Narva: What Is It Like to Live at the Border with Russia? | Easy Russian 52

Behind me you see the bridge. We are now in Estonia, but on the other side of the bridge you see Russia. We are in the city of Narva today. There is the largest Russian-speaking population in Estonia. And we want to know, teachers, how to live here and what difficulties there are in this city. Let's go! How to live here? Well, I was born here, so I live well. You know, we in Narva all love Estonia very much. Moreover, we have a very beautiful city on the border. Since we live in a city where the majority of the population is Russian-speaking, it is much more difficult for such people to find a job. Those who know the language well, mostly young people, they all go to Tallinn. Those who know English and who have Estonian citizenship go to Europe to work. And here, unfortunately, the quality of life is very low. About 20 years ago, I flew on a small plane at the height of a bird's flight. There is a river, a reservoir, quarries, a bay. That is, Tallinn is nearby. St. Petersburg was nearby. You can walk along the river, go fishing. I like it. Narva itself is a beautiful city. To live and work here, this city is not considered in terms of economic prospects, in my opinion. The transit was blocked by cargo from Russia to Russia, these sanctions. It is beautiful here to just take a walk, see historical places, the fortress, and that's it. Does it only get more difficult? Sad, very sad and more difficult, yes. If a person speaks Russian only in this city, is it enough for life? What do you think? Well... In this city, yes. Yes, probably yes. Our city is Russian-speaking, so if you don't take any post, probably not enough. Of course, you should know Estonian, of course. I am never against it. The more languages ​​a person knows, the better. In fact. Young man, how long have you been in Narva? We arrived yesterday. This is a Russian city. Where everyone speaks Russian. We used to have 12 schools and only one Estonian. Out of 12. Do you speak Estonian? No, I don't. You? Well, I have a category, but I understand, but I don't speak. Well, I understand, but very little. Children are already small, it's easy for them. It's much more difficult for us. Very. Very bad. At my school, I finished school in 1992, I didn't have a single Estonian lesson. Not a single one. There is absolutely no Estonian. And you? Russian-speaking. Well, you walk around the city. Do you hear a lot of Estonian? Yes. Well, how can you learn Estonian if you can hardly hear Estonian here? There is no practice either. Naturally. Well, for example, people learn English in England. There is language isolation. If you lack language practice, then I have a good solution for you. You can become a member of the Easy Russian community. This way you will receive all kinds of additional material for all videos. You will be able to communicate with us in Russian. And you will also support our channel, because without your help it will be very difficult for us. All details are here or in the description. Tell me the secret. What is your citizenship? Estonian. And did you receive Estonian citizenship right from birth? No. You were not a citizen or what? Yes. And for quite a long time. And what did you do to become a full-fledged citizen? I went, took an exam and that's it. And in fact, I could have done it a long time ago. I still can't answer myself why I didn't do it. And what was in the exam? Estonian language and knowledge of the Constitution. In Estonia there is either a red passport or a blue passport, or a face without citizenship. Do you often go to Russia? No. Not now. And what is your citizenship, if not a secret? Red. Russian. Russian citizenship. It's easy for you, right? Yes. And when you want, there is no need? Well, yes, in principle, no. When only to relatives, if necessary, then we go. What is your citizenship? Aliens. With a gray passport. Without citizenship. So you have the advantage that you can go to Russia at any time? I can, yes, I can. But I don't have a need or a need to go there. I don't go there. In fact, it's very strange for me. I was born here, I still live, work and pay taxes. My children live here. And they didn't give me citizenship. But it's very strange, actually. No, I have no problems. I have no political ambitions to get out and vote. But in everything else, it does not create any problems at all. No, I don't have a need. I like everything. We prefer to go to Tallinn, to Tartu. We have relatives all over Estonia. Yes, I was born here, just behind the bridge. When I was born, there was no border here. We didn't even think that Estonia was here, and Russia was here. Everything was common here. It would seem that everything is one country, no problems. Was it before the collapse of the Soviet Union? It was before 1970-1980. I don't go to Russia at all. Because I don't know how to build a new border. I don't ride a horse. Although I was born here, I don't have citizenship. That's how it is. I haven't been to Russia for eight years. If a person is not a citizen, he can cross the bridge at any time. But if he is Estonian... You need a visa. And you don't need it, right? I don't need it, yes. You can cross the border. Do you often cross this bridge? Yes. What do you do there? We visit friends. We go to St. Petersburg for cultural events. Sometimes we buy food. I have Estonian citizenship, so I don't have a visa. I would be happy if I had a visa. I didn't have a visa for two years because of the coronavirus. Although my relatives live in St. Petersburg. I would like to see them. Many people have relatives on the other side of the border. I have relatives in Leningrad. In St. Petersburg. I got used to it in Soviet times. People used to go there cheaper. For gasoline, cigarettes, alcohol, food. It's simple. Someone even worked there. Now, probably, relations between countries are getting worse. I don't think you've been to Leningrad. We haven't been there because we don't have a visa. Yes, I've been there. It's a small city. It's smaller than Narva. Why go there every day? It's an industry. I work at a power plant now. Two big power plants, an oil plant. I've been living in this city for more than 30 years. Before, we could easily go there. I spent all my childhood there. We played there. You didn't have a checkpoint then? No. The checkpoint was built in 1992. I was born in 1975. We're here at the monument. It's a tank from the Second World War. Estonian government wants to remove it. They think it represents the occupation of the Soviet Union in Estonia. There's another opinion. It represents a general struggle against Germany. No matter what, if you want to honor this city, the next time you're here, it won't be in a tank. There's a tank in Narva. They want to remove it. Can you tell us something about it? I'm against the war with the dead. I'm against any monuments. They're someone's monuments. They're someone's ancestors. I think it's wrong to fight and destroy monuments. I think it's barbarism. It's our heritage. We remember our ancestors. I think there's no need for a war with monuments. A monument is a monument. History is history. No matter how good or bad it is, everyone finds something special in this monument. It's hard to explain. You see, because of the events in Ukraine, the government decides that this tank represents the country of the aggressor. For the Norwegians, this tank reminds them of their youth, of their hobbies. Because in 1970, I was 12, the whole city was listening. It's in memory of the people who defeated the fascists. You can't see it from here, behind the trees. There's a monument to the Swedish warriors who defeated Petro Pirov here in 1700. But we don't come here and say, remove this monument. I, as a Russian, don't like it, because it was the Swedes who defeated us then. For many Russians, it's a monument to the Great Patriotic War. Of course, the situation is very tense. For many Estonian people, it's an example of the Soviet occupation. It's not the liberation from fascism, but the Soviet occupation. There's a very subtle nuance here. That's why it's very difficult to solve this issue. All the people in Narva are against the transfer. You're not the first to ask this question. Even I'm against the transfer. It's a monument to the Second World War. It's a monument to my grandfathers. My grandfathers were at war. Her grandfathers were at war. They died. This monument has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. Whether it's there or not, let it be there. For me, it's wild. The city is very tense with the transfer. Estonians are simple people. I think they're very positive, very cheerful and non-aggressive. I don't know why people at the top are always so happy. But in general, Estonians and Russians can get along with each other easily. We understand each other's humor. I don't see any problems with that. They built a factory, a car factory, a Karengol factory, a power plant. These are people's lives. We're still alive. I was 12 years old. My parents were after the war. Then there were older guys. If you drive about 5-6 km from here, there is a cross for Russian soldiers who defeated the Swedes here The Swedes also come here regularly. Every year there is a battle here. They don't want to go to the cross in honor of Russian soldiers and tell them to remove it. We Swedes don't like that. They don't say that. And we don't tell Russians to remove the lion. It's a really long story. You need to dive into history. When the Second World War was over, Soviet troops liberated Estonia from Nazi Germany. But they didn't go anywhere. They stayed in Estonia. So for Estonians, the occupation didn't end. All these years they thought they were still occupied. But Russians, the majority of Russians, I won't say Russian-speaking Russians, it will be easier. For them, it's a symbol of victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany. You can't imagine how many people were blown up here. There were mines and everything. In my class, a boy was blown up by a mine. 60% of his skin was burned. Two children died with him. That's why... I don't know how to explain it. It's life. You know, they cut the sick. Now these fortresses are rebuilt. We used to run here through the ruins when we were kids. There were corridors everywhere. How can I tell you all this? People gather here. They can't tell you all this, young people, because how can you pour your memories into someone else's soul? Yes. Yes, they often say, but they are immediately caught. How does it happen? I don't know. Someone is trying, but it's probably somewhere far away. There are cameras here. There is one camera from the Russian side. There is this pier. This is the Russian border. They immediately leave, grab this person and take him back. But it's dangerous. The current is strong here. A person can drown. Well, it was not easy today. I feel a lot of political tension. Much more than I expected. If you liked this video, like it, subscribe to the channel. All links to the Easy Russian community are in the description. And see you. Bye.