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Nationalities Papers
The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity
Volume 28, 2000 - Issue 2
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Original Articles

A geopolitics of identity: Drawing the line between Russia and Estonia

Pages 243-262 | Published online: 19 Aug 2010

References

  • Smith , Anthony D. 1991 . National Identity , 8 – 18 . Reno : University of Nevada Press . For an insightful treatment of the contours of the nation
  • Barth , Frederik , ed. 1969 . Ethnic Groups and Boundaries , Boston : Little, Brown . On the constructed nature of "ethnic" identity, see; and, in a recent treatment including the Estonian case
  • Laitin , David D. 1998 . Identity in Formation: The Russian-Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad , Ithaca , NY : Cornell University Press .
  • Emelianenko , Vladimir . 1996 . "Skol'ko stoit suverenitet?" . Moskovskie novosti , 31 March : 7 The Russian poll on the country's enemies was reported by
  • Kortunov , S. V. 1998 . Imperskie ambitsii i natsional'nye interesy , Moscow : Moscow Social Science Foundation . in addition to charges of human rights violations from former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his various foreign ministers, scholars ranging from the confrontational
  • Stankevich , Sergei . 1994 . “ 'Toward a New 'National Idea,'" ” . In Rethinking Russia's National Interests , Edited by: Sestanovich , Stephen . 24 – 32 . Washington : CSIS . to the usually more amiable; are strident about the treatment of ethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia.
  • Cichock , Mark A. 1999 . "Interdependence and Manipulation in the Russian-Baltic Relationship: 1993-97" . Journal of Baltic Studies , 30 ( 2 ) : 89 – 116 . For an account of Russian threats to the Baltic states, although the author excludes the sometimes provocative participation in this dialogue on Estonia's part
  • 1999 . "Vene ajakirjandus" . Postimees , 18 December It was not uncommon to hear the term "little Stalins" in reference to Russians in Estonia in the post-independence period; after the Russian Duma elections in 1993, one prominent politician referred to cultural Russians in a radio interview as "little ZWrinovskiis." Already by 1995 this kind of usage had significantly lessened, and media coverage since then has grown more likely to include positive images of cultural Russians (Teet Kallas has been a persistent force on this issue, e.g.; (http://www.postimees.ee)
  • 1997 . "Printsessid, parmud ja poliitikud ajakirjanduse embuses" . Luup , 29 September For example, Maimu Berg suggested that the Estonian press overdramatizes tension and conflicts between cultural Russians and Estonians; (http://www.postimees.ee.luup)
  • Eesti Avatud Uhiskonna Instituut . 1998 . Trii Rahvusvaheliste ja Sotsiaaluuringute Instituut, and Trii Sotsiaalteaduskond, Vene Küsimus ja Eesti Valikud , Tallinn : Trii Kirjastus .
  • Kirch , Aksel , ed. 1997 . The Integration of Non-Estonians into Estonian Society: History, Problems, and Trends , Tallinn : Estonian Academy Publishers .
  • Evans , Geoffrey . 1998 . "Ethnic Schism and the Consolidation of Post-Communist Democracies: The Case of Estonia" . Communist and Post-Communist Studies , 31 ( 1 ) : 57 – 74 .
  • Anderson , Benedict . 1993 . Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, , rev. ed. , London : Verso . Ernest Gellner and Anthony Smith included the Estonian case as instrumental nationalism (Gellner) or historically rooted community (Smith) in the Warwick Debates on Nationalism, with both approaches allowing for changeable membership. Ernest Gellner, "The Nation: Real or Imagined?" and
  • Smith , Anthony D. 1996 . "Memory and Modernity: Reflections on Ernest Gellner's Theory of Nationalism" . Nations and Nationalism , 2 ( 3 ) : 357 – 388 .
  • Renan , Ernest . 1996 . "What is a Nation?' [Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?, 1882] ” . In Becoming National , Edited by: Eley , Geoff and Suny , Ronald Grigor . 52 – 53 . Oxford : Oxford University Press .
  • Ibid.
  • Rose , Richard and Maley , William . 1994 . Nationalities in the Baltic States: A Survey Study , 53 Glasgow : Centre for the Study of Public Policy .
  • 1998 . Financial Times Survey , 24 February : I – VIII . Estonia has earned the image of "the little country that could" in terms of economic reform, and thus an invitation to join the European Union. See, for example, the glowing profiles in the
  • Remarks of President Lennart Meri at a meeting hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, IS March 1999 http://www.ceip.org/programs/ruseuras/meri.htm (http://www.ceip.org/programs/ruseuras/meri.htm)
  • Liik , Though Kadri . 1999 . "lives raakis Ivanoviga hispaania keeles Eesti-Vene suhetest" . Postimees , 15 May reported cordial-even jolly-relations at a meeting between the Estonian and Russian foreign ministers, Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov said that Moscow could not allow a situation where the Duma refused to ratify the signed border agree ment (http://www.postimees.ee)
  • Ullman , Richard . 1999 . "The US and the World: An Interview with George Kennan" . New York Review of Books , 12 August : 4 See George Kennan's comments, in
  • Laar , Mart . 1992 . War in the Woods: Estonia's Struggle for Survival, 1944-1956 , Washington : Compass Press .
  • Haab , Mare . 1998 . "Estonia" ” . In Bordering Russia: Theory and Prospects for Europe's Baltic Rim , Edited by: Mouritzern , Hans . 116 – 118 . Aldershot , , UK : Ashgate . Of these three goals, only the latter has been achieved (and has received Western support). The negotiations on troop withdrawals required three years and played a considerable role in aggravating Estonian anger toward Russia. For a good discussion
  • Kolossov , Vladimir A. 1992 . Ethnoterritorial Conflicts and Boundaries in the Former Soviet Union , 5 – 6 . Durham , UK : IBRU Briefing Series .
  • Haab . "Estonia" ” . 110
  • Stankevich . “ 'Toward a New 'National' Idea" ” . 29
  • Carroll , James . 1996 . "Estonia Presses for Swift Agreement on Border" . Baltic Times , 14-20 November : 4 Raul MaIk, interview with the author in London, May 1998
  • Chandler , Andrea . 1998 . Institutions of Isolation: Border Controls in the Soviet Union and Its Successor States, 1917-1993 , 101 – 119 . Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press . On the plethora of issues complicating border settlements for Russia
  • Ash , Timothy Carton . 1993 . In Europe's Name: Germany and the Divided Continent , New York : Random House . In exploring Germany's ambiguous relationship with Europe, Timothy Garton Ash notes the historical temptation for Germany to act as a "European" country and therefore tap the inherent moral good associated with this label-even if the action in question is the invasion other European countries
  • Lieven , Anatol . 1993 . The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence , 374 New Haven : Yale University Press . for an excellent account of the Baltic states' yearning for Europe-and insistence upon Europe's obligation to them
  • Albrighton , Denise . 1999 . "War Memorial to Mark Estonia's Complex History" . Baltic Times , 3-9 June : 4
  • Baker , Rogers Bru . 1992 . Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany , Cambridge , MA : Harvard University Press .
  • 1995 . "Keeruline tee problemaatilisse rahvusriiki" . Vikerkaar , See, for example. Rein Ruutsoo's consideration of the problems inherent in the "historical continuity" approach. His article excited considerable commentary
  • 1995 . Vikerkaar , followed by an immediate rebuttal by Juhan Talve-pp. 44-60). Among the interesting responses were those of Marju Lauristin ("Veel kord Eesti Kongressist, Rahvarindest ja rahvusriigist," pp. 174-176) and Rein Veidemann ("Ajalugu ja vöim," p. 181), both in
  • 1995 . "Vaevaline tee memuaristikast ajaloo uurimisse" . Vikerkaar , Ruutso published a final article-length response, nuanced but unrepentant; (http:///www.zzz.ee/vikerkaar/viker8/ ruutsoo.html)
  • Huntington , Samuel P. 1993 . 'The Clash of Civilizations?" . Foreign Affairs , 72 ( 3 ) : 22 – 49 .
  • Ibid., p. 27.
  • Smith, National Identity, treats what are called elsewhere "ethnic" and "civic" nationalism as poles between which identities shift, rather than settling for some kind of geographic ascriptions. Thus, a Western country facing secession based on arguments concerning ethnic identity is entirely plausible, making his one of the few frameworks that can account for Canada and secessionist movements in Quebec.
  • Tsygankov , A. P. and Tsygankov , P. A. 1998 . "Pliuralizm ili obosoblenie tsivilizatsii?" [Pluralism or the isolation of civilization?] . Voprosi filosofii , : 18 – 34 . For a sophisticated discussion of the ways in which Huntington's argument bolsters the case for nationalism in Russia
  • Anderson, Imagined Communities.
  • Allikmäe , Kadri . 1999 . "Eesti ja vene lapsed miittasid iiheskoos mooda metsa" . Postimees , 17 September On the role of friendship in breaking down cultural barriers, see
  • Pajula , Malle . 1999 . "Vene lapsed lihvivad eesti peredes keelt" . Eesti Päevaleht , 21 April (http:// www.postimees.ee); (http://www.epl.ee)
  • Ignatieff , Michael . 1993 . Blood and Belonging: Journeys into the New Nationalism , 8 New York : Farrar, Straus & Giroux .
  • Stepan , Alfred C. 1994 . "When Democracy and the Nation-State are Competing Logics: Reflections on Estonia" . Archives Europeennes de Sociologie , 25 ( 1 ) : 127 – 141 .
  • Cirtautus , Arista Maria . 1995 . "Nationalism in East European Latecomers to Democracy" ” . In Can Europe Work? Germany and the Reconstruction of Postcommunist Societies , Edited by: Hanson , Stephen E. and Spohn , Willfried . 24 – 46 . Seattle : University of Washington Press .
  • 1995 . "catch-up" democracy: 'Transition to Democracy" . Nationalities Papers , 23 ( 1 ) : 19 – 27 . Priit Järve's treatment of Estonia's strengths and weaknesses as a new
  • Taagepera , Rein . 1992 . "Ethnic Relations in Estonia, 1991" . Journal of Baltic Studies , 23 ( 2 ) : 126
  • Hallik , Klara . "Eestima Venelased: kas Eestimaa vöi Venemaa vähemus" ” . In Vene Küsimus ja Eesti Valikud 203 – 232 .
  • Kirch , Marika , Kirch , Aksel , Rum , Ilvi and Tuisk , Tarmo . "Integration Processes in Estonia 1993-1996" ” . In The Integration of Non-Estonians into Estonian Society Edited by: Kirch , Aksel . 53 In an effort to mobilize support, inclusive citizenship measures were promised at the Congress of Estonia, which did not materialize once independence was achieved
  • Ibid.
  • Nørgaard , Ole . 1996 . The Baltic States After Independence , 169 Cheltenham , , UK : Edward Elgar .
  • Jaan Kaplinskii, interview with author in Tallinn, March 1994.
  • Peeter Vihalemm, interview with author in Tartu, March 1989.
  • Mark Levin, interview with author in Tallinn, October 1993.
  • Einasto , Jaan , Taagepera , Rein and Piirsalu , Jaanus . 1999 . "Teadlased soovitavad anda vene noortele keskkooli löpetamisel kodakondsuse" . Eeasti Paevaleht , 14 June Thus, the much-debated citizenship exams require some knowledge of Estonian language and history. Another possibility-short of granting citizenship on less demanding terms of residence, for example-would be to require classes rather than an examination, an approach favored by; (http://www.epl.ee)
  • 1993 . Human Rights Watch/Helsinki , October These quotations are from the
  • Forced Migration Projects . 1997 . Estonia and Latvia: Citizenship, Language and Conflict Prevention , New York : Open Society Institute . Report, Vol. 5, No. 20, Integrating Estonia's Non-citizen Minority. A more recent treatment was able to point to greater effort from governmental institutions since 1994, but included the cultural backdrop of insufficient tolerance among Estonians and Latvians which affects many of these projects
  • Albrighton , Denise . 1999 . "Estonia's Little Russia" . Baltic Times , 17-30 June : 16 On the sad condition of the northeastern cities of Narva and Sillamae, for example, see
  • Ruus , Kertu . 1999 . "Sillamae igatseb eestluse jarele" . Eesti Paevaleht , 25 June (http://www.epl.ee)
  • Marina Ochakovskaia, the only cultural Russian on then prime minister Laar's staff, interview with the author in Tallinn, February 1994. Ochakovskaia was responsible for the one early Russian-language publication targeted to the concerns of cultural Russians, My zhivem v Estonii (Tallinn Gosudarstvennaia kantseliarniia Pravitel'stvo ER, 1994). In her struggle to get the booklet funded she faced tremendous ministerial-level opposition on the grounds that Estonian educational projects should take precedence over "the so-called needs of such people."
  • Kirby , David . 1995 . The Baltic World 1772-1993: Europe's Periphery in an Age of Change , 418 – 422 . London and New York : Longman . For a discussion on Estonian and Latvian distrust of urban life and reaffirmation of the rural character of Baltic identity
  • Sheeny , Ann . 1993 . 'The Estonian Law on Aliens" . RFE/RL Research Report , 24 September For a comprehensive discussion; One cultural Russian in Tallinn remarked to me at the time, "First I was a settler, then a colonist, then an occupant, now an alien. What's next?"
  • Haas , Ain . 1996 . "Non-violence in Ethnic Relations" . Journal of Baltic Studies , 27 ( 1 ) : 47 – 76 .
  • Geistlinger , Michael and Kirch , Aksel . 1995 . Estonia: A New Framework for the Estonian Majority and the Russian Minority , 75 Vienna : Braumüller . Subsequent study by Peeler Vihalemm confirmed a profound reorientation from east to west in terms of economic and cultural influence, and through Estonia's "Nordic gate"
  • 1999 . "Changing Baltic Space: Estonia and Its Neighbors" . Journal of Baltic Studies , 30 ( 3 ) : 250 – 269 .
  • Marina Ochakovskaia, interview with the author in Tallinn, February 1994.
  • 1996 . "Gramtsy 'na zamke' i granitsy 'prozrachnye,'" . Literaturnaia gazeta , 4 September : 10 As early as 1996, then Director of the Russian Federal Border Service Andrei Nikolaev emphasized the functionality of the border arrangement, given agreements between the two countries' border guards, despite the lack of formal recognition
  • Mikhailov , Igor . 1998 . "Vytesnenie" . Novyi mir. , : 147 The complaints from the Russian and Estonian sides of the border are similar
  • 1999 . "Eesti-Vene kontrolljoone illetasmisest Petserimaal" . Setomaa , October (http://www.estpak.ee/setomaa)
  • Rose and Maley . Nationalities in the Baltic States 44 – 45 . In contrast to the 72 of Estonians who believed that Russians who live in Estonia are treated fairly, only 29 of Russian speakers agreed with this statement
  • 1997 . Guardian Weekly , 14 December : 3
  • Kortunov , S. 1998 . "Russia's Way: National Identity and Foreign Policy" . International Affairs , 44 ( 4 ) : 154 – 155 .
  • Kaplinsky , Jaan . 1992 . The Wandering Border , 9 London : HarperCollins .
  • SergeiIsakov, then a professor at Tartu University, now also a member of the Estonian parliament, interview with the author in Tartu, May 1994. The bulk of Estonian-language tuition is still financed from abroad. (On efforts to place Russian-speaking children on extended stays with Estonian families, see Albrighton, "Estonia's Little Russia.")
  • Sowell , Thomas . 1996 . Migrations and Cultures: A World View , 58 New York : Basic Books .
  • Ibid., p. 56.
  • Valerii Budiakin, Russian embassy in Estonia, interview with the author in Tallinn, February 1994.
  • N.S. (who requested anonymity), interview with the author in Tallinn, March 1994.
  • Heidmets , Mali . "Eesti Valikud" ” . In Vene küsimus ja Eesti valikud 239 – 254 .
  • Pilkington , Hilary . 1998 . Migration, Displacement and Identity in Post-Soviet Russia , 116 – 183 . London : Routledge . Peeler Vihalemm, interview with the author in Tartu, March 1989. On the usually unpleasant process of migrating to Russia, see
  • Kuz'min , Apollon . 1993 . Kto v Pribaltike 'korennoi'? , Moscow : PAO . See, for example, the pamphlet by

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