Estonian Russification of non-Russian ethnic minorities in Estonia? a policy analysis

Abstract

Non-Russian ethnic minorities, who immigrated into Estonia between 1945 and 1990 together with Russians, have been assimilating into Russian culture in Estonia after Estonia's independence in 1991. We illustrate this and show why one can assume that this is not in the interest of Estonia, for both 'idealistic' and 'cynical' reasons. We then analyze the implementation of the six key policy instruments the Estonian Government uses to preserve ethnic peculiarities of non-Russian ethnic groups. Our findings imply a policy failure which has not yet been recognized. Finally, we suggest possible explanations for this failure.