Sirp

Sirp was published under the name Sirp ja Vasar (Sickle and Hammer) during the Soviet era. As a mouthpiece for intellectuals, this weekly paper cleverly hid critical messages between the lines and had a high circulation of 80,000 copies. In the years leading up to the collapse of communism it contributed to the spread of the independence idea. It is financed by the state but is critical of the government. Nowadays it has a small but influential readership and plays an important role in public debate.