Border Youth
As the tensions between the West and Russia escalate, the politicians, media and grandmothers on both sides of the border predict the next war to start in Eastern Estonia. Over 90% of the region’s population is comprised of Russians and less than half have opted for Estonian citizenship. With their values, attitudes and interpretations of past and future being shaped by Russian media, is this fertile ground for a new Russian intervention?
For the last 25 years since Estonian independence the driving force behind integration policy has been language. Estonian proficiency is seen as the guarantor of political stability and is a prerequisite for obtaining citizenship, even for those born here. Speaking Estonian should help to integrate them into Estonian media field, and make them loyal citizens, more connected with their homeland. But in reality the policy has been backfiring, pushing the youth away and giving rise to Russian nationalism.
To explore the causes of failed integration attempts and to search for other solutions we follow personal stories of 5 Estonian-Russian students during their last year of high school. This is a time to face existential dilemmas, to tackle questions of identity, to decide the direction of their future. At the end of the year the graduates will be at the crossroads, choosing allegiances and deciding their future. What are the events and influences that shape and determine their decisions?
By looking at the young and impressionable population on the border of E.U. and Russia, we will gage whether the Ukrainian scenario could be repeated in Eastern Estonia, where Putin’s approval rating is currently even higher than in Russia at 87%. Since war is highly impractical, NATO would most likely be forced to abandon Article V, thus signing its own death sentence. The seeds of discontent have been sowed, but will they rise? What role will our protagonists play in shaping the future of Europe?
For the last 25 years since Estonian independence the driving force behind integration policy has been language. Estonian proficiency is seen as the guarantor of political stability and is a prerequisite for obtaining citizenship, even for those born here. Speaking Estonian should help to integrate them into Estonian media field, and make them loyal citizens, more connected with their homeland. But in reality the policy has been backfiring, pushing the youth away and giving rise to Russian nationalism.
To explore the causes of failed integration attempts and to search for other solutions we follow personal stories of 5 Estonian-Russian students during their last year of high school. This is a time to face existential dilemmas, to tackle questions of identity, to decide the direction of their future. At the end of the year the graduates will be at the crossroads, choosing allegiances and deciding their future. What are the events and influences that shape and determine their decisions?
By looking at the young and impressionable population on the border of E.U. and Russia, we will gage whether the Ukrainian scenario could be repeated in Eastern Estonia, where Putin’s approval rating is currently even higher than in Russia at 87%. Since war is highly impractical, NATO would most likely be forced to abandon Article V, thus signing its own death sentence. The seeds of discontent have been sowed, but will they rise? What role will our protagonists play in shaping the future of Europe?