In the village of Upper Suetuk, founded by exiled Estonians in the 19th century, a unique model of native language preservation has operated for many years: the local school taught Estonian as a native language. Until recently it was taught by Airi Lauri — an Estonian citizen who has lived in Russia since 2001, married to a Russian citizen, and actively involved in the life of the local community.
In 2022, the situation changed radically: against the background of political tension and general pressure on national minorities, a campaign to discredit the teaching of Estonian in the village began, ending with its de facto ban, the teacher's departure and the dismantling of all symbols of Estonian culture from the school environment.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation (art. 26 and Art. 68) guarantees the right to use one's native language and to its teaching.
Federal Law «On Education» (art. 14) provides for the possibility of receiving education in the native language of the peoples of Russia.
Despite this, the teaching of Estonian language was excluded from the curriculum, allegedly on the basis of the lack of textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the status of Estonian as the language of the peoples of Russia.
The decision contradicts the spirit of the legislation: the Estonian community in Suetuk — an autochthonous minority historically residing on the territory of Russia. Their language falls under protection as the native language of an ethnic group, and the lack of federal textbooks cannot be a basis for depriving the community of its language of instruction.
- Conducting inspections by the FSB, Prosecutor's Office, Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, as well as seizing textbooks, interrogating children and staff — disproportionate measures against civilian teaching activities.
- Media campaign with false accusations of «rehabilitation of Nazism» — an attempt to demonize the teaching of Estonian language.
Similar actions can be qualified as harassment on political and ethnic grounds, which violates articles 19 and 29 of the Russian Constitution (equality of rights and freedoms and freedom of thought and speech).
Harassment on political and ethnic grounds.
- A faculty member was subjected to censorship and pressure, her activities presented as "ideologically dangerous".
- After the media campaign, she was effectively forced to leave the country.
This violates Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and undermines academic freedom and the right to teach without threat of persecution.
- The phrase on the air of REN TV about «a corner of the European Union in the deep Siberian taiga», accusations of Nazism — are forms of stigmatization of the national minority.
- The de facto purging of Estonian cultural heritage from the school space reinforces the isolation of the community.
Such actions contradict not only international standards (e.g. the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination), but also the principles of national legislation on the equality of all citizens before the law. Removing the language from the school curriculum, dismantling cultural symbols and turning the village into an object of negative propaganda are de facto measures of forced assimilation.
The history of the village of Upper Suetuk — a clear example of systemic pressure on the linguistic and cultural identity of the Finno-Ugric minority in modern Russia.
The ban on teaching Estonian language, media harassment, lack of legal protection and displacement of cultural symbols — all this violates fundamental human rights, in particular:
the right to a native language and culture,
- the right to education,
- the right to education,
- the right to freedom of expression,
- the right to freedom of expression,
freedom from discrimination,
- protection from persecution on the basis of nationality.
Source: How a witch-hunt at a Siberian school left children without Estonian lessons and a math teacher — without a wife