--- description: A Russian diplomat said Estonia, like Ukraine, needed to respect the rights of its Russian speakers title: Moscow 'Concerned' About Estonia's Russian Community image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5ec630a8d741345/6986864d13c79f090d191218/479371181.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Estonia](/tag/estonia/) ## Estonia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Moscow Expresses 'Concern' for Estonia's Russian Community  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 20, 2014 9:57 AM CUT  US Vice President Joe Biden (R) and Estonian President Toomas Hendik Ilves attend a press a conference at the end of their meeting in Warsaw on March 18, 2014. US Vice President Joe Biden (R) and Estonian President Toomas Hendik Ilves attend a press a conference at the end of their meeting in Warsaw on March 18, 2014.JANEK SKARZYNSKI—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 20, 2014 9:57 AM CUT A Russian diplomat [voiced](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-russia-estonia-idUSBREA2I1J620140319 "undefined") “concern” over Estonia’s treatment of its Russian-speaking minority on Wednesday, one day after Russia formally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula over similar fears of mistreatment. “Language should not be used to segregate and isolate groups,” said Russia’s diplomat to the U.N. Human Rights Council, [according to](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-russia-estonia-idUSBREA2I1J620140319 "undefined") Reuters. He was objecting to Estonia’s longstanding policy that all of its citizens speak Estonian, including the Russian minority. He added that he was “concerned by steps taken in this regard in Estonia as well as in Ukraine.” \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-russia-estonia-idUSBREA2I1J620140319 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/31494/russia-expresses-concern-for-estonias-russian-community/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/31494/russia-expresses-concern-for-estonias-russian-community/"},"headline":"Moscow Expresses 'Concern' for Estonia's Russian Community","datePublished":"2014-03-20T09:57:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:51:53.851Z","description":"A Russian diplomat said Estonia, like Ukraine, needed to respect the rights of its Russian speakers","url":"https://time.com/31494/russia-expresses-concern-for-estonias-russian-community/","keywords":["Estonia","Ukraine","russia","language","Crimea","invasion","minority","Soviet"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5ec630a8d741345/6986864d13c79f090d191218/479371181.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5ec630a8d741345/6986864d13c79f090d191218/479371181.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"POLAND-US-RUSSIA-UKRAINE-BALTICS-CRISIS-DIPLOMACY-BIDEN","caption":"POLAND-US-RUSSIA-UKRAINE-BALTICS-CRISIS-DIPLOMACY-BIDEN","creditText":"JANEK SKARZYNSKI—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/estonia/","name":"Estonia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/31494/russia-expresses-concern-for-estonias-russian-community/","name":"Moscow Expresses 'Concern' for Estonia's Russian Community"}}]}] ```