Sinijärv recommends books on Kaido Kama and Setomaa

Estonian public broadcaster ERR reports that National Library cultural adviser Karl Martin Sinijärv has recommended Argo Ideon’s book on politician Kaido Kama and Tapio Mäkeläinen’s cultural and travel guide to Setomaa.

A portrait of Kaido Kama’s political years

Ideon’s Making One’s Own State: Kaido Kama’s Life in Politics 1987 to 1995, published in 2026, tells lesser-known stories about a relatively well-known figure, Sinijärv writes.

Kama has been away from the political scene for several decades, but his mark remains. Sinijärv praises the book for avoiding the lengthy, intrusive ego tract he associates with some political memoirs. Instead, it focuses on specific years, the building of an independent state, and Kama’s direction, withdrawal and retreat from politics.

Sinijärv recalls lively nights at Tallinn’s Kungla Hotel during that period, when a forest manager, very young poet, shepherd and nature enthusiast took part in discussions about how to improve the world. He jokes that Kama himself may not be particularly interested in the book and is more likely to be doing practical work, such as harnessing a horse or riding an ant-named cargo bicycle to a village shop for bread and cheese. Kama, Sinijärv adds, once helped light an effective fire under the state, and it is still burning.

A guide to Seto culture

Mäkeläinen’s Setos and Setomaa: A Cultural and Travel Guide was also published in 2026. Sinijärv says Seto culture has become deeply embedded in the hearts of people across Estonia and that the Seto identity is now, in some ways, more recognisably Estonian than Estonia itself.

He welcomes the fact that a Finnish writer has brought together such a comprehensive account of the region. An outsider’s perspective, Sinijärv writes, draws familiar but overlooked details out of bogs and wetlands and places them in plain view.

Sinijärv says Estonians could travel more often to Estonia’s southeastern corner, eat there and meet local people. The Seto people are friendly even when they grumble, he writes, but visitors must understand that they are guests in other people’s homes. He recommends Mäkeläinen’s book as an informative and enjoyable introduction to the culture.