Internal Climate (Estonia) • Vabaduse festival

The documentary performance Internal Climate (The Story of Baltijets) tells the story of Narva and how it became the city we know today.

Once upon a time, the Baltijets military factory was built in Narva—so secretly that even the locals knew almost nothing about it. It was known only by its codename: Postbox No. 2. The factory was closed off, strictly classified, and erased from both city and regional maps. And what went on inside was even more secretive. Some believed uranium was enriched there, others thought it produced space technology, and many insisted that workers were treated so well it was like paradise on Earth. In a way, they were all right. Some still prefer not to talk about it, because, well... you never know.

Who were the people who traveled from all over Russia to Narva, and how much did they really know about where they were going? What has kept them here? What kind of mark does living in a closed environment leave on a person, and what happens when the doors finally open? What is the ecological footprint of a military factory? And what about the footprint of war itself? We come from a time when the green transition meant that Narva residents were advised to drink milk to combat radiation. But where are we headed now? Is internal climate change man-made? Do some stories have a happy ending?

Internal Climate is based on interviews with former employees of the Baltijets military factory, historians, architects, and young people from Narva.

Author Piret Jaaks
Stage director Mari-Liis Lill
Set designer Nele Sooväli
Composer Jarek Kasar
Lighting artist Priidu Adlas
Production assistant Sergei Poljatsihhin

Cast: Henrik Kalmet, Riina Maidre, Elina Reinold, Kristjan Sarv