Soviet monuments along the Narva River began to be dismantled in Estonia. A tank in the city of Narva is also being removed from public space. 88% of the population there are Russians, they were against the transfer of the tank.
This is reported by ERR.
For the sake of safety, the law enforcement officers closed traffic around the monuments for vehicles and pedestrians.
"We are creating a perimeter around the three war monuments of the Soviet Union on the Narva-Narva-Jiesuu road in order to move them safely. This means that people are not allowed to be in this area, and traffic and car parking are also prohibited. The restriction zone is clearly marked with road signs, and the police officers, if necessary, point people to a detour," explained Narva Police Department Chief, Indrek Puvi.
The Prime Minister, Kaya Kallas, stated that after Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Soviet military monuments in the public space of Estonia are no longer a local problem.
"This morning, I called a meeting of the government, and we decided to move the military monuments of the Soviet Union from the public space in Narva. The T-34 tank will be moved to the Estonian Military Museum," Kallas noted.
"None of us wants a military-aggressive and hostile neighbor to inflame tension in our home. According to the Constitution, the central value of the Estonian state is internal peace, and one of the primary tasks of the state is the protection of internal and external peace. We will not give Russia the opportunity to use the past to disturb internal peace in Estonia," she added.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the common future should be in the center of attention.
- On August 4, the Government of Estonia agreed to remove all Soviet monuments from public space as soon as possible. In total, there are 200 to 400 such monuments in Estonia. Anyone who has such monuments on private territory can move them themselves. A special issue is the Narva tank, which belongs to the city of Narva. The local community of Russians is against its transfer. But Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Ljaanemets said that the tank will be removed by August 20.