Estonia’s language and culture are becoming battlegrounds for independence from Putin’s Russia

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are once again feeling under threat from their larger neighbour, Russia. Throughout the 20th century the Baltic states had to fight Russia for their very existence. Now the legacy of this recent history looms large over contemporary regional geopolitics.

The Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have reignited fears in all three countries.

Understandably, the Baltic states are now doubling down on defence and security. Each has increased its defence spending.

They are also investing in a joint Baltic defence line which includes hundreds of fortified bunkers and anti-tank obstacles. The three countries are supported by multinational Nato military units and are also part of the joint expeditionary force, a UK-led multinational military partnership.

Last year I was in Tartu in Estonia, helping to organise an event as part of the city’s year as a European capital of culture. The theme of the programme was “arts of survival”. There was a strong focus on the importance of the relationship between Tartu – and Estonia itself, of course – and Europe.

Tartu, Estonia’s second-largest city, is about 40km from the border with Russia and has already experienced interference from its larger neighbour. In May 2024, Russia was blamed for disrupting the GPS signals of aircraft, causing Finnish airline Finnair to suspend its daily flights to Tartu airport. It was a stark reminder of how easily Russia can interfere in daily life.

Yet daily life in Tartu carries on, as I saw during my stay there.

I helped to organise a public panel, “Arts of survival on the border with Russia”. This was a co-creation of the Baltic Geopolitics Programme of the Cambridge University Centre for Geopolitics, the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, the University of Tartu, and the British Embassies in Riga and Tallinn.

The panel brought together political scientists and historians to discuss the history and contemporary reality of life on the border with Russia. A major focus was the changing ideas of identity, war and culture. The event showed the importance of cultural study, and emphasised the importance of media and communications in providing information to support the public in a crisis.

Language barriers

One issue which emerged from the arts of survival programme was the way in which Estonia’s shared Baltic and Russian cultural heritage affects everyday life in Tartu and across the country more generally. Culture in general – and language, more specifically – is becoming something of a battleground in Estonia.

More than 300,000 people in Estonia are native Russian speakers – about 27% of the population. The Tallinn government is concerned that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, may justify an attack on the country by claiming to be coming to the defence of these Russian speakers. This was one of his justifications for invading Ukraine in 2022.

The clash of cultures and the delicacy of the language barrier in Estonia is perhaps best illustrated by the situation in Narva, which competed with Tartu to become European capital of culture in 2024. The country’s third-largest city sits directly on the border with Russia and more than 95% of the population are native Russian speakers. In 2022, after launching the invasion of Ukraine, Putin said it would be justifiable to “take back and secure” the city of 53,000 inhabitants.

Russia has since applied intense pressure, regularly deploying surveillance drones and blimps and interfering with border markings.

In turn, the Narva museum, which faces across the river marking the border between the two countries, has displayed a banner decrying Putin as a war criminal on May 9 each year since the invasion of Ukraine. This is the day that Russia celebrates Victory Day, marking the end of the second world war celebrations. The museum also regularly hosts exhibitions highlighting Russia’s alleged war crimes. Russia meanwhile uses the day to blast pro-Russian messages across the river at Estonians.

Cultural divide

Over recent years successive Estonian governments have chosen to emphasise the country’s independence by removing objects which reflect Russian cultural heritage. This has included many Soviet-era war monuments. The Estonian government argues these have no place in Estonian public spaces as they glorify the Russian occupation. Russia responded to this by placing the then prime minister, Kaja Kallas – along with other senior Baltic-state politicians – on a wanted list.

The start of the academic year in September also marked the beginning of the transition of the country’s school system to purely Estonian-language teaching. Experts participating in the arts of survival panel commented that while this change has faced some past delays, there is now determination and consensus to unify the school system linguistically.

They noted there is more broadly a growing sense of Estonia’s national identity and pride in Estonia’s achievements, politics and economics. Estonian society is rejecting expressions of Russian imperialism in favour of a more European identity.

Yet the panel stressed the importance of a positive, pragmatic and inclusive attitude of Estonians towards Russian-speakers. In their “vision” document for the wider Tartu 2024 celebration, the organisers had emphasised the need to both support Ukrainian refugees in Estonia and support Russian-speaking creatives and intellectuals who are liberal voices of opposition, but who now face distrust from their Estonian-speaking compatriots.

This is an area of tension. There have been efforts to oppose Russian culture in Estonia, including the removal of songs by Russian artists who support aggression or support the Russian state from Estonian radio.

The lesson I took away from my time in Estonia was that, given the increased pressure from its aggressive Russian neighbour, the role of culture in Estonia is seriously important. While opposing Russian imperial aggression, a positive and inclusive attitude to culture and integration will help both in tackling contemporary geopolitical issues and building a positive and peaceful future for all Estonians.