I made a comment earlier that I'd write a post about this. This is that post..

Ok, as I've mentioned before, I'm originally Swedish and my country (+the rest of Scandinavia) have quite strong links with the Baltic States. They belonged to Sweden for quite a while and there's always been trade and exchange. A relative of mine for instance, was born in Estonia. Sweden is currently the biggest investor in the Baltic States).

Regarding the status of Russian language and the treatment of Russians:
The Balts are idiots in this respect (sorry any Balts who read this).

If they can't treat linguistic minorities in their countries right, then they should leave the EU!! EU started as a peace project and it is totally against any form of discrimination for any reason.

The EU knows that the Baltic states discriminate against Russian speakers. EU is trying to stop it, but perhaps not as strongly as is needed. (Frankly, there are some double standards and prejudice in Europe regarding Russia. As we know.)

Improving the treatment of Russians in Balticum was actually a condition for these countries when they were going to join the EU. But it looks like it was "lip service" only. (lip-service means you say you are going to do something, but then you don't do it... Or you pretend to agree with something.. )

The best thing that could happen would be if Russian speakers in these countries sued their government at the European Court in Strasbourg. Then they would get attention to their situation and support from other parts of Europe. There are many minorities that would support this group out of principle.

What the Balts are doing is against European legislation.. For several reasons they are "getting away with it" right now.

The other, more practical reason why this is wrong is shown by economic examples from modern European countries.

Language / bilingual skills are GOOD for smaller countries -- in particular if the language of a larger neighbour is spoken. Luxembourg and Switzerland are the top examples of this. Switzerland and Luxembourg are among the very richest countries per capita in Europe. Their langauage policies have helped them greatly.

Estonians really like Finland because it has a similar language. There are tons of Estonians in Finland... While they are there they should look at how Finland treats the Swedish speaking minority (just 10% of the population).

These 10% can completely ignore learning Finnish if they want to! They can get all their information and schooling in Swedish. They can work in a Swedish speaking environment if they really want to. All the regular Finns have to study Swedish in school for 4 years and can usually speak basic or good Swedish.

This system is democratically chosen in Finland because the Finns realise that it's beneficial. It means they can have strong ties and good relations with Sweden. The Finns are pretty disgusted at how Russians in the Baltic states are treated.

The old Swedish ambassador to Moscow is currently running a campaign to convince all Nordic leaders to put pressure (economical, if needed) on the Baltic states to stop their blatant discrimination.) In Scandinavia we go out of our ways to support the Saami people (native) and avoid any other discrimination. We should not allow an area that we support financially to do this either,

However the campaign is not getting as much attention as it ought to, and some people have started having prejudice against Russia (which, interestingly, they did not have during the USSR times... weird...)

There was sympathy in Scandinavia for the Baltic states during USSR era because we knew that they had been incorporated into the USSR against the will of the majority. But this is old news now (=meaning it's no longer relevant) and Baltikum was not exactly the third world anyway! They had a rather cushy position in the USSR, as I understand it. They had good educational facilities, several resorts and modern houses built for poor people.. In fact, I actually visited Latvia during USSR times and it seemed more or less like any other European state apart from less shops, restaurants and advertising.

As for their grievance against Russia: Yes, it's understandable, BUT --- these countries have practically ALWAYS been under foreign control, throughout history. Sweden had them for quite a while -- Germany has also controlled them, and Poland too. Russia just happens to be the latest country to do it!

They need to get over it and accept the situation as it is, including the fact that they have a Russian speaking minority.

My country is in a position to put pressure on them and I hope Sweden, Finland and the rest of the EU will support the rights of this ethnic minority. Just like it is supporting national minorities elsewhere in Europe. Anything else would be horrible double standards.

Tallinn bronze soldier, old location...