On Wednesday, October 1, ERR's Russian-language TV channel ETV+ hosted a debate ahead of the upcoming local elections on the future of Tallinn's Lasnamäe district.

The district is of particular interest as these elections are the first in Estonia in which third-country nationals are not able to vote. They are also the last in which holders of gray passports (i.e. stateless citizens) can vote.

In Tallinn, the largest number of residents who have lost the right to vote as a result of these changes live Lasnamäe. There are now 13,687 fewer voters in Lasnamäe than there were on previous local elections, and the district will have 14 representatives on the 79-member Tallinn City Council, two fewer than before.

The politicians participating in the debate, which was held in Russian, were Lea Danilson-Järg (Isamaa), Kalle Klandorf (Center), Kersti Kraht (EKRE), Pavel Kuusik (Parempoolsed), Ron Luvištšuk (Eesti 200), Timur Sagitov (Estonian Greens), Vladimir Svet (SDE) and Viljar Jaamu (Reform).

The issues on the agenda centered on the different parties' visions for Tallinn's largest district, including their views on infrastructure, transport, education and security.

Russian-language environment

When asked whether Lasnamäe had managed to shake off its image as a "Russian ghetto," all participants in the debate apart from except Kersti Kraht (EKRE) answered "yes."

"Life in Lasnamäe is conducted in Russian. If you look at children's clubs, they sing and read poems in Russian, even though we live in Estonia," Kraht said.

However, Vladimir Svet (SDE) objected to the view put forward by the EKRE representative.

"It is not surprising that these types of myths about Lasnamäe exist when people do not live in Lasnamäe, or even in Tallinn at all—Ms. Kraht, I believe you live in Kloogaranna—draw conclusions about things they don't know, about places they haven't lived in, haven't visited at all, or have visited very rarely," Svet said.

"In fact, all these stereotypes are in people's heads. And every one of us—the candidates from Lasnamäe and the residents of Lasnamäe—decide for ourselves whether to help these stereotypes live on or to kill them and create a good image for the district," he added.

In response to Kraht's comment about extracurricular activities for young people, Ron Luvištšuk (Eesti 200) said it is important to create a comfortable environment for children. In his view, the language environment is not so important, especially for younger children.

"My son grew up in a bilingual family and now speaks five languages fluently,"  Luvištšuk said.

"He attended both Russian-speaking and Estonian-speaking hobby clubs. In fact, the most important thing is school. If the school is Estonian-speaking, then the child will speak Estonian, and no other languages will ever be left behind," Luvištšuk pointed out.

Great opportunities

Pavel Kuusik (Parempoolsed), shifted the focus of the debate to trends in the real estate sector, pointong out that Estonian-speaking people are now also actively buying lost of property in Lasnamäe. "New neighborhoods are also being built, such as Lõhekalda, and I simply cannot bring myself to refer to Lasnamäe as a 'ghetto'," Kuusik said.

"Lasnamäe is a neighborhood of people who want to develop themselves, their city and their area," said Viljar Jaamu (Reform).

"Last time, I also ran for office in Lasnamäe, and I spoke to a lot of people — they want to play sports, develop themselves, educate themselves and, educate their children. I think that Lasnamäe as a whole offers great prospects for people who are ready for self-education and development."

"Indeed, the changes have been quite significant," agreed Kalle Klandorf (Center). "When I became the district elder of Lasnamäe in 2005, 20 years ago, we organized an open-air concert there. After the concert, some young people came up to me and asked, 'Why do you speak Estonian?' I explained why I speak Estonian. Now, 20 years have passed, and when I am on the streets of Lasnamäe, Russian-speaking people try to speak to me in Estonian, which is very good. Not to mention the young people – all young people already speak Estonian. Some are better than others, but they understand and speak it," Klandorf explained.

Education reforms

Lea Danilson-Järg (Isamaa) then commented on her party's promise to increase the number of places in kindergartens amid an acute shortage of teachers.

"Of course, this needs to be worked on and needs to be resolved not only at the city level, but also at the state level," Danilson-Järg said.

Returning to the question of whether Lasnamäe has managed to shake off its image as a "Russian ghetto," she noted that a lot has been invested in Lasnamäe in recent years, but there is still plenty more free space in the district where new things could be built.

"23 percent of Lasnamäe residents speak Estonian at home and a lot of effort still needs to be put into the transition to Estonian-language education," said Danilson-Järg.

Speaking about Estonia's recent education reforms, Kersti Kraht (EKRE) said that experiments should not be carried out on children, as this also affects their mental health.

The Estonian Greens' candidate Timur Sagitov outlined the party's promise to make Tallinn—including Lasnamäe—a city that focuses on mental health, where everyone feels safe and cared for.

Special allowance

"As for hobby clubs, it doesn't matter what language they are conducted in—there should be more free clubs and sports activities in schools for children's leisure time, so that they don't spend so much time on the streets," Sagitov said.

"When it comes to school, the language being is more likely to be Estonian, as schools are now switching to Estonian (as the only medium of instruction)," he added.

Vladimir Svet (SDE) said that clubs should be in at least two languages – the languages in which parents want their children to learn.

"On the other hand, we must ensure that children from Russian-speaking families have more opportunities to attend sports clubs where there are Estonian-speaking children. That is why the Social Democratic Party are proposing to introduce a special allowance for families in transition schools so that there is additional money to send children to clubs where Russian-speaking and Estonian-speaking children would be together. We know that language learning is more effective and smoother when there is an opportunity to communicate outside of school," Svet said.

"In addition, with regard to schools and kindergartens in general, the demographic statistics show that at least one kindergarten and at least one primary school need to be built in Lasnamäe. According to the current plans, they may appear in the Katleri microdistrict. And despite the fact that we are saying in general that the birth rate in Estonia is falling, the population of Tallinn and Lasnamäe in particular is growing.," Svet continued.

"This is another example of how Lasnamäe is developing not only as a place where people live but also as a place where services, jobs, public spaces, and so on are all emerging," he added.

Language issues

Pavel Kuusik (Parempoolsed) added that clubs are places for informal learning that could serve as a springboard for young people and schoolchildren to integrate and learn Estonian.

"If our school reform continues as it is now, we can look to clubs as a place where both Russian-speaking and Estonian-speaking people are able to communicate with each other and learn the language in a relaxed atmosphere," said Kuusik.

Ron Luvištšuk of Eesti 200 had a slightly different perspective.

"If we agree with the Greens' proposal that Lasnamäe should be a psychological oasis in Tallinn, even though psychological support  ought to be available throughout the city, then clubs for children who do not speak Estonian very well, in Estonian, would be an even harsher form of immersion in and would lead to even worse consequences," Luvištšuk said.

"That is why Eesti 200 believes that clubs should continue until we are able to switch all kindergartens to Estonian and until children in kindergartens have a normal level of Estonian proficiency. Until then, clubs should be in both Russian and Estonian, and later they can be in whatever languages the parents want," the Eesti 200 candidate added-

Viljar Jaamu (Reform) objected to Luvištšuk's view, pointing out that language is best learned through everyday communication: "If you communicate daily in any language, and we are talking about the development of the Estonian language in Lasnamäe, then we must give young people the opportunity to learn the language in an everyday environment," Jaamu said.

 "I don't know how many of my colleagues here attended clubs in Estonian or Russian, but my wife taught ballroom dancing in Lasnamäe for about 20 years, and both Russian-speakers and Estonian-speakers attended her classes, with Russian-speakers outnumbering Estonian-speakers. But as the lessons were mostly in Estonian, all the Russian-speaking children who came to her at a young age learned Estonian," said Kalle Klandorf (Center).

Parking problems

Having delved into integration-related issues, the debate then turned to the topic of parking.

All participants in the debate, except Timur Sagitov (Estonian Greens) and Kalle Klandorf (Center) expressed the view that more garages will solve the parking problems in Lasnamäe.

"For a start, who will build these parking garages? If the city builds them with its own money and offers them free of charge to residents of nearby buildings, then that is an unreasonable use of taxpayers' money, as it includes those who do not own a car," said Sagitov.

"If they are paid, not everyone will park there, because not everyone currently uses paid parking. Moreover, if people have to walk several hundred meters to these parking garages, it will not be convenient for them. Therefore, we need to use the current resources and more actively remove the large number of scrap cars from the streets," he added..

"I am not against parking garages, it's just that Tallinn residents have the mentality that their car should be at their own doorstep," Klandorf noted. "I think we need to find other options. Among other things, we need to look at the vacant land in Lasnamäe to see if it is possible to create conditions for parking cars there."

When it comes the issue of parking spaces, the Social Democratic Party's (SDE) candidate Vladimir Svet had three points to make.

"It is worth starting with the fact that there is no single specific solution that will solve all these problems at once," Svet said.

"A systematic approach is needed here, which, unfortunately, the city has not had up to now. There are three components to this solution. First, the construction of parking garages in cooperation with the private sector. We know that this model has already been tried, and in Lasnamäe, a plan has even been drawn up for as many as 15 parking garages to be located relatively close to where people live. It is simply impossible to guarantee a parking space for everyone right outside their doors. Second, we need to make use of the parking lots that have already been built at shopping malls. We need to make it possible for stores, with the help of the city, to enter into agreements with associations or specific individuals so that these huge parking lots do not stand empty. And third, the removal of scrap cars – so that after a scarp car is reported, it is removed within 48 hours."

"There is unanimous agreement that the problem does indeed exist and needs to be solved," said Pavel Kuusik (Parempoolsed). "One idea is that apartment associations have, for example, closed areas where only residents of these buildings can park. And there are free spaces there. New buildings are also being constructed and people are buying apartments with parking spaces but those parking spaces are not being used because they don't have cars. It would also be possible to use some kind of app or smart solution to allow other people to park in these parking spaces—so-called 'parking space sharing,'" Kuusik suggested.

According to Lea Danilson-Järg, the parking issue is also important for Isamaa, which sees garages as the solution.

"Indeed, this is one option," said Danilson-Järg. "It is very important, especially for families with children, and the elderly, to have parking nearby. I think the city should be much more active in supporting the improvement of courtyards and spaces between buildings so that there are not only parking spaces but also playgrounds for children and so that elderly people can spend time there."

"The issue of parking is often discussed, but nothing is being done," said Ron Luvištšuk (Eesti 200). "Building a three-story building is not that expensive. The question is whether it is the apartment association that ought to do it."

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Advance voting and e-voting for Estonia's local elections will begin on Monday, October 13. Election day is October 19.

The full debate ahead of the 2025 local elections can be viewed here (in Russian).

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