Free Republic

Demonstrators in Poland's capital on Monday attacked Russia's ambassador with red paint and prevented him from laying flowers at a cemetery for Soviet soldiers to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany. When the delegation led by Russian Ambassador Sergei Andreev appeared at Warsaw's Mausoleum Cemetery, hundreds of protesters opposed to Russia's war in Ukraine greeted them with shouts of "murderers" and "fascists." While Andreev was stuck in the crowd, two bags of red paint hit him in the head, first from behind, then directly in the face. The demonstrators then prevented him from laying flowers and a memorial wreath for...

In April 2007, the former Soviet republic of Estonia decided to relocate a monument of gratitude out of the centre of its capital city, Tallinn. The bronze statue depicts a pensive soldier with his head bowed, one hand holding a helmet and the other curled into a fist. For Estonia’s Russian minority, it was a symbol of the country’s liberation from fascism by the Red Army. For Estonians, it was a reminder of the country’s occupation by the Soviet Union. On 26 April, as authorities cordoned off the monument in preparation for its removal, hundreds of ethnic Russians descended on...