‘Prepare for war,’ was the message from Estonian EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to the European Defence Agency last year. And Estonia has: its 2026 defence expenditure is 5.4 per cent of GDP, the second highest in Europe. Citizens are advised by the government to keep an emergency supply of 21 litres of drinking water per person permanently on hand. A survival checklist has also been published, including ready-to-eat, high-energy foods, prescription medications, a bank card, mobile phone with charger and a stock of ready cash. The country’s authorities don’t mince their words.

Estonians are not the most optimistic of peoples

Estonians are not the most optimistic of peoples

But, as the saying goes, money talks – and many Estonians are choosing to keep their cash in a country that some suggest might soon be on the front line. Despite recent reports that Vladimir Putin may be planning to test Nato’s resolve – not to mention Poland’s prompt shutdown of airports last week in response to a nearby Russian drone attack and Lithuania’s recent confirmation that it has evacuation plans – one message seems to be coming from the country’s money-institutions: ‘Everything is normal.’

In just two years, Estonians’ investments through international platforms have roughly quintupled, which to an outsider might look like funds being moved rapidly abroad. But while this is no small sum (roughly 500 million euros, or £420 million), Kilvar Kessler, former Chairman of Estonia’s Financial Supervision Authority, points out it’s only a small percentage of Estonian household deposits (over 14 billion........

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