Defining National Identity: Estonia
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What makes up a person’s identity? We all have unique aspects that make up our own identity. For example, your name, religion, culture, race, and so on. So what makes up a nation’s identity? According to Anna Triandafyllidou, a Senior Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, national identity is similar to aspects that make up our own identity (i.e. culture, language, etc.). These similarities give people a sense of belonging within a nation (Triandafyllidou, 2001, p. 597). In other words, a nation’s identity can be described as similar traits that bring a group of people together.
There are many aspects that make Estonia unique. In this blog post I will be explaining the different ways in which Estonia’s national identity is portrayed through their history and language. Feldman explains, “Estonia’s identity is represented as an identity under a constant existential threat from the neighbouring alien civilisation and their language.” (Feldman, 2001,15).
Ever since the mid-ninth century Estonia has been bombarded with invaders. The first of the invaders were the Vikings, then Sweden took over in 1558, and lastly Russia invaded Estonia (Britannica, 2018). It wasn’t until August of 1991 that Estonia regained independence from Russia (Estonica, 2018). Feldman explains that the Soviets pulled Estonia forcefully into the culture of the Slavic world; because of this, the post-Soviet country struggled to declare its own national identity once more. It was in that moment that Estonia knew they needed to purify their country from the Soviets influences and reclaim their character (Feldman, 2001,13).
President Meri gave Estonians hope through this time of rebuilding. As the nation reconstructed, he tried to give the Estonians a sense of belonging due to the feeling as though their territory was not the own after many invasions. According to Feldman the bones of 50 to 100 previous generations rest in the territory of Estonia. “Estonia’s small size, rural heritage, history of oppression and little-known language are all used to bolster the exclusive relationship between Estonian territory and ethnic Estonians” (Feldman, 2001,13). It would have been fairly easy to give up on trying to distinguish Estonia as its own nation, but the Estonians did not give up. They took a sense of pride in their rich culture and history and the attitude that the Estonians had during this time of reconstruction is a big component to the national identity.
Estonia’s language is unique. According to CIA, 68% of the population of Estonia speak Estonian (CIA, 2019). This rich language can be dating back to the thirteenth century. Estonia's President Meri stated, “‘The membership of several Estonian towns in the medieval Hanseatic League in particular is evoked as a proof of Estonia’s character’” (Feldman, 2001,11). The language, Estonian, has been around for a long time and will continue to be an important aspect of the national identity. In order to move forward to the future, the country needed to be reminded of the past. Knowing that they have such strong ties to their own land and their own culture, gave them a sense of belonging and unity to the country.
According to Triandafyllidou, a nation cannot truly see what the own unique identities are unless it compares to another country. In other words, the unique identities that make a nation will become clear if you compare one nation to another nation. These nations/countries that oppose another nation are called “significant others”. These significant others can be put into three categories: “minority internal others”, “majority internal others” and “external others” (Triandafyllidou, 2001, 599).
Russia is considered to be one of the significant others in relation to Estonia. Russia is both an external and majority internal significant other. It is an external threat in the sense of Russia’s ambition and military. Russia has in the past taken over Estonia once and their military status and size of their nation has been a threat to Estonia. Russia is also considered to be a majority internal significant other because there are thousands ethnic Russians. (Feldman, 2001,12). About 25% of their population are Russian. This is the second largest ethnic group in Estonia (CIA, 2019). Russia has been allegedly trying to use these individuals to destabilize Estonia (CIA, 2019). Estonians and non-estonians have a lot of tension due to the fact that Estonians tried to discard the non-estonians (Kallas, 2016,13). Finally in May of 2005, Estonia and Russia signed a technical border agreement, but in June of that same year, Russia recalled its signature. Russia believes that the preamble allows Estonia to make territorial claims on Russia in the future, but Estonia denies all alleged claims. Russia still demands better treatment to the Russian-speaking population in Estonia (CIA, 2019). Estonia agreed, but still treat the Russian ethnic group as an outsider.
In conclusion, Estonia has been invaded by other “powerful” nations; however with every fall of the nation, Estonians have not given up and continue to relate back to their history to give them a sense of belonging. The way that Estonia has dealt with the post-Soviet era and continue to strive to be an independent nation shows how it stands as nation. Their national identity is defined by their attitude during these historical events. They found themselves in their deeply rooted history and started to build on themself, which is what their national identity can be shown as.
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References:
Feldman, M. (2001). European integration and the discourse of national identity in
Kallas, K. (2016). Claiming the diaspora: Russia's compatriot policy and its
reception by Estonian-Russian population. Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority
Britannica. (2018, February 08). Estonia cultural life. Retrieved
Central Intelligence Agency. (2019). Estonia. The World Factbook. Retrieved from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/en.html
Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). National identity and the other. Ethnic & Racial
Estonica. (2018). Estonica, Encyclopedia about Estonia. Retrieved from
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