TALLINN. Jan 17 (Interfax) - The Estonian government has no plans to dismantle the Bronze Soldier monument, which commemorates Soviet soldiers who liberated Tallinn from the Nazis during World War II, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said.
"No, the government has no immediate plans to do this," Kallas said in parliament on Wednesday after being asked by MPs whether the monument might be removed from the public space.
The relocation of the Bronze Soldier monument from central Tallinn to the military cemetery in 2007 led to large-scale protests, cyberattacks, and diplomatic pressure on the Estonian authorities, she said.
"We do not want new public unrest [or] tensions in our society to erupt as Red Army monuments are removed. It is good if we can avoid tensions," Kallas said.
"We have serious disagreements with our Russian community" regarding Victory Day celebrations on May 9, Kallas said, adding that "the local ethnic Russians do not want an escalation either."
On Tuesday, the Estonian parliament voted down a bill drafted by the Conservative People's Party (EKRE) faction aimed at demolishing the Soviet-era Bronze Soldier monument. Out of 101 MPs, 14 voted for the bill and 54 voted against it at its first reading, which means the bill will be removed from the agenda.
The monument was erected on Tonismagi Hill near the city center on September 22, 1947.
The monument, created by sculptor Enn Roos and architect Arnold Alas, depicts a two-meter tall Soviet soldier bowing his head in grief and a wall bearing plaques with the names of the dead and the Order of the Patriotic War. It is believed that Red Army soldier Vello Rayangu from Estonia was the prototype for the monument.
The Bronze Soldier was the traditional center of V-Day celebrations in Estonia. Thousands of Tallinn residents and tourists laid flowers and wreaths at the monument on May 9 each year.
The monument was moved to the Military Cemetery on government orders in the early hours of April 27, 2007. The remains of 12 Soviet soldiers from the common grave near the moment were reburied.
The Russian-speaking population interpreted this as a mockery of the memory of the fallen and organized a protest that developed into mass disturbances. About 1,200 protesters were detained and around 50 people were wounded. Russian citizen Dmitry Ganin was killed.