Who Are the Key Influencers on Estonian Russian-Language YouTube? (Part 2)
This is the second part of our overview of Russian-language YouTube channels in Estonia. This time, we’ll look at a wide range of examples, from the personal channel of Aleksandr Chaplygin to the platform of a young supporter of the KOOS party, as well as a major channel funded by the U.S. Congress. Who is launching these channels and why? What are they promoting and how? Read on and draw your own conclusions!
“Best Estonia” is a YouTube channel run by a young supporter of the KOOS party, Erik Hopp. In just a year, the channel has become a platform for spreading pro-Russian narratives and campaigning for the KOOS party. In short videos (often no longer than 5 minutes), the creator regularly addresses issues that concern Estonia’s Russian-speaking population: the transition of schools to Estonian as the language of instruction, loss of voting rights, criticism of economic policies, and various decisions made by the ruling coalition. Despite having a few subscribers, many of the videos receive between 5,000 and 13,000 views. It is expected that the channel will be actively used to promote the party in upcoming elections in Estonia.
The host of the channel, Erik Hopp, says:
“There is currently a surge of populist and nationalist sentiments in Estonia, which are completely unjustified and unfounded. There is not a single party in the Estonian parliament right now that represents national minorities or advocates for the protection of citizens’ rights. But don’t think that such parties don’t exist in Estonia at all. The most popular of them is the KOOS party. […] Vote for the KOOS party and join it whenever you have the chance.”
“Current Time. Baltics” is a Russian-language TV channel with an editorial office in Prague. Its YouTube channel has around 45,000 subscribers, and the project also has its own website, as well as pages on Instagram and Facebook.
The channel was launched by the media corporation Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in cooperation with Voice of America and is funded through grants from the U.S. Congress via the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Its main goal is to promote democratic values and institutions, provide reliable, factual information, and serve as an alternative to Kremlin-controlled media. Official 24/7 broadcasting began on February 7, 2017.
The YouTube channel has been active for 8 years. On average, its videos receive several thousand views, but some popular stories, for example, about how May 9 was celebrated in Latvia, gather over 100,000 views. The channel covers events in all three Baltic countries, most often in Latvia and Lithuania. Main topics include politics, the activities of the opposition in Belarus and Russia, regional elections, and NATO summits.
Recent topics related to Estonia include a segment on the impact of free public transport in Tallinn.
Guests on the broadcasts include politicians, subject-matter experts, and local residents from various language communities.
“Free public transport was originally a political idea aimed more at social solutions than at any environmental goals. […] We’re being disingenuous when we say that transport in Tallinn is free, that’s not true. What we have is solidarity-based public transport, which all residents of Tallinn pay for together through taxes,” noted Vladimir Svet.
“Aleksandr Chaplygin” is a Russian-language YouTube channel with an audience of about 6,500 subscribers. The author describes it briefly: “Politics made interesting.” The channel has been active for almost two years. Its main content consists of clips from Riigikogu sessions and speeches that benefit Chaplygin himself and the Centre Party, though he also records some video messages specifically for social media.
The videos usually get no more than a thousand views, but some gain significantly more. For example, one of the most popular videos, in which Chaplygin criticizes the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas and calls for their resignation, has reached 34,000 views:
“Von der Leyen and Kallas readily label anyone who doesn’t share their values as enemies, be it China or Georgia. As a result, we have fewer and fewer friends and more and more enemies. What exactly are the values that Kallas and von der Leyen are defending?”
The key topics of the channel include criticism of tax policy, the social sphere, and accusations of interference in the affairs of the Estonian Orthodox Church. One recurring theme is sharp criticism of the green agenda. In some videos, Chaplygin analyzes statements made by Donald Trump, such as those about reducing the U.S. military presence and about whose “influence” Europe might now fall under.
In one of his speeches in the Riigikogu, he described green policy as follows:
“All this criticism of green policy is one big scam. Let me explain why. Only fraudsters could come up with a scheme where the consumer is required to subsidize electricity production. In other words, to pay the owners of the parks simply for having built them. It’s a very profitable business — you invest money and get a state guarantee that you’ll get your investment back and earn a profit on top. That’s exactly how the green agenda works in Estonia. No other business in our country operates under such favorable conditions as renewable energy production. It’s not even a business, it’s a guaranteed way to make money at the expense of the state, and therefore at the expense of our dear consumers,” said Chaplygin during a parliamentary session.
If you know of other interesting Russian-language YouTube channels from Estonia, send us the links via social media or by email at [email protected]!
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