In Northern Estonia, the Soviet authorities didn't have a recipe on how to fight against the popularity of Finnish TV. Audiences didn't want to watch hardcore Soviet propaganda.

It was life under the Soviet system - we were struggling with every big problem. Publicly, my parents had to queue up to buy food, but were able to live secret lives in their private rooms. With the TV set in the living room, we were able to see Western pop culture -a different reality from what we were living. For me, it was like two different universes existed at the same time, and we got used to being in these parallel universes.

In Northern Estonia, the Soviet authorities didn't have a recipe on how to fight against the popularity of Finnish TV. Audiences didn't want to watch hardcore Soviet propaganda.

Life under the Soviet system was often funny, absurd really, especially for children.

My childhood in the Soviet Union was not terrible, it was very joyful.

The Soviet Union wasn't so closed - it wasn't North Korea. It was a practical system. People were creative and industrious, so if they wanted to see Western TV programs, they would invent a way to do so. It's strange in a way. There was an official truth, and there was daily life.

Working under the Soviet system made you very paranoid - people were afraid of everything - and this paranoia is still in people's minds.