Észtek és oroszok: 125 év
Estonians and Russians: 125 years

Summary/Abstract: Estonia is located in the northernmost part of East-Central Europe. During the 20th century, the situation of this region was determined either by Germany or by Russia, viz. the Soviet Union. The lack of influence of the Atlantic powers created “Bloodlands” (Timothy Snyder) out of the Baltic states. In 1939/40, the three small Baltic states could not join their forces against Germany and its ally at the time, the Soviet Union. This essay tries to map the road which led to the independent Estonia. Independence has been reached two times (1920, 1991), but several waves of Russification interrupted the Estonian nation-building process. Russification was sometimes violent, but it was carried out by administrative and cultural/ educational measures, too. As a result, there is now a significant non-Estonian, Russianspeaking minority in Estonia. The common history of Estonians and Russians is extraordinarily bloody, and it is marked by a series of tragedies, such as mass-killings, deportations, Russification and partisan war. However, there have also been moments of cooperation between the two nations. This essay deals with the latter, too. It evokes their cooperation in the early 1900s, when Estonian and Russian elites could find a common goal. In 1920, the Estonian “Realpolitik” of the Tartu Peace Treaty was very efficient. However, the currently dominant narratives do not deal with those happier memories of the past. The nation-building process has not been finished, and the Estonian “ethnic democracy” seriously affects the Russian minority, which is a sensitive issue for Moscow, too.

• Details
• Contents