Authors

Elise Thomson¹;  ¹ University of Bath, UK

Discussion

Lurking on its eastern flank and separated by its border along the Narva River, Estonia forms part of an indispensable vanguard deterring Russian aggression in Europe. Estonia’s defence is both international, through its participation in NATO and engagement in the Enhanced Forward Presence, and national, in its volunteer military organisation, Kaitseliit. This paper will explore how Estonian perceptions of Russia have evolved since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022; it will simultaneously interrogate the role of Russian-speaking minorities within the Estonian cultural sphere and the perception of the Russian threat in the military sphere. These two strands of exploration will reveal how Estonia is preparing itself for war through a total defence model, border fortification, and the reassertion of Estonian national identity. The perception of Russian aggression in Esonia in both deep and wide, and this paper will highlight how these perceptions have developed among cultural Russians in Estonia and how the Estonian government seeks to mobilise its society amid Russian provocation.