Four Russian parties join forces

Four major Russian parties filed a joint list of candidates to run for elections in Tallinn and 10 other cities, creating a force analysts say could win up to one-third of city council seats.

The United People's Party, Russian Party in Estonia, Unity of Estonia and the Russian Union have 127 candidates on their list in Tallinn, most of them from the UPP.

The four parties have filed joint lists in the ethnic Russian-dominated towns of Paldiski, Sillamae, Maardu, Narva and Kohtla-Jarve as well as the mostly Estonian towns of Kallaste, Rapina, Tartu, Valga and Parnu.

Anatoly Yegovrov, UPP secretary general, said the joint list was competitive and can stand up to the biggest Estonian parties at country-wide municipal elections on Oct. 20.

UPP reported the four parties will likely merge before national elections in March.

In Tallinn, an alternative Russian electoral list of 14 candidates for the city council was filed by the Estonian Russian Baltic Party.

The joint four-party list has big hopes for Lasnamae, Tallinn's largest district, where 35 out of its 127 candidates will run.

Peep Sarapuu, a UPP board member, said Lasnamae was usually neglected.

"Only a couple of months before the local elections does this district become the center of attention. The mayor, his deputies and other politicians start to promise good things to Lasnamae people," he said.

The Russian parties under the joint list have plans to introduce free school lunches to Lasnamae school children and reconstruction of a Russian cultural center.

Vello Pettai, a political science professor at Tartu University, said the Russian forces had failed in the past to cooperate.

"There are a number of strong personalities who may find it difficult to share one platform," he said, adding that even a successful union would have a hard time drawing votes away from more mainstream parties.

"After 10 years of independence, many traditionally Estonian parties have already started to attract Russian voters, so it's unclear what a Russian party would offer," he said.

A survey conducted in late August by pollster Emor had the Reform Party as the most popular party ahead of elections, with 17 percent support, followed closely by its national coalition partner, the Center Party, with 15 percent.

Center-right Pro Patria and the new centrist party, Res Publica, were tied in third place with 10 percent.

An Emor poll conducted in June gave the four Russian parties a combined 5 percent approval rating.