Russians in the Baltic States: Multiple Identities and Diverse

Futures

Victor MakarovPhD Candidate, University of Helsinki

Overview

• Why Study Russian identities?• Russians as a population group• Individual identity adaptation strategies• Russian Collective identities: political and cultural• Brubaker’s Trangle: The fourth angle?• Multilayer identities: Russians as model Europeans

EASTERN SLAVIC POPULATION IN THE BALTIC STATES

Pre-Soviet Soviet Post-Soviet N, 1000

Latvia 10%

*1935

42%

*1989

35%

*2006

797

Lithuania 3 %

* 1923

12 %

* 1989

8%

* 2001

285

Estonia 8,2 %

* 1922

35%

* 1989

29%

* 2000

397

Total > 1.5 mln

Attitudes towards Communism LT

Attitudes towards Communism LV

Attitudes towards Communism EE

Attitudes towards Authoritarian rule LT

Attitudes towards Authoritarian rule LV

Attitudes towards Authoritarian rule EE

European Identities

Estonia Latvia Lithuania

Est Rus Lat Rus Lit Rus

Q. With which one of the following do you most closely identify yourself? And which do you identify with secondly?

Nation-state first 47 2 57 2 55 3

Integrated national 27 1 21 2 28 5

Russian or Soviet 2 73 2 60 2 55

Local, regional only 11 8 11 22 6 23

European 11 15 8 11 10 8

Other 0 - 0 1 0 4

Don’t Know 1 0 1 1 - 2

New Baltic Barometer V, Autumn, 2001, N=3,133.

Source: R. Rose, S. Berglund, 2004