"When comparing the values of Estonians and Estonian Russians, and adding in a third group, like Swedes, you don't see any differences at all," said Andu Rämmer, associate professor of youth studies at the University of Tartu (TÜ) Narva College, citing a thought he heard from a colleague.

His own study, which spanned three years, showed a similar pattern: although most values between the two groups are similar, there are still some notable differences.

Rämmer's research project focused on the values of young people in Estonia through the age of 28 whose home language is Russian.

In 2023, he conducted a survey among 11th graders at schools in Narva, and his Russian-speaking colleagues interviewed youth as well. A second round of surveys and interviews followed, and data collection is ongoing as well.

"With surveys, we can determine how widespread a certain opinion is," the associate professor explained. "Interviews allow us to ask more precisely later why such an opinion has formed."

Career comes first

According to Rämmer, previous studies have already shown that Russian-speaking youth have a strong need for validation. More specifically, they want their achievements to be met with societal approval and recognition.

"Their understanding differs a bit from what the usual definition of achievement has been for Estonians, which has been 'Do the work and put in a lot of effort, and love will follow too,'" he said, referring to a popular quote by Estonian "Truth and Justice" author A. H. Tammsaare.

Earlier findings also indicate that Russian-speaking youth want more control over and say in their surroundings than their Estonian peers — something Rämmer says appears to be a case of what's known as a "deficit value."

"They seem to feel more controlled or suppressed than Estonian youth," the Narva College professor noted.

By way of comparison, international values studies have previously shown that Estonians aren't entirely individualistic, but do tend to act independently.

"Russian youth are without a doubt more collectivist," he said. "They care more about the opinions of others."

In his study, Rämmer asked Russian-speaking youth what is most important to them in life.

"A successful career was considered a very important goal," he confirmed. "It allows them to better manage in life and stand out."

A 2022 international values survey in the Baltics in which he was also involved found the same: for Russian-speaking youth, one's career is a more important goal than becoming independent. In contrast, Estonian-speaking youth value independence more.

The study also found that although youth in Estonia were more satisfied with their education than their peers in other countries, the country's Russian-speaking youth rated their education lower than their Estonian-speaking counterparts.

Standard of living important

The associate professor noted that Russian-speaking youth likewise consider good looks as well as improving one's material standard of living more important than their Estonian-speaking peers.

Youth in Narva in particular, he said, are very critical of the living environment in Ida-Viru County. One of his university students, Arina Marova, explored this in her 2023 bachelor's thesis, which examined the reasons why young people are leaving the Northeastern Estonian border city, and her findings were confirmed in Rämmer's own study.

"There are no good future prospects or job and career opportunities," he highlighted. "Youth try to leave for greener pastures, so to speak."

Besides being more conservative than Estonian-speaking youth, the study also confirmed that Russian-speaking youth place greater value on material security. For instance, in addition to salary — considered the most important factor — they also highly valued simply having a job. The greatest fear among these youth, according to Rämmer, was ending up unemployed.

Overall, the associate professor said, Russian-speaking youth in Estonia have adopted the values promoted in Estonian society — at least in words.

"On the other hand, if you look a little deeper at what those values mean to them, you start to see some differences emerge," he acknowledged. For instance, responsibility does not necessarily mean being accountable for one's actions, but rather meeting society's expectations.

Language proficiency determines language environment

Andu Rämmer's study also explored language proficiency among the youth. For Estonians, speaking Estonian is a crucial part of their identity. However, for young Russian-speakers, there isn't such a direct link with the language. Nevertheless, language proficiency does play a key role in defining their social circles.

"Generally, Russian youth who speak Estonian very well have Estonians in their social circles too," he noted. "They're better integrated into Estonian society, and can manage better."

Youth with poorer Estonian language skills tend to socialize only with other Russian-speakers.

Partly due to language skills and partly due to poor living conditions, many youth said they plan to leave Narva — some for Tallinn, some abroad.

"They're planning to leave entirely, since their Estonian isn't good enough to compete with Estonian-speaking youth here," the associate professor clarified.

Limited language proficiency is also one reason why Narva youth aren't particularly active in society either. "This was also attributed to the lack of Estonian citizenship," he highlighted. "We still have young people who hold Russian passports."

Aside from language issues, Rämmer was also interested in where Russian-speaking youth in the country get their information about global events.

"Like all young people, their primary source was social media," he confirmed. "After that came Russian-language news, which still ranked ahead of Estonian-language news."

Cited by these youth as a notable channel was ERR's Russian-language channel ETV+, though it still trailed behind social media. Rämmer explained that young people lean toward Russian-language channels over Estonian-language ones both due to limited Estonian proficiency and because it's simply more convenient.

On top of limited practice opportunities, Ida-Viru County youth who were interviewed also pointed to the fact that their Estonian language teacher wasn't a native speaker either — something they felt made learning the language more difficult.

According to Rämmer, one such young person from Narva, who had enrolled in an Estonian-language degree program at a university, was surprised to discover that the Estonian they had been taught in school was nothing like how native speakers actually talk.

"Those who speak Estonian definitely also exist within Estonia's sphere of influence," he stated. "But if someone's native language is Russian, and their Estonian isn't very good, then clearly Russian-language news is much more easily accessible for them."

In this regard, the Narva College professor believes that the nationwide shift to Estonian-language education currently underway will ultimately help improve the situation; in that case, young folks will develop a better frame of reference for judging the credibility of various news sources.

"That will certainly strengthen social cohesion," he added.

An in-between identity

In his study, Andu Rämmer also examined young people's sense of national identity. Based on the responses, three main identity groups stood out.

"Most often, they identified themselves as Estonian Russians," he said. "They are not Russians, but they're not Estonians yet either. Also used to self-identify is the word 'Russian-speaking."

Many respondents did still identify as Russian, while the smallest group self-identified as Estonian.

Rämmer noted that a distinct local identity was starting to take shape in Narva as well, distinguishing themselves from both Russians in Russia and Russians in Tallinn.

But what does the Estonian Russian identity mean to these youths? According to the associate professor, it isn't a very strong identity, but it does exist.

"Youth say they feel uncertain: they're neither one nor the other — neither Russians nor Estonians," he noted.

The respondents' grandparents or parents came to Estonia during the Soviet era; many of their parents were born in Estonia, and reached adulthood after Estonia regained its independence in 1991. Yet, thus far, they've managed to get by speaking Russian in their local region.

"Now everything's changing rapidly, and the younger generation's Estonian skills are actually much better," Rämmer acknowledged.

Nevertheless, Estonian Russian youths are not a cohesive monolith. To illustrate their diverse backgrounds, the associate professor quoted a 19-year-old young woman who participated in the study:

"I have a very complex background," she said. "I can't say I'm Russian, but I'm Russian-speaking, because my parents were born in the Soviet Union. My mother is part Ukrainian, part Jew. My father is part Mongol-Tatar, part Russian. I live in Estonia. I love this country very much, and I'm learning Estonian."

"We have youth with backgrounds like this too, and we need to do the work in integrating them," Rämmer stressed.

In light of the study, he recommends that policymakers thoroughly consider the resources being used for the transition to Estonian-language education. For example, in Narva, kindergarten teachers who have improved their Estonian skills are diligently taking language [proficiency] exams. Those who haven't even tried, meanwhile, have been demoted to lower positions, i.e. teaching assistants.

"Teaching assistants haven't been very motivated to learn Estonian, and they've been given one more year to improve their skills," he noted. "What happens beyond that, we don't know."

Rämmer said that figuring out how to find Estonian-speaking teaching assistants is definitely on the agenda for policymakers.

"But for young people, I'd absolutely recommend: learn Estonian," he said.

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