cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/49196165
Accounts have appeared on social media promoting the idea of separating Narva and the Ida-Viru County region from Estonia.
The posts propose the creation of the so-called “Narva People’s Republic,” according to the Estonian anti-propaganda media outlet Propastop.
The content is being spread via Telegram, VK, and TikTok.
The materials are presented in the form of memes, jokes, and internet images.
At the same time, they promote a narrative about Narva as a separate political entity.
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One of the channels uses the hashtag “#WaitingForRussia” and refers to the project as a “state.”
This Telegram channel has about 60–70 subscribers.
Its main activity began in February 2026.
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“At first glance, the content appears to be a mixture of internet memes, cat pictures, and provocative jokes. A closer look, however, reveals a clear narrative in which Narva is portrayed as a separate political entity and the idea of establishing a so-called Narva People’s Republic is promoted,” Propastop, which is run by Defense League members, says as reported by Estonian media outlet ERR.
Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) responded to the story on Monday evening, urging people to “stay calm, [and] stay informed!”
“Narva is and always will remain an Estonian city,” he wrote on the social media site X.
“These little attempts at creating confusion and weakening social cohesion are basic and nothing new,” he continued … “Stay calm, stay informed!”
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[Web Archive link]https://web.archive.org/web/20260318113413/https://militarnyi.com/en/news/propaganda-narva-people-s-republic-estonia/()
Despite the origin being in memes and generally unserious content, the sentiment of potentially creating a place for those who are Russian enough to be excluded/segregated from Estonian society but also do not want to be part of Russia, is understandable.
Nevertheless, a new state is probably never going to be a serious possibility, nor should it be. Estonians still have a way to go in regards to segregation of Russian-Estonians… I know someone who is Estonian, but had to change their name to mitigate the amount of prejudice they were exposed to, as it was Russian in origin.