Estonia
The subject for my portrait for Estonia is the environmental activist and politician Züleyxa Izmailova, widely known as Zuzu
Geography
Estonia is a country in Northern Europe bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,300 other islands and islets on the east coast of the Baltic Sea.
Source Wikipedia
Environmental issues
Traditionally Estonia had been a country with high carbon emissions but in recent times, with its reduction in production of shale gas and oil, ambitious targets for the transition to sustainable energy and increased environmental protection legislation, Estonia has turned its reputation round to being one of Europe's most environmentally improved nations
About Zuzu
Zuzu Izmailova is a mother, a gardener and an active serving member of parliament in Estonia currently representing the the Social Democratic Party.
In 2017, Zuzu was elected as leader of the Estonian Green Party and was engaged in a number of areas of political activism including campaigning against the environmentally destructive aspects of the building of the Rail Baltica project and advocating for tightening of environmental regulations in Estonia
In 2022, Zuzu left the Green party to join Eesti200 where she stayed until re-joining the Social Democrats in 2024 who she represents as a member of the Estonian parliament, The Riigikogu
For the video of Zuzu’s entire painting process in under 5 minutes with lots more of her story and a little information on the Siberian Flying Squirrel, please click on the link below