ABSTRACT
Small-scale privatization was the first privatization programme to be started in Estonia. Small-scale privatization included in the first phase sale of small state enterprises within certain branches, but was subsequently - in the second phase - expanded to include other branches and municipal enterprises. A characteristic feature of small-scale privatization was that the sale of enterprises took place by public auction. Thus the possibility exists that small-scale privatization might continue through the sale of municipal property. The chapter examines the participation of Russians in privatization on the basis of the names which could be identified as buyers and managers. It explains the ethnic composition of buyers and managers in the whole country. In the whole country Estonians constituted 80% of those who were buyers or took leading positions in the privatized enterprises, while non-Estonians constituted 20%. This is a considerable over-representation of the Estonians compared with the Estonians’ share of the population.
