Paper short abstract:

Deprived of recognition to various degrees, the Russian-speaking residents in the Baltics use their taxpayer identity to claim political membership. Taxation is often imagined as key to citizenship; yet in reality, paying taxes is rarely enough to become (full) members of the national collective.

Paper long abstract:

The Russian-speaking residents in the Baltics are deprived of recognition to various degrees; some of them are non-citizens and/or do not speak the official language, which then feeds into the perception of them as potentially alien and threatening minorities. Based on ten months of ethnographic fieldwork in three predominantly Russian-speaking towns – Visaginas in Lithuania, Daugavpils in Latvia, and Sillamӓe in Estonia – this paper argues that the Russian-speaking (non-)citizens, unable or unwilling to make claims in identitarian terms, use their taxpayer identity to try and become (full) members of the national collective. Focusing on taxes, the Russian speakers claim deservedness and loyalty to the state, thereby also redefining the membership criteria and the very political community of which they strive to become a part. Taxes allow the Russian-speaking residents to “undo” the national and neoliberal social contract in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and reimagine a more inclusive society. Furthermore, taxes and the reciprocal relationships it implies enable the taxpaying Russian-speaking (non-)citizens to “turn the tables” by arguing that it is not them who are “bad” national subjects, but the state that falls behind its part of the social contract by failing to accept and care for them as contributing members. In academic, policy and popular imaginations, taxation often emerges as key to citizenship and necessary for a well-functioning democracy (Makovicky and Smith 2020). However, following Russian speakers’ efforts to claim membership, this paper shows that in certain national contexts, paying taxes is not enough to become (full) citizens.