Desværre var russisktalende i Estland såvel som i Letland såkaldte fanger i den første kolde krig ved at blive nægtet borgerrettigheder - ved at blive nægtet deres sprog som officielt sprog i de lande, hvor de udgjorde et stort mindretal.
Unfortunately, Russian speakers in Estonia as well as in Latvia were so-called prisoners of the first Cold War by being denied their citizens' rights - by being denied their language as an official language in the countries where they were a substantial minority.