Photo Gallery Estonia's New Image
The Estonian capital of Tallinn, shown here, along with the rest of the country, is turning into an attractive destination for other Europeans. Since the end of communism there some 20 years ago, the country has encouraged entrepreneurship through transparent, business-friendly measures.
Here, the old city center of Tallinn highlights Estonia's new image. It has been transformed into a Medieval wonderland, complete with cobblestone streets, bell towers and brightly colored townhouses and guildhalls, in hopes of attracting tourists and investors.
Here former Estonian Prime Minister Juahn Parts (left), meets former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in 2003. Parts, who has been a key force in his country's development, is now economics minister. "When we had finally escaped from Soviet socialism, we were sick and tired of government centralism. We wanted precisely the opposite in all respects: We wanted a transparent state," he told SPIEGEL.
Internet communication service Skype has been a wildly successful example of Estonia's new energy. Microsoft just bought Skype, and the concept, for $8.5 billion.
