Russia sent a note of protest to the Estonian Foreign Ministry over the demolition of the T-34 monument in Narva The dismantling of the monument took place on August 16, it was going to be sent to the Estonian War Museum. The prime minister of the republic argued that the monuments of the USSR should be removed from public space because of Russia's actions in Ukraine png 673w” media=”(max-width: 320px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), (max-width: 320px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)” >
Dismantling the Soviet T-34 tank
Russia sent a note of protest to the Estonian Foreign Ministry over the dismantling of the T-34 monument in Narva, said Ivan Nechaev, deputy director of the information and press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His words are quoted by the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“On August 16, in the vicinity of the city of Narva, the Estonian authorities dismantled this monument, as well as six more monuments in this city, including memorial plates on the central Petrovsky Square, a monument to the Hero of the Soviet Union I. Grafov, an obelisk to the Red Army, a memorial to the landing in Meriküla, two monument in Narva-Jõesuu. In this regard, we sent a corresponding note of protest to the Estonian Foreign Ministry, — said Nechaev.
He called the dismantling of the monument a “shameful action”, since the entire process was controlled by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, special forces and defense forces were also involved, access roads were blocked and the work of the Narva —Ivangorod border checkpoint was stopped.
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According to the deputy head of the department, the opposition of the Narva city council is going to sue “for the anti-democratic actions of the Estonian state”, because of which the authorities threatened supporters of the preservation of the monument to cancel their residence permits.
"The legendary T-34, now in the Museum of Military History, will, of course, be used by Tallinn in the spirit of the concept of "Soviet occupation",— considers Nechaev.
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The T-34 monument is located on the left bank of the Narva River. It marks the place where the Soviet troops crossed the river to drive the German troops back from the city. The monument was opened in May 1970.
The authorities of Narva decided to move the monument in early August. On August 16, the T-34 tank was removed from the pedestal to be sent to the Estonian War Museum. The ERR TV channel reported that around the place where the monument was erected, the police set up a cordon and blocked nearby roads, the police and the Ministry of Defense of the country were involved in the dismantling.
Explaining the need to demolish the monument, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that after February 24, military monuments of the USSR in the public space of Estonia “ceased to be only a local problem.” “None of us wants a militarily aggressive and hostile neighbor to stir up tension in our home,” she said.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu called for the removal of the tank within a month. He recalled the conflict over yet another Soviet monument, the Bronze Soldier, which “was ripening over the course of a year,” resulting in thousands of people gathering to express their feelings about what was happening. “Russian agents of influence were given the opportunity to kick up the dust, so it all ended in such a crisis,” — the minister said, noting that delay is not in the interests of the Estonians and the Estonian state.
Reinsalu called for “solving the issue as a whole”, because if you simply remove the T-34 tank from the pedestal, it may soon be replaced by another communist monument. “The tank has become a symbol, but symbols have their own magic. Symbols are used to judge who we are and what the values of society are, — the minister emphasized.
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