Feb 15, 2007

Monumental Estonia-Russia Tensions

Russian citizenship includes innate pride in Mother Russia for defeating the Nazis during WWII (although let's try to forget Stalinist purges and an equally oppressive rule of terror in Soviet Russia). So when the Estonian government announced that all monuments commemorating Soviet occupation in Estonia be removed, particularly the monument of a Red Army soldier, Russia was indignant and ethnic Russians in Estonia were upset - after all, their people were instrumental in the historic defeat of German forces.

Estonians, however, see this statue as a symbol of forced rule from a Soviet dictatorship. When it freed itself from the Soviet government in 1991, Estonia began to bring down the hated statues of Lenin, Stalin, and other reminders of Soviet occupation, as did many other countries did during this important time period. With ethnic Russians living in Estonia, some of these monuments lingered under the protection of this population - which accounts for about one-third of people living in Estonia.

This is Estonia's chance to assert itself and finally throw off the watchful eye of its authoritative Soviet past. Russia, though, is still throwing its weight around by threatening the imposition of sanctions against Estonia with the removal of certain monuments. This threat is enough for Estonia to watch its actions for now, but Estonia's economy is going strong . . . and possibly, in the not too distant future, it can ignore Russia's threats and reclaim the right to make decisions about its national heritage.