00:00What does it mean to live next to an aggressive neighbor like Russia?
00:05Does it make people afraid?
00:07It's only 400 meters to Russia.
00:10Does it turn France into enemies?
00:13I've distanced myself from many Facebook friends.
00:17Is it dangerous to be so close?
00:20We are on the very edge of the border.
00:23We will get closer.
00:25Ilona, Thomas and Sergei live on Neta's eastern edge.
00:28Shaped by neighboring Russia.
00:31A place where identity, history and geopolitics collide.
00:35Since the war in Ukraine began, daily life has changed here.
00:39And fears have moved closer to home.
00:42Could Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania be next?
00:46These are questions we explore in this episode of Cold Border.
00:52To prevent tension from erupting, border guards like Thomas stand watch.
00:57Here in Narva, Estonia, across from Ivangorod, Russia.
01:02Actually, it very depends.
01:03One day it could be 2-3 kilometers.
01:06And the other day it could be 15-20 kilometers.
01:10Thomas is responsible for one of Europe's most sensitive frontiers.
01:14Where borders meet, but the divisions run deep.
01:18Narva is 95% Russian-speaking.
01:21The most Russian city in the European Union.
01:24This is the EU.
01:26Over there is Russia.
01:28Between the two, less than 200 meters.
01:31Probably nowhere else do Russia, the European Union and NATO come face to face so directly,
01:36across such a narrow divide and so close to an entirely different set of values.
01:43To understand how this border is secured, I join Thomas on patrol for a day.
01:50For security reasons, his identity remains concealed.
01:54We start at an abandoned textile factory.
01:58Once a symbol of the Soviet era.
02:00Today, it's a silent buffer zone.
02:02Basically, you walk to Russia and be in 10 seconds there.
02:06I would name it a high alertness.
02:09We are ready for really very different scenarios.
02:14We definitely hope that nothing wouldn't happen, but still we are ready.
02:21That nothing could mean something very real.
02:24A Russian incursion.
02:26Justified, as in Donbass in 2014, by the claim of protecting ethnic Russians.
02:31Nearly half of Narva's residents are Estonian citizens.
02:35But around 30% are Russian citizens.
02:39Some 15%, mostly Russian speakers, remain stateless or have other passports.
02:44Many of them are Soviet-era migrants who never naturalized.
02:49As a result, the city is still culturally shaped by Russia.
02:53The bridge to Ivangorod is closed to cars, but open to pedestrians around the clock.
02:59Of course, some Narva citizens have relatives in Ivangorod or Russia.
03:07But Narva people are maybe best who can really compare their life here in Estonia and just across the border.
03:17And they know better than anyone else the value of living here.
03:24And I have to admit they are quite patriotic.
03:29I meet one of these local patriots in Kalast to our south – Sergey Molda.
03:36Wind and waves can quickly push Sergey's boat into danger, drifting too far across the lake.
03:43Toward an invisible line dividing worlds.
03:46Estonia – his home, and beyond it – another reality.
03:50Sergey speaks Russian.
03:52He has friends and relatives there.
03:54But today they live in a different world.
03:57Russian at heart, Estonian by passport.
04:01Sergey leads a fishing brigade on Lake Pepus, part of the border between Estonia and Russia.
04:08Is he afraid of a potential Russian attack?
04:12I don't really fear anything.
04:14An attack?
04:15Who would need us here?
04:17What do we even have?
04:19Natural resources?
04:21Vast lands?
04:22Come on.
04:23I don't believe in that.
04:27Lake Pepus is one of Europe's richest fishing grounds.
04:31But for Sergey it's more than a job.
04:34He was born here.
04:35A descendant of Russian settlers from the 18th century.
04:40Russian is his mother tongue.
04:42But he is fully integrated.
04:44He speaks Estonian, holds an Estonian passport and loves his country.
04:50How can you not love your homeland?
04:52That wouldn't be normal.
04:53Estonia is a small, comfortable country.
04:56I like things that are compact.
04:58And here, the laws actually work.
05:01After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the lake was chaotic, with widespread poaching.
05:08Today, strict EU rules bring order and stability.
05:11Ironically, its border location also makes it one of the safest places, Sergey says.
05:20Everything is fine.
05:21We constantly see Russian border guards, and ours are patrolling too.
05:25Everyone is polite, and everyone smiles.
05:27I don't see the problems others talk about.
05:31Others?
05:32Like cultural worker Ilona Kangizere, on the other side of the cold border, in Latvia.
05:38She is currently rehearsing with the senior ensemble Labvakar, which means good evening in Latvian, performing traditional folk dances.
05:48But to keep rehearsals flowing, Ilona sometimes switches to Russian.
05:53He is here.
05:54He is here.
05:55Nina, come on, take her into your arms.
05:58You switch places and move to the center.
06:02As in Narva in Estonia, Russian is widely spoken in this Latvian border town as well.
06:07But does language always define loyalty?
06:11Here in my group, everyone is loyal to the Latvian state.
06:17Ilona lives in Indra, on the border with Belarus, Russia's ally in the war against Ukraine.
06:23She is not afraid, but she warns that this eastern region of Latvia remains vulnerable to Russian propaganda.
06:35There are many people here who hold Russian citizenship.
06:39And they do not consider Latvia their homeland.
06:43I was seen as a real enemy in that community.
06:49There was a lot of negativity towards me because I support Ukraine.
06:55They supported the aggressor and treated Ukraine and the Ukrainian people with hostility.
07:03One of the largest Russian-speaking minorities in the European Union lives in Latvia.
07:09About a quarter of the population nationwide and nearly half in the capital, Riga.
07:15Since Russia's war against Ukraine began, the government here has been forced to reassess its vulnerabilities.
07:22And with that, the role of those whose mother tongue is Russian.
07:27A series of measures has been introduced to, as the government puts it,
07:31strengthen national sovereignty.
07:35Schools with instruction in Russian have switched completely to Latvian.
07:39Russian language broadcasting has been reduced and Soviet monuments removed.
07:46We used to have people here who were ready to welcome Putin's army with open arms.
07:52Today, I think many see things very differently.
07:56There is probably something like critical thinking now.
08:01Above all, people in the Baltics think about peace.
08:06But those who want peace must be prepared for war, as the saying goes in Europe today.
08:14For Thomas, strength means securing the border.
08:19Physically, electronically and through intelligence.
08:22After Russia invaded Ukraine, he chose his job to defend what matters to him.
08:28On the human level, I think that we are all human beings.
08:33And on this side, father loves his son the same way as I do.
08:39But the difference, I think, is in values that we protect.
08:44In this part of Europe, shaped by history with Russia, values are seen as especially worth defending.
08:51Here on NATO's eastern flank borders are not something abstract.
08:55They run through rivers, lakes and everyday lives.
08:59And as Russia's war in Ukraine reshapes Europe, this frontier is raising real questions for people
09:06about security, loyalty and about the future of the whole continent.
09:13To be continued...
09:13To be continued...
09:14To be continued...
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