Annals of Russian Hypocrisy: The Tallinn Riots
When foreigners tell Russia to stop committing human rights atrocities in Chechnya, Russians say it's an internal Russian affair and outsiders have no business sticking in their noses. But when Estonia does something Russia doesn't like (for instance, suppressing a violent riot that included crazed, wild-eyed looters like the one in the photograph, from Itching for Estonia) of Russian nationalists trying to prevent Estonia from moving the graves of Russian soldiers, who subjugated and raped the nation)? Suddenly, Russia has the right to dictate. News.com reports:
ESTONIAN authorities moved a Soviet-era war memorial from central Tallinn under cover of darkness today setting off riots that left at least one dead and sparking fury in Moscow.
The leader of the Russian senate called for diplomatic relations with Estonia to be broken because of the removal of the monument. Russia's foreign ministry called the move "blasphemous" and said relations would be examined. As Estonian authorities cordoned off the central square where the Red Army war memorial has been for decades, about 1000 pro-Russian demonstrators gathered nearby to protest. Their demonstration turned into a riot in which police used water cannon, rubber batons, and flash and sound grenades to disperse crowds and prevent youths from forcing their way through a police cordon. "One person died after being taken to hospital and 43 have been treated for injuries sustained in the violence," Tallinn police chief Raivo Kuut said on Estonian Television. More than 300 people were detained following the riots which were the worst the Baltic state has seen since restoring independence from Moscow in 1991.
A government emergency commission met during the night and ordered the controversial monument removed from the square to a new location, which is being kept secret, the Government press office said. Ethnic Estonians see the memorial as a symbol of 50 years of Soviet occupation while Russia considers it a symbol of the fight against Nazism in World War II. "The aim of the Government move was to prevent further similar gross violations of public order, which pose a real threat to citizens' health and property," the Government said. The plan to relocate the statue has caused anger in Moscow, which says the Estonians are glorifying fascism by insisting on moving it.
Sergei Mironov, head of the upper house of the Russian Parliament, called today for a break in relations with Estonia. "I urge you to adopt a resolution addressed to the president recommending a break in diplomatic relations with Estonia," he told MPs. Russian MPs were to vote on a non-binding resolution today. A spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, Mikhail Kamynin, called the Estonian government's action "blasphemous" and "inhuman". He added that Russia would re-examine its relations with the ex-Soviet Baltic state. The head of the international affairs committee in the lower house of the Russian Parliament, Konstantin Kosachyov, also recommended tough measures against Estonia today. "We will of course demand from the executive the toughest possible reaction to what is happening in Estonia," Mr Kosachyov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. "It's barbaric, it's blasphemous," Mr Kosachyov said.
The Estonian Government voted last year to move the monument to a less prominent location after scuffles broke out at the memorial between pro-Russian supporters and ethnic Estonians. Estonia and its Baltic neighbours were annexed by the Soviet Union at the close of World War II and only regained independence in 1991. The authorities wanted to conduct excavation work at the site to determine if any fallen World War II soldiers lie buried beneath the statue before moving it.
Kommersant reports: "According to the Tallinn newspaper Postimees, activists from Russia's Nashi movement have moved into the Meriton Grand Hotel Tallinn (69 euros a night) a few hundred meters from the monument. In addition, Dmitry Linter, one of the leaders of the 'Night Watch' has also recently promised that 'surprises are in the works' for the Estonian authorities." In other words, Russia sent the Nashi youth cult in to attempt to destabilize the Estonian government, yet Putin just got finished complaining that foreign NGO's are seeking to support the "Other Russia" coalition in his state-of-the-nation address. Russia can't have it both ways.So it seems the government of Estonia is "inhuman" because it dares to disagree with Russia. Perhaps that means it should be "exterminated" like an infestation? Break diplomatic relations? Mironov is the same person who is calling for appointing Vladimir Putin an indefinite rule as dictators, the same one who stood by watching trainees use Alexander Litvinenko's photograph for target practice. Who are the Russians kidding? Estonia is a part of NATO and the EU. Attacking Estonia is attacking NATO and the EU -- and, come to think of it, Putin just announced a pullout from a major security treaty in Europe. Maybe war is just what Russia wants?
28 comments:
Gotta love those tiny digg buttons
you dont like russia - you fucking die pig
here are more photos of Russian "liberators": http://www.hot.ee/vabastajad/
looks like their main concern is to "liberate" shops from booze.
Dmitry Linter arrested at his home and in hospital with a "heart attack" (whereas he is thirty never had heart problems). Other members of Nochnoï Dozor arrested and nobody knows where they are. Hundreds of "pro-russian demonstrators" (russian minorities living without any kind of status in Estonia) arrested and savagely beaten by the police. And all this happening in a country-member of the EU...
Poor, brainwashed la Russophobe... You could have shown a photograph of a demonstrator being kicked by several policemen.(images seen on russian tv-news. But then, they certainly must be a crafty montage and La Russophobe doesn't watch Russian tv, anyway, since it's full of propaganda crap...)
Look forward to an EU/Russia non agression pact, the terms being oil and gas in exchange for permission to recover old real estate. I fear for the brave little nations in between who believed in the West. And the US? ...too busy worrying about Rosie, Alex and Don.
to nuta: Dimitri was not arrested at his home or suffered a heart attack, dont believe the bullshit propaganda that russian media is spewing out. Dimitri was knifed in a streetfight at Tatari street during an "attack" on a pub. He died in hospital. Those 1500 russian teenagers who loot and steal on the streets of Tallinn have nothing to do with "respect for the dead soldiers". First of all russians should accept and acknowledge the crimes of Soviet Russian regime in the Baltic states during the Soviet occupation and show some respect to the tens of thousands of Estonian dead who were murdered under Soviet regime before they can expect some respect for themselves.
I don't have a google account, so I posted under "anonymous." But you can call me elmer.
La Russophobe has previously stated this:
In Russia, the people have agreed to be treated like idiots.
Now, we can add:
In Estonia, the Russians are acting like idiots.
In Russia, if 2,000 people come out to exercise free speech - 9,000 storm troopers come out and beat them over the head, arrest them, and then prosecute Kasparov's lawyers. All in the name of "protecting traffic."
In Estonia, if a few hundred Russian thugs come out and start rioting and looting and burning - the Russian Duma starts screaming like stuck pigs, and cheers them on.
As someone else has pointed out - Yeltsin's funeral was one protest that Putin and his storm troopers could not break up.
By the way, for all you neo-tsarist, neo-sovok, chauvinist "Russia uber all" liars --
From posts on the Estonian site:
"DO YOU WANT A SPLIT IN TWO"
Have heard it all before. You use the same old tripe everywhere.
Including the stuff about language discrimination.
Including the stuff about Nazis.
Including the stuff about how insignificant [insert name of your country here] is, compared to All-Powerful Oily "We-Will-Bury-You-With-Our-Orthodox-Oil" Orthodox-Sovok-Tsarist Russia.
Including the stuff about "nationalism" (seems that under communism, noone was allowed to be a nationalist - except Russkies; seems today, that for Russkies, noone is allowed to be a nationalist - except Russkies).
They can't come up with anything new.
Not even rioting, for no good reason.
GO ESTONIA!!!!!!!
This is elmer again.
On the Estonian web sites, the Russkies are dripping sarcasm all over Estonia, with the typical russkie chauvinist attitude, telling Estonia how insignificant they are, and how they can't possibly get along without Oily Mother Russia.
But Estonia is The Mouse That Roared.
And the russkies have their panties all in a wad over it.
I guess Estonia is not so small and insignificant after all.
GO ESTONIA!!!!
Nice one Elmer!
Greetings from the Netherlands.
We are with You!
what is wrong with you people? having read this it seems that there is just a bunch of lunatics who think they can make their way by digging the graves. its all just completely surreal! i wonder who pays for this site? a cia? mi6 or m.soros? shame on you.
- an objective comment from france.
welcome to eSStonia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcogM9njWGE&NR=1
This is elmer again.
We've heard all about Soros before as well.
Seems that russkies are absolutely paranoid about a bunch of things, and Soros is one of them.
you dont like russia - you fucking die pig
What are you, part of the knuckle dragging Neadertals running Russia right now?
It is amazing how fast intelligent dialogue critical of Putin's regime brings his slobs out of the woodwork.
Estonians, bless them, have to deal with their resident Russians that seem incapable of moving on into the realm of a modern civil society. They recently rioted when a Red Army statue was removed from the public square there, as it should have been, it was in Estonia - victims of the Red Army, for God sakes.
oops...make that Neandertals.
why don't we have an intelligent dialogue about blair or bush regime? get real - these people is a real danger to the world.
as for the comments from elmer i can't help but think that he or she has issues with pathalogical hate agains other human beings and should be seroiusly considering counceling or simply putting on prozac.
as to Penny's comment - do you really think you live in a modern civil society? its rather nazi's germany you come from!
- an objective comment from france.
http://www.gnosticliberationfront.com/_borders/qna27.jpg
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/6/69/200px-Natzbols.jpg
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/7/7a/Yuliya.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Evstafiev-neo-bolsheviks.jpg
russian Nazis, over 50000 menbers.
To: - an objective comment from france.
Because your statement is not being "objective" You just used Mi6, CIA, and Soros in the same sentence. You might as well have shown your real agenda and put Mossad and the Joooos in there for good measure. Talk about inversions of moralality. You are obviously a leftists trying to hide behind the word "objectivst". Try actually reading Capitalism: The Unknown Idea. Objectivist my ass!
as to Penny's comment - do you really think you live in a modern civil society?
As compared to Russia, North Korea, China, most of the Mideast, most of Africa, Venezuela, Cuba.....
Damn right I live in a modern civil society here is the US. Do you?
To Nuta:
First of all I think it would do you good to join the real world and learn some real facts, not only rely on the Russian TV. It's a known fact they tend to manipulate with the facts. There are many examples of Russian government lying publicly - e.g. what first was said to be just an airplane crashed in Latvia came out to be full of army crap? Even then the Russian politicians swore it didn't have army equipment on it... Poor baby, you're letting yourself to be brainwashed instead and live in a big lie ;)
Same goes for Dmitri Linter who most certainly wasn't arrested at his home, unless he had moved in to a store that didn't belong to him. And what news report ever mentioned a heart attack? It was always stabbing... And guess what weapons are being confiscated from the looting Russians' pockets- knives, metal pipes, even swords! That's not how you come to a peaceful meeting... I don't know of course how it is in Russia, but usually in the rest of the world, people have other meanings for the word "peaceful".
When you say the Night Watch leaders were arrested, then you can't really say that nobody knows where they are... Usually an arrested person is taken away for further investigation. Don't worry, they will get punishment that fits the crime. I understand though your concern, but Estonia doesn't lose the people, as it used to be in the USSR.
Also, in my mind 30% of 1,3 million doesn't look much like a minority to me anyway.. but ok, as you wish. The russian minority was arrested for a reason, maybe if you would check other tv channels than russian ones, you would see the reason why. Also, it's weird that only THAT 30% is always complaining about how hard the life is in Estonia when other minorities (who deserve to be called the minority) make public statements about how nicely they've been treated. I think it could be because of the fact that they take the country as their home and don't trash it just for fun (not only on those two nights, but ALWAYS). It's called respect that russians lack. How can a person so hating Estonia can ever live there? Why do they stay there? Why didn't they return to Russia when Putin invited them? Because they know that in Russia things would be a lot worse... Think about it. Estonia would be happy to return the occupants to its rightful owner (you must admit, russia belongs to one guy only).
And about photos- how about a photo of a russian throwing beton blocks at the policemen? or russians wrecking the windows of Armani shop? stealing from the antique shop? breaking a leg of a policewoman? smashing windows at university, theatre, book shops, national library...? I am sure that was not because of the curiosity towards the culture! Those people were rightfully put on the ground and handcuffed! This whole trashing the cities (plural!) was not because of a statue or the remains for the dead, it's a very silly excuse to have for a lowbrow destroying... But I guess that's what the russians have been waiting for for the last 16 years...
My suggestion: try to read more books in other languages than Russian. Might do you good!
I am with the objective commentator from France.
This site is probably funded by a NGO inside of Russia, which in turn is funded by secret services of certain countries. What pathetic
propaganda! Propaganda of hate and intolerance! Reminds me of Nazism!
HEIL LA RUSSOPHOBE!
an objective comment from U.S.A.
Vive L'Estonia!
As for the rest of you "objective" commentators, Estonia belongs to the Estonians, not to the Red Army who rolled in to take over the place for Dear Comrade Stalin, not to the ethnic Russians shipped in to try to dilute the population and abandoned there when the "Iron Curtain rusted away. You call it hate and intolerance, I call it hating those who would destroy Estonia...and that's perfectly normal. Anything else would be downright cowardly. The monument in question memorializes the captivity of the Estonian people, like so many others at the end of WWII when the leaders of the West suddenly lost their backbones.
Freedom, Democracy, and Capitalism Forever! Slavery, Surrender and Communism/Socialism, Never!
That is properly focused hate and intolerance.
Doug in Colorado
Lil' Doug/Goebbels,
you're obviously not Estonian nor Rusian.
You're either a wet behind the ears polisci student or more likely a paid employee of your government to make nazi-style entries on blogs.
HEIL DOUG!
Fine and funny point, missed by all Western observers who rushed to display that photo, is that a face of a person on it has typical Finno-Ugrish features, i.e., he is most likely Estonian (rather than Russian).
To the last comment> No, he is not. He was identified and picked up by police two days after the looting, he is a russian drug addict.
See six policemen beats one man who just walked out a cafe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVXvJ4IsjkI
Esstonia is rising Nazi-state.
To anonymous, who posted 5/02/2007 3:18 PM
GO TO HELL!!!
What nazi-state??? Did you fall on your head? You think that because Estonians don`t let russians to take over their country, they are becomeing nazis?
Who can blame Estonian police on fiding back-it is their job. And what else are they sopose to do, when brainless russian teenagers vandalize on streets, robbing shops and butting them on fire, beating up innocent peaople (and the police who tries to stop them gets hurt too, when vandals throw them with brics and attac specially much female police officers)and so on. Is it normal?
These idiotic people walk the streets screaming russia-russia --Who stops them from starting to walk towards the Estonian east-border? I don`t really think that anyone will miss them there...
And russian duma reaction-they scream and yell about Estonia mouving a monument with graves from discretional place in the middle of town to a place, where dead people can have some peace, when at the same time in russia coverment takes down monuments and builts facilitis on dead bodys. So why the hell do they screm like someone is hurting them, while they are acting worse?
I think that russia should leave Estonia alone and russians living in Estonia, who are not pleased with their present living place, should start mouving instead of vandalizing.
By: ML
Dearest ML,
Firstly, your attempt at purposely misspelling is ludicrous! As you well know, the truth is that Estonia is a country that propogates hate and intolerance as stated by numerous people in this blog. Some Estonians joined the nazi SS in WWII. I guess their affinity for nazism is alive and well today as well!
I hate nazis!!!!! and nazi lovers!
russophobe is well known c o c k s u c k e r
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