Looking at an ordinary map of Estonia, Narva is simply another city on the eastern borders of the European Union. But the city of around 52,000 is more significant than that. Narva, in Estonia's Russian-speaking east, is becoming a flash point for debates about European security, identity and the future of the bloc.

Part of the reason for this are calls for the city's secession from Estonia, a member of the EU, on social media and platforms like Telegram . These calls advocate for a so-called "People's Republic of Narva" and even include a flag and a coat of arms, ideas that remind observers of pro-Russian propaganda about Crimea in Ukraine.

Estonian intelligence services have described the rumors as provocative, and many locals dismiss them as nonsense.

The closing of the Bridge of Friendship over the Narva River to vehicles and freight, leaving only pedestrian access, has been an economic blow Image: Denis Kischinewsky/DW

Are there secessionists in Narva?

In Narva itself, life goes on as usual.…