“At one point, I felt like a stranger in my own country”: Olesja’s journey toward Estonian citizenship

Olesja became stateless after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It took her seven years to acquire Estonian citizenship and slowly regain a sense of belonging. She recounted her long journey and the opportunities that this document unlocked for her:

“With my Estonian passport, I did a few smart things. I voted for Estonia to join the European Union and went to study in Italy and later Poland. It has been a huge experience for me — a reminder that the world is wider and more diverse than the road from home to work. For me, an Estonian passport symbolises the freedom to make decisions.”