OLDS — Two students from Estonia working in central Alberta this summer say they’re concerned about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but are fairly confident that the war won’t spill over into their country because it’s a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Under that treaty, if one member country is attacked, it’s seen as an attack on all and all are obligated to respond accordingly.
Estonia is located across the Baltic Sea from Finland.
Nikita Vlassenkov and Sofia Trofimova, who live in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, are among eight students who have been paying for their university education via a summer job selling educational materials in the Mountain View County area and as far afield as Red Deer and Airdrie.
Vlassenkov has a master’s degree in computer science. Trofimova is studying business.
During an interview with the Albertan, it was noted that Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, Canada has not only been helping to train troops there, but also conducted exercises with troops in Latvia, next door to Estonia.
Vlassenkov and Trofimova were asked if as a result that activity, they’re concerned about the possibility of the Russians invading Estonia.
It was noted that for decades after the Second World War, Estonia was a satellite Soviet republic of Russia.
“I’m not a politician,” Vlassenkov said. “Of course I was a little bit stressed in 2022 when it started. Not a little – I was very stressed. My dad was even thinking to sell the house and then go somewhere.”
He said some Estonians are “very scared.”
“You never know how it can happen, but we are part of NATO,” he added.
Vlassenkov and Trofimova were asked if they’d be willing to fight if the Russians did invade their country.
“Of course,” Vlassenkov replied, but then added, “I’m not sure how I’m going to react under the stress but I think that if there would be a chance of something like this happening, I’m pretty sure that we would have help from NATO.”
Trofimova said there’s a chance women could be called up to fight if Estonia was attacked.
“It’s an interesting question. I love my country and support it. But yeah, I don’t think there’s a possibility it will happen,” she said.
“Estonia is very peaceful, we never have any conflicts,” Vlassenkov said.
“When somebody was trying to conquer us we were just giving up because we knew we (only) have one million people. Why even fight?”
He said the best way to solve conflicts is to negotiate.
“The Bible is saying to love your neighbour. It’s hard to love your neighbour in this situation, but I mean, the thing is that you always can negotiate. You don’t need to fight and kill each other.”
The duo have enjoyed their time in central Alberta.
“I met a lot of cool families here,” Vlassenkov said.
