Euronews spoke with Russians living in Estonia, who are eligible to vote in the EU elections, regarding their priorities and challenges for the upcoming polls.
Estonia is home to nearly 300,000 Russians, actively participating in elections, including the upcoming European Parliament elections. Generally, they tend to vote for Russian-speaking candidates.
Jana Toom is one of the most popular among candidates. Her supporters are rather pro-European and distance themselves from Kremlin’s actions and aims.
“First thing we need is so-called political nations. We don’t have it in Estonia. In Estonia, we measure it by DNA so to say. I absolutely refuse to make Russian-speaking children in Estonia responsible for what Putin is doing,” she told Euronews.
‘I want a candidate that understands the struggles of the Russian minority’
Also young Estonians from Russian backgrounds want to foster unity among ethnic groups within the country.
Maria Derlos, a Russian ethnic EU election voter says the candidate she’s going to vote for should also “represent and understand Russian speaking minority struggles, challenges, and opportunities, and doesn’t just disregard it”.
There are also pro-Russian voices in the country, like Aivo Peterson, an MEP candidate who is now in prison.
“His party or movement is very, very friendly to Putin”, says Anvar Samost, head of news at Estonian public broadcaster ERR.
“The irony is that the main candidate – or perhaps the only candidate for this party – is waiting in pre-trail detention because there is a charge against him for cooperating with the Russian special services.”
However, not all Russians will have the opportunity to vote in the forthcoming EU elections. Within the Russian diaspora in Estonia, there are individuals who, despite residing in the country for years, lack Estonian citizenship.
