Haabersti Russian High School to remove Russian connection from name
The Haabersti Russian High School in Tallinn will change its name in March 2025, removing the reference to its former language of instruction.
On October 7, the Haabersti Russian High School submitted an application to Tallinn's Education Department to change its name to "Tallinna Haabersti Gümnaasium" (Tallinn Haabersti High School), ERR's Russian-language news portal rus.err.ee reports.
"Under paragraph 62 of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act, which states, 'The name of a school must clearly differ from the names of other institutions listed in the education information system and must not be misleading concerning the level of education provided,' we seek to change our school's name," the application reads.
The statement also notes that the current name (Русская гимназия Хааберсти) references the Russian language. "We wish to remove this reference in order to align the name with the school's present-day mission and to better reflect its current values and vision for the future," the statement continues.
In its letter, the school's administration explained that the transition to Estonian-language education aims to ensure that all children in Estonia, regardless of their native language, have access to high-quality education in Estonian.
The new name is expected to be approved by the city government on Tuesday, October 29, with the final decision to be made by the city council.
"I want to clarify that this name change is not part of a coalition agenda but an initiative by the school itself. As far as I know, this will not be the last school to undergo a renaming soon. The previous city administration believed that such matters should be decided by the schools, and our approach is similar. Haabersti Russian High School discussed the matter, and the teaching staff, board of trustees and student council all unanimously supported removing 'Russian' from the name in the context of the transition to Estonian-language instruction," Tallinn Deputy Mayor for Education Aleksei Jašin (Eesti 200) told ERR on Tuesday.
The school's board of trustees discussed the renaming at its September meeting.
"According to the law, schools are transitioning to Estonian-language instruction. Our school is prepared for a smooth transition thanks to our competent teachers and supportive parents. However, the school's name also needs modernization. We want our school to be seen as a place where every student enjoys learning. We consider the term 'Russian' to be outdated and propose removing it from the name," reads the meeting minutes, signed by board chair Juri Marinets.
Marinets told rus.err.ee on Tuesday that the idea of renaming the school first came up several years ago – before the Riigikogu approved the transition to Estonian-language education.
"I believe it was about three or four years ago, but for some reason, it didn't materialize then. Now, everything has fallen into place. Even back then, we wanted school names without distinctions, with no reference to either Russian or, hypothetically, Chinese," Marinets recalled.
Efforts to contact Haabersti Russian High School's director, experienced municipal politician Irina Antonjuk (Center Party), who has also served multiple terms on the Tallinn City Council, were unsuccessful.
During discussions within the teaching council, alternative names such as "Haabersti Pihlaka High School," a reference to the rowan tree in the school's logo, were also considered but ultimately not supported.
The school received its current name on February 26, 2001; previously, it was known as Tallinn's 5th High School.
In spring 2023, when Tallinn was governed by a coalition of the Center Party and Social Democrats, the opposition party Isamaa proposed renaming all Tallinn schools with the word "Russian" in their titles. The idea was not supported at that time.
Currently, five municipal schools in Tallinn have "Russian" in their names: Haabersti Russian High School, Tallinn Linnamäe Russian Lyceum, Lasnamäe Russian High School, Tallinn Õismäe Russian High School and Tallinn City Center Russian High School.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Mait Ots, Marcus Turovski