Raimo Raag

Raimo Raag (born 20 August 1953) is a Sweden-based Estonian linguist and cultural historian who has spent most of his academic career at Uppsala University, where he became professor of Finno-Ugric languages in 2001. His research has focused on the history of the Estonian language and other Finnic languages, language planning, Estonian–Swedish language contact, and the history of Estonians abroad. In 2019 he was elected a foreign member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences.

Early life and education Raag was born in Torshälla in Sweden. He studied Finno-Ugric languages, Russian and North Germanic languages at Uppsala University, graduating in 1976. A festschrift published by Uppsala University describes him as especially prolific in work on Swedish Estonian, Old Written Estonian, Estonians abroad, Swedish loanwords in Estonian and the linguistic history of the Swedish empire, and credits him with helping to move Estonian-language teaching at Uppsala into an online format in 2006. A 2024 review in Tuna described his monograph Rootsi kirjakultuur uusaegsel Eesti-, Liivi- ja Ingerimaal (2023) as an important contribution to the study of Swedish literary culture in Estonia, Livonia and Ingria, highlighting his command of historiography and archival sources.

Honours Raag received the annual prize of Keel ja Kirjandus in 1988 and the Order of the White Star, 5th Class, in 2001. In 2008 he received Uppsala University's Distinguished Teaching Award. He was the recipient of the Swedish Estonians' Union cultural award in 2012 and the award Eesti keel ja kultuur maailmas in 2021. Eestlane väljaspool Eestit: ajalooline ülevaade (1999) Välis-Eesti 100 aastat (2018) Rootsi kirjakultuur uusaegsel Eesti-, Liivi- ja Ingerimaal (2023)