War over the tank monument

More than 90 percent of the 54,000 inhabitants of the Estonian border town of Narva are of Russian descent, but the city is ruled by an Estonian minority. Mayor Katri Raik has been striving for a common Estonian-Russian identity for years.

Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, the coexistence of the Russian majority and the Estonian minority has been severely tested. The Estonian government has sharpened its rhetoric toward Russia. Since the Estonian government ordered the dismantling of a Soviet-era tank monument on the outskirts of the city, the atmosphere in the city has become even more heated.