Government of Estonia, Estonian Air and Rakvere Meat Processing Plant Awarded "Russophobe of the Year 2014" Title

TALLINN, Estonia, February 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

More than 67 percent of respondents who took the survey organized by MGPR.EU project to award the "Russophobe of the Year 2014" title stated that the government of Estonia should be awarded this title. The results of the poll confirm the consistent and complete disregard of the needs of Russian speakers in Estonia, who represent about 30 percent of the population of the country. The poll also confirms that the government's punitive approach towards integration of Russian speakers of the country for the last 24 years angers the Russian ethnic minority of Estonia.

Estonian national airline Estonian Air was named "Russophobe of the Year 2014" by 56 percent of the respondents, who stated that it should receive the title as a service company which completely disregards the needs of Russian speakers in Estonia. The airline, which belongs to the Estonian government and continuously operates at a loss, is financed from tax receipts that are also collected from the Russian speakers of Estonia. Despite this, the airline fails to provide such important information as pre-flight safety instructions in Russian. In addition, magazines and newspapers that are offered on board are in Estonian, or exceptionally, in English languages.

About 65 percent of those who casted their votes think that Rakvere Meat Processing Plant (Rakvere Lihakombinaat) is the production company that deserves the title of "Russophobe of the Year 2014". In spite of the fact that about 30 percent of the Estonian population speak Russian, the company, which has been operating on the local market since 1890, still publishes information about its products only in Estonian.

The voting for "Russophobe of the Year 2014" was conducted from 22^nd until 25^th of January 2015. The voters were asked to name Russophobe of the year in three categories: noncommercial organization, company that is offering a service and company that is offering a product on the local market. In total, 1,902 participants have cast their votes.

MGPR.EU (We Speak Russian) is citizen initiative which aims to educate local as well as foreign producers and service providers about the need to include Russian language translation to their products or services when they are offered on the Estonian market since 30 percent of the country's population is represented by Russian speakers. 

To learn more the initiative or contact the author, please visit https://www.mgpr.eu/en

SOURCE MGPR.EU (We Speak Russian)