A large number of Russians continue to come to Estonia. At the same time, the citizens of the Russian Federation are already trying to be quiet in this country.
About this Channel 24said adviser to the Minister of Digital Information Janika Merilo. At the same time, she noted that about a third of citizens in Estonia are Russian-speaking.
What is known about the real estate of Russians in Estonia
Merilo told that now approximately 42 thousand real estate objects in Estonia belong to the Russians. We are talking about those who have the right to reside, and also come for a tourist visa.
She noted that Russians who have the right to reside have a large number of these objects. They can still come to Estonia, pay all their debts. But Estonia does not have the right to take this property.
But, let's say, the property, which belongs to about 12% of Russians with a tourist visa, is also at risk and now it may be under sanctions. – said the adviser to the head of the Ministry of Digital Development.
According to her, if there is such a situation that the Russians will not pay the debt for a long time, the ministry is now just looking for a structure, how to confiscate this property later.
How much Russians come to Estonia
Merilo said that residents or citizens of Russia who have the right to reside in Estonia can still come. Tourists in the truest sense of the word do not have the right to come. But there are some categories of Russians who have the right to come for tourist visas. These are those who have relatives in Estonia and who study in this country.
If you look at the total number of those crossing the border, there are about 5,000 of them per day, then this number has not changed much. For most of them have the right to live either in Estonia or in Europe,” she noted.
But the adviser to the head of the Ministry of Digital Development added that if earlier about 300 or 400 tourists came for tourist visas per day, now there are about 100.
A measure of Russians' real estate in Estonia and their behavior in this country: watch the video
Why is there a lot of Russian in Estonia
Merilo noted that even before the Soviet Union there were about 1% of Russians in Estonia. After the USSR, about 40% of the Russian-speaking population remained.
That is, Estonia did not consider that language is a weapon, as it turns out now after all. But this transition to the Estonian language was also so smooth and gradual in schools, – noted the adviser to the head of the Ministry of Digital Development.
According to her, now many ministries are already switching only to the Estonian language. But the fact is that a lot of the population was forcibly relocated to Estonia. And private companies and retail chains see that a third of their visitors are Russian-speaking.
Has the behavior of Russians in Estonia changed?
Merilo said that Russians are now in Estonia they are quite quiet thanks to the efforts of the Estonian authorities and zero tolerance for any manifestations of their moods.
There are a few of those who once talk about the “Russian world”. And very often these are exactly those tourists,” she explained.
The adviser to the head of the Ministry of Digital Development added that a fairly large number of Russians in Estonia still keep a low profile. That is, there is no big wave of negativity against Ukrainians. Of course, there are isolated cases, but Russians try not to risk their lives in Estonia.
More about Estonia and Russians
- Foreign Minister Affairs of Estonia Urmas Reinsalu said that his country will submit a proposal to the EU member states to ban the issuance of tourist visas to Russians because of the war against Ukraine.
- Starting from August 18, Estonia stopped letting Russian citizens with Schengen visas through issued by the country. Thus, approximately 25,000 Russians will not be able to enter the country.
- Russian citizens who have lost access to their real estate in Estonia can resell it through intermediaries. Thus, the country's authorities want to minimize the number of abandoned objects.
