FBIS4-22413 "jpusr036___94037"
FBIS-USR-94-036 JPRS
FBIS Report: Central Eurasia 9 March 1994 BALTIC STATES ESTONIA

Finnish Daily on Russian Minority's Views, Goals

Finnish Daily on Russian Minority's Views, Goals 944K0897A Helsinki HUFVUDSTADSBLADET in Swedish 9 Mar 94 pp 1, 3 944K0897A Helsinki HUFVUDSTADSBLADET Swedish CSO [Article by Elisabeth Nordgren: "Waiting for the Good Old Days"--introductory paragraphs in boldface as published] [Text] All indications are that a fifth column is being built up in the Baltic states. Talks on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonia and Latvia have come to a standstill, and Russian military forces totaling some 5,000 men are still in those two countries. The several tens of thousands of retired officers living all over the Baltic states are also staying prepared for an emergency. In addition, even very young Russian officers are being pensioned off at a fast pace just now so that they can stay in Estonia and Latvia as civilians. Since unemployment among the Russian residents is also high in those countries, discontent is on the rise. Another result of the worsening economic and social situation for the Russian population in the Baltic states is that over half the Russians here voted for the extremist Zhirinovskiy in the last Russian parliamentary elections. Since those Zhirinovskiy supporters want the Soviet Union to return in one form or another, this also means that the Baltic states would be incorporated into that Greater Russia. Today HUFVUDSTADSBLADET is beginning a series of articles examining the situation of the Russian population in the three Baltic states. The first country we will look at is Estonia. The assembly hall at the Russian Officers Club in downtown Tallinn was chock-full. Close to 1,000 people, most of them elderly and resolute Russians -- pensioners, the unemployed young, Russian war veterans, and retired officers -- had gathered to discuss their rights, housing problems, and pension issues. The galleries were also full. There were no vacant seats left for all those pouring in later. Also present on the podium was a representative of the Estonian Government. An excited and tense mood prevailed in the hall, where there were many supporters of Zhirinovskiy. Nikolay Stepanov, a retired officer who is chairman of the Officers Club, complained about the intolerable situation of war veterans. "We have a hard time not only economically but also socially. The two military hospitals that used to be here have been turned over to the Estonians. And now it is expensive to go to the hospital. There is nothing left. And our recreational hotel is gone." Stepanov is one of many typical examples of how the former Soviet military have ended up in a no-man's-land where they have been "forgotten" by the Russian Ministry of Defense, which is not paying officers' pensions. But neither is it up to the Estonian authorities to take responsibility for those tens of thousands of military who represent a foreign power but are staying in the country camouflaged as civilians.
Fifth Column in Baltic States
It looks as though Russia is using that strategy to create a fifth column in the Baltic states, since younger and younger officers are being retired and settling in the Baltic states as civilians. In fact, it is the retired officers who were stationed in the Baltic states who feel that they have lost the most as a result of the Soviet Union's collapse. But it is not just the Soviet Russian officers who have been stripped of their privileges. The officers' wives also feel harmed. They have lost their priority status in access to housing and in lines at the shops. Tatiana Lasuvkina, an officer's wife who was born in Sebastopol, lived at a military base in Latvia, and now lives in Estonia, is worried that she will lose her apartment. In the Soviet era, officers were always given the best apartments in the countries where they were stationed. And now they do not want to relinquish those apartments to Estonians. In addition, the Soviet Union allowed its retired officers to choose the country they wanted to live in as pensioners. This made Estonia, with its high standard of living compared to the rest of the Soviet Union, one of the countries most popular with retirees. Moreover, the fact that over half of the Russian population living in Estonia (600,000 people, including the military) voted for Zhirinovskiy in Russia's latest elections makes this a good breeding ground for the kind of invasion of Estonia that Zhirinovskiy supporters are campaigning for. And now things have also grown more difficult because the talks between Estonia and Russia regarding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonia have broken down, and Estonia and Latvia are both being threatened with economic sanctions if the Russian population's situation in both countries does not improve.
Zhirinovskiy: Savior in Time of Need
Piotr Mihailovich Rozhok, the leader of Zhirinovskiy's supporters in Estonia who is now under indictment for inciting rebellion against Estonia, is awaiting trial in Tallinn. Rozhok himself says he is working for equality and is not guilty of breaking any laws. "I don't understand what I am being tried for. I have never been guilty of incitement. But I have always defended the Russian population's rights here in Estonia. The most important thing for me is that Estonia's inhabitants should be equal." Under Estonian law, Zhirinovskiy's Liberal Democratic Party cannot operate in Estonia, but Rozhok maintains that the party's principles are spreading through the country. Rozhok is betting on Zhirinovskiy because he stood up and defended the Russians' rights in Estonia. "Our common principle is defense of the Russians' interests. Now, of course, the Russians have been completely humiliated. The Russians are being exploited more than any other minority here in Estonia. We pay 55 percent in taxes in this country, but where does the money go: What is the money used for?" Rozhok wonders. Rozhok is 100-percent certain that Zhirinovskiy will be Russia's next president after Yeltsin, and he also says that the Russian presidential election is going to be held as early as this fall. "Those who oppose Yeltsin have already shown their strength. And the Russian people will never forgive Gorbachev and Yeltsin for what they did to the Soviet Union and Russia." Rozhok also says that the Baltic states will become part of Russia because they cannot survive without Russia. "We will appeal to the Estonian people for Estonia's connection with Russia," says Rozhok, who threatens an economic blockade of Estonia if the country violates human rights.
Zhirinovskiy Supporter -- and Unemployed: `No Equality in
Estonia' Out in the Tallinn suburb of Mustamae lives the young Ilnitskiy family. Andrey Ilnitskiy, the father, is a Zhirinovskiy supporter who has been unemployed for a year and a half. His wife Irina, who is of Estonian-Russian background, works as a kitchen maid at a hospital. Their daughter Olga, eight years old, goes to a Russian school, and the youngest girl, three-year-old Katia, goes to a day nursery. Andrey Ilnitskiy was born in Estonia but cannot speak Estonian. Nor has he bothered to seek Estonian citizenship; instead, he keeps his Russian passport. That is his way of protesting. "There is no equality in Estonia," says Andrey. "But I still want to keep on living here. My friends are here, this is where I grew up, and I don't know if things would be any better somewhere else."
For Russian-Estonian Understanding
Ilnitskiy dreams of an Estonia where the Russian and Estonian residents can live in mutual understanding. He also feels that Russian should have official status as the second national language. The Russian population should also be given Estonian citizenship automatically, with no language test or waiting time required. The Ilnitskiy family's two daughters speak Russian to their father and a little Estonian to their mother. But otherwise, the family "lives" entirely in Russian and does not read Estonian newspapers. Wife Irina grew up using both Russian and Estonian (her father is Estonian) and went to the Russian school. Now the Estonians do not want to pay for Russian-language schools, Irina says. Schools and day nurseries must both be paid for by the parents themselves. Nor is Russian-language higher education available any longer in Estonia. In the hospital kitchen where Irina works, there are both Estonian and Russian employees. Irina points out that there has been harmony between Estonians and Russians. But the new chef wants to get rid of the Russian employees. Andrey formerly worked as a technician at the Volta plant with its 2,000 employees. He was also deputy chairman of the union. The Volta plant is typical of the Moscow-run plants from the Soviet era that have been taken over by the Estonian state and now operate at half their capacity. The result is that many Russian workers are now unemployed.
No Job Without Estonian-Language Proficiency
"It is really hard to find a job here in Tallinn," says Andrey. "And when I go to the employment office, I am immediately turned away because I can't speak Estonian. In fact, the language issue caused me to miss out on a night watchman's job that I had my eye on. Also, my Russian name does not go over well." In the meantime, Andrey works at odd jobs, but mainly the family lives on what his wife earns. Since there is also no unemployment insurance to speak of and food prices and rents have gone up, times are hard for the Ilnitskiy family. The Ilnitskiys currently pay 500 Estonian kroons (about 200 markkas, or nearly half the average monthly wage) in rent, but they have left the heating bill unpaid. "Tomorrow is shrouded in mystery, and I don't believe I will find a permanent job for a long time. But I try to survive day by day." The apolitical Russian Social Foundation has now been established by the Russian residents to try to collect funds for those in need. Since there is no Russian representative in the Estonian parliament, it is difficult for the Russian residents to protect their interests, even though there are 27 Russian members of the Tallinn City Council. But Andrey is hoping that the parliamentary elections a year from now will change things. He also believes that Zhirinovskiy will speed up the negotiations with Estonia regarding increased assistance for the Russian residents. "Unfortunately, Russian-Estonian cooperation has ended, but thanks to Zhirinovskiy's Estonian colleague Piotr Razhok [spelling variation as published], Zhirinovskiy is well informed about what happens here." According to Andrey, the tense situation for Estonia's Russian population is what drove the people to vote for extremists. "It is not the Russian population, but the Estonian Government that is responsible for the fact that we voted for Zhirinovskiy and now find ourselves in this situation. But at least there are a few Estonian members of the Estonian parliament who are trying to do something for the Russian population." Certainly Andrey Ilnitskiy does not believe there will be another Soviet Union, but what he does believe in is a trade alliance between Russia and Estonia that will preserve Estonia's sovereignty.