The Russian minority issue in Estonia: host state policies and the attitudes of the population (original) (raw)
Related papers
A Plan for the Future? The Estonian State Integration Programme on National Minorities 2000-2007
Events surrounding the replacement of a Soviet bronze statue in spring 2007 in Tallinn and subsequent international tensions between the EU and Russia marked a low point in inter-ethnic relations between Russian-speakers in Estonia and ethnic Estonians in recent years. This raises the question of how successful current integration efforts directed towards Russian-speakers have actually been. The paper analyses the development of the Estonian State Integration Programme (SIP) 2000-2007 from its earliest moments in the 1990s to its current form. It is argued that although its theoretical basis is well grounded, the programme does not account for minority integration needs systematically. Instead it follows a unidirectional action-plan, targeting Russian-speakers without a prior needs-assessment at grass-root level and insufficient minority participation during the drafting and implementation period. Furthermore, the paper highlights the influence the legal-restorationist concept maintains on the implementation of the SIP which partly has the effect of re-enforcing inter-ethnic alienation.
Control Mechanisms and Minority Integration in Estonia
conference:“Multiculturalism and Democracy in Divided Societies, 1999
ABSTRACT: The central thesis of this paper will be that Estonia and its ethnopolitical relations between Estonians and Russian-speakers can analytically best be described as a control regime. While the country also fulfills most of the features and conditions laid out by Smooha for being an ethnic democracy, it remains essentially a control regime so long as the majority of Russian-speakers remain non-citizens and are not naturalized into the political system.
The Russian Minority Question In Estonia
2018
Estonia with a population of 1.3 million with 400.000 of them living in capital city Tallinn has one of the lowest population density in the world (30 per sq. km.). According to the last official census (2011), the ethnic Estonians made 69.7% of the total population followed by Russians (25.2%), Ukrainians (1.7%), Belarussians/Belarusians (1.0%) and Finns (0.6%). As it is obvious, from the time of second independence (1991) up today the Estonian government has to deal primarily with the Russian ethnic minority concerning to find modus vivendi of the Estonian political prosperity. In other words, further political stability of Estonia primarily depended and depends on the issue how the Russian-speakers of Estonia are going to be integrated into or disintegrated from the Estonian political and social system established after the dissolution of the USSR.
Russian minority in Estonia after Crimea
According to the social identity theory, the interethnic stability is contingent on three social psychological factors – the perception of legitimacy of the interethnic power relations, the perception of ethnic deprivation; and the perception of the strength differential between the competing groups. The Russian separatism in Ukraine actualised its potential after all three conditions became satisfied: the overthrow of Yanukovich enabled to construct the perception of illegitimacy; the subsequent withdrawal of the official status from the Russian language by Ukrainian parliament strengthened the perceptions of deprivation; and the strong support of Russia to the pro-Russian powers and the weakness of the pro-Ukrainian powers in Crimea made the idea of changing the status quo realistic. The paper analyses the interethnic situation situation in Estonia in regards of perceived legitimacy, deprivation and strength, predicting that Crimean annexation would soften Estonia’s policies towards local Russian speakers.
Nations and Nationalism , 2019
In the Post-Soviet period, domestic policies of Central and Eastern European countries have been marked by a ‘problem of minorities’. ‘Nationalizing’ state policies in regard to large Russian minority in Estonia and Latvia have been the issue of concern for both the kin-state and European institutions ever since. Could pressure from Russia be effective in terms of change of minority policies in the Baltic states? What are the effects of EU accession on minority policies? These are the principle questions addressed by Jennie L. Schulze in Strategic Frames: Europe, Russia, and Minority Inclusion in Estonia and Latvia. The book focuses on the indirect influence of the EU institutions and Russia, adopting a framing approach. It consists of comparative cases covering the areas of language, citizenship and electoral policies.
Battle over identity - Russian minority in Estonia in-between competing narratives 1
2013
Owing to a complicated shared history, the host state Estonia and the kin-state Russia both claim influence over the Russian minority in Estonia. Strategically constructing the identity of the minority through presenting contesting storylines acts as a way to exert power and undermine the opponent in this triadic relationship. When in theory a multitude of identities is possible by virtue of the dynamism and context-dependency of the concept, in practice conflicting memories and competing narratives insist on taking a side. Therefore, the Russian minority in Estonia finds itself in-between a small host state fearing for its survival, and a large kin-state looking to strengthen its ties with its kin abroad. Findings based on a content analysis and critical discourse analysis into the Russian and Estonian blogosphere suggest that the language of dissimilation occurs most often. Historical grievances from both sides are reintroduced by the opinion leaders to bring attention to the 'rightful' victimhood and to justify present day actions of the parties involved. The underlying discursive strategy that prevails is one of confrontation, which disregards the option of using narratives as a bonding device instead.
Estonian Russification of Ethnic Minorities in Estonia? A Policy Analysis
Trames, 2013
Non-Russian ethnic minorities, who immigrated into Estonia between 1945 and 1990 together with Russians, have been assimilating into Russian culture in Estonia after Estonia's independence in 1991. We illustrate this and show why one can assume that this is not in the interest of Estonia, for both 'idealistic' and 'cynical' reasons. We then analyze the implementation of the six key policy instruments the Estonian Government uses to preserve ethnic peculiarities of non-Russian ethnic groups. Our findings imply a policy failure which has not yet been recognized. Finally, we suggest possible explanations for this failure.
Strategic Frames: Europe, Russia, and Minority Inclusion in Estonia and Latvia
Slavic Review , 2019
In this well-researched book, Jennie L. Schulze contributes to the debates going back to the nineties about how international organizations and international actors can influence the minority situation in Eastern Central Europe. Although there is no shortage of works exploring the ways in which various international organizations, such as the European Union (EU), the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe (CoE) and others have attempted to transform the minority situation in the countries aspiring for EU membership, Schulze's book does several new things. First, it explores not only the impact of European organizations, but also Russia, which played an important role in Latvia and Estonia, the two countries analyzed in this book. Schulze analyzes the intersections of the influences exerted by Russia and European institutions, and makes a convincing case that it is not possible to ignore this intersection. Second, unlike most works exploring the influence of international organizations in general and the EU in particular, Schulze's analysis covers the post-accession period, when Latvia and Estonia continued to pursue liberalizing reforms to their citizenship policies. Her book presents a deep and well-structured analysis of policymaking in the areas of citizenship, language and electoral policies in Latvia and Estonia during the past 25 years. Third, to explore the impact of external factors on the minority situation in Latvia and Estonia, Schulze has developed a novel theoretical approach: strategic framing. She defines strategic framing as "the deliberate effort of a policymaker to promote a particular view of European institutions and/or Russia in order to justify their policy preference