18
polls are an important source of information. The public opinion polls demonstrate the
parameters of the identity spectrum in a country.
Estonia
Without any significant debate in Estonia, the new leaders of the Baltic state demanded that
Russia withdraw its troops and abandon the bases. In a pure materialistic sense, it was not
rational for decision-makers in Estonia to lease the bases to Russia. Consistent with the internal
dimension of the national identity, Estonian leaders universally embraced an external dimension
of the national identity in a way that depicted a negative view of Russia and its soldiers
remaining in the Baltic country. First, the soldiers and ethnic Russians in Estonia were symbols
of Russia’s occupation of the country. Russian soldiers, under the control of Soviet leaders in
Moscow, ended Estonian independence in 1940, and the influx of ethnic Russians turned Estonia
into a colony under Moscow’s control. Second, as long as the Russian soldiers remained, they
were a threat to Estonian national security.
The Decision-makers
Most Estonians viewed Russian soldiers as the occupying force of Soviet (i.e. Russian)
colonialism. Lennart Meri was the President of Estonia during the majority of time the country
deliberated the issue. Meri, who was personally victimized by Russian occupation, continuously
emphasized this fundamental marker of the Estonian national identity. He wanted the soldiers
withdrawn immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union because their presence symbolized
a continuation of WWII for Estonia.
41
As he stated, “Estonia was robbed of its independence
and forced to be the colonial subject of an imperial power.”
42
In his first New Year Address
Convention