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Russian in Estonia's public sector: ‘playing on the borderline’ between official policy and real-life needs

ABSTRACT This article examines the use of Russian in state communication in officially monolingual Estonia. Drawing on interviews with high-level public employees in four central state institutions and an analysis of these institutions’ websites, the article shows that while Russian is not specifically mentioned in the laws, it is de facto widely present in the virtual and physical public sector of Estonia. Russian is an important linguistic resource for employees in positions that involve contact with the public in the capital Tallinn, and state institutions also invest in Russian by translating their websites. The study reveals a covert policy of accommodating Russian speakers despite the erasure of Russian in Estonia's overt language policy. Furthermore, it highlights how investigating covert policies discloses a growing commodification of Russian in the public sector in terms of valuing linguistic skills in the language.