Tartu, European Capital of Culture 2024
In the year in which the city of Tartu, Estonia, was named European Capital of Culture, the country took central steps towards the elimination of the cultural heritage left by Russia in recent centuries. All this for fear of a Putin invasion.
A Lithuaniaa Latvia ea Estonia they feel threatened again by Russia. Throughout the 20th century, the Baltic States had to fight Russia for their very existence. Currently, the legacy of this recent history hangs over contemporary regional geopolitics.
The Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 reignited fears in the three countries.
Understandably, the Baltic States are now redoubling their defense and security efforts. Each of them increased their expenditure on defense.
They are also investing in a joint Baltic defense line that includes hundreds of bunkers fortified and anti-tank obstacles.
The three countries are supported by NATO multinational military units and are also part of the joint expeditionary force, a multinational military partnership led by the United Kingdom.
The geopolitics researcher at the University of Cambridge, Juliette Bretasays that, last year, he was in Tartuin Estonia, helping to organize an event as part of the city’s year as European Capital of Culture.
The theme of the program was “Arts of Survival” – in which the importance of the relationship between Tartu (and Estonia itself) and Europe was strongly highlighted.
Tartu, Estonia’s second largest city, is about 40 km from the border with Russia and has already suffered interference from its larger neighbor. In May 2024, Russia was accused of , which led the Finnish airline Finnair to suspend daily flights to Tartu airport.
Language – a new battlefield
One question that emerged from the “Arts of Survival” program was how Estonia’s shared Baltic and Russian cultural heritage affects everyday life in Tartu and the country in general. Culture in general – and language more specifically – is becoming a kind of battlefield in Estonia.
More than 300,000 people in Estonia are native Russian speakers – or which is equivalent to 27% of the population.
The Government fears that the Russian President, Vladimir Putincan justify a attack on the country claiming that it comes to the defense of these Russian speakers. This was – as Juliette Breta writes – one of his justifications for invading Ukraine in 2022.
The clash of cultures and the delicacy of the language barrier in Estonia are perhaps best illustrated by , which competed with Tartu to be the European capital of culture in 2024.
Narva, the third largest city in the country, is located directly on the border with Russia and more than 95% of the population have Russian as their mother tongue. In 2022, after launching the invasion of Ukraine, Putin stated that it would be justifiable to “retake and protect” the city of 53,000 inhabitants.
Since then, Russia has exerted intense pressure, regularly deploying surveillance drones and blimps and interfering with border markings.
Eliminate cultural heritage
In recent years, Estonian governments have chosen to emphasize the country’s independence, removing objects that reflect Russian cultural heritage.
Among these objects are many Soviet-era war monuments. The Estonian Government argues that these have no place in Estonia’s public spaces as they glorify the Russian occupation.
The start of the school year in September also marked the beginning of the transition of the country’s school system to teaching exclusively in Estonian language.
In general, the experts who participated in the panel on the arts of survival noted that there is a growing sense of Estonian national identity and pride in the country’s achievements.
Estonian society is reject expressions of Russian imperialism in favor of a more European identity.
However, the panel underlined the importance of a positive, pragmatic and inclusive attitude of Estonians towards Russian speakers.
The organizers also highlighted the need to support active voices and opposition liberals, who now face mistrust of their Estonian-speaking compatriots.
