Current study is a part of the research project DIMA (Determinants of inclusive migrant acculturation), which has proposed and is in the process of testing a model to combining psychological and social (political) factors related to acculturation in a unified theoretical framework, a relational acculturation model. DIMA approach is based on a field theoretical understanding of social and psychological phenomena. The research data is collected in Estonia and Norway during 2014-2016, the project is financed by Norwegian Research Council.
Current paper is focusing specifically on the representations of the common past – the Soviet period in general and its legitimacy in the Estonian context were studied in parallel with a representative questionnaire survey and focus group discussions. Study results show that on the aggregate level, different ethno-linguistic groups in Estonia hold conflicting representations of the common past: 69% of ethnic Estonians consider the Soviet period as having predominantly negative consequences for inhabitants of Estonia, whereas 80% of Russian speaking inhabitants of Estonia consider the overall consequences as predominantly positive. Existence of such contradicting opinions is considered as a threatening problem for the society by half of all respondents. The same contrast was observed in the representations of the legitimacy of the Soviet regime: 92% of Estonians do not consider the Soviet period legitimate as a result of Soviet occupation, while 69% of Russian speakers consider the Soviet period as legitimate result of Estonia's voluntary accession to the Soviet Union. For almost 70% of all respondents these conflicting representations are perceived as threatening for the society as a whole, and about 40% of respondents are personally disturbed by this societal contradiction.
On a more detailed level, more varied positions in relation to the Soviet period were found within both ethno-linguistic groups, which were systematically related to acculturation attitudes and subject positions in relation to the out-group. The content of ethno-cultural identity appeared to be also relevant: Russian speaking respondents who identified themselves as Estonian Russians, showed a distinct pattern of representations of the past, suggesting the importance of relation between personal views on specific historical perception and perceptions dominating in the society – and their influence on the strength of national identity and sense of belonging to the host society in case of minorities.
Focus group discussions revealed various arguments, supporting distinct positions and patterns of positive and negative emotions in relation to the past, as well as certain kinds of meta-representations (images of the content and logic of the opposing positions), characteristic to different positions. Different dialogical and non-dialogical strategies for conciliating the conflicting representations of the past were presented by the research participants.
