It may seem unbelievable, but there are still a great many people in Estonia who have never once been to Narva — or even to Ida-Viru County. That hasn't stopped some of them from declaring at every opportunity that Ida-Viru County is a hopeless bomb crater and a bastion of Russification, and that investing in the region is nothing more than throwing money down the drain.

At a business conference held this spring in Narva-Jõesuu, musician Raul Ukareda — also one of the organizers of the blues festival in Haapsalu — said that Narva-Jõesuu is still relatively unknown in Tallinn and Harju County, where most of Estonia's culture consumers live. "If you think everyone in Estonia knows there's a long, beautiful sandy beach here, that's just not the case," he said.

Ukareda is planning to organize a multi-day music festival next summer in the cultural quarter currently being built at the mouth of the Narva River. He noted that Narva-Jõesuu shares a number of similarities with Haapsalu: it's a historic resort area located in a beautiful natural setting. There are accommodations already in place, with more on the way. Infrastructure is developing. One key factor, Ukareda told Põhjarannik, is that he senses the local community is ready and willing to embrace and support such initiatives.

At last weekend's Narva City Run, Helen Bell won both the mile and 10-kilometer races in the women's category. She admitted it was her first time ever in Narva and said she was deeply moved by what she saw there. More than 2,500 participants took part in the city run, which followed routes along the promenade next to the border river and through the historic Kreenholm industrial quarter.

That same weekend, thousands of locals across Ida-Viru County welcomed the flame of the Song Festival. Many Estonians from around the world also came to Narva to take part in the ESTO cultural days, which culminated in a grand song celebration in the courtyard of Hermann Castle. From a region so often and so flippantly labeled a "hopelessly Russified bomb crater," thousands of people are participating this week in Estonia's national Song and Dance Festival.

Large-scale cultural and sporting events in Ida-Viru County have become one of the main reasons people from Tallinn or Tartu are finally making the short two-hour trip to the region. Just recently in Jõhvi, under the leadership of Mati Lilliallik, the highest-level athletics meet in Estonia took place, bringing together athletes from nearly 40 countries, including world champions, Olympic gold medalists and European titleholders.

The summer music festival "Seven Cities Music," featuring 11 concerts, is about to begin. At the end of July, Narva-Jõesuu will host a jazz festival spearheaded by musician Oleg Pissarenko, where this year's Grammy nominee Christie Dashiell from the U.S. will perform with her quartet.

In August, the Freedom Festival in Narva will feature performances by theater troupes from ten countries. The organizers of September's "Station Narva" festival, led by Helen Sildna, have also curated a program designed to broaden horizons and musical tastes. In between these major events, the calendar is packed with summer theater performances, smaller festivals, concerts and sporting competitions.

Iti-Jantra Metsamaa and Toomas Erikso, two avid hikers who moved from Saaremaa to Ida-Viru County, say the county's coastline is perfect for hiking. There are hundreds of kilometers of well-maintained hiking trails winding through bogs and forest wilderness.

Ida-Viru County also boasts more long sandy beaches than anywhere else in Estonia. In recent years, there's been a noticeable increase in opportunities for active recreation — whether at the Kiviõli Adventure Center, the Aidu Watersports Center or the health and fitness centers in Alutaguse and Äkkeküla.

It's not hard to find reasons to visit Ida-Viru County — and stay longer than a single evening — to get to know one of the most fascinating regions of Estonia, which for various reasons may feel distant in the public imagination. Some of those who have discovered Ida-Viru County in this way have even developed the desire to move there, to roll up their sleeves and help make great things happen — whether in local businesses, schools, hospitals, the planned film campus or elsewhere.

Of course, you'll find people on the streets of Narva or Kohtla-Järve who long for Putin's Russia — but the same can be said for every district in Tallinn or its many social media groups.

Of course, over the years, several kinds of shenanigans and wrongdoings have taken place in some of Ida-Viru County's municipalities. But when you look at what's happening in the capital right now, it's fair to ask: who's really setting the example?

Of course, Ida-Viru County suffers from chronically high unemployment, below-average wages and greater levels of poverty. But does that mean we should accept the situation as inevitable and not even try to change it?

It seems that both Estonian and European leaders have begun to realize that turning all existing industry and energy infrastructure — particularly those tied to oil shale — into axe-throwing centers or sauna festivals funded by EU money may not have been the wisest or most effective approach.

Yes, there's a place for axe-throwing venues and sauna festivals in Ida-Viru County too — but these shouldn't come at the expense of shutting down the oil shale industry. Rather, they should be funded from the taxes that industry has long paid, which for decades mostly bypassed Ida-Viru County and flowed instead into the hands of decision-makers in the capital. This kind of approach — where revenue from environmental taxes is siphoned off while the socioeconomic problems are left behind — is precisely what has inflicted the wounds on Ida-Viru County that the politicians in power seem unable to grasp, because their emotional connection to the region is weak.

It's worth visiting Ida-Viru County more often — and avoiding the spread of misleading myths.

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