
After Prime Minister Kaja Kallas decided to move to work in European structures, the Estonian government cabinet changed. The new Minister of Infrastructure position was unexpectedly awarded to a Russian-speaking politician, Vladimir Svet.
Not long ago, he was a member of the Centre Party and held the post of Deputy Mayor of the capital, responsible for roads and transport in Tallinn, the same area he will now oversee at the state level. But now, he is a member of the Social Democratic Party. He explains his decision to change parties by stating that he did not agree with the centrists' drift towards conservatism.
Few ministers of Russian origin
A Russian-speaking minister in Estonia is a rare occurrence. In the several decades since the restoration of independence, besides the half-Russian Minister of foreign affairs Marina Kaljurand and Minister of Education Kristina Kallas, they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Three times became a member of the government the son of a prominent businessman, who for a time led the Social Democratic Party, Jevgeni Ossinovski, who has served as Minister of Education and Minister of Health and Labor. He currently heads the capital's City Hall. Centrist Mihhail Korb managed to serve as Minister of Public Administration for half a year.
This is not much, considering that the proportion of the Russian-speaking population in Estonia is quite large, about a quarter.
The issue of the glass ceiling for Russian politicians in the Estonian politics remained obvious but unsolvable for a long time: yes, they entered parliament, managed local governments, and several times Yana Toom from the Centre Party became a Member of the European Parliament, but they were not quickly allowed into executive power in the country.
Russian ministers were treated with some skepticism, which sometimes took very undiplomatic forms. For example, in 2014, a scandal erupted when Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi from the Reform Party called Education Minister Jevgeni Ossinovski "the son of an immigrant from the pink party" and was forced to resign as a result.
Centrist Minister Mihhail Korb in 2017 provoked a scandal publicly stating that he did not support Estonia's NATO membership, after which he left his post. His political career had to be abandoned after he, as the party's secretary-general, got involved in a corruption scandal and was found guilty by the court of second instance.
The War changed everything
The war in Ukraine has worsened the position of Russian-speaking politicians: defending the specific interests of the Russian-speaking population has become completely unpalatable. The Centre Party lost many of its supporters and its power in Tallinn, and now the Social Democratic Party is trying to take on the role of integrating Russian-speakers into the Estonian political space.
This is not always successful. For example, the party still cannot find a candidate for the post of head of Tallinn's largest district – Kesklinn, which is mostly Russian-speaking and could be considered the second-largest city in the country by population. The Social Democrats were looking for a Russian candidate for this post but faced opposition from their city coalition partner.
After the public figure Tatyana Lavrova, known as an environmental activist and organizer of mass clean-up events, was proposed for the post of district head, the nationalist party "Fatherland" stated that back in 2007, Lavrova opposed the relocation of a Soviet monument, collected donations for Soviet veterans, wanted to organize World Cleanup Day in Russia, and wrote to Vladimir Putin for this. To avoid pressure on the party, Lavrova withdrew her candidacy.
"For many Russian-speaking politicians in Estonia, one of the main difficulties is having to choose between, so to speak, 'dad' and 'mom' in a divorce, living in different countries and venting accumulated anger at each other on the child," Lavrova describes the situation for Veridica. According to her, this applies generally to the entire Russian-speaking population of Estonia, who remained here after the collapse of the USSR.
"The child remained with the 'mother,' by default guilty of everything the 'father' did or did not do; the 'mother' constantly expects the 'father's' genes to manifest any moment, and thus the 'child' is constantly required to prove their loyalty to the 'mother' and show a vivid demonstration of dislike for the 'father.' The second child in the family, born from another father, is allowed much more. It is difficult at any level in such families - personal, civil, political," Lavrova says.
"The situation where Russian-speaking politicians have to renounce their cultural roots or emphasize that they value Russian-speaking residents less than, for example, native Estonians is, in my opinion, unhealthy," she says.
An additional loyalty check
The new minister, Vladimir Svet, also faced the need to explicitly state his foreign policy position. For him, such a test of loyalty was the question of who Crimea belongs to. This question was asked in one of the interviews four years ago when Svet became the head of Lasnamäe. The answer was not straightforward: "What Crimea should be is like beauty in the eyes of the beholder. From the perspective of Russians, Crimea is an integral part of Russia; from the perspective of Ukrainians, it is an integral part of Ukraine. I can say two things that I believe. First, I believe that the majority of Crimea's population likely saw themselves more as part of Russia. And second, the way Russia took Crimea from Ukraine is not something that should happen in the world."
In 2018, such an answer from a Master of Law, former advisor to the Chancellor of Justice, and city official did not attract much attention, but after 2022, it raised questions for a politician aspiring to be a minister. For instance, the leader of "Fatherland," Urmas Reinsalu, stated that Svet's candidacy was doubtful. "In the current military situation, considering that he previously expressed the opinion that Crimea is, in fact, part of Russia, and that most Crimeans support Crimea joining Russia, if such a person ends up in the government at this time, it can be misinterpreted," Reinsalu told Estonian Broadcasting.
Under public pressure, Vladimir Svet had to publicly declare that Crimea belongs to Ukraine, and he was confirmed as the Minister of Infrastructure. He does not see a big problem with Russian-speaking politicians having to undergo additional loyalty checks, despite the fact that such demands are not made to politicians of Estonian origin.
"Well, yes, you could ask Tunne Kelam what he did in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (former MEP and presidential candidate from the 'Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica' Tunne Kelam twice unsuccessfully tried to join the CPSU - ed.)," he jokes, "but I think this is, in a way, a sign of the times we live in. I understand why these questions are asked of me and why this loyalty test needs to be passed."
According to him, there is no problem with this for government-level politicians. "But it is abnormal when ordinary people face this problem because it alienates them, makes them isolate themselves in society, and this does not lead to anything good, in my opinion," he noted in a conversation with Veridica.
He agrees that ethnic origin seems to impose additional obligations on a Russian politician, including, for example, integrating Russians into Estonian society. "On the other hand, I sincerely hope that for most residents of Tallinn, I am primarily not Russian but someone who complicated their life with tram construction," he laughs.
"The role of politicians is to be citizens of the country, wishing it prosperity. It does not matter what nationality these politicians are; what matters is how they serve their multinational people," Tatyana Lavrova agrees with him. Meanwhile, the elder of Lasnamäe has still not been found, and the Social Democrats continue to search for promising Russian-speaking politicians.