Russia-Estonia: On 19 March at the U.N. Human Rights Council a Russian diplomat said Russia is concerned about Estonia's treatment of its ethnic Russian minority. He said, “Language should not be used to segregate and isolate groups.” comparing language policy in Estonia to language policy in Ukraine after the ouster of Yanukovych.
Comment: Estonia requires all citizens to learn Estonian. In February the new Ukrainian regime rescinded the law that allows local regions to use Russian as a second language to Ukrainian.
Old Russian hands know that under the Tsars and the Soviets language was politics. The leaders of all the former Warsaw Pact states know that as well. Many activist groups in the former Soviet republics made freedom to use local languages their first demand. In fact it always signified opposition to Russian/Soviet authority.
The Putin government is using the age old language issue in reverse to assert a protective umbrella over ethnic Russians anywhere in reach. Estonia has more than 321,000 ethnic Russians, who constitute 24 percent of the population.
Phi Beta Iota: Language is, among many other things, a form of diversity. Diversity is one of the pillars of innovation and ephermalism (doing more with less). There are 5,000 secessionist movements worldwide. The Internet now provides the tools for BOTH self-governance as an international unit AND self-governance in an “extreme democracy” form. Nation-States are outdated and generally retarded as well as unethical in how the manage their most important resource, the public – artificial constructs. Hybrid governance — and a commitment to shared information and shared ethical evidence-based decision-support as well as universal free education in all languages — are the foundations for creating a prosperous world at peace.
See Also:
Cultural Intelligence @ Phi Beta Iota
FIVE-R-Brief-School-World-Brain-OSE-2.3
Wikipedia / List of active separatist movements world-wide
Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Corruption 2.0
Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Democracy Lost & Found
Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Self-Determination & Secession
