War Upends Ethnic Relations In Estonia

 

Politico: Tanks for the memories: War upends ethnic relations in Estonia 

Ethnic Estonians and Russian-speakers differ over the war in Ukraine, prompting government fears over integration. 

NARVA, Estonia — Anna Gisser was out for a stroll through Narva’s leafy Siivertsi park last week, when the 82-year-old pensioner was stopped by two policemen and told to wait. 

Workers were in the park loading a Soviet-era tank memorial onto a truck and carting it off to a museum — part of Tallinn’s effort to remove what for ethnic Estonians glorifies half a century of brutal Soviet occupation, but what local Russian-speakers feel commemorates fallen Red Army soldiers from World War II. 

“I feel disgusted,” said Gisser, a Russian-born former energy construction worker who has lived in Estonia since 1957. “For me, this is about memory … they’ve disrespected my very being.”  

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Update: ‘I’m always looking over my shoulder’: anxiety among Estonia’s Russians (The Guardian)  

WNU Editor: Ethnic relations were already horrible before the war even though almost a quarter of the country identify themselves as Russian. And while the war has exacerbated relations, including the collapse of the Estonian government .... Estonian Government Coalition Collapses (June 5, 2022), my prediction is that it is going to get worse including imposing insane measures like this one .... Estonia has banned Russian tourists. Now it's lobbying the European Union to do the same (CBC).