Triin Vihalemm

Identity dynamics of Russian-speakers of Estonia in the transition period

Abstract The question of the development of the identity of those of the Russian diaspora in various post-Soviet independent states has attracted many scholars. With this article the authors would like to join the discussion by exploring the strategies used for retrospective self-designation and creation of boundaries between “us” and “them” of younger Russian-speakers1 living in Estonia. The authors consider that there are good preconditions for the rise of group-consciousness among Estonian Russian-speakers on the basis of their common political exclusion. However, Estonia has been one of the countries that has moved most rapidly into global communication networks and post-modern values, thereby offering fertile soil for distancing oneself from previous identity-references, individualization and fragmentation of identity. The aim of this analysis is to outline the patterns of identification and discuss them in relation with generation replacement and individualization — aspects that have not been fully explored thus far.

Mental Structures in Transition Culture Differentiating Patterns of Identities and Values in Estonia

Based on the concept of transition culture, the article discusses patterns of generational continuity and disruption in post-Soviet Estonia. We suggest a tool for meso-level analysis: factor structures of self-identification and value orientations. The empirical analysis of population survey data collected in 2005 shows that such mental structures have significant correlations with indices of perceptions about social changes and everyday social and cultural practices. Our analysis focuses on mental patterns of three generations among two main ethno-linguistic groups: ethnic Estonians and the Russian minority. The results reveal considerable differentiation between older and younger generations. We suggest that post-Soviet transition has brought about generational disruption in cultural reproduction, which is particularly visible among the ethnic minority group: Russian youngsters differ from their parents to a greater extent than do young Estonians from theirs. Moreover, the mental patterns of young Estonians and Russians have common elements.

(Re)Construction of Collective Identities after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Case of Estonia.

The paper will focus on the structures of collective identities of the Russian-speaking population of Estonia.1 Particular cultural and political orientations held by individuals and frequencies of self-categorization as Russian, ex-Soviet, citizens of Estonia, etc. have been discussed extensively.2 Much less attention has been paid to the structures of self-identification, which draw out people’s thinking patterns. The paper is based on the methodological premise that analysisand interpretation of the disposition of different types of self-categorization is worth the effort, as it helps to elucidate the general meta-structures behind people’s interpretation of different identification narratives and provides an opportunity to make prognoses about future scenarios. The first section discusses the different public identity narratives and social prerequisites for their internalization. The second and third sections provide an overview of the methodology and data of the study. The fourth section presents the main findings regarding the frequencies and structures of self-identification both today and 15 years ago.

Crystallizing and Emancipating Identities in Post-Communist Estonia

This article concerns collective identities in the context of EU enlargement and the post-Soviet transition of Estonian society, particularly of the two main ethno-linguistic groups: ethnic Estonians and the Russian-speaking population in Estonia. The empirical basis of the study is formed by factor structures of self-identification. The data were obtained from nationally representative surveys carried out in 2002, before Estonia joined the EU, and in 2005. The thinking patterns behind the structures of self-categorization are discussed mainly on the basis of theoretical concepts of individualization and transition culture. For background information, comparative data collected in Latvia (2006) and in Sweden (2003) are used. The survey results reveal that in the post-communist transformation, EU integration and spread of global mass culture have homogenized the mental patterns of the Estonians and the Russians. It is characteristic of post-communist Estonia that both minority and majority groups have utilized trans-national and civic identity and individualistic patterns of self-identification in terms of (sub)culture and social and material achievement, extracted from social norms and existing structures. Surveys confirm that for political actors in both Estonia and Russia it is hardly possible any more to create a common umbrella identity for the Russians in Estonia—the self-designation patterns of the Estonian Russians have been emancipated during the transition period.

Distinct Mental Structures in Transitional Culture: An Empirical Analysis of Values and Identities in Estonia and Sweden

Abstract This article examines the structures of value consciousness and self-identification in two EU countries: Estonia, a representative transitional society, and Sweden, a representative stable welfare society. The study is an attempt to operationalize Sztompkas concept of “cultural templates” on the meso-level of analysis, by revealing latent mental structures. Our main conclusion is that the transitional culture in Estonia can be characterized by three specific mental patterns: nostalgic resignation, striving for success, and an escapist Western orientation, represented by different social groups. The process of individualization, characteristic of Western welfare societies, has taken place in transitional Estonia with delays and significant modifications.

Patterns of continuity and disruption The specificity of young people's mental structures in three transitional societies

This article analyzes inter-generational continuity and cultural reproduction in three transitional countries: Estonia, Latvia and the Czech Republic. We compare the levels of internalization of factor structures of self-identification and values among young people and older generations. We focus specifically on a comparison of young people representing the two main ethno-linguistic groups in Estonia and Latvia: ethnic Estonians, or Latvians, and Russians. The data are derived from representative population surveys carried out in the three countries in November 2005 and spring 2006. In general, we observed greater inter-generational continuity in the Czech Republic, compared with Estonia and Latvia. Cultural reproduction among the ethnic minorities in both Baltic countries has been most vulnerable to transitional changes: Russian youngsters differ from their parents to a greater extent than do young Estonians and Latvians from theirs.

Why the transformation of the risk message is a healthy sign: a model of the reception of warning messages

In this article, we examine the communication of health risks caused by technological and natural disasters to the public. Contrary to the commonly accepted view, we argue that in the context of the risk society, the transformation and multiplication of risk messages among the public is a healthy sign. We aim to show how the recipients of risk communication can overcome the confusion that emanates from the inevitable contradictions of warning messages. We used Luhmann’s communication theory to develop a model of the analysis of personal interpretations of warning messages and examined how this explained the variations in the personal sense of risk that shaped the reception of a warning message. Our model developed Luhmann’s concepts of first- and second-order observations: direct and reflective approaches to risk messages. Using data derived from seven focus groups conducted in four Estonian cities in 2009–2010, we examined how the choice between direct and reflective approaches to risk messages was dependent on recipient’s reflection of social relations in the messages and the channels of their delivery. We found that the first response to the warning message depended on whether the information could be dealt with by first-order observation. When members of the focus group realised they needed to use a second-order observation strategy, they tended to use emotions to respond to risk messages. Our data show that defining risks and legitimising solutions in a collective discussion tended to be more important for an individual than accessing the one-dimensional official constructions of risks.

Representations of the past in the Estonian Russian-language press: “own” or diaspora memory?

The article discusses the much-debated issue of collective identity among the Estonian Russian-speaking population from a different prism – based on representations of the past in the local Russian-language press in 2009. Assuming that representations of the past offer references for present-day identity construction, the study is aimed at revealing which identity patterns were supported and which were rejected by journalists and other speakers in the press. The analysis suggests that the “memory divide” is not only connected with WWII, as is widely believed in Estonia, but runs further down at the imaginary time-scale. Although the analysis revealed a strong prevalence of local-scale events, the mode of representations could not help to develop “own” local identities, either in a civic or emancipatory form. By the evaluation of events, actors and the stylistic means, the Russian-language press rather constructed the identity of the imperial diaspora. The existing State Integration Program aims at strengthening civic identity and activity, but it does not have a say in history politics. However, the latter is needed in order to give more space for private memories, critical reflection and the search for ways to (re)define the group in relation to space, time and other groups.

The Formation of Imagined Borders in Post-Soviet Estonia: Diaspora or Local Community?

Abstract This paper focuses to the development of the collective identity of Russian diaspora in transformational Estonia after dissolution of Soviet Union. The case represents the situation in which not only the previous state borders but the the whole political system have changed. The paper analyzes the acceptance and rejection of the collective identification categories. The results indicate limited acceptance of the identification ideologies suggested by Estonian Republics or by Russian Federation. For the people who do not feel strong allegiances towards the state ideologies and surrounding ethno‐cultural groups, the regional‐cultural self‐designations offer a possibility to maintain ones positive distinctiveness.

The Paradox of National Language Acquisition: Russian Speakers’ Labor Market Positions in Estonia

This paper analyzes the changes in the labor market positions of Soviet-era Russian-speaking immigrants and their descendants in Estonia in 1992–2008. More specifically, it explains how the knowledge of Estonian connects with evaluations of changes of market positions. The Estonian case shows that the language policy intervention undertaken in the context of a fundamental transformation of the market structure in the 1990s paradoxically yielded results contrary to the objectives pursued by the language policy. As it turns out, a segregation strategy is successful in terms of market position maintenance or improvement, whereas acculturation strategy (learning Estonian) worsens rather than improves job opportunities.