Innovation continues to suffer from a peculiar neglect in the broad field of Central and East European (CEE) studies. In particular, surprising lylittle is still known about the ways in which real-world systems of innovation function in post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe and the actual processes through which they have emerged during the past 10-15 years. The present chapter seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of innovation in CEE by historically explaining the emergence of post-socialist ‘styles of innovation’. As an example of the emergence of ‘creative’ innovation styles, the chapter discusses the Estonian telecommunications sector. Rather than trying to measure ‘how innovative’ CEE is, the focus is on the qualitative characteristics of the innovations that do occur, who the innovators are, how innovation is organised, and what role institutional change has played at different stages of development. It is argued that in order to explain the characteristics of systems of innovation in CEE, a deep historical dimension is needed in the analysis. In the case of Estonia, the combined effect of an unusually close and historically rooted cooperation with Sweden and Finland and the emergence of new technological paradigms in the telecommunications sector has paved the way for post-socialist innovative activities that in several cases have been surprisingly creative and aggressive.