Chapter 13: Educational Reform in Estonia and Latvia

Abstract

Abstract Russia’s war in Ukraine has put renewed pressure on the Russian-speaking minorities of Estonia and Latvia. A particularly delicate realm in which this stress is playing out is Russian-language education. The authorities in both countries have made a decision in 2022 to phase out Russian-language education at all levels, meaning that these schools will gradually be transferred to the national language within three to six years. This article reviews the history of minority educational reform in Estonia and Latvia, and it outlines the details of the current transition. It assesses these changes both politically and in the light of international legal norms, finding that the reforms represent a clear shift in the paradigm of ‘minority integration’ toward greater nation-state preponderance.