According to the head of the Congress of Ukrainians of Estonia, Vira Konik, the Baltic country is already openly talking about a possible attack by the Russian Federation and preparations for it.
How Estonia is preparing for a possible war with Russia
Estonia began to prepare for a possible war with Russia as soon as it gained its independence. Because he knows exactly what the Russian Federation is and what the Russian occupation is, Konyk said.
According to her, representatives of the generation that remembers the deportation, the beginning of the Soviet occupation and the proclamation of the first Estonian Republic still live in the country.
Konik stressed that the citizens of Estonia have always been worried about the repeated attempt of occupation of their country by Russia.
In particular, as part of defense efforts, the country operates a self-defense system - the Kytseliit Defense Union, which includes volunteer paramilitary formations that currently share combat experience with the Ukrainian military.
And "dragon's teeth" and concrete blocks have already been installed in the forests and private lands of the country.
What is known about the split in Estonian society
At the same time, Konik noted that Estonian society is currently divided into those who understand the threat from the Russian Federation and those who continue to believe Russian propaganda.
According to her, a quarter of the country's population remains Russian-speaking and is under the influence of Kremlin propaganda.
According to local experts, only 10% of the Russian-speaking population of the country critically evaluates information from the Russian Federation.
These are two parallel worlds - Estonians and the so-called Russian-speaking population of Estonia. Those who speak Russian are very often openly opposed to the Russian Federation, this can be seen... in individual manifestations in the public space of the country
Konyk emphasized that after Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2014, Estonia made a conclusion regarding the lack of work with the Russian-speaking population.
For Russian speakers, a channel was opened in Russian with truthful information about the situation in the Russian Federation.
There are also free basic Estonian language courses in the country. And the adaptation course for new arrivals obliges to acquire at least elementary knowledge of the history and culture of Estonians.
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