MOSCOW SEES IMPROVEMENT IN ESTONIA’S HANDLING OF LOCAL RUSSIANS.

Russian deputy foreign minister told Interfax June 9 that Moscow’s pressure on Estonia’s new government had led the latter to improve “somewhat” the conditions of Russians living there. But the same day, expelled Zhirinovsky activist Petr Rozhok complained that the Russian foreign ministry had not defended his rights; and the next day BNS reported that the Estonian government had rejected calls for an extension of the July 12 deadline by which time all non-citizens must register. Meanwhile, the number of ethnic Russians seeking Russian citizenship has continued to rise: 73,762 ethnic Russians in Estonia now have that status, up 2700 in the last month alone, BNS reported June 10. Estonian migration department chief Andres Kollist complained that this reflected a Moscow decision “to keep compatriots in the near abroad” in order to be able to influence the situation there.

Baltic Russians Help Organize New Links with Moscow.