Interethnic Interactions and Group Boundaries: Ukrainians and the Local Russian-Speaking Community in Estonia

Abstract

The article explores relations between Ukrainians and the local Russian-speaking community in Estonia in the context of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian community has significantly expanded in Estonia since 2022 which led to new dynamics in interethnic relations with the local Russian-speaking community, as the two groups share social spaces where they interact daily. These brings challenges as sometimes interactions are marked by ideological tensions related to different perspectives on the war and related political factors. As well as discrimination and symbolic acts of violence, which has been a characteristic of a so-called conflict transportation. The article shifts the focus from titular group-minority studies and offers an analysis of in-minority relations, which affects Estonia’s local socio-political dynamics.