According to the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe, ethnic Russians comprise over 90 per cent of the combined populations of the three northeastern Estonian cities of Narva, Kohtla-Jarve and Sillamae (Sept. 1993, 9). There are also pockets of Russians in the central areas of Estonia near Lake Chud (ibid.).

Following independence, Estonia's GNP decreased in real terms by 12.6 per cent in 1991 and 26 per cent in 1992, as output declined in all sectors (Europa 1993 1993, 1038-39). Approximately 15,000 people were unemployed by early 1993 (ibid.).

A February 1993 report published by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe states that unemployment hit Russian-speaking Estonians particularly hard (CSCE Feb. 1993, 16). However, the report states that this was not the result of policies of deliberate discrimination, but because this group was primarily employed in large state-run industries that cut their workforces in order to survive (ibid.). However, a report by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe states that as non-citizens, Russian-Estonians face legitimate anxieties concerning their ability to collect pensions, participate in state privatization schemes, and buy and sell property (Sept. 1992, 1).

More recent media reports indicate that economic reforms initiated in the early post-independence period began to pay off after early 1993, when Estonia entered a period of strong economic growth (Financial Times 19 Apr. 1994, 27-30). According to an article in Time magazine, however, reforms that allowed an economic "renaissance" to occur in Tallinn and other cities in southern and central Estonia, have yet to take root in Narva, where the local economy is dominated by state-owned defence and textile factories (11 Apr. 1994, 32).

A correspondent at the Financial Times in London stated that local defence and textile industries are currently operating at a fraction of their capacity, and that although a thriving underground trade in raw materials exists, northeastern Estonia is the country's most economically depressed region (5 May 1994). For additional information on the current economic situation in Estonia, please refer to the attached documents.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. September 1993. Human Rights and Democratization in Estonia. Washington, DC: Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

. September 1992. Russians In Estonia: Problems and Prospects. Washington, DC: Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). February 1993. Report of the CSCE ODIHR Mission on the Study of Estonian Legislation Invited by the Republic of Estonia. Prague: CSCE.

Correspondent for the Financial Times, London. 5 May 1994. Telephone interview.

The Europa World Yearbook 1993. 1993. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications Ltd.

Financial Times [London]. 19 April 1994. "Financial Times Survey: Estonia."

Time [New York]. 11 April 1994. Vol. 143, No. 14. Sally B. Donnelly. "Profit Motivation: How a Small Baltic Republic Turned Itself Into the Region's Biggest Economic Success Story."

Attachments

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. September 1993. Human Rights and Democratization in Estonia. Washington, DC: The Commission on Security and Cooperation Europe, pp. 9-10.

. September 1992. Russians In Estonia: Problems and Prospects. Washington, DC: Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, pp. 1, 11-12.

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). February 1993. Report of the CSCE ODIHR Mission on the Study of Estonian Legislation invited by the Republic of Estonia. Prague: CSCE, pp. 16-18.

The Europa World Yearbook 1993. 1993. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications Ltd., pp. 1038-39.

Financial Times [London]. 19 April 1994. Anthony Robinson. "Small is Beautiful," p. 27.

. "Reforms at a High Price," p. 27.

. "Privatization: The Pace is Beginning to Quicken," p. 28.

. "Tough, Candid - Rich," p. 28.

. "Foreign Investment: The Inflow Accelerates," p. 28.

. "Commercial Banking Profile: Hansapank: Super Modern but Still Super Conservative," p. 28.

. "Crucial Political Conundrum," p. 29.

. "Foreign Trade: Shift in Direction from East to West," p. 29

. Bruce Clark. "Light Industry Benefits from Innovative Drive," p. 29.

. "An Acutely Sensitive Hot Spot," p. 30.

Time [New York]. 11 April 1994. Vol. 143, No. 14. Sally B. Donnelly. "Profit Motivation: How a Small Baltic Republic Turned Itself Into the Region's Biggest Economic Success Story," p. 32.