New issues of the journals of the Estonian Academy Publishers now available

June issues of the scientific journals Estonian Journal of Archaeology, Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences, Linguistica Uralica, Oil Shale, Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, and TRAMES have been published.

The first issue of volume 30 of the Estonian Journal of Archaeology contains five articles.

Hanna-Leena Puolakka’s article examines Late Iron Age (c. AD 700–1300) convex brooches recovered from northern Fennoscandia, of which 71 examples are currently known. Four principal types of convex brooches are represented in the material: Scandinavian oval brooches, eastern oval brooches (sometimes referred to as Karelian brooches), Finnish round brooches, and shield-boss-shaped brooches. Although the metallurgical composition of the northern Fennoscandian brooches closely resembles that of corresponding ornaments from southern Finland, the majority of the finds do not occur in pairs in burial contexts. This suggests that these brooches fulfilled a different role in the north than in the southern regions: while the brooches themselves were adopted, the associated dress fashions were not.

In his study, Andres Tvauri investigates the nature of craft production in Estonian rural settlements during the 12th–14th centuries and assesses whether village-based craft activities were affected by the conquest and Christianization of Estonia by German and Danish crusaders. The analysis is based on craft-related finds recovered from twelve rural settlement sites dating to the period under study, including tools, semi-finished products, and manufacturing waste. To place the evidence from villages within a broader framework, it is compared with contemporaneous material from hillforts and urban contexts of the 13th and 14th centuries. The author argues that prior to and during the conquest, hillforts constituted the principal centres of craft production in Estonia, whereas craft activities in villages were largely limited to household needs. Following the conquest, the bulk of craft production became concentrated in towns.

Teemu Mökkönen and Kerkko Nordqvist present a critical response to Irina Khrustaleva and Aivar Kriiska’s article ‘Comb Ware cultures in the eastern Baltic’, published in the first issue of volume 29 of the Estonian Journal of Archaeology (2025). In their reply, Khrustaleva and Kriiska acknowledge the need for more detailed and securely dated regional case studies across the entire distribution area of the Comb Ware phenomenon. At the same time, they argue that broad-scale syntheses and generalizations remain indispensable until such studies become available.

Contents and full texts of articles

The latest volume of the Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences brings together five papers spanning contemporary marine pollution, Quaternary coastal change, and Paleozoic stratigraphy, basin evolution, and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the Baltic region.

The opening paper by Tiia Möller-Raid and co-authors assesses marine litter on 14 small uninhabited Estonian islands in the northeastern Baltic Sea. Surveys of beaches and coastal vegetation show generally low macrolitter abundance, although islands in the Gulf of Finland record the highest values. Plastics dominate the litter assemblage, microlitter occurs in low concentrations in sediments, and litter is also incorporated into seabird nests, underlining the ecological relevance of even relatively modest pollution levels.

Suursaar et al. study the Järve coastal scarp in Saaremaa and present a reconstruction of the last ~2000 years of spit and ridge development using sedimentology, luminescence and radiocarbon dating, ground-penetrating radar, and LiDAR. Their study shows a transition from long-term coastal accretion to recent erosion driven by reduced relative sea-level fall, declining sea ice, and stronger winter-storm impacts.

Two papers focus on Estonian stratigraphy. Männik et al. present an updated correlation of the Silurian succession, revising links between regional stages and the global chronostratigraphic scale using newer palaeontological and geochemical data. It highlights several revised or still problematic boundaries and presents a time-scaled regional correlation scheme, while stressing the need for stronger biostratigraphic definitions. A companion contribution by Harris et al. on the Upper Ordovician analyses facies and sequences from the Nabala to Porkuni regional stages. It identifies seven depositional sequences and interprets the evolution of the Estonian Shelf–Livonian Basin in terms of facies progradation, eustatic sea-level change, Hirnantian glaciation, and the tectonic influence of Baltica–Avalonia collision.

Finally, Ģirts Stinkulis and co-authors examine dolocretes in Latvian Devonian Amata Formation, interpreting them as soil-related features formed during sea-level fall and a shift from warm, moist conditions toward a drier, hotter climate across the Givetian–Frasnian transition.

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The 2026 volume of Linguistica Uralica is the first to contain two issues instead of four. Both issues, however, are larger than in previous years, and the volume as a whole will amount to approximately 80% of its former size.

In ‘Variation of the glottal stop /ʔ/ in South Estonian lative forms’, Tartu University’s doctoral student Janek Vaab investigates one of the characteristic features of South Estonian, namely the glottal stop phoneme. Combining qualitative historical analysis with synchronical quantitative analysis, his research focuses on the occurrence of the glottal stop in lative case forms, which varies across South Estonian. As he shows, the Mulgi–Tartu area has, in general, lost the glottal stop, and therefore lative forms also lack glottal stops. Eastern Võro and Seto did preserve the glottal stop; however, lative forms are still predominantly realized without it. Conservative, in contrast, are the language islands Lutsi and Kraasna, with lative forms such as *kotok > kuuq ‘home’. Most South Estonian dialects have replaced kuuq by the form kodo < *kotoj, but in the western dialects of Võro, secondary glottal stops can be found, for instance, in kodoq.

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The new issue of Oil Shale contains five articles, four of them by researchers from China and one by researchers from Estonia.

The article by Estonian researchers, titled ‘Methylation of kukersite kerogen – estimation of the content of free hydroxyl groups’, presents the results of methylating kukersite kerogen with dimethyl carbonate. The results show that kukersite kerogen can be easily and almost quantitatively methylated using dimethyl carbonate, an environmentally friendly methylating agent. As a result, it is concluded that free hydroxyl groups account for nearly half of the oxygen atoms present in the kerogen ‘molecule’. This selective methylation reaction of kerogen hydroxyl groups paves the way for further studies on other derivatization reactions and the potential applications of kukersite derivatives in future valorization efforts.

We also recommend reading the articles by the Chinese researchers. They address numerical modelling of oil shale combustion in a fluidized bed, heat transfer processes during oil shale pyrolysis in a rotating retort, optimization of the oil shale retorting process through heat-transfer-based modelling, and in situ oil shale mining using superheated steam injection.

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The second issue of the Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences in 2026 contains nine research articles. They range from mathematics and control systems theory to health promotion in local governments, chemical analysis, the study of plant compounds, applied engineering, and the history of academic culture.

The more theoretical articles deal with discrete-time nonlinear systems and topological algebras. Arvo Kaldmäe, Ülle Kotta, and Maris Tõnso develop algebraic methods for describing nonlinear control systems using the notion of a difference field. Arvo Kaldmäe, Ülle Kotta, Vadim Kaparin, Tanel Mullari, Maris Tõnso, and Ewa Pawłuszewicz continue this line of research in an article on generalized observer forms; these are important for the simultaneous estimation of system states and disturbances. Mart Abel’s short mathematical article discusses the automatic continuity of multiplicative linear functionals on Q-algebras.

Several articles have a clear connection with Estonia or the wider region. Liina Riisenberg, Mari-Liisa Parder, Jelizaveta-Anna Viikmann, and Nele Kunder analyse the development of health promotion as a professional field in Estonian local governments, focusing on the role of health promotion specialists, the required competencies, and the factors that support or hinder their development.

Ain Raal and co-authors compare the volatile profiles of species of the genus Epilobium growing in Estonia. Madli Vanamölder and Kaarel Vanamölder examine 19th-century anniversary rituals at the University of Tartu and show how they reflected the transfer of German academic culture within the Russian Empire.

The more applied articles come from engineering and chemistry. Tanel Jalakas, Dmitri Vinnikov, and Siim Erik Viiding present a cost-effective residual-current sensor for household DC microgrids. Önder Can Arda and Fatih Karaçam discuss the optimization of a fixed boom structure using computer-aided engineering analysis and topology optimization. Anton Mastitski and Peeter Burk study the stability of Fmoc, Trt, and Boc protecting groups under electrospray ionization conditions. The study is relevant to mass spectrometry, protecting-group chemistry, and peptide synthesis.

As a whole, the issue illustrates the role of Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences as a journal of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, bringing together disciplinary strength, practical value, and the scientific context of Estonia and the wider region.

Contents and full texts of articles

The first issue of Trames in 2026 features seven research articles, three of which focus on Estonia, while the final study explores Ukrainian national identity.

Estonian studies

The issue opens with an article by Jussi S. Jauhiainen (University of Turku and University of Tartu) on how Estonian immigrants adapt to life in Finland, where they form the largest immigrant group (6% of all immigrants). The study reveals that Finnish language proficiency, intermarriage with Finns, and raising children in Finland are more significant factors for adaptation than the duration of residence. Only a small minority adapts fully, while another small segment remains completely isolated from Finnish society. The majority experiences partial adaptation, which manifests differently across housing, employment, and social life. Despite linguistic proximity and familiarity with local norms, continuous online interaction and frequent visits to Estonia sustain a strong sense of belonging to their home country, which in turn slows down full integration into Finland.

Urmas Tross, Mervi Raudsaar, and Tanel Hirv (University of Tartu) examine whether regional governance through entrepreneurial ecosystems represents a new institutional and strategic direction in regional development. Their systematic review explores the institutional foundations of regional development from an entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective. The findings highlight the potential of this approach to enhance institutional quality, foster regional competitiveness, and contribute to long-term economic sustainability.

Ramon Loik and Jaanika Puusalu (Estonian Academy of Security Sciences) address the digital challenges to security and democratic policy, focusing on the pillars of protection for the EU information environment. The authors state that growing reliance on digital technologies, including the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), has equipped autocratic regimes with unprecedented tools for information manipulation and societal control both domestically and internationally. This creates an urgent need for effective countermeasures to protect democratic societies from malicious interference. The article also addresses the ongoing debate regarding the extent to which freedom of expression may be restricted for public security reasons and presents four normative pillars to protect the EU’s information environment.

International research

Ignas Kalpokas, Ainius Lašas, and Arvydas Grišinas (Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania) analyse informational vulnerability in the digital era. The authors propose that instead of using the term ‘post-truth era’, we should conceptualize it as a specific period of human informational vulnerability. The article treats informational vulnerability as a normal and natural human process, introducing a systematic approach to analysing it and interpreting public narratives.

Linta Khattak and Xiaolong Zou (Jilin University, China) examine the strategic competition between India and Pakistan in Afghanistan. The US withdrawal from the region in 2021 left a power vacuum, turning Afghanistan into an arena where both nations seek to expand their influence. India utilizes soft power and a calculated strategic approach through limited engagement with the Taliban to contain Pakistani influence. Conversely, Pakistan actively supports the Taliban regime and utilizes non-state actors to secure its strategic interests against India.

Furkan Öztürk (Akdeniz University, Turkey) analyses the early 15th-century Ottoman adaptation of the Alexander Romance through Ahmedî’s İskendernâme. As the most influential Ottoman adaptation of the poem, the work systematizes ideal kingship through advisory epistles attributed to Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, and Socrates, while articulating Indo-Iranian political theory based on justice, liberality, and consultation.

Cultural identity and Ukraine

The issue concludes with a study by Leila Bouziane, Olena Bakulich, and Andrii Bieliatynskyi (North Minzu University, China, and National Transport University, Kyiv, Ukraine), exploring Ukrainian borscht as a symbol of ethnic identity. The article analyses how its gastronomic properties shape and reflect the ethnocultural psyche of Ukrainians. The discourse extends beyond culinary aspects, highlighting how borscht serves as a metaphor for broader cultural, spiritual, and social dimensions. The results show that Ukrainians who prioritize values such as belonging and equality view borscht as a unifying element that strengthens community bonds, positive emotions, and national cohesion. The findings also underscore its metaphorical significance as a cultural artifact and a tool for mnemonic security, safeguarding national identity against external narratives and enhancing resilience.

Contents and full texts of articles

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