ISS: Russia's 'Compatriot Policy' at Odds With Integration
The Internal Security Service continues to see Russia's "compatriots policy" as a key foreign threat to Estonian security, the intelligence agency says in its annual report released today.
While there were no direct threats to Estonia's "constitutional order" last year, Russian Embassy diplomats and secret services have continued to attempt to influence Estonia's Russian minority, the agency said in the report.
Although the question of whether Estonia's local Russians qualify as a diaspora is a subject of academic debate, the Estonian agency asserted that loyalty to Russia and efforts to integrate different ethnicities in Estonia are inherently at odds.
The compatriots policy is described in the report as both a part of Russia's official foreign policy as well as clandestine efforts. The compatriots policy aims to obstruct ethnic integration, linguistic and educational immersion, civil and defense involvement, and the post-independence switch to the European sphere of influence, according to the report.
One of Russia's focuses has been hindering the recent transition to mostly Estonian-language curricula in Estonia's Russian-speaking schools. Russian Embassy diplomats have tried to build contacts with the opponents of the language transition, offering legal and funding support. Nevertheless, the Internal Security Service said Russia has been unsuccessful in significantly influencing the target group - teachers, students and parents.