Estonia phases out Russian as a language of instruction

By the year 2030, Russian will no longer be a language of instruction but rather it will only be considered a foreign language. Native Russian speakers in Estonia favour the reform: It offers their children better opportunities in the education market and in the labour market.

Many people in the Baltic states speak Russian as their mother tongue – particularly in Latvia (38%) and Estonia (28%). In the Estonian capital, Tallinn, virtually every second child grows up speaking Russian. In the North-East of the country, Russian is even more widespread. Narva, Estonia’s third largest city, sits directly on the border with Russia. Over 90 per cent of the city’s population speak Russian.

A short journey through time: The Soviet dictator Stalin had tens of thousands of Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians deported to Siberia. His counter-move was to settle Russians in the Baltic states. Ethnic deportations and Russification went hand in hand. Russification also continued after Stalin’s death: Industrial workers and occupation soldiers came and settled primarily in the large cities. Russian was the official language in the Soviet-occupied territories of the Baltic States. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990/91, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia regained their independence and Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian replaced Russian as the official language in these countries.

Today, the Baltic EU states fear that Putin is attempting to manipulate the Russian minorities. Consequently, among the EU sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, licenses were revoked from Moscow-controlled broadcasters. And Latvia and Estonia are introducing Latvian and Estonian as the sole language of instruction in all schools across the board.

Nine out of ten people in Narva speak Russian as their mother tongue. The city in the North-East belongs to Estonia. Here as well, by the year 2030 everything will be changed over. What do Russian-speaking parents think about their children being taught in Estonian? Irina picks up her daughter Ella, a first-year pupil, from school: “It’s hard! Ella needs tutoring because she used to go to a Russian-speaking kindergarten.” Maria pushes a pram in front of her and says: “I think the reform is right. We live in Estonia. You must be proficient in the national language.”

A committee for minority rights within the Council of Europe monitored the school system. The United Nations likewise has sent experts. The Estonian Ministry of Education is also concerned that the “Russian schools” in Estonia are a full year behind in knowledge tests.

But why are we only seeing the school reform now? In an interview with Euronews, Minister Kristina Kallas points out: “For a long time there was a lack of political assertiveness because there were strong Russian attempts to interfere. In a way – very tragically – the Russian aggression against Ukraine was the decisive element in breaking down the resistance to this school reform. My great concern is that the existence of a separate Russian-language education system will have a negative impact on Russian-speaking children. This totally separate, parallel education system has resulted in Russian-speaking children being completely excluded from Estonian further education opportunities after graduating from these (Russian) schools, and this also applies to the job market. Thus, we must reform this school system and provide equal access to coursework taught in Estonian.”

What is the objective of the Estonian integration strategy? Kallas: “For the generation born after Estonia regained its independence, it is necessary that they see themselves as Estonians and that they identify with the Estonian nationality – without having to give up their sense of being Russian. These identities are not mutually exclusive.”