Poland's aid to Ukraine if Russia invades - part 14

my perspective is such: if you learn a language at home and around home (including consuming media (TV and the like) in the language which is the case in the region Velund talks about) and then suddenly you have to continue your education in a completely alien language then I think there arise problems (serious problems if you ask me) and resentment - the region of Narva borders Russia and I believe Velund when he says Russians are a vast majority there - in my humble opinion the border there should be redrawn (Estonia inherited the borders from the former Estonian Soviet Republic from what I can gather)

Your views are appropriate for a civilized European approach to language policy and places like Belgium or Switzerland that have traditionally functioned multilingually) russians aren't europeans and european policy solutions don't work with them.

I'm sure most ethnic russians in those places don't want to go back to living under russian rule after being in the EU for 20 years.... the problem is they want to have their cake (EU living standards) and eat it to (be treated as superior because they're russians).


Poland respects internationally agreed upon borders. The post WWII borders were not ideal for Poland (great in some ways not so good in others) but Poles aren't bloodthirsty russians but rather cosmopolitan Europeans who decided to make the best of what they had rather than look around greedily for land to steal....

hmmmm the usual russian dangerous incompetence or hybrid warfare?

russian ship loaded to the gills with explosive fertilizer 'breaks down' off the coast of Kent after being kicked out of Norway... the ship has about 6 times as much explosive power than the explosion in Beirut a few years ago....

x.com/TimesRadio/status/1839034320117252562

I don't entirely understand your dismissive attitude towards Russians - maybe treat them sometimes as human beings and maybe they will act like civilised people as a result - at least those who don't live under the current tzar - maybe I hope for too much, though, who knows


I don't think people asking for an education in their native tongue is a call for being considered superior (at least in this case, but maybe I'm wrong)

I watched that documentary a while ago and the Bouvier Beales were much nicer than the r*SSians, however yes, there's something in that.

r*SSia still thinks it's a superpower rather than a declining pariah state.


Given that its present position is in the world's busiest shipping lane, risks flood damage if it blows in 4 NATO countries, 2 of them nuclear states, one of whom is not given to messing around and has never lost a war, they'd be advised to tow their rustbucket into open sea.


Nothing to stop them returning to their own country; except the lack of an EU passport, the appalling standard of living, and the viciously autocratic regime, that is.

what if they lived there for generations (which I believe the case) - would you tell Danes in Schleswig to fvck of to Denmark to receive education in Danish

btw there is a very similar case to that of Narva Russians, namely Ukrainian Hungarians - they live right next to Hungary in Ukrainian Zakarpatia in mostly homogenously Hungarian villages - they refuse to learn Ukrainian which is a completely alien language to them (but I don't know if they are forced to, tbh)- in my opinion such cases call for a redrawing of borders

I wouldn't use those words exactly... and it would depend also on their attitude toward learning and using Deutsch. Do they regard Deutsch as being beneath them? Baltic russians are notoriously hostile to the Baltic languages... if they had been more civil over the last 30 years then these wouldn't be issues.


How much of Kuban does Ukraine get?

What is it that you don't understand? People in each country should attend local schools to learn as all citizens of a country necessary linguistic and cultural basics on which they would need to function properly in society. If they wish to learn other languages or a language they can do so privately, they can even set up schools for it.
Russians in Estonia are people who refused to master the language of the state they are citizens of, and had 30 years for that.
On top of it all those free society and democratic freedoms perks allowed them to have their Russian radio and TV.
However with the war on Ukraine, those were full of Russian propaganda and Putin's face, disregard propaganda but Putin's face is a disgrace and an unprovoked attack on people's aesthetic values, lowering them for no good reason. The Estonian state took some measures that seem to be necessary to protect its citizens from this cultural and aesthetic assault and against toxic Russian values.
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Russians in Smolensk should start packing and the same goes for Vladivostok and a large part of eastern Siberia.

Crimean way would be ok.

Is this the bridge just before it collapses?

Totally agree!

Otherwise there is no functional state possible, the seed of strife, discontent and disunity is already sown in the schools...the bottom of all western immigration problems!

Especially when 100% of Russian in first classes decreases to 40% in last (the rest became Estonian after kids mastered it enough to be fluent).


No, it is returning to their own country together with land of grand-grand-fathers.

I don't believe they speak Ukrainian in Kuban, now - they have some speech patterns in southern Russia that originate in Ukrainian (like "h" for Russian "g") but saying they speak Ukrainian there is a stretch in my opinion - if you have sources countering my views, I'll be glad to have a look at them

Are you talking about a bridge too far? Don't bite off more than you can chew.
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What is the difference if they speak Russian or not?

if you mean ethnic Estonians, I doubt their livelihood, their ways or their values are in danger of Russian cultural assault - if you mean ethinc Russian citizens of Estonia in regions where they form a vast majority just next to Estonia's border with Russia then I 1)understand they resentment of being forced to learn Estonian 2) fully support the idea of the areas being transferred to Russia (if the inhabitants choose to)


I hope you know where Kuban is - if not I would advise you to learn about it

So why haven't they assimilated? My family have lived in Britain for generations and we don't either (depending on which side of the family it is) either drink Guiness and speak Irish or boire du vin et chanter la Marseillaise.

And of they're so loyal and r*SSia has all that oil and gas, they should be delighted to settle in the Rodina. Instead of the unbearable Gehenna that is a free, stable and independent Estonia.

you can support what you want but I'm free to question your reason and sanity.
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What difference does it make? Why are you answering questions with questions? ===
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They will survive if they don't like it. there is the door and there is a big MF Russian country with plenty of space.

why haven't the Italians in Switzerland started speaking Schwuetzer Tuetsch instead of Italian? why haven't Basques become Spanish?


I'm sure you wouldn't be happy if you were told (or God forbid forced) to get the **** out of here and go back to your beloved Poland from wherever you live now, even though you are an immigrant there - and the Russian people in Narva region live there for generations (I guess it all goes back way before the WW1)

Nobody ever told me that to my face. The secret is I have never lived in a country in which native language I couldn't communicate.
Maybe it is a good idea to learn languages eh?

The tricky issue in this part of the world is that there were so many ethnic cleansing, mass settlements, and movements of people induced by a state for political reasons that is hard to judge if those generations count.

OK - I was not entirely right about Narva Russsians (but not completely wrong either) - here's a wikipedia article on Narva:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narva#:~:text=Narva%20[a]%20is%20a%20municipality%20and%20city%20in#:~:text=Narva%20[a]%20is%20a%20municipality%20and%20city%20in

only 65 per cent of inhabitants of Narva were Estonians in 1934 - it is entirely possible that Baltic Germans were a big part of the populace back then, but I wouldn't rule out a big chunk of those 35 per cent non-Estonian inhabitants of Narva were ethnic Russians (in 1934 Narva was part of the independent Estonian state)

Most of them speak it very well, and of course Switzerland is a federation.


They live in the Pays Basque, and unlike in Estonia which the r*SSians openly seek to destroy, the Basques do not want to take over Spain and incorporate it into a neighbouring pariah state with an appalling colonial history. Perhaps you'd better seek other examples.

Next question?


Likewise, and that includes Arabic.

where did you last hear that Russians were actively seeking to destroy Estonia (apart from their stupid nationalist/imperialist rhetoric in certain TV shows) - you should be quite specific because, to focus your attention, Germans were seeking to destroy Poland for reals, I mean they meant it, ya know

also - some Basques were seeking to overthrow the Spanish rule over them not so long ago with a terrorist attack campaign - I haven't heard of such acts by Estonian Russians strangely

They want to destroy their independence and chew it up like the Borg.
Your disbelief is radically naive. I wouldn't be surprised if you were a Yankee or Brasilian but being Polish in Poland I would be enough to exclude such foolishness.
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As long there is a large chunk of the population speaking Russian and identifying themselves as Russians they are a prime tool of the Russian Imperial policy of expansion, no matter how primitive and outdated it is, especially cost-effective given the size of Russia.

On their main news programmes. Isn't that enough?

Plus, it's not that long ago that they actively tried to prevent Estonian independence.


That's somewhat counterfactual.

They were asserting their human rights which were brutally oppressed by fascists. The fascists have gone and Spain is mostly behaving decently.

When have you ever heard of r*SSia as a country behaving decently?

read that and .. enjoy? -
bbc.com/news/world-europe-11181982

I'm not here defending Russia's wars and/or anti-democratic internal policies - I'm only in favour of people being able to have a say in things that affect them - in this case in favour of the inhabitants of Narva having a say in which language they should pursue education or which state they want to live (think: "No taxation without representation" to use a famous quote)

compare the situation of Narva to that of Kosovo, for example - Kosovo was a historical province of Serbia (some even say it was the cradle of Serbian statehood) - in the second half of the 20th centuries leaders of the Kosovan Albanians thought up a plan to take over Kosovo from Serbians by multiplying like rabbits which as you know well bear actual fruit - if you support an Albanian Kosovo why wouldn't you support giving Narva to Russia (if the inhabitants choose to)

I did. And enjoyed it since it proved my point and demolished your fantasy.

They were never trying to destroy Spain.

The Baltics are not for r*SSians, and nor is Ukraine. r*SSia is a big enough place for all r*SSians without their implants deliberately destabilising other more democratic countries.

Most of Kosovo hasn't been majority Serb since the 19th century...

I never said that - if you read the article carefully you would have known that bombing attacks by ETA occured long past the end of "fascist" Spain (the last one was like 2007?)

this can be driven to somewhat dangerous ends - like "Europe is not for Arabs/Africans", "America is not for Hispanics" - see?

Dis you think that Falanga in Spain died with the scum Franco?


No, since there's nothing to see. Estonia is a tiny country that struggled for its independence from a particularly repressive state and culture; one which is currently threatening them, has an adjacent country and ample resources to settle its nationals there; that and a consistent history of resettlement for political purposes.