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On March 6 of this year, the Estonian Ministry of Defense presented the results of a public opinion poll conducted in the country in September last year on the country’s defense issues.
The survey sought to know the attitude of the country’s population towards the state of Estonia and its institutions, security and defense issues, the attitude of the country’s armed forces and its organization, NATO, training in national defense in schools and media consumption habits.
The general presentation of the survey results and their analysis consists of a 124-page publication, which provides an overview of the opinions of the Estonian population on all the topics listed above. However, the question of the determination of young Estonians to defend their state has received hasty and unsubstantiated conclusions from Kremlin propagandists that the country’s students are preparing for war with Russia.
Russia is not mentioned in the questions.
The leitmotif that Estonia is preparing students for war with Russia was spread by the Russian media giant RT (formerly known as Russia Today), whose interviewed experts interpreted the survey results as growing Russophobia. The Sputnik portal prepared a summary of the news in Lithuanian, addressing the citizens of our country with a scandalous headline: “Estonian students prepare for war with Russia.”
According to a report submitted to the Ministry of Defense, a representative survey of the Estonian population showed that up to 79 percent of the Estonian population supports the country’s national defense model, when the country’s armed forces are made up of professional soldiers and reservists. Support for the recruiting system in the country also remains high, at around 90 percent. 77 percent of the surveyed population believe that Estonia should resist armed aggression.
Issues related to the analysis of the country’s youth and school programs received the most media attention in the Kremlin. The survey showed that the number of young people in the country willing to participate in the defense of Estonia increased by almost a tenth during the year, from 54 to 63 percent.
“It is also important to note that 81 percent of the country’s population believes that national defense training is necessary in secondary school curricula. These figures confirm that the national defense education program must move forward,” he said. Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet commenting on the survey.
The latest statements, according to RT and Sputinik, show that the country’s students are preparing for war with Russia. To confirm this, he also cited an interview with K. Laanet’s national broadcaster on February 23, during which he identified Russia as the main threat to Estonia.
Estonian soldiers
First of all, it is important to observe the actual wording of the topics discussed in the Russian media. In order to know the determination of the country’s population to participate in the defense of the country, 3 essential questions were asked. First of all, should Estonia resist the weapon if another country is attacked, no matter what that country is? Second, if they attacked Estonia, would you contribute to the defense of the country according to your skills and abilities? Third, would you try to leave the country if Estonia was attacked?
The study showed that when comparing age groups, the proportion of people who support Estonian armed resistance to foreign aggression is relatively similar: the highest (60+ years) and youngest (15-19 years) age groups had the greatest support. None of these questions or their answers mention Russia in any way, so there is no reason to say that the country’s youth are specifically prepared to go to war with her.
The study did not ask whether national defense training should be compulsory in schools. The researchers asked whether there should be opportunities to study national defense in every high school in the country. 81.4% of the surveyed population, of which 83.4% are Estonians and 77.1% are residents of other nationalities, believe that it is real or probably necessary to have the opportunity to study national defense. The greatest support was given to this issue in the oldest (60+ years) and youngest (15-19 years) age groups. Russia is not mentioned at all in the question or in its answers.
Minister K. Laanet’s interview, quoted on February 23, has absolutely nothing to do with the survey presented, as the survey was conducted in September 2020 and the interview was granted in February this year. At the time of the survey, the Estonian Defense Minister was still the Center-Right Minister Isamaa, Jüris Luikas. K. Laanet took over as minister only on January 26, 2021, when Estonia formed a completely new government in the country. His statements could not have had any effect on the results of the survey.
Safety math
The RT text also states that the Estonian government is allegedly “intimidating” a possible Russian aggression in order to secure the support of the country’s population to increase the country’s defense budget. The growth of defense spending in Estonia is relatively stable and its formation is influenced by two important factors.
The main criterion remains the informal agreement between NATO allies to allocate 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to the country’s defense.
An important milestone in budgeting is also the implementation of the objectives set in the country’s national defense strategy for 2017-2026: modernizing the country’s two brigades, fully mechanizing them, as well as strengthening the country’s air and maritime defense capabilities. .
In 2021, defense spending in the Estonian budget increased to 645.4 million. 2.29 percent of GDP. This relatively large increase in GDP (defense spending was around 2.14% of GDP in 2020) was due to the need to maintain sufficient funds for the continuation of the programs already planned and to the contraction of GDP that the pandemic felt. of COVID-19.
Compared to 2020, the defense budget has increased by practically just over € 30 million. By comparison, the country’s total planned spending in Estonia’s 2021 budget is just over € 13 billion.
The statement that Estonia is determined to increase its defense budget beyond its means is reinforced by the idea of Major General Martin Herem, commander of the Estonian Defense Forces, which was announced loudly earlier this year. , that the country should spend around 6.5 million. percentage of GDP.
However, it is forgotten to mention that in the same interview, Mr. Herem stated that the new Estonian government should not make major changes to the 2021 budget in the field of defense.
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