Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Estonia has been recognised as a leader of the Baltic states in their transition to becoming democratic powers. Estonia is often portrayed as a technological powerhouse; due to its Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre, Estonia plays a prominent role in Baltic regional security. Besides transitioning into an essential security position through technological advancement, the state also boasts the highest level of political participation from its citizens out of all post-Soviet states.[1] However, Estonian policies towards its Russian-speaking* minority creates a divide in the state’s population. With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc globally, one wonders how the virus will impact a state that struggles to include roughly a quarter of its population in civic participation. This article will explore the subject in detail, providing an analysis of Estonia’s policies as they relate to the country’s Russian-speaking minority, and the potential for COVID-19 to increase the rift between the Estonian population due to its economic impact on the state.
By Taylor Pehrson
Estonia gained independence on 20 August 1991 after 47 years of occupation by the Soviet Union. A fundamental objective of the 1992 Estonian Constitution is the perseverance of the ‘Estonian people, language and culture’. [2] This goal marks the sense of national pride the Estonian people had at the time of independence. However, it also set a precedent for a national division of those living in Estonia - a precedent that can be traced through the Constitution and various other Acts published in and after 1992. Through the nationalisation of Estonian verbiage, these documents markedly separate the country’s large Russian-speaking population.
After the Citizenship Act was enacted in 1992, 90% of ethnic-Estonians automatically became citizens while only 8-10% of non-Estonians gained citizenship. This is due to a law that granted citizenship to those who were living in Estonia before 1940, which was the year of Soviet annexation. [3] Because of the law, those that moved or were born in Estonia after 1940 during Soviet times had to apply for citizenship. New numbers show that ‘as of April 2012, 93,774 persons (6.9% of the population) remain stateless, while approximately 95,115 (7% of the population) have chosen Russian citizenship as an alternative to statelessness’. [4] Because many Russian-speakers have not been able to gain citizenship, this combined 13.9% of the population does not have the right to participate in Estonian democracy. Therefore, the question stands as to the legitimacy of Estonia’s democracy.
In order to provide answers, a thorough examination of Estonian citizenship policies and legislation is needed: How do they serve core democratic values, such as the civic participation of the whole population? Therefore, it is important to investigate Estonian elections and their impact on ethnic tension. Going further, this article will then analyse how the current global pandemic will impact both the strides the Estonian government has made since 1992 and how the virus could exacerbate ethnic divisions, particularly in relation to the Estonian economy.
Although Estonian policy has recently changed as a result of the state’s engagement with the EU and NATO regulations and standards, there is still a long way ahead before the gap between Estonian and Russian-speaking populations can be bridged. One of the main distinctions and roadblocks between the two populations is language. Within the Constitution, Language Act, Citizenship Act, Riigikogu Election Act, and numerous other government directives, language is a main feature.
The 1992 Constitution made speaking Estonian a requirement for gaining Estonian citizenship. Efforts to curb the language obstacle for gaining citizenship started in 1995, when the Language Act provided Estonian language courses for anyone taking the citizenship exam. [5] This included a government reimbursement program for the courses (provided one passes the exams), clarification that only a B1 level of proficiency is needed for citizenship, and the Department of Education providing language tutors for the courses. [6] Thus, language is dissipating as a barrier to citizenship in the state. However, due to the heavy influx of those applying for citizenship and limited state funding, this process is only slowly moving forward.
Language remains nonetheless a decisive barrier for anyone hoping to engage in civic participation in the state. As stated in the Language Act of 2011, ‘the language of public administration in state agencies and local government authorities is Estonian… [this] extend[s] to the majority of state-owned companies, foundations established by state and non-profit organizations with state participation’. [7] While the Act does make an exception for local governments in districts where half the population or more speaks another language, all other government operations must use Estonian and only Estonian. [8] This means that in order to be elected to any government position, a person must be fluent in Estonian.
Besides the Russian-speaking population not being represented in government positions, the right to vote and join political parties is also restricted. In order to vote in Estonia, one must be an Estonian citizen and 18 years of age. [9] Moreover, only Estonian citizens can join political parties. [10] Thus, because of the language barrier to citizenship that is only slowly easing, Russian-speaking people in Estonia who do not meet citizenship requirements are limited in their civic participation abilities. This means they may not vote or voice their opinions on matters relating to jobs and visas, issues that pertain particularly to the Russian-speaking population. A recently published study by the EU Marie Curie Research Training Network* found that ethnic-Estonians are twice as likely to vote in any municipal election than Russian-speakers. [11] While one could argue that Russian-speakers do not have an interest in civically engaging and thus their numbers are low, consideration of Russian-speakers’ limitations to participation should be acknowledged first to ensure the limitations do not prevent a significant portion of the population from participating.
If a large quantity of Russian-speakers are not able to vote or join political parties, or run for a government position, Estonia is losing out on the input of a significant portion of their population. It is no wonder that election season usually brings tensions to a boil. This became apparent in the Estonian parliamentary elections of 2019 when, two months before the elections, signs labeled ‘only Estonians here’ and ‘only Russians here’ were put up on different parts of Tram stops in Tallinn. [12] The action, done by a small political party, Eesti 200, ignited tensions in the capital that prompted the immediate removal of the signs and put Russian-speakers’ citizenship at the forefront of political debate. A small instance created waves of action and protest; one then wonders what the impact of a major event could have on the small Baltic state where tensions are waiting under the surface.
Estonia and the other Baltic states have fared well in the global COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with the rest of Europe, with trends of low numbers of cases and deaths. Part of the success may be due to Estonia’s societal emphasis on technology, as the transition to quarantine was rather seamless due to technological capabilities. [13] However, a large concern remains for both Estonians and the Russian-speaking population: the economy.
Because of the potential for an economic downturn caused by the pandemic, the Estonian Conservative Peoples Party with Mart Helme at the helm drafted a new bill in April. This bill would terminate the visas of unemployed workers from non-EU countries and expire long-term visas. [14] Helme commented on the bill, saying “in the current difficult time, when our own fellow country people are short of jobs and there are more people every day who have lost their jobs, we must support the residents of Estonia.” [15]
There has been a public outcry from the Russian-speaking community on the bill which would give more power to the employer to choose Estonian citizens over other workers. Because of the restrictions to Estonian citizenship and COVID-19, the process of citizenship has slowed dramatically; Russian-speakers now face deportation and the loss of visas due to the government attempting to provide Estonians with the jobs that are usually reserved for Russian-speakers. It is no wonder that in a poll taken in April 2020, 72% of the Russian-speaking population in Estonia was worried about the economic well-being of the state. [16]
However, other sources have implied that the pandemic has brought the Estonian population together. According to Dr. Tonis Saarts of Tallinn University, the pandemic has put prominent Russian-speakers, such as the chief medical officer of the Estonian Health Board, Dr. Arkadi Popov, at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. [17] This has created a unifying image of the Russian-speakers and ethnic-Estonians coming together to defeat a common enemy. Alas, Saarts also comments that “the looming economic crisis will hit Russians harder than it will Estonians.” [18] Furthermore, due to the language division in the state, there is a distinct separation of Estonian versus Russian-speakers’ jobs, Russian-speakers being limited to mostly blue collar positions as they do not require knowledge of Estonian. Therefore, the pandemic’s unifying ability will soon be tested through the economy, as can be seen in the Estonian governments’ drafted bill to end certain visas.
Definitions of democracy, though all slightly different, all include civic engagement by the population as democracy’s cornerstone. In Estonia, the question of who qualifies as a citizen as well as language barriers prevent a portion of their population from civic engagement. With COVID-19 potentially destabilising the economy of the state, Russian-speakers now risk losing jobs and visas with little political representation in the matter. While the world slowly moves forward from the devastation the pandemic caused, a call to action in Estonia and other post-Soviet states is needed as the economy may override their work towards establishing democracy in the wake of the virus.
*The term Russian-speaker is used here to describe those that have Russian, Polish, Belarusian or other Eastern European background, but have lived in Estonia or were born in the state after 1940 (the year of Soviet occupation). Russian-speaker is used to replace the term ethnic-Russian since some migrants that entered Estonia during Soviet occupation were not ethnically Russian and instead, adopted Russian as the main language. This population is commonly grouped together under the term “Russian-speaking” in legislation, laws, and news sources in the Baltic region.
*The Integration of the European Second Generation Survey (TIES): this survey started in 2006 through a collaboration of research institutes in 11 European countries and Turkey. The survey sought to collect data on European second generation migrants. Within the Baltics, the survey measured the civic participation of different ethnic groups.
Sources
[1] Schulze, J. (2014) "The Ethnic Participation Gap: Comparing Second Generation Russian Youth and Estonian Youth", Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe, 13(1) pp. 19-56. Available at: https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.lib.gla.ac.uk/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/jemie2014&id=19&collection=journals&index=journals/jemie (Accessed: 21 June 2020). p. 24.
[2] The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia 1992. Available at: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/530102013003/consolide (Accessed: 28 June 2020). p. 1.
[3] Kirch, M. & Kirch, A. (1995) "Ethnic relations: Estonians and non-Estonians", Nationalities Papers, 23(1), pp. 43-59. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/qqzbx9k (Accessed: 6 March 2020). p 49.
[4] Schulze, J. (2014) "The Ethnic Participation Gap: Comparing Second Generation Russian Youth and Estonian Youth", Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe, 13(1) pp. 19-56. Available at: https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.lib.gla.ac.uk/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/jemie2014&id=19&collection=journals&index=journals/jemie (Accessed: 21 June 2020). p. 26.
[5] Citizenship Act 1995. Available at: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/512022015001/consolide (Accessed: 29 June 2020).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Language Act 2011. Available at: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/506112013016/ (Accessed: 29 June 2020). p. 2.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Riigikogu Election Act 2002. Available at: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/510032014001/consolide (Accessed: 30 June 2020). p. 1.
[10] The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia 1992. Available at: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/530102013003/consolide (Accessed: 28 June 2020). p. 5.
[11] Schulze, J. (2014) "The Ethnic Participation Gap: Comparing Second Generation Russian Youth and Estonian Youth", Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe, 13(1) pp. 19-56. Available at: https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.lib.gla.ac.uk/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/jemie2014&id=19&collection=journals&index=journals/jemie (Accessed: 21 June 2020). p. 35.
[12] Luxmoore, M. and Alliksaar, K. (2019) ‘”Only Estonians Here”: Outrage After Election Poster Campaign Singles Out Russian Minority”, RadioFreeLiberty, 10 January. Available at: https://www.rferl.org/a/estonia-election-posters-russian-minority-outrage/29702111.html (Accessed: 20 June 2020).
[13] Sander, G. F. (2020) ‘The pandemic has united us: A media divide fades in the Baltics’, Christian Science Monitor, Riga, 18 June. Available at: https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2020/0618/The-pandemic-has-united-us-A-media-divide-fades-in-the-Baltics (Accessed: 20 June 2020).
[14] Ed. Nomm, A. and Wright, H. (2020) ‘Interior ministry drafting bill to send unemployed foreign workers home’ ERR News, 1 April. Available at: https://news.err.ee/1071501/interior-ministry-drafting-bill-to-send-unemployed-foreign-workers-home (Accessed: 20 June 2020).
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ed. Vahtla, A. (2020) ‘Poll Coronavirus awareness nearly equal among Estonian-, Russian-speakers’, ERR News, 5 April. Available at: https://news.err.ee/1072982/poll-coronavirus-awareness-nearly-equal-among-estonian-russian-speakers (Accessed: 20 June 2020).
[17] Sander, G. F. (2020) ‘The pandemic has united us: A media divide fades in the Baltics’, Christian Science Monitor, Riga, 18 June. Available at: https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2020/0618/The-pandemic-has-united-us-A-media-divide-fades-in-the-Baltics (Accessed: 20 June 2020).
[18] Ibid.