Russia has taken the first place in Estonia's exports outside the European Union, for the first time in March 2023, with Russia accounting for 15.74% of Estonian goods exports.

According to Delfi Forte citing Estonian statistics, as of June 2023, Russia holds the first place in exporting Estonian goods at 13.72%. The countries closest to Russia in this regard are Norway at 12.14% and the United Kingdom at 12.27%.

Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russia's share in Estonian exports outside the EU held the second place after the United States (21.1%). Norway was the third-largest exporter to Tallinn (12.9%) at that time.

Commenting on the export situation to Russia, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia, Tiit Riisalo, stated that the state cannot dictate every step to businesses.

Prior to this, the leader of the Center Party faction in Estonia proposed to the parliament to establish an investigative commission to clarify all the circumstances after the scandal involving the "Russian business" of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas's husband.

Kallas became embroiled in a scandal after it was revealed that the transportation company Stark Logistics, which is partially owned by Kallas's husband Arvo Hallik, continued its operations towards Russia during the full-scale war in Ukraine.

Later, Hallik promised to sell his stake and leave the company. He apologised for the situation. The Estonian Security Police stated that the activities of Stark Logistics in Russia did not violate current sanctions.

Read more How Scandal Around Estonian Prime Minister Could Affect Ukraine