Oksana Alekseev

Narratives of Identity. Generational Differences among the Russian Minority in Estonia

In my PhD project, I investigate how the generations of the Russian minority in Estonia perceive political narratives from both Russia and Estonia, focusing on distinct socialization experiences including the experience of historical turning points as well as the individual’s socioeconomic status and social environment.

Thereby, my interest lies in the perception of political narratives from Russia and Estonia and the causes of possible generational differences in how individuals understand and deal with these narratives – the political narratives from the Putin-regime are, e.g., the “Russophobic West/Estonia”, “Russkij Mir”, “decadent West”, etc., which are well studied (see among others Chatterje-Doody 2014, Clunan 2014, Görtz 2017, Foxall 2019, Naylor 2020, Blackburn 2021, Tyshka 2022). From the Estonian side I am interested in the narrative of the Russian minority as “Soviet occupiers” in the public discourse (see e.g., Polynin 2023), and the narrative of an “ethnic divide” along with institutionalized ideas concerning ethnicity (Cheskin 2021). I want to study how socialization affects different cohorts of the group in how they deal with the political narratives in a highly polarized and securitized environment including different interpretations of history and mutual accusations of propaganda.

To approach my research questions, I employ a mixed-method design complementing in-depth qualitative interviews with a quantitative online survey. In my analysis I aim to account for factors such as age; labour market status/occupation, income, education level/ Russian/Estonian-language education; region of residence; legal status; religiosity; internal and external political efficacy, homogeneity of social contacts, Russian/Estonian-Russian/Estonian media consumption. I aim to engage with a diverse group of individuals, encompassing a broad spectrum of regional and socioeconomic backgrounds to capture nuanced perspectives.

• Participation in the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Summer University 2024 Balticness in Transition: Identity and Resilience in the Baltic Sea Region, Tallinn University, July 15-21, 2024.
• “Narratives of Identity. Generational Differences among the Russian Minority in Estonia,” international workshop Resonant Conflicts. Turning Points in the Baltic Sea Region, organised by the IRTG Baltic Peripeties. Narratives of Reformations, Revolutions and Catastrophes, Department for Language and Literature, NTNU Trondheim, May 22-24, 2024.