Russians in Estonia
Total population | |
---|---|
306,801 (est.) (22.0% of total population) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Russian and Estonian | |
Religion | |
Russian Orthodox Church |
In
Early contacts
The modern Estonian-language word for Russians vene(lane) is probably related to an old Germanic word veneð referring to the
The troops of prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kievan Rus' defeated Estonian Chuds in ca. 1030 and established a fort of Yuryev (in modern-day Tartu),[3] which may have survived there until ca. 1061, when the fort's defenders were defeated and driven out by the tribe of Sosols.[4][5]
Due to close trade links with the
17th century to independent Estonia
The beginning of continuous Russian settlement in what is now Estonia dates back to the late 17th century when several thousand
In the 18th century, after the
A relatively larger number of ethnic Russian workers settled in Tallinn and Narva during the period of rapid industrial development at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. After
In the aftermath of World War I Estonia became an independent state where ethnic Russians established Cultural Self-Governments according to the 1925 Estonian Law on Cultural Autonomy.[9] The state was tolerant of the Russian Orthodox Church and became a home to many Russian émigrés after the Russian Revolution in 1917.[10]
World War II and Soviet Estonia
After the
In 1939 ethnic Russians had comprised 8% of the population; however, following the annexation of about 2,000 km2 (772 sq mi) of land by the
Most of the present-day Russians in Estonia are recent migrants and their descendants who settled in during the
After the war, Narva's inhabitants were for the most part not permitted to return and were replaced by refugees and workers administratively mobilized mostly among Russians, as well as other parts of the Soviet Union.[18] By 1989, ethnic Russians made up 30.3% of the population in Estonia.[19]
During the Singing Revolution, the Intermovement, International Movement of the Workers of the ESSR, organised the local Russian resistance to the independence movement and purported to represent the ethnic Russians and other Russophones in Estonia.[20]
Post-Soviet Estonia (1991–present)
Today most Russians live in Tallinn and the major northeastern cities of Narva, Kohtla-Järve, Jõhvi, and Sillamäe. The rural areas are populated almost entirely by ethnic Estonians, except for the coast of Lake Peipus, which has a long history of Old Believers communities. In 2011, University of Tartu sociology professor Marju Lauristin found that 21% were successfully integrated, 28% showed partial integration, and 51% were unintegrated or little integrated.[21]
There are efforts by the Estonian government to improve its tie with the Russian community with former Prime Minister Jüri Ratas learning Russian to better communicate with them.[22] Former President Kersti Kaljulaid is also considered to be a defender of the interests of the Russian-speaking minority, having previously moved to Narva in order to "better understand the people and their problems".[23] The younger generation is better integrated with the rest of the country such as joining the military via conscription and improving their Estonian language skills.[22]
Citizenship
The restored republic recognised citizenship only for the pre-occupation citizens or descendants from such (including the long-term Russian settlers from earlier influxes, such as Lake Peipus coast and the 10,000 residents of the Petseri County)[24], rather than to grant Estonian nationality to all Estonian-resident Soviet citizens. The Citizenship Act provides the following requirements for naturalisation of those people who had arrived in the country after 1940,[25] the majority of whom were ethnic Russians: knowledge of the Estonian language, Constitution and a pledge of loyalty to Estonia.[26] The government offers free preparation courses for the examination on the Constitution and the Citizenship Act, and reimburses up to 380 euros for language studies.[27]
Under the law, residents without citizenship may not elect the Riigikogu (the national parliament) nor the European Parliament, but are eligible to vote in the municipal elections.[28] As of 2 July 2010, 84.1% of Estonian residents are Estonian citizens, 8.6% are citizens of other countries (mainly Russia) and 7.3% are "persons with undetermined citizenship".[29]
Between 1992 and 2007 about 147,000 people acquired Estonian or Russian citizenship, or left the country, bringing the proportion of stateless residents from 32% down to about 8 percent.[28] According to Amnesty International's 2015 report, approximately 6.8% of Estonia's population are not citizens of the country.[30]
In late 2014 an amendment to the law was proposed that would give Estonian citizenship to children of non-citizen parents who have resided in Estonia for at least five years.[31]
Language requirements
The perceived difficulty of the language tests became a point of international contention, as the government of the
Politics
Historically, the Estonian Centre Party has been the most popular party among Russian-speaking citizens. In 2012, it was supported by up to 75% of ethnic non-Estonians.[34]
In 2021, some pundits advanced as speculation that since 2019,
By county
County | Russians | Percent |
---|---|---|
Ida-Viru | 94,835 | 71% |
Harju | 173,526 | 27% |
Tartu | 15,887 | 9.7% |
Valga | 3,413 | 12.1% |
Lääne-Viru | 5,197 | 8.7% |
Pärnu | 5,526 | 6.3% |
Lääne | 1,521 | 7.3% |
Jõgeva | 1,834 | 6.6% |
Rapla | 1,072 | 3.1% |
Põlva | 783 | 3.2% |
Võru | 1,170 | 3.4% |
Viljandi | 1,092 | 2.3% |
Järva | 693 | 2.3% |
Saare | 204 | 0.6% |
Hiiu | 48 | 0.5% |
Total | 306,801 | 22.0%[39] |
Notable Russians from Estonia
- Decembrist(1825) revolutionary; raised in Estonia.
- mineralogist, led the (1927) first Soviet expedition to investigate the Tunguska event; born in Tartu.
- Igor Severyanin (Igor Lotaryov, 1887–1941), poet; lived, married, and died in Estonia.
- Nikolai Vekšin (1887–1951), sailor, helmsman of the bronze medal winning Estonian 6 Metre boat at 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games.
- Boris Nartsissov (1906–1982), Russian émigré poet; raised and educated in Estonia.
- Nikolai Stepulov (1913–1968), won silver medal in boxing, lightweight class at 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.
- Alexy II of Moscow (Aleksei Rüdiger, 1929–2008), former Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church; born and raised in Estonia.
- Svetlana Tširkova-Lozovaja (b. 1945), former fencer, representing USSR, won Olympic gold in team foil twice (1968, 1972); lives in Estonia since early age.
- Mikhail Veller (b. 1948), Russian writer; works in Tallinn.
- Marina Kaljurand (née Rajevskaja, b. 1962), Estonian politician, Member of the European Parliament, former foreign minister.
- figure skater, representing USSR, won silver at 1984 World Championships; lives in Tallinn.
- Valery Karpin (b. 1969), Russian football manager and former player, since 2021 manager of the Russia national team; born in Narva.
- Anton Vaino (b. 1972), chief of staff of the executive office of the President of Russia; born in Tallinn.
- Sergei Hohlov-Simson (b. 1972), Estonian former football player, played for Estonia national football team from 1992 to 2004.
- Kristina Kallas (b. 1976), Estonian politician, leader of the Estonia 200 political party since its foundation in 2018.
- Tatjana Mihhailova-Saar (b. 1983), represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014; lives in Estonia since early age.
- Estonian Social Democratic Party.
- Leo Komarov (Leonid Komarov, b. 1987), ice hockey player, representing Finland, 2011 World Champion and 2022 Winter Olympics gold medallist; born in Narva.
- Valentina Golubenko (b. 1990), chess Grandmaster, representing Croatia, world champion in girls' U18 category in 2008; lives in Estonia since early age.
- Elina Nechayeva (b. 1991), soprano, represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
- Alika Milova (b. 2002), singer, represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
See also
- Demographics of Estonia
- Estonia–Russia relations
- Ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states
- Population transfer in the Soviet Union
- Russian Cultural Center
- Russification
- Estonians in Russia
References
- ISBN 0-262-53267-0.
- ISBN 9789639116429.
- ^ Tvauri, Andres (2012). The Migration Period, Pre-Viking Age, and Viking Age in Estonia. pp. 33, 59, 60. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ISBN 9780810865716.
- . Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ISBN 1-57607-800-0.
- ISBN 978-90-420-1666-8.
- ^ "EESTI - ERINEVATE RAHVUSTE ESINDAJATE KODU" (in Estonian). miksike.ee.
- ISBN 9041105638.
- ^ Kishkovsky, Sophia (6 December 2008). "Patriarch Aleksy II". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
- ISBN 90-411-2177-3.
- ^ Chernichenko, S. V. (August 2004). "Об "оккупации" Прибалтики и нарушении прав русскоязычного населения" (in Russian). Международная жизнь». Archived from the original on 27 August 2009.
- ^ Isakov, S. G. (2005). Очерки истории русской культуры в Эстонии, Изд. : Aleksandra (in Russian). Tallinn. p. 21.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 0-8133-2248-0.
- ISBN 978-0-415-26728-1.
- ^ Isakov, S. G. (2005). Очерки истории русской культуры в Эстонии (in Russian). Tallinn. pp. 394–395.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-7146-5243-6.
- ^ "Population by Nationality". Estonia.eu.
- ISBN 0801489741.
- ^ Koort, Katja (July 2014). "The Russians of Estonia: Twenty Years After". World Affairs. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b Mardiste, Alistair Scrutton (24 February 2017). "Wary of divided loyalties, a Baltic state reaches out to its Russians". Reuters.
- ^ "A Controversial Visit: President of Estonia Meets with Putin at the Kremlin". 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Estonian passport holders at risk". The Baltic Times. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-8223-1802-6.
- ^ "Citizenship Act of Estonia". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
- ^ "Government to develop activities to decrease the number of non-citizens". Archived from the original on 1 September 2009.
- ^ )
- ^ "Citizenship". Estonia.eu. 13 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
- ^ "Amnesty International Report 2014/15: The State of the World's Human Rights". amnesty.org. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ "Riigikogu asub arutama kodakondsuse andmise lihtsustamist" (in Estonian). 12 November 2014.
- ^ "Estonia: Citizenship". vm.ee. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007.
- ^ Gradirovsky, Sergei. "The Policy of Immigration and Naturalization in Russia: Present State and Prospects" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2008.
- ^ Keskerakond on mitte-eestlaste seas jätkuvalt populaarseim partei, Postimees, 23 September 2012
- ^ "Party ratings: Change in coalition followed by Reform, EKRE rise in support". 27 January 2021.
- ^ "ERR News broadcast: Greening of Ida-Viru County costing Center support". 28 January 2021.
- ^ "Valimised 2023". Eesti Rahvusringhääling (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- ^ "Eesti Vabariik kokku" (in Estonian).
- ^ "Population by sex, ethnic nationality and County, 1 January". stat.ee. Statistics Estonia. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
Further reading
- "Alternative Report for the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of United Nations" (PDF).
- "The Russian Diaspora in Latvia and Estonia: Predicting Language Outcomes" (PDF). 13 April 2023.
- "Report on Estonia". Amnesty International. 2007.
- "Linguistic minorities in Estonia: Discrimination must end". Amnesty International. 7 December 2006.
- Lucas, Edward (14 December 2006). "An excess of conscience – Estonia is right and Amnesty is wrong". The Economist.
- Vetik, Raivo (1993). "Ethnic conflict and accommodation in post-communist Estonia". S2CID 111359099.
- Andersen, Erik André (1997). "The Legal Status of Russians in Estonian Privatisation Legislation 1989–1995". Europe-Asia Studies. 49 (2): 303–316. JSTOR 153989.
- Park, Andrus (1994). "Ethnicity and Independence: The Case of Estonia in Comparative Perspective". Europe-Asia Studies. 46 (1): 69–87. JSTOR 153031.
- Vares, Peeter; Zhurayi, Olga (1998). Estonia and Russia, Estonians and Russians: A Dialogue. 2nd ed. Tallinn: Olof Palme International Center.
- Lauristin, Marju; Heidmets, Mati (2002). The Challenge of the Russian Minority: Emerging Multicultural Democracy in Estonia. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus.