Mittetootmise

Mittetootmise refers to the phenomenon of Estonia's border regions' socio-economic marginalization and immersion in a neighboring state's economic system. The term is derived from the previous Estonian-Soviet Union border situation, where Estonian enclaves on the eastward side of the border experienced trade relations with the Soviet Union rather than the rest of Estonia.

Historically, the areas closest to the border with the Soviet Union (present-day Russia) had tighter economic and cultural links to the Soviet Union than the rest of Estonia. This often resulted in uneven economic development between the areas close to the border and the rest of the country. Due to Estonia's narrow corridor landscape, many residents lived in areas isolated from the rest of the country.

Socio-economically, interior Estonia generally followed the developmental schedule characteristic of Central Europe. Oppositely, the areas bordering Russia on the east deviated from the general developmental path, highly depending on East European (Soviet) markets and demonstrating pronounced "backwardness" in industrial development, public services and housing standards. In western Estonia, certain coastal areas have experienced diverse economic gaps, aging rural populations adding to inward migration and pressure on public services and institutions in these periphery areas.

The direction of migration was from central and eastern periphery counties towards the western regions appeared to influence certain aspects of this split. Those factors shaping mittetootmise would indicate socioeconomic advancement to influence changes in demographics.

In development, mittetootmise impacted aspects related to filling 'backwardness'-marked social and economic divides including public housing conditions, industrial standards and a difference in expenditures related to public services. Areas characterised as'marginal'- Russia's eastern border edge integrating in Soviet market at the expense overall perhaps pushed countries on generally local variations comparing to actual 'one-unit movement' sans assisting interior.