VZCZCXRO7967
RR RUEHAST
DE RUEHTL #0533 1561351
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051351Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8697
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TALLINN 000533 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA: ETHNIC TENSION OVER TALLINN'S "BRONZE 
SOLDIER" 
 
REF: TALLINN 439 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Tensions have escalated between ethnic 
Estonians and Estonia's Russian-speaking community over 
the fate of a World War II monument in central Tallinn 
depicting a Red Army soldier.  The proximate cause is an 
event involving the desecration of an Estonian flag 
carried by two counter-demonstrators during a May 9 
Victory Day gathering of Russian-speakers (reftel). 
Radicals from both sides have since fanned the flames, 
leading Minister of Interior Kalle Laanet to ban 
demonstrations at the site.  Estonia's governing 
coalition is split on what to do with the statue: PM 
Andrus Ansip?s Reform Party has said it should be 
removed from its current location, the Center Party and 
People's Union advise that it be left alone.  Some 
Russian groups have suggested they will attempt to draw 
the Embassy into the controversy.  If asked, we will say 
this is a matter for Estonia to resolve.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Tallinn's so-called "Bronze Soldier" carries 
considerable baggage.  A wooden memorial erected at the 
site in the aftermath of World War II was blown up 
(supposedly by a group of Estonian school girls who then 
received eight years imprisonment for their deed).  The 
current monument, with the inscription "To those who 
perished in WWII," has been in place since 1947.  In 
recent years it has come to symbolize the chasm between 
Estonian and Russian understanding of recent history. 
Russians consider it "their" monument of victory over 
fascism in the Great Patriotic War, Estonians as a 
monument to the Soviet occupation. 
 
¶3. (U) In the aftermath of May 9 Victory Day 
commemorations scuffles broke out at the site between 
groups of Estonians and Russian-speakers on several 
occasions.  Following a May 20 incident, Interior 
Minister Kalle Laanet banned demonstrations at the site. 
The police have maintained a presence there since. 
 
¶4. (U) Estonia?s governing coalition is divided on what 
to do with the monument.  Prime Minister Andrus Ansip 
has said he favors moving it to a less conspicuous 
location, though he says the government is not prepared 
to make a decision on the matter.  Ansip's Center Party 
and People's Union coalition partners both suggest the 
statue remain where it is. 
 
¶5. (U) With an election cycle approaching, there are 
plenty of elements on both sides of the debate prepared 
to exploit the situation for political gain.  Russian- 
speaking politician Dmitri Klenski, unfazed by an 
electoral pasting during Tallinn municipal elections, 
has gathered 22,000 signatures on a petition that he 
plans to present to the Council of Europe.  Klenski has 
been joined by the Russian-speaking Constitutional 
Party.  Party Chairman Andrei Zarenkov proposed to the 
Center Party and People's Union a joint antifascist 
march to the monument on June 22, the anniversary of 
Nazi Germany's attack on the Soviet Union.  (The 
proposal was ignored.)  On the Estonian side, the 
instigator of the 2004 Lihula monument contretemps Tiit 
Madisson, and others of his ilk, have talked about the 
need to form a political party that would "protect 
Estonian values." 
 
¶6. (U) A recent public opinion survey showed that 53 
percent of Estonians support the removal of the 
monument. Among Russian-speakers, 73 percent opposed the 
monument's removal. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: We plan to keep our distance from this 
debate.  If asked, we will say this is a matter for 
Estonia to resolve. 
 
WOS