Title: “The Russians of Pribaltika Set an Example in Resisting Local Regimes”
Screenshot: Vzgljad
Although the Kremlin media gave minimal coverage to Estonia’s local government elections, they used the opportunity to repeat several disparaging narratives about Estonia—portraying it as an economically failed, undemocratic country where the rights of Russians are oppressed. Using Propamon, a robot that monitors Russian media, we present a summary of these narratives.
The business publication Vzgljad began its in-depth article published on October 24 with the following:
“In the elections, the people expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling coalition, which has led the country into poverty and economic deadlock. These elections gave the Russian-speaking population of the country a reason to mobilize. Consequently, the previously dismissed ‘Russian’ party, the Centre Party, emerged triumphant. What does this mean for the Russians of Estonia and the entire Pribaltika [a Russian term for the Baltic states]?”
The article’s author, Nikita Demyanov, attributes the economic hardship to high electricity prices—which Kremlin propaganda blames on the Baltic States’ disconnection from the Russian power grid in February—rising taxes, and increasing defense spending driven by the “Putin threat.”
Nikita Demyanov explains that Russian voters cast their protest vote as a response to constant insults. First, he points out that 25 percent of the population are referred to as žduns—those supposedly dreaming of the arrival of Putin’s army—and are called by the derogatory term tibla, which he equates to the American slur nigger. Since Russian citizens were left without voting rights and grey passport holders [stateless residents] were allowed to vote for the last time, many voters went to the polling stations as if to a “final battle.”
The author of the respected Russian online outlet provides a factually accurate overview of Estonia’s political landscape and the results of the local elections that concluded a week ago. However, in shaping a negative narrative, he selectively uses quotes from Estonian media and social media by political analyst Annika Arras, former Centre Party member turned Reform Party MP Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, Centre Party member Aleksandr Tšaplõgin, and theatre director Hendrik Toompere.
At the end of the article, the author recalls the recent local elections in Latvia, where Russian voters allegedly also consolidated. As evidence of Russian voter unity, he notes that Andrejs Elksniņš and Aleksandrs Bartaševičs—described as standing up against “state-sponsored Russophobia”—retained their positions as mayors of Daugavpils and Rēzekne, respectively.
“In general, the Russians of the Baltics are beginning to overcome their paralysis and are returning to active struggle for their rights. The author concludes that this is extremely difficult in countries where a nationalist dictatorship has fully taken shape.
Kaja Kallas’s father lost his mandate
As Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is one of the most hated Western politicians in the Kremlin, the state news agency TASS portrayed her as an indirect loser in the local elections. On October 20, TASS published a brief news item about the elections titled, “Kaja Kallas’s Father Lost His Mandate in the Local Elections.”
In the news piece, which was cited by several outlets, Russian readers were informed that the Reform Party won seven out of 21 mandates in “Viimsi municipality, located in the northern part of the Baltic republic,” and that Siim Kallas—who failed to win a mandate—was a founder of the Reform Party, a member of the Riigikogu, and a former EU Commissioner.
Interfax, another news agency, adopted a neutral stance and released a report on the same day, titled “Local Elections Held in Estonia.” The article, which offered a solid factual overview of the elections, highlighted in its opening that the ruling Reform Party finished only in fourth place, and that the Centre Party—traditionally supported by Russian-speaking voters—won in the capital.
