubles to make propaganda in Estonia to fight the Finnish programs' popularity. They got millions from the government, but what they made was not propaganda at all! They simply made…” quote by Jaak Kilmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/jaak-kilmi-49634_clever_in-the-mid-1980s-however-the-estonian-tv_802713.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/jaak-kilmi-49634_clever_in-the-mid-1980s-however-the-estonian-tv_802713.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/jaak-kilmi-49634_clever_in-the-mid-1980s-however-the-estonian-tv_802713.jpg) > “In the mid-1980s, however, the Estonian TV programmers came up with a clever idea: they asked Moscow for millions of rubles to make propaganda in Estonia to fight the Finnish programs' popularity. They got millions from the government, but what they made was not propaganda at all! They simply made good, entertaining programs - no one in Estonia recognized them as propaganda, only Russia thought it was, so they got away with it. Of course, Russia provided their own propaganda programs, but Estonians knew to avoid them.” [Jaak Kilmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaak-kilmi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Estonian broadcasters secured Soviet funds for programming, but produced entertaining content that audiences saw as normal, while Soviet officials labeled it propaganda, allowing the broadcasters to evade censorship and control. **In simple terms:** Estonians used Soviet money to make shows that felt like regular entertainment, not propaganda. Key Takeaway Leverage resources creatively to bypass control. Themes media strategy propaganda cultural resistance creative subversion Mood cunning defiant reflective Type analytical historical When to use this quote - television production - state funding - audience perception - media literacy Key Concepts soft power public perception information economics Questions to Reflect On - How can creators use funding sources without compromising integrity? - What role does audience perception play in defining propaganda? A Different Perspective Success depended on audience awareness; without it, the same tactic could be exposed as manipulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Entertaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertaining/) [Estonia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estonia/) [Estonian Tv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estonian-tv-6143977/) [Estonians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estonians-57508/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Finnish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finnish/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [Moscow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moscow/) [Popularity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popularity/) [Program](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/program/) [Programmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programmers/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Propaganda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda/) [Propaganda Estonia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda-estonia-6143974/) [Propaganda Programs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda-programs-6143976/) [Propaganda Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda-russia-6143975/) [Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia/) [Tvs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tvs/) ## Related quotes > [“It would be easier to get a computer to cry than to get Estonians to share their innermost feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lembit-pik/it-would-be-easier-to-get-a-computer-to-cry-than-to-get-estonians-to/) [Lembit Öpik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lembit-pik/) > [No well-run yacht basin in Southern waters is complete without at least two sun-burned, salt bleached-headed Esthonians who are waiting for a check from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-well-run-yacht-basin-in-southern-waters-is-complete-without-at/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [You know that Estonia, based largely on how successful Skype was, built by Estonian developers, that was a tenth of the entire country's GDP…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-ohanian/you-know-that-estonia-based-largely-on-how-successful-skype-was-built/) [Alexis Ohanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-ohanian/) > [In Northern Estonia, the Soviet authorities didn't have a recipe on how to fight against the popularity of Finnish TV. 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