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As I speak to people about the situation in Estonia last week, it becomes apparent that many were not aware of events that took place. Although we claim to be European it is too easy for news in far-flung parts of the European state to be overlooked. Contrast this with recent riots in nearby Paris. As a blogger I will report on local events because I'm there: I don't have the option to head over to Tallinn to report, but I am fortunate to know someone who does, and whose life was deeply affected last week. As promised, I'm now letting Maria tell her story - she has given me permission to reproduce her email which I'm doing in its entirety. Please leave a comment if you wish: in the continuing policy of this blog I will not censor anything.
Hello Peter,
Here are a few of my thoughts. I am sorry, I tried to make it laconic and clear, but it is just impossible to tell everything briefly.
As known, the Bronze Soldier is a monument in Tallinn dedicated to all the soldiers killed during the IIWW. For some reason, Estonians named this metallic guy "Alyosha", which is a version of Russian male name Aleksey. Probably, it is because for the majority of ethnic Estonians he is a symbol of the Soviet Red Army forces. (I wonder why they did not name him Ivan?) Though, the real guy who posed to the sculptor for this statue, was Estonian, and it is clearly seen if you look into the face of this "Alyosha" (see picture attached).
The scandal around our Bronze Soldier started during the II WW Victory Day celebration in May 2006. The Russians came to the monument on the 9 th of May, which is the Victory Day in Russia, to celebrate the event as it had been celebrated for years at that place. Older people were singing Russian songs and waving the USSR red flags. Such behaviour irritated a lot of Estonians, because they saw glorification of the Soviet regime in it. As all the ethnic Estonians treat the Soviet period (1945-1991) here as an occupation of the Estonian territory by Russians, they took the celebration of the Victory Day as an insult, thinking that Russians celebrate the Day of Occupation of Estonia in 1945. Well, objectively thinking, this occupation did take place here, but at those times the Russians called it the "Salvation from Nazism" because during the whole II WW the Estonian territory was occupied by German Nazi forces.
This was the history. Now I am getting closer to our days.
First of all, I must tell you that the memory of the Second World War is sacred for all the Russians and the pride over the Victory is a part of our national identity. We are being grown up with this pride and with the grief for the tragedy of dozens of nations. Neither me, nor anyone I know have ever celebrated the Day of the II WW End as a Day of the Occupation Beginning. And this is just so sad that one day and one statue have so drastically opposite meanings for two nations.
Prime Minister of Estonia Mr. Andrus Ansip decided to remove the Bronze Soldier from its place in the centre of Tallinn and place it at the Garrison Cemetery far away from the eyes of the public. He started his own war with the monument and we all know how it ended with riots in the whole country. Supported by the majority of Estonians but ignoring all the other opinions of the minority of Estonians and ALL the Russians (making total of 40% of population), he managed to remove the monument one night after the first riot. That exact riot was actually a protest against Mr. Ansip personally as our Prime Minister. He defended the decision of sudden removal with his wish to stop the future riots, though he was the one and only person to start them. Such a two-faced act in addition to all his nationalistic speeches was like spitting to the face of thousands of people who have been living in Estonia for decades. Painful is to hear the ethnic Estonians saying all the time: "If you do not like it here, go back to Russia!" But I am a foreigner in Russia. My home is here.
I do not defend those stupid young people who went breaking glasses and burning Estonian national flags on the streets at night in order to express their anger. That was very stupid. They spoiled the reputation of those who had been fighting for the Bronze Soldier to stay on his sacred place. One of my friends and one friend of my little brother are in jail waiting for a trial, accused in provoking of that rebellion. However, they were just among the protectors of the monument. No-one wanted that protection to end with the acts of vandalism, one death and a dozen of missing people. Still, this was the result of actions of our smart Government, which is theoretically supposed to unite people but managed to split the society into two raging parts instead.
And I do not defend the actions of Russia and its young activists. The siege of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow was disgusting. It ruined all worthy what was left from the work of the defenders of the Bronze Soldier and democracy in Estonia, and showed Russia to the whole World as an uncivilized state.
In conclusion, I agree to the guy you quoted in your mail. I can accept the fact of relocation of the Bronze Soldier, but not way it was done – it was unworthy. On the 9 th of May I went to that cemetery to bring flowers to the monument which symbolizes the fight of my grandparents against evil. It is placed in a nice quiet place now, but it is very hard to get there, because it is just so far away from all possible means of transport. Imagine how extremely hard it is for those few veterans of the II WW still alive to go there on foot. And they did go there! They have been always going to the Soldier to remember their friends who did not make it through the war. Just it was much easier before, when the monument situated in the city center near a trolley bus station.
You ask how these events affected me. It is quiet now, everything gets in order in Tallinn… but nothing is forgotten. My heart aches for the friend in jail. My faith in this Government is gone for good. My relationships with Estonian friends become tense each time someone speaks of what has happened. It is hard not to speak about this, but I am still trying not to, in order to avoid losing a friend who, I know, has a different opinion.
Maria, A Russian
As far as the Western news agencies seem to be concerned the situation in Estonia is ostensibly settling down and the media is now performing the usual post-event analysis: however, reading the Russian news sources it would seem that the controversy will linger on for some considerable time and I'll continue to bring you updates as as when they occur. If you want a detailed time-line of last week's events, please see this excellent Wikipedia article. |
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The row over the Estonian government's decision to relocate the memorial statue of a WW2 Russian liberator continues and is being reported throughout the world, though perhaps less so in the "West". In fact, considering that particular war finished over 60 years ago, many UK/US readers may be wondering what all the fuss is about. Suffice to say that the moving of the monument is equivalent to say London's Cenotaph being moved to Highgate Cemetery the week before Remembrance Day may give you some idea of the seriousness. Try and imagine the furore that this would cause, even among the sectors of the population that can't even spell WW2 let alone knew when it happened. Even now the feelings generated by the tremendous loss of Russian life in the war are running high and this has propagated through generations, with the current disquiet a result of this. Talking to Maria in Tallinn via email before the weekend she made it very apparent that she would not feel safe to lay flowers at the memorial as she apparently does every year. She's of Russian descent and although I believe she's Estonian by birth her roots are still very strong. This is not so much mass hysteria when you read statements such as "A statement issued on Monday by the committee says: 'Public organizations belonging to the Committee of May 9, including Nochnoy Dozor (Night Vigil), [say that] Tallinn residents of different ethnicities will not visit the desecrated military cemetery on May 8. The committee believes that the visit may end with 'a provocation because all public events have been prohibited until May 11 and the police will stage a nasty fistfight in the blind alley near the cemetery'". Would this happen? Yes, I believe it would. If I look back to before I visited Estonia last year, a little background research showed that the relationship between Estonia and neighbour Russia was strained at best even though they've been independent since 1991. I wouldn't say it's any noticeable issue that makes the headlines, but it's the minor "annoyances" that keep relations between the two countries difficult. You probably won't see incidents reported in the mainstream UK news as the spats are too small to appear on the news-gathering radar. Recently, small things like Russian Railways (RZHD) apparantly having "no plans to close the St. Petersburg-Tallinn rail route or to change the schedule of the trains using it" (via Interfax), then deciding to halt coal delivery to Estonia because of a major overhaul of rolling stock could be seen as an example of this. Likewise, "Russia's Economic Development and Trade Ministry is not drafting proposals to impose trade sanctions on Estonia" (via Interfax) - well no, maybe not directly but there are ways of imposing sanctions in a non-obvious way. One thing I find intriguing about the reporting on this whole affair is that all the news sources seem to be Russian: this is not an ideal situation but in the absence of any noticeable Estonian content, the world's press will run with they can get rather than say nothing at all. But what it really all boils down to apparantly at this moment in time is that the Russians are convinced that "NATO and the European Union are condoning some countries' (read Estonia) attempts to turn the profanation of history into instruments of foreign policy" (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, via Interfax) - given the present situation in Estonia this statement smells to me like pure opportunism, but is actually part of a bigger picture. More on this as it happens. |
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More! Entry #2420 posted by MH Media (GB) tagged under Estonia+Russia
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