The results of this PhD thesis show that more attention needs to be paid to the residential segregation of ethnic groups in Estonia. Ethnic residential segregation is persistent and in turn creates problems with social integration. Additionally, there are clear socioeconomic divisions between Estonians and the Russian-speaking minority population that are increasingly projected into urban space. The thesis finds:

Settlement in housing estate areas

Residents of segregated neighbourhoods are often perceived as being hampered by their residential environments, hindering successful integration and participation in society. This is also the case in Estonia, where there is a large Russian-speaking minority population which formed mainly during the Soviet period. The Russian-speaking immigrants tended to settle in certain housing estate areas of larger cities and industrial areas.

Persistent and increased levels of ethnic residential segregation

High levels of ethnic residential segregation in Estonia are persistent and have increased. The Russian-speaking minority population has been relatively immobile over the last decades. By contrast, when Estonians change their place of residence they move towards more Estonian residential environments and only rarely to neighbourhoods with a high share of Russian-speakers.

Hampered social integration and different ethnic identities

Living in ethnically segregated settings and having limited contact with the majority population hampers the social integration and participation of minority groups in society. In Estonia, this is also reflected in how people identify with the broader society. Most of the Russian-speaking population strongly self-identify as Russian. However, Russians and Russian-speakers who live in Estonian-dominated areas are more likely to self-identify their ethnicity and mother tongue as Estonian.

Link to socioeconomic segregation

Ethnic segregation increasingly overlaps with socioeconomic segregation. This may create major challenges for Estonian cities and neighbourhoods in the future, especially housing estate neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods are gradually ageing and becoming increasingly Russian, while their higher socioeconomic population is leaving. Existing efforts to improve the residential quality of housing estates seem to be insufficient to counter these processes.

Common school environment as a solution

There is a general consensus about the crucial role of education in supporting integration, and there have been numerous discussions in Estonia on changing the dual-language school system. The results of this thesis support these ideas and show that something needs to be changed. It finds that a common school environment for Estonian and Russian-speakers may form a basis for major changes in Estonian society.