Estonian embassy employee dismissed over research on 'Ukrainian nationalism'

The Estonian Foreign Ministry has dismissed an employee of its embassy in Türkiye due to her research paper on nationalism in Ukraine filled with Kremlin narratives.

As reported by Estonian media outlet Postimees, Maria Sarantseva worked as a visa section secretary at Estonia’s embassy in Ankara. She presented her research paper at Hacı Bayram Veli University on 7 March 2024 and the university approved it on 28 May.

The paper, The Rise of Nationalism in Ukraine: Erich Fromm’s Psychoanalytic Approach, was published in the biannual Journal of Crises and Political Research.

In her work, based mostly on Russian sources, Sarantseva claims that the roots of Ukrainian nationalism lie in the trauma caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union.

She refers to Ukraine's 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity as a "coup", draws parallels between modern Ukraine and Nazi Germany, and describes Russia’s invasion of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in 2014 as the "separation of the Luhansk and Donetsk republics".

The Estonian Foreign Ministry stated that it saw no possibility of continuing cooperation with the author of a study so deeply infused with Kremlin narratives.

Recently, Latvia’s security service inspected a shop where a salesperson refused to serve customers in Latvian and claimed that those who refuse to speak Russian are Nazis. 

Estonia has proposed amendments to the constitution to revoke the right to vote in local elections for Russian citizens.