Stanford students explore how Russia’s war against Ukraine is reshaping Estonia

On 12 September, the Skytte Institute welcomed a group of students and staff from Stanford University as part of their study trip to the Baltic states. The visit focused on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its wider implications for Estonia.

During their visit to the institute, the Stanford students attended lectures by Dmytro Khutkyy, Oleksii Kolesnykov and Piret Ehin. The discussions approached the war and its consequences from several perspectives. The lectures addressed the realities of Russia’s war against Ukraine, including Russian war crimes and atrocities, as well as the impact of the war on Estonian society and politics.

Particular attention was given to differences in how the war is perceived among Estonia’s Estonian- and Russian-speaking populations and to the implications of the war for elections, party politics, ethnic relations and social cohesion in Estonia.

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The visit formed part of a broader Stanford study trip to the Baltic states. The group was accompanied by Amir Weiner (Professor of History and Director of Stanford’s Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies), Liisi Esse (Curator for Estonian and Baltic Studies at Stanford Libraries), and Lisa Trei (Concultant at Vabamu museum).

The visit also continued the close ties between the Skytte Institute and Stanford University. In recent years, Skytte scholars, including Piret Ehin and Juhan Saharov, have spent time at Stanford as visiting research fellows. The institute regularly welcomes Stanford students to Tartu for summer internships, providing opportunities for academic and professional exchange between the two universities.