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With this, I'm placing the currently hot topic of ice roads under the category of intangible cultural heritage, a field I know a little about, and I'd like to reflect on what exactly we're dealing with here. According to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, ratified by the Republic of Estonia, intangible cultural heritage is a driver of cultural diversity and a guarantor of sustainable development. It protects traditional culture and folklore and recognizes the close interconnection between material cultural and natural heritage.

In the context of [the island of] Kihnu, we often understand cultural heritage as customs related to nature and the universe, passed down from generation to generation and continually re-created by the community, shaped by its environment, nature and history.

In January 2026, heritage culture reappeared after a long absence - this time in its most meaningful form: winter came and the sea froze. Even the vocabulary of young people suddenly shifted, as ice condition updates using sea place names and terminology, which had seemed to be disappearing, once again became central.

Yes, winter arrived, the real kind. The freezing of the Gulf of Riga is embedded in the muscle memory of the people of Kihnu. Crossing that bridge of ice is natural, expected and familiar. It's also a unifying phenomenon for the community, sparking constant movement and active information exchange around this pressing topic.

So, what has happened to this one facet of traditional culture - everyday winter life - over the past ten-plus years?

The lifestyle and work patterns of small island residents have changed, requiring more frequent and active movement than before. Jobs are no longer limited to the island; people are constantly commuting between home and work. Children attending schools in town still miss home - that hasn't changed over time - which means they are the main travelers on Fridays and Sundays during the winter months.

A new factor has emerged: the need to travel by plane. You have to reach the airport on time, so travel planning has changed. Life expectancy has increased significantly, leading to more social trips. Naturally, ambulance services are also needed more frequently than in the past.

Living on a small island, essentially in a form of isolation, it's no surprise to anyone that the sea can act as a barrier. Disruptions in transport do happen and it's particularly painful when someone can't get home from the mainland for a long time. These days, such situations usually only last a couple of days and residents of Kihnu are used to checking the weather forecast daily, especially the wind. Its direction and strength determine whether the ferry will run.

But then, like a small miracle, a serious disruption occurred! Still, it was entirely foreseeable to people who understand nature. Day by day, the ice thickness slowed down ferry movement until the water level dropped below a critical point and the ferry had to stop.

Of course, under those conditions, a parallel ice road had already formed. But early reports from users were all over the place: impassable by car, slush on the Tõstamaa side, tires destroyed by sharp rocks, cracks driven through, chunks of ice missing and so on. At the same time, use of the road increased - it became our lifeline.

I don't like the term "spontaneous ice road" because these roads don't appear by themselves. An ice road is created through the interaction of two elements: the weather and people. And not just one person - ice roads are created by people, especially those who know the sea, trustworthy people. They are the creators; nothing happens on its own.

So where's the problem? The issue lies in the fact that this so-called spontaneous ice road, as the media refers to it - what I would rather call an illegal ice road - is not subject to any laws. Emergency vehicles can't use it, nor can social transport. Regular drivers aren't covered by comprehensive insurance and this certainly isn't the kind of route that supports tourism development.

What users of this lifeline fear most is the outside attention. Too much of it could damage the road, potentially endangering lives. And with such behavior, there's always someone to blame - someone who ignores or violates the unwritten rules.

Why, then, does a country need a state within a state? In this case, the state was needed for regional policy - to help children and workers return home and get to their jobs. To enable the safe transport of people who need urgent medical care. To support economic activity. To take responsibility for managing this increasingly rare natural phenomenon.

But Kihnu received no help from the state. Instead, we heard infrastructure minister Kuldar Leis speak on ETV's "Esimene stuudio" in a shockingly uninformed manner, spouting nonsense about icebreakers and other absurdities that run completely counter to the sustainability principle enshrined in the intangible cultural heritage convention.

At the same time, we understood that building an official ice road would have placed a devastating burden on the state budget and taxpayers. So, as it stands, the responsibility for establishing an ice road was left to the local government. But does that also mean the responsibility lies with them?

Since the state has saved an enormous amount of taxpayer money in this case, the question arises whether there should be compensation to the local government or, in fact, whether local governments should be given significantly more rights. Because the state simply cannot be bothered with this periphery, nor can it afford to spend money here. After all, we have cities where all the "normal" people can live together happily!

Still, perhaps we could take it one step further with the state - let's add illegal ice roads to the national list of intangible cultural heritage. Then these illegal practices would become matters of national importance, seen from the perspective of cultural preservation.

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Editor: Marcus Turovski

LIVELihtsad uudised 6. veebruarillisten: radio tallinnLIVEwatch: jupiterLIVEAbout usERR News is the English-language service of Estonian Public Broadcasting, run by a fully independent editorial team.To read up on ERR News' comments rules and to contact ERR's other services, please follow the link below.Staff, contacts & comments

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