Young Russian Estonians mark the Victory Day for the USSR in the second World War on a cemetery outside of Talinn. It holds the bronze statue marking the fallen soldiers of the USSR. It used to be placed in the middle of the city
A man out for a walk with his son, a plastic car, and his dog. Its’ morning in Narva, a city with 80 percent Russian inhabitants. There is not a single villa in the city. Everything is residential blocks
Two 20 year old high school students sit on a bench in Narva, overlooking the river that separates EU and Russia
Yana Toom, member of the European Parliament, is half Estonian and half Russian. Her son has moved to Poland because he doesn’t like being a Russian in Estonia. According to Toom, very few politicians represent the Russian minority in Estonia. “We are under represented everywhere. When you don’t feel like you belong in your own country, it’s easier to just go somewhere else”
Pavel Nadein (left) moved to Estonias capital, Talinn, from Moscow ten years ago. He’s critical towards Putin and separates himself from what he calls the “pro-Russian” culture in Estonia. He never learned to speak Estonian however, since his Russian mother tongue is sufficient in the small Baltic country
Friday night in Narva, two football teams face each other in Estonia’s best league. There are no more than 100 people sitting on the tribunes. According to the citizens, this town is unique, being a part of EU while the culture and mentality is completely Russian
An older lady returns from the Russian-orthodox church, where she has just attended the morning service. The birds came to her long before she took out the bread for them
Alessia Mihhaylova, 16, is born and raised in Narva. She dreams of travelling abroad to study. She sees no future in Estonia, since she doesn’t speak their language
People flok around the Russian veterans in Talinn, to thank them for the victory in World War 2. Some are disappointed that no Estonian politicians have showed up to celebrate Victory Day
A group of sea scouts sail on the Narva-river, separating Estonia and Russia. German Luzin, 16, tells that most young people of his age in the city have grandparents that moved to Estonia as part of the Russification
There is not much life left in Narva, after darkness falls, in spite of its’ 57.000 inhabitants. There is much activity by the border guards however, who constantly patrol the streets in their green cars to make sure nobody enters the EU illegally
All students and teachers speak Russian in a big primary school in Narva. It makes it difficult for them to live up to the law that dictates that 60 percent of all subjects must be taught in Estonian. There are simply not enough qualified teachers in Narva who can speak the language
In the bus station in Tapa, three pass the time while downloading films through the café’s WiFi. They are all from Ukraine, but travel to Estonia to works as craftsmen at a higher pay
As part of the celebrations of Victory Day in Talinn, an orthodox service is held in the cemetery. Meanwhile, Estonia is celebrating “EU-day” in the square where the Victory Day statue used to be placed
