“The Russian language does not disappear anywhere,” Helme told baltnews.ee.
He estimates that there are less than a million Estonians in Estonia. At the same time, according to the minister, there are almost 200 million people who speak Russian every day.
“There are about 140 million of them in Russia, about 45 million in Ukraine, almost 10 million in Belarus. Plus, those people who live in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania. This means that almost 200 million people speak Russian daily. What danger can there be for the Russian language? ”He explained.
At the same time, Helme stressed that in Estonia the Russian-language education has not yet been eliminated.
“We say that everyone who graduates from Russian-speaking schools (should. - RT ) should be fluent in Estonian. I think that this is not too much, ”the politician added.
Also in an interview, Helme said that there is no so-called Russian threat in the Baltic States.
Earlier, the mayor of Tallinn, Mikhail Kylvart said that schooling in Russian in Estonia should be maintained.