FBIS4-22413
"jpusr036___94037"
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.