The row blew up because the war memorial, a statue of a Red Army soldier apparently held sacred by those of Russian origin in Estonia, is to be moved to a military cemetery on the outskirts of Tallin. The Estonian authorities claim that its continued presence in the town centre was a constant reminder of former Soviet occupation while Russian speaking Estonians, backed by Russia itself, have claimed that the action is 'defiling the memory of the Russian war dead' and is a 'hostile act'.
The consequence was a riot instigated by Russian speaking Estonians and supported from Moscow. The Estonian embassy in Moscow is currently under siege from angry demonstrators and the issue has been blown up, both in the Russian press and parliament. Estonia has been deluged with attacks from the Russian based TV networks and the internet.
The Mayor of Moscow, presumably not acting without Vladimir Putin's blessing, has called for a boycott of all things Estonian ahead of the World War II victory celebrations on May 9th.
A permanent source of concern to the Estonian government is that well over a quarter of Estonia's inhabitants are of Russian origin , though many are denied citizenship because, say the Estonian authorities, they are families who were brought in during the years of Soviet occupation as technicians and military personnel. There is a genuine fear within the country of a riot or uprising, assisted by Moscow, which would justify the Russian government sending in 'help and assistance to its beleagured conmrades'
It may sound a far fetched fear, now that the Soviet Union is gone and the former Republics and satellite states have gained independence but it is well known that President Putin bitterly regrets the demise of the Russian empire. It is not too long back that both Hungary and what was then Czechoslovakia saw the consequences of Russian 'assistance' justified by the actions of 'a few dissidents'.
Estonia is currently appealing to the European Union, of which it is part, for a concerted response to the current Russian psychological bullying of its small neighbour. Whether Estonia obtains the degree of support it wants is arguable. After all Russia is important to the EC both politically and economically and there will not be an enthusiastic rush to confront them.
But we should all be wary. The Russian bear may not yet be on the attack but its certainly waving its paws in angry fashion.
2 comments:
Here are some interesting facts about Estonia:
Most wanted Nazi war criminals
10b. Harry Mannil
Arrested Jews and Communists who were then executed by Nazis and Estonian collaborators
Status: Cleared by investigation in Estonia
10a. Algimantas Dailide
Arrested Jews who were then murdered by Nazis and Lithuanian collaborators
Status: Deported from US; convicted by Lithuania, which has hereto refused to implement his sentence of imprisonment
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178020745724&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Not a single Estonian citizen who participated in the persecution and/or murder of Jews during WWII has been brought to trial by the Estonians, despite the existence of abundant incriminatory evidence in at least two cases submitted in recent years.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1176152786406
A monument to an Estonian “Freedom Fighter” had been unveiled in a small town Lihula in Western Estonia. It showed a soldier in a German uniform with a Waffen-SS (combat SS) unit emblem, wearing a steel helmet and holding a machine gun.
http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/12586/
So, what one should think about all this?
1. Thousands of estonians were voluntarily serving in Hitler’s Waffen-SS troops where they exterminated Jews, Gipsies, Russians, Belarusans, Ukrainians, and other “untermenschen” in death camps.
2. No one Estonian was brought to trial for war crimes after Estonia had become independent. Moreover, Estonia protects even most wanted Nazi criminals identified by Holocaust organizations.
3. Estonia officially glorifies its Waffen-SS “freedom fighters” by setting up monuments to them. Meanwhile, Estonia destroys memorials to Soviet soldiers, who won Hitler's fascism.
4. Currently Estonia practice massive ethnic discrimination of the same Russians, Belarusans, Ukrainians and other “untermenschen”.
You don’t have to be a detective to make a judgement: Estonia is a typical Nazi state that is proud of taking a part in the Hitler's fascist project and Holocaust during WW2 and doing its best to implement the most "interesting" Nazi policies today. And if there was not just one million Estonian population, but 100 million of them with enough weapon, you can bet there would be another Holocaust in Europe already.
Thank you for your very detailed comment, Michael, and I detect that you are not exactly a fan of the Estonian nation.
I would say to you that, as far as the number of Estonians who joined the German forces during WW2. the country was under German occupation from 1941 -1944 and, considering Estonia had been forcibly occupied by the Soviet Union in 1939 and thousands of Estonians compelled to serve in the Red Army, I am not too surprised that many, towards the end of the war, saw fighting with the Germans as the means of preventing another Soviet occupation - a judgment doomed to fail as we know.
You may be right about the history of denial with regard to atrocities committed by Estonian citizens but some terrible things were done on all sides in WW2 for which no one has been brought to book. How many Russian troops for example were ever indicted for the mass rape of German women?
Anyway all that is past history. The fact is that Estonia is now again a free and independent Republic. You have made your views clear about what you perceive to be Estonian frailties but you haven't answered the question I posed. Does Russia pose a threat to Estonia's independence or not?
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