Starting in the summer of 2026, cinemas in Estonia will be prohibited from screening films with Russian dubbing or Russian voice-over. The only exception will be children’s and family films. All other motion pictures must be shown either in Estonian or in the original language (in the overwhelming majority of cases, English) with subtitles. The corresponding amendments to the Language Act have already been submitted by the government to the Riigikogu and have passed the first reading.
The bill also substantially increases fines for insufficient command of the state language in the service sector—up to €6,400 for legal entities per violation.
The officially declared aim of the amendments is to “strengthen the position of the Estonian language” and “encourage viewing films in their original language.” However, officials from the Ministry of Education and Research have openly stated that support is needed not only for Estonian, but also for English—even among schoolchildren for whom Estonian is their native tongue. The Russian language is not mentioned at all in this framework
For Estonia’s Russian-speaking population, which constitutes approximately 25% of the country’s residents (around 330,000 people according to the 2021 census), this represents yet another stage in the systematic displacement of their native language from the public sphere. Similar restrictions have previously been imposed in education (i) the education system (the transition of Russian-medium schools to Estonian as the language of instruction), (ii) the record-keeping of local authorities, (iii) the service sector, and (iv) advertising.
The film industry had remained one of the last mass-cultural domains in which Russian-speakers retained access to content in their mother tongue. In cities such as Narva, Kohtla-Järve and Sillamäe, where Russian-speakers make up 70–95% of the population, films with Russian dubbing have traditionally accounted for the bulk of box-office revenue.
Opposition members of the Riigikogu, primarily from the Centre Party and EKRE, have branded the initiative discriminatory. Former MEP Yana Toom pointed out that the state has effectively admitted the failure of its language policy over three decades of independence, yet instead of seeking constructive solutions it resorts to punitive measures, shifting responsibility onto citizens and businesses.
Cinema operators and distributors warn of inevitable economic consequences: attendance in predominantly Russian-speaking regions is likely to plummet, threatening the very existence of many venues.
Thus, under the banner of protecting the state language, the sphere of legitimate use of Russian—one of the two main languages of communication for a significant portion of Estonia’s citizens—is being consistently narrowed. This process is taking place against the backdrop of tacit approval from European institutions, which in other contexts demonstrate acute sensitivity to issues of linguistic and minority rights. The question that remains unanswered is: where does language policy end and ethnic policy begin?
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