Russian Speakers and the Baltics: Looking Beyond the Narratives
18 March 2026 18:30 CET (Berlin, Vienna, Rome)
This year’s first session takes on a topic that has often been used for Kremlin narratives: the situation of Russian-speaking communities in Latvia and Estonia, and whether their minority rights are genuinely at risk.
At a time when disinformation and political rhetoric increasingly blur the line between perception and reality, this discussion seeks to offer something different — a grounded, evidence-based conversation that moves beyond simplified narratives of suppression and instead examines the broader social, political, and historical context. Our goal is not to dismiss concerns, but to address them with the nuance and different
perspectives.
The session brings together academic expertise and perspectives from the youth - our German Baltic Conference Youth Ambassadors, drawing on original research and lived experience to trace key developments in minority policy across Latvia and Estonia over the years.
Dr. Inta Mieriņa,
Moritz Wendlinger,
Daniil Iarlykovskii
Dr. Inta Mieriņa — University of Latvia, Latvia
Dr. Mieriņa is Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Latvia and a tenured professor specialising in political sociology. Her research spans migration, integration policy, shifting attitudes toward migrants, and growing ethnic tensions in Latvia. She has also conducted extensive work on the Latvian diaspora and the reception of Ukrainian refugees. In 2024, she was awarded a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant for her project "Welcoming Immigrants in Central and Eastern Europe: Lessons from Russia's Invasionof Ukraine" (WICE).
Moritz Wendlinger — German-Baltic Conference Youth Ambassador, Germany
Moritz works on international security policy with a focus on diaspora communities, social cohesion, and disinformation in Central and Eastern Europe. He holds degrees in Sociology from LMU Munich and International Security from the University of Groningen. His master's thesis, "Caught Between the Fronts? A Quadratic Nexus Analysis of Restrictions on Russophone Culture in Latvia from 2004 to 2024," was awarded the distinguished Goldene Eule Research Prize by the Federal Association for Security Policy at Universities.
He has gained practical experience through roles at the German Federal Foreign Office and the Munich Security Conference, supporting policy coordination and international dialogue.
Daniil Iarlykovskii — German-Baltic Conference Youth Ambassador, Estonia
Daniil is a master's student in European Studies at the University of Tartu. Having grown up in Russia, he brings first-hand insight into the role of propaganda and political messaging in shaping public consciousness. He currently works as a journalist and previously examined the significance of Victory Day in Russian national identity for his bachelor's thesis "Never-ending War, Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day Speeches Rhetoric"