The city of Narva, home to one of the few open crossings into Russia, is described by Estonian border force officials as “the end and the beginning of the free world.”
Located on NATO’s eastern border, the city has become a constant target of Russia’s hybrid warfare tactics, with the Kremlin sending surveillance blimps on an almost weekly basis and removing Estonian border infrastructure in the dead of night.
“Everything that is on the other side of the border, I wouldn’t use [the term] ‘free world’ to describe that,” says Egert Belitsev, director general of the Estonian border force.
Predominantly Russian population
Not everyone in Narva shares Belitsev’s view. Of the 56.000 residents of Narva, 96% speak Russian as their first language, while 34% hold Russian citizenship.
“They live within the Russian cultural and propaganda space,” says Dr. Maria Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova, director of the Narva Museum.
It is perhaps unsurprising that in 2022, Vladimir Putin hinted at targeting Narva, suggesting that “reclaiming and securing” the border town could be justified.
The Narva Museum, located directly opposite Russia, has found itself at the center of the flaring tensions after conducting a number of anti-Putin stunts and hosting exhibitions that highlight Russian propaganda and war crimes.
For two consecutive years, the museum displayed a banner reading “Putin is a war criminal” on the side facing Ivangorod, a Russian border town located only 101 meters away.
The banners are timed each year to coincide with Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9th in Ivangorod. In Estonia, there is a strong belief that these celebrations, amplified by massive loudspeakers, are directed at Narva residents rather than those living in Russia.
“They do it for the people of Narva,” Belitsev explains. “The show is directed at Estonia. They use the largest speakers they have in Russia. It’s not for Ivangorod.”
Russian officials demanded the removal of the anti-Putin banners, but Estonian border officials refused.
Although the museum has received support from other Estonian cities, Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova says she and her family received death threats, abuse, and harassment from some residents of Narva.
Threats of murder and rape
Zurab Janes, a museum employee, says his boss has received threatening emails, messages, and Facebook posts. “They threatened to rape her, kill her, hang her. They photoshopped pictures of Maria with her head cut off. Even her son received disturbing photoshopped images,” he says.
The director believes her position at the museum is in jeopardy due to the pro-Russian leanings of Narva’s population.
“The museum is under constant pressure and stress, but we continue to speak about our painful history,” she says.
Although Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova herself was born in Siberia and speaks Russian as her native language, she states, “For us, it’s not about nations or origins. It’s about values.”
Putin’s regime continues to target the city with increasingly intense and frequent provocations as the war in Ukraine rages on.
According to Estonian border force officials, Russia has repeatedly sent a large surveillance zeppelin into Narva’s airspace, marked with the letter “Z,” a symbol strongly associated with Russian propaganda.
The technology, Belitsev says, is almost comically outdated. “They’re trying to provoke a reaction. They want to see how we respond,” he adds.
Russia has also been accused of stealing buoys that mark out the border on the Narva Reservoir. While Estonian officials blame the Kremlin, Narva residents often shift blame onto their own government.
The Narva checkpoint has been closed to vehicles, leaving pedestrians as the only way to cross. Anti-tank fortifications stationed mid-bridge serve as a reminder of the nearby war zone.
“Who wants to go to Russia”
While some people use the crossing to smuggle goods into Russia, such as drone parts or fuel, others cross the border for other reasons.
A young woman in her early 20s traveled to Moscow to visit a friend. She said that she had waited for eight hours in the snow when she left Estonia a few days earlier.
Another man, who works in Finland but lives in Russia, was returning home during the winter. He reported waiting in line for over 12 hours to cross the border.
While Estonian border officials insist that Russia is to blame for the long delays, Belitsev appears unapologetic.
“If you want to enter the Russian Federation, it shouldn’t be comfortable. Russia is an aggressor state conducting large-scale military operations for over 1.000 days in one of its neighboring countries,” he says.
“Anyone with a clear mind wouldn’t go there,” he concludes.
