Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are as soon as once more feeling beneath menace from their bigger neighbour, Russia. All through the twentieth century the Baltic states needed to combat Russia for his or her very existence. Now the legacy of this latest historical past looms giant over up to date regional geopolitics.
The Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014 and the next full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have reignited fears in all three international locations.
Understandably, the Baltic states are actually doubling down on defence and safety. Every has elevated its defence spending.
They’re additionally investing in a joint Baltic defence line which incorporates tons of of fortified bunkers and anti-tank obstacles. The three international locations are supported by multinational Nato navy items and are additionally a part of the joint expeditionary power, a UK-led multinational navy partnership.
Final yr I used to be in Tartu in Estonia, serving to to organise an occasion as a part of town’s yr as a European capital of tradition. The theme of the programme was “arts of survival”. There was a robust give attention to the significance of the connection between Tartu – and Estonia itself, after all – and Europe.
Tartu, Estonia’s second-largest metropolis, is about 40km from the border with Russia and has already skilled interference from its bigger neighbour. In Might 2024, Russia was blamed for disrupting the GPS alerts of plane, inflicting Finnish airline Finnair to droop its day by day flights to Tartu airport. It was a stark reminder of how simply Russia can intrude in day by day life.
But day by day life in Tartu carries on, as I noticed throughout my keep 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 College Centre for Geopolitics, the Baltic Defence School in Tartu, the College of Tartu, and the British Embassies in Riga and Tallinn.
The panel introduced collectively political scientists and historians to debate the historical past and up to date actuality of life on the border with Russia. A significant focus was the altering concepts of id, struggle and tradition. The occasion confirmed the significance of cultural examine, and emphasised the significance of media and communications in offering info to assist the general public in a disaster.
Language limitations
One subject which emerged from the humanities of survival programme was the way in which wherein Estonia’s shared Baltic and Russian cultural heritage impacts on a regular basis life in Tartu and throughout the nation extra usually. Tradition typically – and language, extra particularly – is changing into one thing of a battleground in Estonia.
Greater than 300,000 folks in Estonia are native Russian audio system – about 27% of the inhabitants. The Tallinn authorities is anxious that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, could justify an assault on the nation by claiming to be coming to the defence of those Russian audio system. This was one in all his justifications for invading Ukraine in 2022.
The conflict of cultures and the delicacy of the language barrier in Estonia is probably finest illustrated by the state of affairs in Narva, which competed with Tartu to develop into European capital of tradition in 2024. The nation’s third-largest metropolis sits straight on the border with Russia and greater than 95% of the inhabitants are native Russian audio system. In 2022, after launching the invasion of Ukraine, Putin mentioned it might be justifiable to “take back and secure” town of 53,000 inhabitants.
Russia has since utilized intense stress, frequently deploying surveillance drones and blimps and interfering with border markings.
The director of Narva museum, Maria Smorzevskihh-Smirnova, talks to journalists in regards to the museum’s anti-Putin messaging.
Alexander Welscher/dpa/Alamy Stay Information
In flip, the Narva museum, which faces throughout the river marking the border between the 2 international locations, has displayed a banner decrying Putin as a struggle prison on Might 9 every year for the reason that invasion of Ukraine. That is the day that Russia celebrates Victory Day, marking the tip of the second world struggle celebrations. The museum additionally frequently hosts exhibitions highlighting Russia’s alleged struggle crimes. Russia in the meantime makes use of the day to blast pro-Russian messages throughout the river at Estonians.
Cultural divide
Over latest years successive Estonian governments have chosen to emphasize the nation’s independence by eradicating objects which replicate Russian cultural heritage. This has included many Soviet-era struggle monuments. The Estonian authorities argues these haven’t any place in Estonian public areas as they glorify the Russian occupation. Russia responded to this by putting the then prime minister, Kaja Kallas – together with different senior Baltic-state politicians – on a wished checklist.
The beginning of the educational yr in September additionally marked the start of the transition of the nation’s college system to purely Estonian-language educating. Consultants taking part within the arts of survival panel commented that whereas this variation has confronted some previous delays, there’s now willpower and consensus to unify the varsity system linguistically.
They famous there’s extra broadly a rising sense of Estonia’s nationwide id and pleasure in Estonia’s achievements, politics and economics. Estonian society is rejecting expressions of Russian imperialism in favour of a extra European id.
But the panel pressured the significance of a optimistic, pragmatic and inclusive angle of Estonians in direction of Russian-speakers. Of their “vision” doc for the broader Tartu 2024 celebration, the organisers had emphasised the necessity to each assist Ukrainian refugees in Estonia and assist Russian-speaking creatives and intellectuals who’re liberal voices of opposition, however who now face mistrust from their Estonian-speaking compatriots.
That is an space of stress. There have been efforts to oppose Russian tradition in Estonia, together with the removing of songs by Russian artists who assist aggression or assist the Russian state from Estonian radio.
The lesson I took away from my time in Estonia was that, given the elevated stress from its aggressive Russian neighbour, the function of tradition in Estonia is significantly necessary. Whereas opposing Russian imperial aggression, a optimistic and inclusive angle to tradition and integration will assist each in tackling up to date geopolitical points and constructing a optimistic and peaceable future for all Estonians.
