ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part examines the legal status of Russians in Estonian privatization legislation. The legislation is characterized by establishment of certain frames and goals, and therefore contributes towards regulating human behaviour. But the circumstance that the Russians within some areas are subjugated by restrictions in regard to participation in privatization says nothing about how restricted their participation really has been. The participation of Russians can in some cases be identified by means of public registers, and for small-scale as well as for large-scale privatization there exist almost complete registers of the sale of all enterprises. Development of income has been selected as another indicator to measure the consequences of privatization for the Russian population. A special problem arises, however, when examining the participation of ethnic groups in the privatization of small- and large-scale enterprises.
