Ethnic conflict in Baltic countries: possibilities of national and international control

1. Ethnic conflict in Baltic countries: possibilities of national and international control Dr. econ. Aleksandr Gaponenko Institute of European Studies (Riga) www.esinstitute.org

2. Baltic countries: multiethnic societies • Latvia 2,3 million people: Latvians- 58%, Russians 38%, national minority 4%; • Estonia 1,3 million people: Estonians- 69% Russians -30%, national minority -1%; • Lithuania 3,4 million people: Lithuanians- 83%, Russians 8%, Polish 8%, national minority 1%).

3. Dealing with the Past-1 • For the space of 800 years the territory of the Baltic region was a part of different feudal empires as national outlying districts. Parent states regulated by force the way of life of native societies and maintained strong ethnic hierarchy there. The highest places in this hierarchy were occupied by the representatives of the parent states – Germans, Poles, Swedes and Russians. • In 20-s of XX century after 1 WW appeared independent Baltic states. All the ethnic groups got the equal conditions of life for their development. But in the beginning of the 30-s the ruling élites made coup d’états and established their ethnic dictatorships everywhere. But now the higher posts in their hierarchy were occupied by the Latvians, Lithuanians, and Estonians. Before the beginning of II World War the ethnic tension and different social contradictions sharply intensified within the Baltic States. Therefore these states became the Soviet republics of the USSR without resistance. • In the course II WW the Baltic States were occupied by the Nazi(1941-1944). The strong ethnic hierarchy was set up again there and the higher posts were taken by the Germans.

4. Dealing with the Past-2 • After II WW the old ethnic hierarchy was abolished in new Soviet Baltic republics. The USSR’s laws formally guaranteed equal rights for all ethnic groups. But in reality the leading posts in Baltic republics were held by the ethnic Russians who were much more soviets. The Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians took the majority of middle and lower posts in social hierarchy. It was successfully carried out by means of so called “nomenclature system”. Different institutions formed not the Russian but Soviet identity. • . As soon as the political centre in Moscow has become really weaker then titled élites with their nations separated from the USSR in 1991; they managed to regain their independence and to form Baltic sovereign states. The Baltic Russians remained completely sovietized and their consolidation on the national basis went on extremely slowly. • As a model of their social order the ruling élites have chosen the system of strong ethnic hierarchy which was well known for them by their pre-revolutionary and pre-war experience. In their new ethnic hierarchy the nomenclature take the higher social posts and to give the lower posts just for the aliens.

5. Ethnic conflict: reasons • Social hierarchy transformed into ethnic hierarchy (high social position occupied by representatives of titular nations, low social position- non titular); • Ethnic hierarchy was fixed institutionally (by norms and sanctions); • As a result struggle for social position transformed into struggle for national position;

6. Ethnocraty as political system producing ethnic hierarchy Ethnocratic system includes the following elements: – provision of domination for political parties built on the ethnic principle and promoting policies of constructing a monoethnic society; – selective recruitment of representatives of titular nations for jobs in state institutions and authorities; – providing preferences for the titular nation in socially significant free professions in the spheres of law, notaries, architecture, etc.; - pressure on untitled inhabitants to leave the Baltic states and to assimilate the rest of the population; - mythical component – to justify discrimination of the untitled nations. Part of these component is dealing with the past; – deprivation of rights of a significant portion of the non-titular population by means of imposing the status of "non-citizens".

7. Institute of non citizens • It was introduced by segregation of the former citizens of the USSR into communities having and not having political rights; • By early 2008, the number of aliens in Latvia comprised 372,000, making up 43% of the Russian population. In Estonia, 116,000, or 39% of local Russians, still have the status of aliens; • Naturalization -1000-4000 people per year. For full naturalization needs 100 years.

8. Mythical components in Baltic history • Baltic countries was occupied by USSR in 1940 year. It was Russian occupation. Baltic nation struggled against Russians together with Nazi in 1941-1944. Nazi collaborators and national partisans are heroes. Me moralization of “heroes” is due of state. • Russian are responsible for soviet occupation. It is why Russians have not all political rights in Baltic countries. Russian must leave Baltic States. • Russia is responsible for economic damage produced during period of occupation and must pay for its. • Russia is Baltic countries enemy. Local Russians are 5-th cologne. • Postwar relation in Europe must be reviewed. Russia influence must be diminished.

9. Russian question • The ethnocratic system have provided a severe effect on the life of most of the Russians residing in Baltic: -They are practically ousted from systems of education, health care and science, and forced to seek employment restricted with physical labor. -Unemployment among them far exceeds average numbers. -They are formally allowed to run business but in fact, titular businessmen are provided unofficial forms of protection. -Knowledge of the titular language is checked by special commission which impose fines on employers hiring those who are not enough fluent in national languages. - Education in Russian is gradually curtailed. Restrictions have been imposed also on Russian-language media. -Ethnocracy suggests bans for Russian holidays, Russian symbols, and desecration of Russian memorials. -A negative social situation has led to the change for the worse demographic indices of the Russian inhabitants.

10. Examples of open ethnic conflicts • The Baltic Russians have started to oppose an active resistance to the ethnocratic system. There were recently some open and serious ethnic conflicts. -In 2004-2005 there were struggle of the Russian-speaking children and their parents against the “reform” of Russian school in Latvia. They actively struggled for the opportunity to get secondary and higher education in Russian; many of hundred thousands of Russian children and their parents took an active part in different meetings and demonstrations. -In 2007 there was collision of interests of the Russians with the Estonian authorities around the monument of Soldier-Liberator in Tallinn. It even entailed serious consequences – people victims. Lately the resistance of the Baltic Russians to the ethnocratic tough policy of the ruling elites has become much more organized. Different Russian public organizations have united in the Baltic States. The ‘Russian question’ in the Baltic States has acquired not only local but international significance.

11. European Union and Baltic Russians • According to the West approach ‘Russian question’ was considered as one of many other problems of the ethnic minorities but not as a separate political problem. • Nowadays numerous international commissions fixed their attention on existing problems of the ethnic minorities in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. A lot of significant recommendations were worked out by these commissions. • The leaders of the Baltic States are not in a hurry to accomplish these strong recommendations for the reason that the ruling titled elites have got substantial political, economical and social benefits and interests to maintain their ethnocratic power system. • European Union hasn’t got any strong instruments of the direct peaceful political and economic influence on the Baltic States yet.

12. Russia and Baltic Russians • Over a long period of time Russia did mot take part in the solution of so called ‘Russian question’ in Baltic. • In 2006 the situation has sharply changed – there appeared an idea of ‘Russian World’ – as the special programs worked out to protect, to encourage and to support the Russian compatriots abroad. • Regular national and local Russian conferences are held abroad. • A special Russian fund was formed for financing the development of the Russian language and culture abroad – ‘Russian World’ • In many countries just to open the Houses of Russian culture and the different branches of the leading Russian higher educational institutions. • The Russian leaders have already applied some not formal economic sanctions against Estonia after conflict around the monument of Soldier-Liberator in Tallinn.

13. OHRID agreements as means of peaceful solution of ‘Russian question’ • As is clear from the made expert analysis, today Europe and Russia possess extremely limited means of peaceful solution of ‘Russian question’ in the Baltic States. • The conferences of the leaders of the EU on the issues of the solution of the ethnic conflicts in Abkhazia and the South Ossetia (September, 2008) have recently pointed at their steady intention not to contradict with Russia. • The well known OHRID agreements were made and reached in Macedonia – where the ethnic conflict between the titled population and the Albanians didn’t reach its peak under the threat of using the armed forces by the EU and NATO. According to these agreements the Albanians have received their complete national, cultural autonomy and its constitutional guaranties (OHRID agreement, 2001).

14. The principles of OHRID’s agreements in Baltic • To ensure the active and passive participation of non-citizens in the political process, in the political elected bodies and their participation in the elections of the European Parliament; • To make the process of naturalization much more easier for non-citizens in Latvia and Estonia; • To introduce into practice the positive discrimination in holding the posts in government bodies, legislative and local bodies, in state companies, in professional associations for Russians. • To grant the right Russians to apply to and to receive the answers in the state, municipal institutions in their mother tongue where the Russians are more than 20% of population; • To grant the right to use the names and surnames according to the spelling in their native language for the Russians; • To grant for the Russian to get their pre-school, primary, secondary, vocational, higher education and training for a new profession in Russian. • Orthodoxy Christians should get the opportunity to celebrate their religious holidays freely;

15. Mechanism of EU-Russia collaboration • EU and Russia should set up their own joint working Commission for the realization of the inter-coordinated principles. • The Commission should coordinate and pass its recommendations for their statement, confirmation and realization in the government and leading bodies of both sides. • In the end the realization of all these and some other measures should not lead to the open opposition and violent resistance, should not permit Russia to use military forces for clarifying Russian question. • All these necessary measures should strengthen the European security.