Nevertheless, there are schools with teaching in Russian. There are also forms with Estonian teaching in which Russian children are taught in Estonian. The problem is children usually speaking in their mother tongue at home but at school, they learn reading and writing from second form. As the result, children do not know neither good Estonian, because in primary school the lessons are like a game, nor Russian unless parents make efforts.
As the teaches are Estonians, there is difference in culture and event interptitations, especially at history lessons.It could be heard that Russians who are living in the state are occupants and until Russians are living on this territory, the civil occupation will continue. In spite of this, Russian parents choose Estonian schools for their children.
It is done because only then children can have better life in Estonia. The problem here is that children assimilate and loose connection with the customs of family. They even cannot express thoughts in native language. Possibly marry Estonian girl or boy.
There is no conflict between citizenship and cultural rights because there are statements in constitution that confirm the right of all people for cultural and moral rights: “All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour..
. national or social origin… or other status.
“8 Cultural values are intimately related to our sense of identity. The aims of every culture are to challenge for each as a person the values that are closest to our hearts. Then people could understand themselves and the world. As the result of not understanding and the most important of not willing of understanding what is valuable for one or another nation generate strong emotional splash and hatred to each other’s culture.
1 This article is based on Chapter One of the CPD handbook Making Sense of Citizenship.2006 Publisher: Hodder Education Edited by Ted Huddleston ; David Kerr http://www. citizenshipfoundation.
org. uk/main/page. php? 286 2 See, notably Article 17 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which states: “Indigenous Peoples have the right to establish their own media in their own languages…
“. 3 See notably Article 15 of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 4 A more “comprehensive” listing developed by a researcher in a paper prepared for UNESCO in 1996,outlines 50 cultural rights categorised into eleven areas: “Rights to physical and cultural survival, Rights to association and identification with cultural community, Rights to and respect for cultural identity, Rights to physical and intangible heritages, Rights to religious belief and practice, Rights to freedom of opinion, expression and information, Rights to choice of education and training, Rights to participate in the elaboration of cultural policies, Rights to participate in cultural life and create, Rights to choice of endogenous development, and Rights to people’s own physical and cultural environment”, cited in Niec,1998: 184. Culture and development are also linked in the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, notably in Article 13 on “Integration of culture in sustainable development” and in Article 14 entitled “Cooperation for development”. 5.Herodotus (2004) ‘Morality as Custom’, in, Christina Sommers and Fred Sommers (eds.
) Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life: Introductory Readings In Ethics, London, Wadsworth, Sixth edition. First written aprox 440 BCE. p158 6 Amnesty international: Estonia: Linguistic minorities in Estonia: Discrimination must end http://www. amnesty.
org/en/report/info/EUR51/002/2006 7 December 2006 7 Yearbook 2006, Estonian Citizenship and Migration Board, Tallinn. 8 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 26
