Estonian government reaches out to Russian Estonians to counter Kremlin influence

• Anxious about a repeat of Ukraine in their country, government officials have begun learning Russian and conducting outreach to increase the integration of ethnic Russians in Estonia.
• Russian speakers comprise roughly 25% of Estonia’s population, with many concentrated on the country’s border with Russia where a mix of Estonian and Russian media provide differing views on regional geopolitics.
• Although Russians have been in Estonia since pre-WWII times, many ethnic Russian immigrants in Estonia lack Estonian citizenship after post-Soviet language tests left many holding Russian passports.

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“Wary of divided loyalties, a Baltic state reaches out to its Russians” (Reuters | February 2017)
“Nervous in Narva: a town caught between East and West” (The Irish Times | February 2017)
“Baltic Russians: Are They Sudetendeutsche?“* (Forbes | February 2017)

* Commentary/Opinion