Posted on 07/04/2007 6:18:14 AM PDT by Grzegorz 246
TALLINN, Estonia - Estonia on Tuesday reburied the remains of eight Soviet soldiers whose exhumation from a war grave had sparked deadly riots and infuriated neighboring Russia.
The eight white caskets were lowered into new ground at the Defense Forces cemetery in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo, foreign diplomats and World War II veterans.
"We have fulfilled our duty and given these soldiers their final resting place," Aaviksoo said after the hour-long ceremony. He said he hoped the reburial would prevent Russia from using the war grave issue in the future "for provocations against the Republic of Estonia."
Two military chaplains conducted a short service, in both Lutheran and Orthodox styles. An Estonian navy band played funeral music as the caskets were lowered into the ground.
Russia's Ambassador to Estonia Nikolai Uspensky declined an invitation to the ceremony. He would attend a separate ceremony at the cemetery later Tuesday along with Russian war veterans, the Russian Embassy said in a statement.
The testy relations between Russia and Estonia plummeted to a new low after the Estonian government removed the war grave and an adjacent Soviet monument from downtown Tallinn in April.
For Russians, the so-called Bronze Soldier and the war grave signified the enormous human sacrifice the Soviet Union paid in defeating Nazi Germany. Ethnic Estonians, however, regard the monument as a symbol of five decades of Soviet occupation and totalitarian rule that ended with Estonian independence in 1991.
Moscow condemned the move, while members of the Baltic country's Russian-speaking minority staged protests that degenerated into street riots that left one dead and more than 100 injured.
For weeks after the removal, Estonian government Web sites were crippled by hacker attacks that investigators linked to computers in the Kremlin. Russia denied any involvement.
"The Russian side has made statements on the highest level about the unacceptable dismantling of the monument, conducting excavations and attempts to rewrite history for the sake of domestic political gains," the Russian embassy said in a statement.
Estonia's government said cemetery was a more proper resting place.
The remains of 12 Red Army soldiers were exhumed after authorities removed the statue, which is now at the Defense Forces cemetery, about two miles from its previous location.
The remains of four soldiers were handed over upon request to relatives in Russia and Ukraine, Estonia's Defense Ministry said. The remaining eight were buried near the Bronze Soldier in Tuesday's ceremony. A plaque with the names of the soldiers was placed in front of the graves.
The campaign to relocate the statue and war grave from downtown Tallinn began in May 2006 when ethnic Russians waving the Soviet flag gathered there during celebrations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany. Many Estonians said they were insulted by the gesture.
Ethnic Russians make up about one-fourth of the Estonia's population of 1.3 million.
They should make a difference between a memorial for those who fought a war in defense of their home country and the memories of beeing opressed by the same.
They have a russian majority - let them have something to remember their soldiers of WWII who fought for their country and build memorials for those who fought against communism - and died. They will have to arrrange without opression on either side.
If communism is atheistic, what difference would it make?
Prayers are for the sake of the souls of the dead, not for the living. Politics is over for these dead soldiers and whatever is left for them is between them and God.
Sorry - I ment to say minority.
“It is hard for me to understand why the Russian expect the Estonians to be grateful for occupying their country for 50 years.”
Noone could expect that and the memorial is not about russian occupation. It’s important for the russians in estonia that they have something to think of their WWII deads.
You are right to say that the replacement doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t handled with respect. Certainly the russian minority is a bit nervous because they are not treated like best friends (as you can imagine).
The Estonians should have made bullets out of statue.
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