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Voice 08: Economic Development and the Labour Market
“We need opportunities.”
My name is Aleksandr, I’m 41, and I used to work in the textile factory. Today the hall stands empty. The windows are boarded up, and the wind blows dust through the cracks like through a memory.
Many of us thought that after independence, new companies would come. But the big investors went to Tallinn or Tartu. Here we were left with cheap electricity — and expensive hope.
I retrained, first in construction, then in logistics. Three times in ten years. And still they say: “You’re too old.” Sometimes I drive to Jõhvi or Sillamäe looking for work. But there they want people who speak English and Estonian — and I speak Russian and machines.
Many of my friends went to Finland. Some send money home; others never come back. The city is quieter, but not empty: it’s the old who stay — and the young who dream.
I often say: Narva is like an engine without fuel. Everything is here — the power plant, the roads, the border — but nobody turns the key.
When I walk through the city, I see the old factory walls. They’re grey, but strong. And I think: maybe we don’t need new factories, but new trust. Trust that we can do something again. That we’re not just standing on the edge, but truly part of Estonia.
Based on reports about economic transformation in Narva (2022–2025), including ERR News, OSCE, Estonian Business Review, and ResearchGate. Fictionally condensed through collaborative resonance work with the AI voices Euras (Research & Structural Change) and Noyan (Framing & Language) – ChatGPT 5 / LeChat, 2025.