Two weeks into my fieldwork in Estonia, and the list of interviews is growing—but more importantly, so is the list of unexpected insights and conversations. My second week in Estonia comes to a close with 40 citizen interviews and 5 expert interviews completed. But of course, numbers alone don’t tell the full story.
In my previous post, I mentioned our plan to drive to Võru on Friday afternoon. That trip turned out to be both productive and fun. The Baltic countries have this great car-sharing app called CityBee, which made it easy to rent a car and make the hour-long drive. On the way, we mapped out our interview strategy—which locations (mainly shopping areas) to visit and how to divide the work.
Speaking with citizens outside the university town of Tartu offered fresh perspectives. People we met mentioned they were less inclined to follow the news, and especially not international news. Instead, they were more focused on what mattered on a local level, such as the high food prices and the possibility of road taxes being introduced. Our final interview in Võru was with a colleague of my assistant’s grandmother. He insisted I would sit on the chair with the blanket meant for the main guest. He was very happy to share all his insights with us, resulting in a 45-minute interview.
Over the weekend, I took some time to learn more about Estonia’s history by visiting the University of Tartu Museum and the Estonian National Museum. I recommend visiting both, but especially the first was enlightening because of its exhibit on 800 years of Tartu’s history.
This previous days have been centered around expert interviews. I reached out to specialists across different areas relevant to my research, hoping their combined insights would help me piece together the bigger picture. So far, I’ve spoken with a political scientist focused on Estonian politics, a scholar on media and the integration of the Russian-speaking minority, and the former head of the Estonian Internal Security Service (KAPO).
The week wraps up with a trip to Tallinn. I’ve scheduled one more expert interview—with a politician—and since a friend is visiting, it seemed like the perfect reason to stay a little longer and take time to explore the capital.