When the European Union imposed deep trade sanctions against Russia four years ago, Estonian timber producer Puidukoda had to quickly figure out how to replace over half of its supply of spruce and pine.
Over six stressful months, the firm pivoted westward, lining up 30 new suppliers from Scandinavia. Eventually, the trucks from Russia ¡ª carrying tens of thousands of tons of wood over Estonia¡¯s eastern border ¡ª were replaced with ones crossing the sea on ferries from Finland and Sweden.
Puidukoda is among hundreds of companies that were forced to overhaul how they do business as the Baltic states underwent the most dramatic economic shift in Europe caused by the war in Ukraine. And as other countries buy Russian oil and gas and even make noises about normalizing ties with Moscow, officials in the region say there¡¯s no going back.
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