Together or Apart? The Russian-Speaking Minority in Estonia and Its (Dis)Integration into Society after 1991

Abstract

Estonia’s policy towards national minorities is considered one of the most restrictive in Europe, resulting in a differentiated status of persons living in the state and an unprecedented level of statelessness. This is due to the fact that after Estonia’s independence in 1991, the “zero option”, which guarantees citizenship to all residents of the state, was not introduced, but only to those who were Estonian citizens before the annexation of the state by the USSR and their descendants. The others had to go through a naturalisation process in order to obtain citizenship. The restrictive naturalisation law was intended to facilitate the process of social integration by forcing people to learn the Estonian language and culture. The aim of the research conducted in the article is to analyse the assumptions of Estonia’s policy towards the Russian-speaking minority after 1991. The article verifies the hypothesis that Estonia’s policy towards national minorities is not conducive to the integration of representatives of national minorities into the titular nation. This is due to the strict naturalisation requirements, the failure to include representatives of the Russian-speaking minority in the integration process from the outset, and Russia’s activities in the Baltic region. The article consists of three parts. The first presents the genesis of the Russian-speaking minority on the territory of present-day Estonia, the second analyses the functioning of the Russian-speaking minority in the light of the applicable law, while the third examines the state of integration of the Russian-speaking minority into Estonian society and its identification with the state. The analysis leads to the conclusion that it is difficult to make a clear assessment of Estonian policy on the integration of the Russian-speaking minority. On the one hand, a systematic increase in identification with the state can be observed, while on the other hand, significant disparities in integration have become apparent.