Residents of Estonian rural town Vandra got a blast from the past as they received voting cards for an upcoming EU referendum in Soviet-era envelopes complete with hammer and sickle

Residents of Estonian rural town Vandra got a blast from the past as they received voting cards for an upcoming EU referendum in Soviet-era envelopes complete with hammer and sickle, the post office said on Thursday. National post office Eesti Post apologized for any upset caused by local officials using envelopes from a huge stockpile left from before the Baltic state regained independence in 1991, which also carried the acronym CCCP and other Soviet symbols. Estonia has clawed its way from a Soviet republic to the threshold of mainstream Europe in just over a decade. Most Estonians see the September 14 referendum for entry into the wealthy EU club next May as the crowing of often painful reforms. About 70 percent of Estonians are expected to vote in support of joining the European Union.