The Estonian parliament has amended the country’s constitution to strip Russian and other non-European citizens of their right to vote in local elections. Around 80,000 Russian citizens live in Estonia. Commentators in the national press examine motives and consequences.
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Use soft as well as hard approach
Sergei Metlev, editor-in-chief of the Russian-language version of Postimees, comments:
“This changes the political reality in Estonia and, together with other decisions, shows that Estonia has opted for an ‘all or nothing’ strategy on Russia. … That said, the biggest danger is that around a third of Russians, who already live somewhat apart from Estonian reality, are now protesting with renewed vigour and have no interest in the Estonians’ legitimate concerns. … At this point there is no telling whether this situation won’t take a very negative turn in the near future. And therein lies the greatest danger. … So we need a positive programme now – right now. In a free society you can’t rely on thumbscrews alone.”
Difficult questions to answer
Mayor Katri Raik of Narva, a city on the Russian border where some 30 percent of the population are Russian citizens, expresses her dismay in Eesti Päevaleht:
“The country is split in two: you Estonians and us Russians, whom the Estonians don’t trust. … Integration as we knew it has truly failed. It’s not so much the Russian citizens who are offended – although they are offended too – but the Estonian citizens whose mother tongue is Russian. Everyone who lives in Narva has Russian citizens or stateless persons in their family or extended family. Why is my mother-in-law not good enough for Estonia? Why does my father, who has lived and worked here all his life and adhered to the law, not fit in? … These are the questions the Mayor of Narva must answer, even if she has no answer.”