Having read the answers of Andres and Piret, I have to say that I agree and disagree. It is true that the self-identification of Estonians is to do more with the cultural heritage than citizenship, which is because of our historical fate - Soviet occupation imposed Soviet citizenship on the people, and those who fled to the West in 1944 and their descendants also often had to get the citizenship of some other country, but still identified as Estonians and mostly continue to do so in later generations as well. Thus the question of passports is indeed secondary in the identification. Open-minded Estonians (still the majority, I would hope) accept people from whatever background to become citizens if they have fulfilled the legally stipulated conditions.

However, I strongly disagree on the issue of “blood”. In the 18th century, after wars and famines, the number of Estonians fell so low that the nation would not have survived without significant immigration. Thus even though the language, or earlier versions of it, might be spoken on these shores for some 6000 years, a large part of the “blood” of the population who make up the nation at the moment has arrived relatively recently on this timescale. The question of whether the children of a mixed marriage become Estonians or something else is entirely the matter of decision of the parents - if Estonian is the language of the family, then the children are Estonian too, if not, well, a certain threshold emerges, which some people with such a background have crossed, others chosen not to. I also know personally several people whose first language is Estonian, but whose both parents are ethnically something else. If you met them, Andres and Piret, you would not notice any difference with “correct” Estonians.

The criterion, as you have probably already understood, is therefore primarily the language/cultural self-identification. Estonian identity is a completely cultural issue. It has also changed in the past (we are no longer essentially maarahvas, “people of the land”, or peasants) and will change again in the future. I feel very badly at present because of the effort of alt-right politicians to hijack the notion of Estonianness and to turn it into a closed club of ethnic descent. Historically, great nations have been those able to absorb willing newcomers; those that reject people who approach them with love usually run into demographic as well as social and cultural problems sooner or later. To be insulted by the wish of someone to be accepted as an Estonian, especially someone born in our country, who has made every effort to learn our language and who identifies with our culture, is, in my mind, a sign of weakness. Our identity is not fragile or in danger any longer, if we won’t endanger it ourselves either with pragmatic choices or stern obstinacy and obsession with blood issues.

Having lived in Estonia for almost 3 years, I would say in many aspects it’s different from many other countries. Here are some random notable facts:

• Safe. There are of course some dodgy neighborhoods in Tallinn, but generally, crime levels are very low. At least in city center you can safely walk the streets 24 hours.
• Winters are harsh (wind and humidity). It’s dark at 3pm already => depressive.
• Summers can be really hot. It is still some daylight at 11pm => often need to use curtains or sleeping mask.
• You can do everything digitally: sign documents, do banking, vote, plan a doctor visit, register your residence address… whatever!
• Public transport in Tallinn is essentially precise, and 100% free for Tallinn registered citizens.
• If you live in the proximity of city center in Tallinn, you may not have the need to use public transport for months: everything is in walking distance.
• Tallinn airport is located within city boundaries. You can reach it by regular city tram.
• Consumer prices are lower, compared to most European countries.
• If you see on the street group of people with little wheeled carts, these are Finnish or Swedish tourists who came to Tallinn by ferry. They will load their carts with tons of cheap alcohol on their way back.
• Estonians are in love with SPA and saunas. Many city apartments have little saunas installed.
• Winter utility bills may be 2x higher than in summer: heating is expensive.

As I watch out the window, there are some everyday things I see and know about Estonia:

• Everybody is caucasian
• Grey
• The wages are low, but the prices are comparable or even higher than in Finland or Germany
• Taxation is getting heavier annually (alcohol, fuel and truck taxations)
• Every next generation will be smaller in numbers, it helps to raise the taxes
• Cars are always up to date, especially in Tallinn
• Grey
• Nobody smiles
• Introvert Republic of Estonia
• Countryside is essentially deserted
• Snow covered with dirt
• Cold short summers
• Grey
• Long winters with low amount of snow in recent years

But I wouldn’t live anywhere else. Without any sarcasm.

Not that I intended to give some complete answer to this question.. But it reminded me of a story I read some time ago (might be true, might be invented, but it makes sense).

During the WWII Germany was sending spies to USSR. They were perfectly prepared. Spoke accent-free Russian. Had deep knowledge of Soviet realities, had perfectly forged documents. But the Soviet side uncovered all of them within days and executed them. Only after a very long and costly research Germans figured out what they did wrong.

The passports they provided to their spies were stapled by new shiny staples. All genuine Soviet passports had old rusty ones.

It is a bit complicated but still simple story - It is coming from German language. Estonians called themselves for a long time as an “Maarahvas” (Earthy people / Countryman).

Current name “Eestlane” (Estonians) is relatively young. It is based on a word strain “Eest-” (genitive “Eesti”) borrowed from German language. Germans had used name “Ehste” already for centuries. Scandinavians called them “Est” or “Eist(r)”, Russians called “Tšuudid”, Finnish “Virolaiset” and Latvians “Igauni”.

Estonians took over the name used by the Germans who ruled Estonian territory on that time.

The word “Eesti” came to use by Germans who developed Estonian literary language in the 17th century. Pastor Heinrich Stahl used on his handbook for first time name “Eestimaa” (<Ehstland) in 1638, which was borrowed from German language. And for Estonians this word was strange for a long time.

It is known that officially that the name “Eesti” without “-maa” (Eestimaa - Estland) began to use in early 1850s Estonian writer Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald. Until then and even later they called themselves “maainimesed” (Countryman) or “maarahvas” (County people) who spoke “maakeelt” (Country language).

Well, should you absolutely want to integrate into the Russian-speaking minority and seriously limit your options in Estonian society and labour market in that way, then the answer is affirmative. This is hardly recommendable.

Furthermore, if you were able to find a niche in Estonia, say, a job where you are not supposed to interact with anyone very much or maybe only with your closest coworkers, you could manage with English at work. You would really have to be an asset to the company or organization in such a position. Such jobs probably exist in the ITC sector, startups and academia. But do not expect everybody to be able—or willing— to speak English to you in the “outside” society at large.

The bottom line: If you want to live in Estonia, learn the Estonian language. Any effort will be appreciated.

To me “Estonian” means ethnicity, not citizenship or nationality (which is a bit ambiguous term). With citizenship it would be easy - you have an Estonian passport, therefore you are a citizen.

But with ethnicity it is more complicated. I think there are several components (which all have to be present) :

1. The bloodline - if both your parents are Estonians, you are an Estonian. If one of your parents is an Estonian, you can be an Estonian if you choose to be one.
2. The language - you should speak Estonian language, prefreably as your first language.
3. If you identify as an Estonian. Not sometimes, but every day, every minute.

What do I expect from Estonian citizen? He (she) should do his (her) part of the citizenship deal - to respect the country and its symbols, take part in elections and protect the country if the need arises.

What do I expect from fellow Estonian? Speak the language and treat me as a distant relative - we share some blood, after all. All the Estonians are related if we go back sufficient number of generations.

84 percent of Estonia's population are Estonian citizens. Most are ethnic Estonians, and they of course speak the language natively. The remainder are citizens by naturalisation, and a requirement of naturalisation is at least a basic level of proficiency in the language. This means that around 84 percent of the population can speak Estonian, most as their mother tongue.

Regarding foreigners in Estonia, during the decades of Soviet occupation, Moscow moved a very large number of Russian colonists to the country with the aim of Russifying it, and making national recovery impossible. Although this plan failed, by the end of occupation 300,000 completely unassimilated foreigners, mostly Russians, were in the land. Most viewed themselves as the colonial master race, and behaved accordingly.

About a third couldn't get their heads around the fact that they were now expected to live as normal people in a normal foreign country, and they departed back to Russia. Another third took Estonian citizenship by naturalisation, and they are no longer foreigners in the country. And the last third chose to remain foreigners, taking either Russian citizenship, or remaining as persons of no citizenship.

It is this last category amongst whom language proficiency is the worst, and amongst whom many unlovely Soviet attitudes also remain. However, their numbers are decreasing steadily both through natural attrition and through ongoing assimilation, and a time will come when the demographic issues they currently present will no longer exist.

Yes you can, but you will have quite limited options:

• you cannot drive (some of the traffic signs have text you need to understand)
• you have problems shopping - shop employees’ English skills are pretty low
• the choice of employment is limited - usually some Estonian skills are required
• most of the documentation of the state and local government is available only in Estonian

You would feel like a tourist. It’s OK if you don’t plan to stay. But if you do, you should learn some Estonian - it’ll make your life here much easier.

Estonia is a very unique country that is high tech but full of nature and ancient history. On one hand, it is know as the most technologically advanced country in the world for its good infrastructure, fast internet, startup scene, business visa programs, Estonian e-residency, and other features such as the ability to vote online.

On the other, it’s the least densely-populated country in Europe with the highest amount of natural predators in the wild. Quite an interesting mix!

While it’s close to Russia and Finland, it is also almost completely flat. There are many primeval forests, bogs, animals, birds, and other wildlife.

The countryside is quite rural but pretty and safe, which makes it great for a road trip.

In the capital city of Tallinn, there is a high quality of life, lots of water and trails to explore along the Black Sea. It’s also known for its picturesque Old Town, nightlife, restaurants, and history. You can also take a ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki.

The other large cities are Parnu (beach), and Tartu - known for its university.

The cost of living in Estonia is quite high, but that is characteristic of parts of Northern Europe and Scandinavia. The cuisine is similar to Scandinavia as well, with lots of fresh bread, cheese, yogurt, fish, berries, and beer (also nice craft cocktails).

The population isn’t that diverse, but almost everyone speaks English, which is helpful for visitors. I also found the locals to be friendly but not particularly outgoing.

Overall, Estonia is a quiet, pleasant place to explore and is a nice place to visit if you like nature, history, and are looking for something different compared to Western Europe, but cheaper than Sweden, Norway, or Denmark.

To see more about what it’s like in Estonia, check out these videos:

Estonia: Tallinn, Kirna Manor, and Nightingale Valley

Estonia: Tartu, Voru, Rouge, and Parnu

According to Statistics Estonia’s last year report, Estonian is spoken as a mother tongue by 67% and as a foreign language by 17% of the population. Therefore, a total of 84% of the population speaks Estonian.

According to the census, 3,879 people in Estonia speak English as their mother tongue, while Chinese is spoken as the native language by 419, Hindi by 630, Spanish by 1,378, and French by 1,424 people living here.

Census data show that an estimated 76% of Estonia’s population speak a foreign language. While 10 years ago the most widely spoken foreign language in Estonia was Russian, today it is English.

I’ve answered this before, but here goes…

Tallinn, the capital, has about 50% of its population that is Russian speaking. The Eastern Corridor to the Russian border increases in Russian speakers more and more as you draw closer to Russia with Narva (on the border) in the very high 90 percentiles (95–98%).

Outside of that, there is a strip running south along the Russian border and also some in Pärnu that is about the only place that has any substantial Russian speaking population. The other areas of Estonia, especially in the rural areas rely almost exclusively on Estonian.

If this is helpful, please upvote. Thanks!

It's quite a long story because Estonians date back to ancient times. We don't have a lot of written history of ours from before Christ or from the Middle Ages. Our national awakening started somewhere in mid 19-th century as it did for a lot of small nations. Back then one of our "founding fathers" or national activists Johann Voldemar Jannsen came to name "eestlased" (die Esten in German language), and they started calling the land "Eesti". It was soon widely accepted.

Anyway, there are mentionings from very old books/writings (source Wikipedia):

Ostiatoi (Pytheas, 320 B.C)

Aestyi (Diodoros, 20 B.C)

Aestiorum gentes (Tacitus, 1st century)

See the similarity?

The word initially refers to "East" and "eastern people / lands". It got stuck and here we are.

Estonia has only one official language — Estonian — despite its population size of ethnic Russians. I’m not Estonian, but I presume this main reason for this to preserve the dominance of Estonian culture and language and save it from Russification, which, to some degree, happened during the Soviet years.

Contrary to Russia’s wishes, the Baltic states do not wish to stay semi-Russified entities like, say, Kazakhstan. They don’t want to be Russia’s so-called ‘Pribaltika’, which would serve as some sort of Western-style resort with better life conditions for the Russians. Unlike Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia weren’t as lucky as they were more greatly exposed to Russification. And now they are trying to integrate these Russian people by naturalisation — a process that apparently is ‘very evil’ even though it happened throughout history all the time.

As you can probably see from the comments, if you've been following, - answering this question is nigh impossible. It isn't that Russian and Estonian Estonians are so similar - no, it's rather that each group of itself is so heterogeneous that attempting to draw any comparisons between them will result in the emergence of too many exceptions to any rule one may come up with.

An Estonian will be different from an Estonian if they live in different regions of the country, small as it is; even more so, mostly due to the ongoing (with varied speeds and varied rates of success) assimilation of the Russian diaspora into the Estonian majority, a Russian will be different from a Russian if they live in different parts of the same city or go to different schools.

Even the more generic and tangible attributes of both nations, such as the mentioned Lutheran faith of the Estonians and Christian Orthodox faith of the Russians, will fail you more times than you are ready to count. Yes, they are "likely true" for many people of the same ethnic group; however, the "likely true" falls apart when you attempt to rely on it.

For now, language remains the most noticeable point of difference, and as far as language goes, you can probably guess that many-but-not-all Estonians will watch Estonian TV, read Estonian books, listen to Estonian music, go to Estonian theaters, and many-but-not-all Russians will do the same with the Russian-language media. It is worth nothing that some of it will originate from Russia directly; some of it, however, will be produced locally - that way, you find that many Russians actually consume local writers, local musicians, local theater productions, and local TV/radio channels. It may not look it to an outside observer, but the difference in content and orientation of "Russian from Russia" and "Russian not from Russia" is huge. Interestingly, none of those audiences will ever be homogeneous. There are always some Estonian-speaking viewers at a Russian theater performance, as there are Russian-speaking viewers at an Estonian theater performance.

However, the "many-but-not-all" remark means just that - once you attempt to apply this generalization to a random individual you've met in Estonia, you will likely find that this definition fails on the spot. The younger the individual is, the more likely it will be true. The closer you are to the capital of Estonia, the more likely it will be true. The argument in the comments is a great illustration of how difficult and unproductive stereotyping is.

It’s possible to manage perfectly fine for a short-term residency with just English (a proper English with good pronunciation that is). However, there is a great difference between truly living and just surviving here.

TL;DR:

By “live” do you mean long-term residency:

you comply with the integration requirement, i.e. you have knowledge of the Estonian language at least at B1 level established by the language act or level corresponding to that

Or is it temporary:

Short-term residency does not have such a language requirement, and with English, you can manage quite fine (Urban, touristy, and with youth in particular). Bilingualism is nothing unusual and knowledge of at least one foreign language is rather the norm. Actually knowing at least two or more foreign languages as a norm is a growing trend.

We also have e-residency:

By “live in a country” I tend to have an association with citizenship. In order to apply for this one, you have to have had a long-term residency for a while anyhow:

— Perhaps think of it as a trial period: after a couple of years, do you even still want citizenship.

Any form of “live in Estonia” usually tend to associate with work and study:

Languages in Estonia (bit dated):

With a longer stay, it is definitely much easier to get by with knowing Estonian. As is the case with knowing the local language(-s) in any country of the world.

English

In fact, there are so many locals proficient enough with the English language, that several expats have pointed out, that English language skill alone isn’t beneficial enough for career boost: professional skills are what matter.

Me myself: not a good example. I actually do not use that much of English really, even though it is my only foreign language — my shortcomings in English grammar should be enough proof for this. However, you may get a vague idea from me about how capable some random farm guy in his thirties can be with English in Estonia, who hardly really uses the language.

General knowledge of the English language in Estonia shows an improving trend.

Russian

While even required in certain areas and jobs even to just get by, the Russian language is also more regional: coupled with tourism, urbanism, and generational (older ethnic-Estonians might prefer it), as well as ethnicity related (Slavic minorities):

— The map is based on ethnicity (Russian as the first language) and is a bit dated but gives an idea, where the Russian language is best known. Command of language is not limited to ethnicity and is more widespread than shown on the map. It is known nearly as widely as English.

Many of us speak other languages too:

There are over 200 different languages present in total.

Estonian language:

For ethnic Estonians it is the native language, meanwhile, most minorities are at least bilingual. Monolingual speakers do exist and there are few, who are bilingual with Estonian and some other language which isn’t either English nor Russian — meaning there are plenty of people in Estonia, to whom the only common language is Estonian.

Ethnic Estonians:

— This map again is ethnicity-based: ethnic Estonians know and use the Estonian language actively in Estonia. The command of the language is not limited just by ethnic Estonians.

Help with integration (and language):

Or perhaps even?

Few opinions about learning Estonian for “Living in Estonia”:

Some do. Some don't.

Lately I often pretend I don't. Why? Because I am against my own soft genocide. People who live in Estonia and want to communicate with me in English (or in any other language that is not Estonian) are my murderers. I don't want to communicate with murderers. It is unpleasant and makes me very depressed.

However, Estonia is a very small country. It is very good, if we study several foreign languages (their choice must be free!). It is very good, if we have tourists visiting us. A person who comes to Estonia for a few days does not have to speak Estonian. That’s just common sense to me. If these tourists are respectful, don't talk down to me (I am not a stupid native in my own country) and don’t assume I must speak their mother tongue then I usually speak whatever they want me to speak (provided I can).

I saw a foreigner looking for peanut butter. He approached a beautiful girl working in that shop. He talked to her in English. She didn't know the meaning of peanut butter. Probably because very few Estonians would eat it. Normally in such cases I interfere and translate the request of the customer to the staff. However, the man turned patronising like talking to a beautiful but inferior animal. After witnessing his nasty behaviour I decided that he had not earned his peanut butter. He left without.

The genealogical relationship between languages depends solely on their proto-language. Baltic languages are those that have Proto-Baltic as their last common ancestor. These contain two living languages, Latvian and Lithuanian. Proto-Baltic comes ultimately from Proto-Indo-European.

Estonian in turn doesn’t come from Proto-Baltic. It comes from Proto-Finnic, which ultimately comes from Proto-Uralic. Therefore, it is not a Baltic language. However, the language group to which Estonian belongs together with Finnish, Livonian, and Votian among others can also be called the Baltic-Finnic languages, in which “Baltic” refers to the geographical location of these Finnic languages, not to the Baltic languages.

I am Estonian. I am also a citizen of the Republic of Estonia. Let's say I decide to become a citizen of another country. I would still remain Estonian. Being Estonian is like love. Having a passport of any country is like being married. There are many loveless marriages out there.

Being Estonian means that your parents are Estonian and that your mother tongue is Estonian. Passports are just silly bureaucracy.

For me it is the greatest possible insult, if a non-Estonian says that he/she is Estonian. I would never claim being someone else. I would never try to steal the soul of another person.

There are people in this world whose ancestors were Estonians but who aren't Estonians themselves, e.g. Mark Kostabi - Wikipedia. They are of Estonian descent.

Therefore there are two clear components that make an Estonian: blood (ancestors) and assimilation. Both components can naturally also fail. That’s life.

I can illustrate this with a clear example.

Let’s say that one day I meet a handsome Norwegian (i.e. a person who looks like us except he is more handsome because he is Norwegian). We immediately jump to the bushes because life is short. Nine months later I have a baby.

Future number 1. The Norwegian disappears after our brief meeting in the bushes. My child is Estonian. If he asks about his father then I can’t remember. I was very drunk. But don’t worry, my child, he was Estonian. I can swear it with my right hand on the Bible. Bring me the Bible!

Future number 2. The Norwegian and I jump to more bushes. We stay together and plant our own bushes around our house. Our child is half Estonian and half Norwegian. If one day the child comes to me and says that he is Estonian then I will get very angry and tell him that he is half Estonian and half Norwegian. I will also tell him that he must always respect his father and speak Norwegian with him. Of course things are not that pretty. There will be a cold war. I will have a secret protocol. You see, my real interest is to have more Estonians, not more Norwegians. So through education and other "evil actions" (like numbing the mind of his Norwegian father with excessive amounts of sex) I will brainwash the child towards being Estonian. My hope is that that way my grandchildren will be fully Estonian. However, the child can't be Estonian because his father is with us and it wouldn't be fair. Some people might say that it is possible to be two things at the same time. In my opinion it is not so. I have met many half-bloods in my life and they have all failed my test. Funnily enough I have met black Estonians (their African fathers disappeared from their lives) and they didn’t fail the test. Because they had no influence from their fathers. They didn’t have to love and respect them and their nations/ethnicities/languages/cultures.

In real life it is possible to speak about these matters ad nauseum (or until you throw up). Only actions can decide the real outcome. I have heard confessions of students who are basically forced to write "tolerant and friendly" essays where everyone is God knows what (except what he really is). These students later tell their friends what they really think. Our real thoughts decide what we really are.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Wikipedia thinks that intolerance (not tolerance!) is the way forward. I agree with him. The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dictatorship of the Small Minority

Tolerant people end up disappearing. Their children and grandchildren are no longer their children and grandchildren. Intolerant people remain. Unless we are killed.

Being fully intolerant doesn’t seem very useful to me. A lifestyle like that lacks common sense. You can say that on a global level I am fairly tolerant. On a local level I try to be as intolerant as possible. The other gets identified and rejected. It is a survival strategy. Nothing more and nothing less.

Estonian is the only official language in Estonia. But russian is spoken by majority of older people who were active in life during SU and by Russian-speaking minority who have been brought to Estonia during Soviet occupation between 1940–1991. Russian is taught to majority of estonian children from 6-th to 12-th grade but very few of them are able to express even most simple thing in russian after that. Russian language has not been very popular among estonians children because of the problems Russia has caused to Estonia. During Russia's war against Ukraine 100 000 Ukrainians has came to Estonia as refugees, most of them speak Russian aswell, at least on some level if it is not the only language they know.

1. Quoting anonymous manager: “If you want to do business in Estonia, you quickly realize that you need to know 4 languages: Estonian , Finnish, Russian and English”
2. In early 2014 our IT team visited Estonia. We spent most time in Tartu, very nice city. Most part of team vent on one weekend day to Tallinn , and I spent all time in Tartu for my personal reasons. In Tartu most people speak Estonian, and of like 30 people I talked to in various shops only 3 preferred to speak in Russian (I started conversation in English stating that I can communicate in both English and Russian). But by accounts of my colleague who visited Tallinn, “everyone spoke Russian there”. So, from what I know while Russian is not dominant in Estonia, it is quite popular.

It’s a widely-taught second language, yes. Most Estonian-language schools will teach English and Russian, for relatively obvious reasons.

It’s also a language to which most Estonians are exposed frequently, too, since films and TV shows tend to be subtitled into Estonian rather than dubbed. So unless you’re talking about cartoons, you’ll hear the English spoken as well.

Of course, proficiency is another thing. In the Old Town of Tallinn, you’ll come across plenty of people who can assist you in English (and German, and Finnish, and Swedish, and possibly another one or two languages) since tourism’s a big thing there. Go into the rural south of the country, though, and you may have more of a challenge.

At least some Russians living in Estonia know Estonian. They are not particularly ethnical, they just came from villages where they recently spoke only Russian, and by blood they can be either Finns, or Ugrians, or Bashkirs, or someone else it's hard to tell. The Soviet Union often was wrote in passport all as Russian Russians in a row because it was the lowest-privileged nationality and still is, Russian Russians are deprived of an ethnic republic, unlike dozens of other ethnic groups of Russia, so wanted the Soviet Georgian Jugashvilli-”Stalin”, for example under the criminal article 282 of Russia courts of Russia put only Russian Russians in prison, other ethnics/nationalities are not subject to this God-terrible article