The Bronze Soldier, the monument to Soviet liberators, moved from Tallinn's central square to a war cemetery.
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To Move or Not to Move
When I’m trying to understand what has been going on in Estonia recently, I come to the conclusion that, in fact, nothing unexpected has been happening. The Estonian government began speaking of moving the monument to Soviet Soldier from Tallinn’s center to a war cemetery a year ago, right after May 9th, 2006. By the way, it was Russian politicians and mass media that spoke loudly of the monument’s demolition, while Estonia spoke of its relocation only, which it eventually carried out.
The Estonian authorities gave an absolutely articulate justification for moving the monument: Estonians respect the memory of those killed in the war against fascism, but this very monument in Tallinn standing in precisely that place reminds them not of the victory over fascism, but of the Soviet occupation of Estonia, of shootings and deportations. There is no point blaming Estonians for having this association. Even the Soviet propaganda machine failed to rid the nation of it. The country is called Estonia, it is populated by Estonians mostly, who have the right to decide where, when, and how to move monuments. Scolding the Estonian government, that was chosen by the majority, means scolding that majority, or the nation itself.
The justification for relocating the graves that are under the monument, or, rather, under the square and a bus stop, was very clear as well: it is improper to dance, walk, and wait for the bus above the buried remains. They should be carefully exhumed and re-buried with honors in a suitable place. By the way, all religious denominations supported the idea at first, and only some time later the Russian Orthodox Church of Moscow patriarchy receded from its opinion, actually acquitting the blasphemy it had earlier denounced. That is, the Church asked to leave the remains where they are, so as to meet someone’s interests.
Here, the question arises: whose interests? Apparently, that ‘someone’ is almighty, if the Orthodox Church itself agreed to let people keep walking over the graves. Many of those in Estonia do not doubt that Moscow is mixed up in the current events in Tallinn. The motives are unclear, though. One version is that Russia is hiding something else from its citizens by drawing their attention to the artificially played-up events in Tallinn. Anyway, when Russia speaks of fascism’s revival in Estonia, Estonia itself considers such accusations deeply unfair. There are no signs of fascism’s revival here.
Speaking of Estonia’s interior situation due to the recent events, nothing unusual has happened. As expected, many were willing to fish in troubled waters. Larger part of the Russian-speaking population, being in Russia’s information realm, turned out to be subject to its propaganda. And the Kremlin took advantage of it, narrowing the list of those guilty of the conflict to the neighbor-Estonian and Uncle Sam from America.
Certainly, there will be more political screaming yet. And there will be conclusions. However, these conclusions will be made not for the sake of truth and peace, but for the benefit of those who make them. For political or financial benefit.
Igor Burlakov, editor-in-chief of the Estonian website “Russian Portal”.
All the Article in Russian as of May 10, 2007
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