The Eurocentric: Estonia Bans Russian Citizens From Voting

tara winstead

Estonia has reformed its law regarding who has the right to vote in local elections. Now, individuals who do not have Estonian citizenship, nor citizenship of another EU member state, will no longer be able to vote in local elections based on the most recent constitutional amendment. This primarily will impact the nation’s Russian minority population who make up the majority of non-Estonian citizens within Estonia. Initially, there was a version of the constitutional amendment which would have allowed citizens of NATO member states to vote in Estonian elections, but this was evidently scraped. An overwhelming majority of the parliament voted in favor, with 93 out of 101 members voting in favor of the constitutional amendment.

This is in stark contrast to Estonia’s previous laws which allowed individuals with a residency permit or permanent right to residency to participate in local elections. Despite this, ethnic Russians are now losing the right to vote if they remain Russian citizens.

To be clear, individuals residing in Estonia who are stateless were allowed to vote in the local elections in October. As the next elections will not be for another five years, current residents who are not yet Estonian citizens have sufficient time to obtain citizenship and participate in those elections. This implies that Estonia is not being vindictive and simply desires individuals to demonstrate that they are loyal to Estonia. It is also important to clarify that this constitutional amendment does not threaten their right to remain in Estonia, only their right to vote in local elections.

Lack of Integration of Russians in Estonia

Estonia’s perception of its Russian minority stems back to the Soviet Union period, when the majority of Russians living in Estonia can trace back the arrivals of their families. When these Russians arrived, they refused to learn the Estonian language. Instead, the Russian language became prominent in Estonia and in a way was edging out the Estonian language in its own country. Estonians were pressured to learn the Russian language instead of Russians learning the Estonian language. This lack of integration seems to suggest that the Russian minority stay in Estonia to benefit from more freedoms and a stronger economy, than if they returned to Russia but still refuse to fully assimilate.

There is potentially an argument that many Russians have refused to become citizens because those who arrived after the creation of the Soviet Union were excluded from automatic citizenship when Estonia became an independent nation once again in 1991. Estonia will not simply gift citizenship to individuals who refuse to meet the nation halfway when it comes to integration. As 81 percent of ethnic Russians in Estonia are citizens, this makes it clear that the nation is not actively preventing Russians from becoming citizens simply due to their ethnicity. This is clear from the feasibility of citizenship requirements. While Estonia does have a language requirement to become a citizen, applicants are only expected to have an intermediate understanding of the Estonian language.

It is also crucial to remember that the Soviet Union encouraged and facilitated Russian immigration to Estonia while it deported Estonians to Siberia to effectively dilute the power of Estonians in their own nation. This makes the animosity towards Russians, particularly those who still refuse to learn Estonian more understandable. These individuals refuse to take actions to integrate themselves yet expect automatic citizenship for being in the nation when it gained independence from Russia, the very same nation where they have original citizenship.

There are attempts to link a lack of citizenship with higher poverty amongst ethnic Russians in Estonia, yet these arguments do not acknowledge the harsh reality that refusing to speak Estonia limits economic opportunities. Even if Estonia were to remove the learning the Estonian language as a requirement for citizenship, ethnic Russians who are not yet citizens would still struggle to apply for jobs that require knowledge of Estonian.

Those who argue against Estonia’s insistence on integration are effectively arguing against Estonia’s right to self-determination as a nation. Estonia is not excluding ethnic Russians from elections and politics unless they refuse to become citizens. Within the European Union, it is not standard practice to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, unless they are citizens of another member state, as required by EU legislation.      

Second Invasion of Ukraine

Putin’s latest invasion of Ukraine appears to have inspired this constitutional amendment as well. Prime Minister Kristen Michel stated that “The decisions in our local life won't be made by the citizens of the aggressor states, but we'll decide by ourselves”. It is logical that there are concerns that individuals who still have not yet taken the steps to become Estonian citizens may be sympathetic to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, causing concern for what security risks this may mean for Estonia. Previously, in September, Russian fighter jets momentarily infringed on Estonian air space.   

Dual Citizenship Not Permitted

In Estonia, individuals are not allowed to be dual citizens. For Russians in Estonia, this means they must make a choice. They can remain Russian citizens and lose the right to vote, or go through the process of becoming an Estonian citizen. Considering the majority of ethnic Russians in Estonia have lived there for decades, this choice seems simple. While these individuals have not yet become citizens, they signal that they prefer living in Estonia rather than returning to Russia, where they have citizenship, with each year that they do not return to Russia.

In Conclusion

While it will take some effort on behalf of ethnic Russians living in Estonia to become citizens, it is not impossible. It is also the logical step for individuals who have lived in Estonia for decades and have never attempted to return to Russia, despite their citizenship. If these individuals desire to take part in local elections, then they should be expected to confirm their loyalty to Estonia. Considering that Estonia permitted noncitizens to vote in local elections this year and this legislation only becomes relevant for the next local elections five years from now, it is clear these individuals have more than enough time to become citizens in order to participate.