Last week, the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) announced that they would deploy a few hundred soldiers to Narva and establish the necessary infrastructure there. Overshadowed by the news of the creation of a new military unit is the fact that the EDF has had a permanent presence in Narva for the past three decades in the form of the Defense League's Narva unit. On March 19, 2016, the renovated building at Vabaduse tänav 15, home to the Narva unit, was officially reopened — an event that would make any Defense League unit proud, let alone a single subunit. Narva is also home to an active Defense League youth organization.

Many members of the Narva unit are Russian-speaking patriots who, in wartime, would be part of the Defense Forces' territorial defense structure. They are, therefore, fully legitimate, albeit voluntary, members of the military: trained, armed and wearing digital camouflage uniforms.

A large portion of the unit's members are Russian-speaking patriots from Narva. Mayor Katri Raik has spoken about them in the highest terms whenever we have discussed the topic. I have also personally met them and visited the unit. Narva's volunteer soldiers are active and committed — they are doing real, meaningful work.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the Narva unit's fighters who helped their colleagues from the Police and Border Guard Board maintain order both near the border and in the city itself. They have participated in the EDF major exercise Siil, the snap exercise Okas 2021 and, along with territorial defense reservists, in Ussisõnad 2023, the largest exercise in the recent history of the territorial defense. There are currently about as many of them in Narva as the 200+ EDF soldiers slated to be newly deployed there.

Since 2014, several exercises involving NATO allies have also taken place in and around Narva. Western media reported on the participation of the United States' 2nd Cavalry Regiment, along with British soldiers, in the February 24, 2015 parade held in Narva, during which U.S. and British troops and armored vehicles moved within about 300 meters of the Russian border. Thus, no one can seriously claim that the presence of Estonian and allied troops in Narva — whether permanent or temporary — is some kind of groundbreaking event or precedent.

Even before the Soviet occupation, the presence of Estonian defense forces in Narva was a normal occurrence. In the 1920s, the 1st Infantry Regiment, part of the 1st Division, operated there, stationed at both the Narva Hermann Fortress and the Jaanilinn Fortress, which at that time was part of Estonia.

By the late 1930s, the 1st Infantry Regiment had about 1,700 troops stationed in Narva during peacetime. The Narva garrison carried out various duties specific to the city's role as a border town, including supporting border guards, collaborating closely with customs and border agencies to maintain the integrity of the national border and responding to potential incidents. The garrison also assisted with maintaining public order and supporting internal security when necessary.

In the event of a mobilization, the Narva garrison was designated as part of Estonia's "cover forces" in defense plans — front-line units tasked with delaying an enemy advance to allow time for the full mobilization of Estonia's main forces. At the time, defense planners envisioned that repelling a Red Army attack aimed at Ida-Viru County would begin along the Narva River line. The Narva River was considered a strong natural barrier, and a line of fortifications, popularly known as the "Laidoner Line," with machine-gun bunkers and defensive structures, was established along it during peacetime. Estonian military historians have written that the Narva garrison was expected to hold the defensive line for at least four days after the outbreak of war to allow mobilization to be completed.

Although there are already attempts to present the increased military presence as an unprecedented development, the reality is that Estonian soldiers — including Russian-speaking patriots — have been a normal part of life in Narva for decades. In an election year for local governments, this will likely be spun as a sensation.

Even the EDF itself, in its public comments, has described the increase in regular troops in Narva as a signal of the "very strong presence of the Estonian state there." Whether last week's signal is truly strong is a matter of personal interpretation and taste. For me, knowing that Estonian and Russian-speaking Narva residents have spent three decades training side by side to defend the Estonian state is a much stronger signal than the additional presence of a few hundred rotating EDF troops in Narva.

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