Estonian Russian speaking community is diverse, not homogeneous

Jan 8, 2021 Estonian Life No. 1 2021

For many years now no authoritative voice has suggested that Russian speakers in Estonian represent a politically uniform and culturally unvaried community. In a doctoral dissertation recently, Marienne Leppik has analyzed the integration and transnationalism of the Russian speaking community among many different socio-cultural variables and recognized four distinct groupings within the community.

(Transnationalism (hargmaisus), a term not in the everyday lexicon of the ‘man on the street’, refers to the level of connectedness members of a diaspora have to their homeland.)

Multi-active, cosmopolitan integration group

This represents about one fifth of the Russian speakers. This includes people who have successfully integrated into all segments of society and who have access to various resources. They have good command of the Estonian language, most have Estonian citizenship and two thirds were born in Estonia. At least one third of this group live elsewhere than in Tallinn or East Virumaa, that have the heaviest concentrations of Russian speakers.

Laas Leivat, Toronto

Estonian Russian speaking community is diverse, not homogeneous

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