Presentation given at international conference on integration held on 16 - 17 November 2018 in Tallinn, Estonia. For more information: www.integrationconference.ee

1. The role of media in minority integration:
lessons from Estonian experience
International conference on integration „Shared Identities in Diverse Communities:
the Role of Culture, Media and Civil Society“ 16 – 17 November 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia
Prof. Marju Lauristin
University of Tartu, Estonia

2. Concept and scope of integration
System integration
legal – citizenship, equal rights, lack of discrimination
political – participation in political activities, influence on decision-
making
economic – ownership, business opportunities, employment
Social and cultural integration
common language and education
inclusion in community life, networking, solidarity, families, personal
relationships
shared meanings, values, habits of everyday life, symbols, rituals,
memories
common identity

3. Dimensions of integration
System integration, common
institutional rules and space
of activities
Social inclusion
Political and economic
participationinformation
Social integration,
common community of
values
respect trust
opportunity influence

4. Estonian experience
Specific context, similar to post-colonial situation
Structure of minority population according to citizenship: half Estonian citizens, quarter citizens
of the third countries (mostly Russian), quarter non-citizens with ‘grey passport’
National integration policies starting from 1997
Focus on legal and linguistic and systemic aspects of integration, underestimation of social
integration
Separate language communities reproduced by dual education and media systems
Politization of integration issues, ethnic card in politics has been played by both sides
External risks, related to Russian militant politics, especially information war, and Western
inadequate interpretations of this situation
Positive developments due to generation change. Appearance on the Estonian public scene
multilingual young representatives of the new pro-Western and pro-Estonian cultural and political
elite
Pragmatic co-existence of minority and majority. Westernization and Europeanization instead of
‘Estonization’?
Strengthening systemic integration on local and national level, social integration still quite weak

5. Half of the members of the Russain speaking minority are
positioning themselves on the lower part of the social scale
Distribution of ethnic estonians and Russian-speaking minority
groups on the scale of self-stratification 2014
13
16
28
23
19
26
23
21
16
14
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Madalkiht Madal-
keskkiht
Keskkiht Kõrg-
keskkiht
Kõrgkiht
Eestlane
Mitte-eestlane

6. General attitude among the Russian minority
concerning changes in Estonian sociey has remained
more negative than positive
Evaluation of changes in Estonia by Estonian and Russian
speaking respondents
2002-2014
65
72
68
59 61
19
12 15
22
19
35
43
29 28
3130
18
32
38
32
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2002 2005 2008 2011 2014
Estonians positive
Estonians negative
-
Russophones positive
Russophones negative

7. Trust in Estonian state is one of the major indicators
of integration
55
34
11
25
41
34
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
%
Estonians Russian minority
Do you trust Estonian state?
High trust
Don't know
Low trust

8. What is the role of the media in the proces of
integration?
Is it mirror, window, meeting place or
battleground?

9. creating public images, constructing self-perception of minorities vs majorities
reducing uncertainties and providing control over one’s environment by monitoring events
and communicating ‘facts’
creating mutual understanding by shared social imaginaries, insights in the ‘other’ social
reality, giving projections of the available choices and visions for the future
disseminating shared ideas, values, attitudes and opinions among majority and minority
building trust or mistrust, shaping self-perception and perception of the ‘others’
providing common standards, disseminating best practices, constructing ‘what is normal’
creating images of opinion leaders who represent ethnic minority in public debate
constructing and supporting role models, loyalties and identities
supporting participation of minority in common cultural events
mobilizing for mass actions, civic campaigns
closing different language communities in isolated ‘information bubble’
constructing and amplifying ethnic conflict and alienation
Media functionalities in the process of integration

10. Multicultural media space
Different mediascapes in Estonian and Russian language
Influence of Russia’s media (reaching 85% of russophones), weaker position of
the local russian-language media (reaching 10-45%),
Deficit of russian-language official information
Russian language local press: 5-10 %
5-15% of Russian minority is following Estonian language media
Public broadcasting success story: Radio 4 with regular audience over 40 %
Successful launching of the Russian-language ETV+ channel
Social media in Russian language over 50%
Cultural media: theater, documentaries
Minority representatives in Estonian language media
Transnational TV (Euronews, Discovery etc, in Russian translation) actively
followed by Russian- speaking audience

11. Strategy of Russian information war
Stereotyping and ridiculizing Baltic states as ‘cruel dwarfs’, depicting them as
meaningless states without future
Disseminating and enhancing negative news about the Baltic states, especially about
the ‘discrimination’ of minorities, amplifying any possibility of ethnic conflict
Constructing ambivalent common ‘transborder’ space, embracing Russian speaking
population in Baltic countries as a part of the ‘Russian world’, however living in the
local commercial environment, constructed by inclusion of the local (Estonian,
Latvian) advertising in the Russian media programme
Disseminating pro-Soviet nostalgia
Using representatives of the Baltic Russian communities as a part of the Russian
common position in the dispute over Ukraine
Diminishing and pulling down international role of the EU, amplifying inner conflicts
in EU and supporting anti-European parties in Europe
Disseminating doubts and mistrust concerning national and European institutions

12. The most important role, Estonian media
could play in minority integration, is to build
mutual trust!

13. International conference on integration
Shared Identities in diverse communities:
the Role of Culture, Media and Civil Society
16 – 17 November 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia
For more conference videos and presentations
please visit: www.integrationconference.ee