ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part examines privatization legislation, nationality legislation and other legislation. It outlines the perspectives as they appeared after the Parliamentary election in the spring 1995. The part discusses the legal status of the Russians in the Estonian privatization legislation. One should also be aware of the time schedule, because the legislation was amended several times so the emphasis sometimes shifted from one set of concepts to another within the same privatization programme, or one concept for privatization was substituted with another. The period 1991-95 was, moreover, characterized by the fact that Estonia regained its independence, and they gave rise to the adoption of a more precise nationality legislation concerning citizenship and foreigners. The significance of the appeared within all other types of legislation where the concept of citizenship was used, and residence permits were of importance.
