“Discrimination” vs. “Equal access to education”: conflict discourses on the transition to Estonian language of instruction

• In Event: Multilingualism and Quality Education in Post-Soviet Spaces and the Diaspora

Proposal

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, new independent states had to deal with the consequences of the imposition of Russian as the dominant language and the suppression of local languages which, for decades, had been a tool for exerting control and maintaining power in the USSR. In most cases, the reverse of the roles happened after 1991, with Russian becoming a minority language and its speakers – a minority, more or less prominent in terms of socio-economic contribution and political visibility. In Estonia, where Russian speakers constitute up to 25% of the population, this “status reversal” (Ehala 2017) resulted in serious changes in social status for them, especially considering the fact that “the Estonian language is the defining characteristic of national identity” in the country (Brown 2005: 78). Prolonged coexistence of two parallel systems of primary and secondary education – kindergartens and schools with Estonian and Russian as a language of instruction – hindered integration between Estonian and Russian speakers and created barriers for the latter on the way to higher education. To overcome this situation, gradual transition model was applied, aiming at merging two systems into one by 2035. Measures included opening immersion programs for Russian speaking children and implementing bilingual education in Russian-medium high schools.
However, the issue of the Russian language in Estonia has always been a sensitive and complex topic in public discussions, which gained further prominence following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In July 2022, the Minister of Education, Tõnis Lukas, announced drastic changes stating that all Russian-medium schools must complete their transition into Estonian by the year 2030. These developments have occurred amidst ongoing discussions among educators and intellectuals regarding the concept of a unified Estonian school. This concept envisions children from all ethnic backgrounds being educated together in single school, rather than segregating Russian speakers into a separate school within the Estonian language framework. In September 2024, full transition started for all state kindergartens and schools, creating a new round of heated arguments and political debates.
The paper focuses on two conflict discourses evident in those discussions: one stressing violation of children’s rights and well-being by making them to study in a language they do not know; and another promoting the idea of opening more opportunities to those children through education in the state language. Both approaches have a long history of debates in educational studies and applied linguistics (Ruiz 1988; Cummins 2000); however, their interpretation by general public and interested parties (teachers, parents, school principals, state representatives, etc.) may differ significantly. The data analyzed are publications in official media and internet posts and comments referring to the transition to “Estonian only” policy in education.

Authors

• Kapitolina Fedorova, Tallinn University School of Humanities

• Natalia Tšuikina, Tallinn University School of Humanities