The situation in the Estonian city of Narva is remarkable. This third city of Estonia is located near the river with the same name. On the other side of the river is a Russian city called Ivangorod, which used to be part of Narva until 1945.

Some 95% of the people in Narva speak Russian (2,3). In the period from 2024-2029 Estonia wants to fully transition to the use of the Estonian language both in Kindergartens and schools (2). In February 2024 a request by the City Council of Narva to retain 40% Russian in 2024-2025 was denied.

In the video below you can see the practical consequences of this strange situation. On Victory Day, May 9, 2024 there were celebrations on the Russian site of the river and the other side of the river showed the flags of Estonia, Ukraine and the EU together with a picture of Vladimir Putin accompanied by the words ‘War Criminal’.

I’m not sure what to think of this situation. Is it blatant Russophobia and discrimination, forcing people to speak another language, or is it reasonable to expect all Estonian citizens to speak Estonian on schools? What about the timing? To which degree is this the result of anti-Russia propaganda by the EU and their media? (4) Is there something else going on in Narva? Let me know what you think by adding a comment below or by joining the Gondolath Study Group (5).

FOOTNOTES
(1) https://x.com/paulbuitink/status/1788645394831794561
(2) EU state won’t allow schools in Russian-speaking city to teach in mother tongue
(3) Narva
(4) https://x.com/ivan_8848/status/1791850548867600561 – Listen to how the Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas openly says that it would be good thing if Russia would be split in smaller parts.
(5) The Gondolath Deep State Study Group (Telegram)

Image is from (2) People walk past the Narva sign next to the border crossing from Estonia into Russia on May 27, 2022 in Narva, Estonia. ©  Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images