In Estonia's schools, Estonian and no longer Russian is to be the language of instruction in future. People in Narva, a city in north-east Estonia directly on the Russian border, are particularly affected by this law. Russian is the mother tongue for 98 per cent of the inhabitants. Denis Bjorkland, an employee of the city administration in Narva, emphasises that all children and young people in Estonia must speak Estonian, including in Narva. ‘But this reform should have come 20 years ago,’ he says, criticising the timing of the school reform. ‘The government is making decisions that look like they want to penalise the Russian population.’ In addition, several generations of pupils have been lost who have left school without sufficient knowledge of the Estonian language.
Bjorkland does not know how the new law is to be implemented in Narva. ‘There are not enough teachers who speak Estonian.’ The city actually needs more Estonians who not only come to Narva as tourists, but also live here. "But it's difficult to get them here. The few young Estonians who grow up here leave the city, so the Estonian population continues to decline. ‘Even money doesn't work,’ says Bjorkland. ‘Teachers in Narva, even those who have changed careers, earn the highest salaries in the country - and yet they still don't come.’ But how is Estonian supposed to function as a language of instruction in Narva if there are no teachers?
Bjorkland explains that there have been too many changes in connection with the war in Ukraine in recent years, which primarily affect the Russian population. He enumerates: Now Soviet monuments are being removed from the cityscape, street names of Sovjet heroes have to be renamed, the Orthodox Church is to break away from the Moscow Patriarchate, 9 May, the holiday in the Soviet Union that commemorates the victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War, is no longer allowed to be celebrated in Estonia.
‘I understand every single measure,’ says Bjorkland. ‘But the communication is so bad that here in Narva, people only realise that they are being punished for Russia's war, even though they had nothing to do with it.’
There have been many attempts in recent decades to integrate the Russian population into Estonian society. These included language courses. "But in Narva, people have no opportunity to use the language. Russian is spoken everywhere here, so the programmes have not been very successful."
Bjorkland cites Estonian citizenship law as another reason for the failed integration of the Russian population. In 1991, after Estonia's independence, only those who were Estonian citizens before the Soviet occupation in 1940 were granted Estonian citizenship.
Those who immigrated to Estonia during the Soviet era did not receive them automatically. Bjorkland explains that the Russian population who have lived here for decades could get an Estonian passport. "But you have to take care of it, it's time-consuming, and the Estonian state doesn't make it easy for people. A lot of Russian people do not get an Estonian passport, because they don’t want to pass exam for Estonian citizenship. Even if the parents were born here, the children didn't automatically get an Estonian passport. But nowadays all children get Estonian passport." In Narva, around half of the population has an Estonian passport, 35 per cent a Russian passport and around 14 per cent a so-called grey passport. This means that they are considered stateless.
As a result, the Russian population is not or only insufficiently represented in the democratic bodies, as they are not allowed to vote at all or only to a limited extent. ‘For Narva, this means that only just under half of the inhabitants are allowed to vote for the city parliament, which is supposed to represent everyone in Narva.’ The right to vote for people without an Estonian passport has been further restricted, meaning that around 64 per cent of people in Narva will be able to vote in the upcoming elections for Narva council and only 51 per cent in the elections for the city council. People without an Estonian passport cannot stand for election to political office either. ‘However, it would be important for the coexistence of the different population groups that the Russian population can also participate in the democratic processes.’
Bjorkland sees the different perspectives of Estonians and Russians on the history of the 20th century as a major conflict. "For the Russian population, the victory over Nazi Germany is important in view of the more than 20 million war dead. For the Estonian population, on the other hand, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are seen as occupiers. But tragically, there is no public discussion about these different views of history," says the historian. Sometimes he worries about how long the Russian population in Narva will continue to accept the decisions of the Estonian state that are directed against Russians. ‘I hope that there won't be any unrest at some point.’
The situation is particularly critical, as everyday life has become more difficult for the people in Narva since the start of the war. "Due to the border closure, we have around 50 per cent fewer tourists in Narva. The shops in the city have seen a drop in sales of around 30 per cent. At the same time, prices, taxes and the cost of living are rising."
And so the long queues at the border crossing at the central Peter's Square in Narva could also be interpreted as a punishment for the Russian population. People may want to visit their families and friends. This is not made easy for them. There is no seating and no protection from the rain or sun waiting in line for hours.