The Bronze Night (), also known as the April Unrest () and April Events (), was a number of riots in Estonia surrounding the 2007 relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn, a Soviet World War II memorial in Tallinn.
Many ethnic Estonians considered the Bronze Soldier in the city centre a symbol of Soviet occupation and repression. At the same time, the monument has significant symbolic value to Estonia's large ethnic Russian community, symbolising not only Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, but also their claim to equal rights in Estonia.
Amid political controversy, in April 2007 the Government of Estonia started final preparations for the relocation of the statue and reburial of the associated remains, according to the political mandate received from the previous elections (held in March 2007). Disagreement over the appropriateness of the action led to mass protests and riots (accompanied by looting), lasting for two nights, the worst in Estonia since the Soviet reoccupation in 1944. During the riots, one ethnic Russian protester was fatally stabbed. In the early morning hours of April 27, 2007, after the first night's rioting, the Government of Estonia decided, at an emergency meeting, to relocate the monument immediately, referring to security concerns. By the following afternoon, the stone structure had been dismantled as well. As of the afternoon of April 30, the statue without the stone structure had been placed at the Defence Forces Cemetery of Tallinn. An opening ceremony for the relocated statue was held on May 8, VE Day. (Soviet Army veterans celebrate Victory Day a day later, on May 9.) During June 2007, the stone structure was rebuilt. Relatives have made claims to bodies of four of the war dead. Unclaimed remains were reburied at the military cemetery, next to the relocated monument, on July 3, 2007.
Background
Historical background
On July 3, 1933, aggression was defined in a binding treaty signed at the Soviet Embassy in London by the USSR and The Republic of Estonia. Forms of aggression were defined: "A naval blockade of coasts or ports of another State; Invasion by armed forces of the territory of another State even without a declaration of war.""Aggression Defined". Time.League of Nations Treaty Series, 1934, No. 3391. On September 24, 1939, warships of the Red Navy appeared off Estonian ports and Soviet bombers began to patrol over Tallinn and the nearby countryside."Moscow's Week". Time. (October 9, 1939). On June 12, 1940, the order for a total military blockade on Estonia was given to the Soviet Baltic Fleet. Pavel Petrov at Finnish Defence Forces home page documents published from the State Archive of the Russian Navy On June 16, 1940, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia."Five Years of Dates". Time. June 24, 1940. The Soviet Union occupied and subsequently annexed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as Soviet republics in 1940.
After the German occupation of 1941–1944, Soviet forces reconquered Estonia in the autumn of 1944 and Estonia remained a part of the USSR until 1991. During this era, Soviet authorities removed and obliterated numerous historical Estonian monuments. Cemeteries that were destroyed by the authorities during the Soviet era in Estonia include Baltic German cemeteries established in 1774 Kopli cemetery, Mõigu cemetery and the oldest cemetery in Tallinn, from 16th century, Kalamaja cemetery.The destruction of cemeteries by Robert Nerman At the Tallinn Military Cemetery (where the Bronze Soldier was relocated in 2007) the graves of 240 Estonian soldiers from the Estonian War of Independence were reused by the Red Army. The monument for Estonia's independence was destroyed by the Soviet authorities. Only the graves of two Estonian generalsthe destruction of Tallinn Military Cemetery by Pekka Erelt and 15 British servicemen from the era were saved by making the ground a maintenance area.
Interpretation of history
In 1989, during perestroika, the era of reassessment of Soviet history in the USSR, the USSR condemned the 1939 secret protocol between Nazi Germany and itself that had led to the invasion and occupation of the three Baltic countries.The Forty-Third Session of the UN Sub-Commission at Google Scholar The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the restoration of the Republic of Estonia's sovereignty (See History of Estonia: Regaining independence.) The mass deportations of ethnic Estonians during the Soviet era together with migration into Estonia from other parts of the Soviet Union had resulted in the share of ethnic Estonians in the country decreasing from 88% in 1934 to 62% in 1989. Background Note: Estonia AT U.S Department of State (See Demographics of Estonia.)
According to the Government of Estonia,Estonia says Soviet occupation justifies it staying away from Moscow celebrations – Pravda.Ru the European Court of Human Rights,European Court of Human Rights cases on Occupation of Baltic States the EU,Motion for a resolution on the Situation in Estonia by EU and the US,U.S.-Baltic Relations: Celebrating 85 Years of Friendship at state.gov Estonia remained occupied by the Soviet Union until restoration of its independence in 1991; the 48 years of Soviet occupation and annexation were never recognized as legal by the Western democracies.
According to the European Court of Human Rights, the lawful government of Estonia in 1940 was overthrown and Soviet rule was imposed by force. The government of the Soviet Union conducted large-scale and systematic actions against the Estonian population. Elections were organized in which only Soviet-supported candidates were permitted to run. As reported by Time magazine in 1940: "Those who had failed to have their passports stamped for voting Estonia into the USSR were allowed to be shot in the back of the head by Soviet tribunals."
The view that Estonia's annexation by the USSR was legitimate is advanced by the official statements of the Russian Federation,Комментарий Департамента информации и печати МИД России в связи с высказываниями ряда европейских политиков относительно "оккупации" стран Балтии Советским Союзом и необходимости осуждения этого со стороны России which claim that the USSR's presence in the Baltics was legal according to international law and that the Baltics could not be occupied because there was no declaration of war.
Some commentators fear that Russia's insistence on pro-Soviet historical interpretations may signal an attempt to reclaim control over the "near abroad".
Integration efforts in everyday life of Estonia have mainly revolved around two issues: citizenship and language. Some Russian associations, media, religious leaders and officials, as well as Amnesty International, accuse Estonia of human rights violations.
Further background
Confrontation
After the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991, a public controversy surrounded the memorial and grew into direct confrontation about 2006–2007. The eternal flame was extinguished shortly after the Estonian redeclaration of independence.День Победы без победителя: Таллин бросил вызов истории , RIA Novosti, April 27, 2007 In 1994 the memorial underwent a reconstruction. Following the reopening, the bronze headstones on the stone background and the protective barrier surrounding the memorial were removed.Екатерина Зорина, "Свечи совести" для эстонских властей , Vesti, December 20, 2006.
World War II Red Army veterans and representatives of the Russian-speaking population in Estonia have continued to gather at the monument on certain dates, celebrating May 9 (Victory Day) and September 22 ("Liberation of Tallinn" in 1944). The display of Soviet flags and other Soviet symbols at these gatherings had offended many Estonians.
A non-violent confrontation at the monument site took place on May 9, 2006, when a group of Estonians approached the celebrating Red Army veterans. To preserve public order and out of security concerns, the police helped the group to leave the area, along with their Estonian flag, and let the veterans' meeting with the Soviet symbols continue. On the next day, Estonian nationalist Jüri Liim said he would blow up the monument unless the authorities removed it promptly. In the same month, the tensions rose again and the police kept a 24-hour patrol in place, cordoning off the area until early September 2006.
Estonian journalist Paavo Kangur suggested in an opinion piece that the confrontations were intentionally provoked to increase the support of Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica and "Estonian Nazi sympathizers" of having been manipulated by Russian FSB service. Russian translation , .
A small group of Estonian Russophones set up an organization in mid-2006 called Nochnoy Dozor (Night Watch), calling for nightly vigils to guard the monument from possible removal attempts.
On April 24, 2007, in explaining the necessity for thorough investigation of the burials, Estonian PM Andrus Ansip related a number of urban legends (grave holds remains of executed looters or drunk Red Army soldiers run over by Red Army tank). The Russian press sensationalized Ansip's comments in their headlines, presenting Ansip as disparaging Red Army veterans.
Legislative preparations
War Graves Protection Act
On January 10, 2007, the Riigikogu (the Estonian parliament) passed the War Graves Protection Act, with 66 votes in favour and 6 against, initiated by the Estonian Reform Party, Social Democratic Party, Res Publica Party and Isamaaliit Party. The preamble of the Act states: In observance and acknowledgement of the obligation of the Republic of Estonia to guarantee the protection, respect and dignified treatment of the remains of persons who have died in acts of war conducted on the territory of Estonia; finding that the burying of persons who have died in acts of war to unsuitable places is in discord with European culture and the tradition of honouring the memory and remains of the deceased; on the basis of Article 34 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol 1) adopted on June 8, 1977, according to which the Estonian state is obliged to guarantee the respect of the remains and gravesites of persons who have died due to acts of war in the territory of Estonia, and the marking thereof, and in pursuance of which the Estonian state is entitled to rebury the remains on the basis of the public interest, the Riigikogu passes this Act. (Official translation of the legal text)
The Act came into force on January 20, 2007.
Estonia has mutual war grave protection treaties with Finland and Germany but not with Russia, giving special status to many war graves in Estonia but not the one on Tõnismägi. The War Graves Protection Act's major result was to codify the international customs and practices regarding the handling of war graves (see above) into country-unspecific terms, and to extend unilateral protection to war graves not covered by mutual international protection treaties. Most 20th-century battles on Estonian soil having been fought by Soviet (largely ethnically-Russian), German, Estonian armies and a formation of the Finnish volunteers under Estonian command, almost all war graves in Estonia not covered by mutual treaties or earlier domestic laws are those of the Red Army.