Tension Between Russia and Estonia Heating Up

Recent tensions between Russia and Estonia have brought protesters to the streets in Moscow on Wednesday after they disrupted a news conference by the Estonian ambassador. They blocked trucks for a brief time that were crossing the border near St. Petersburg and also harassed diplomats at the embassy.Russia has now scheduled repairs on its railways that are entering Estonia which will cause oil shipments to be disrupted, further escalating the situation. Estonian officials have accused Russian hackers of shutting down their government web sites. The Estonian president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves has asked for civility after protests in both countries because of the removal of a Soviet-era monument from the Estonian capital last week.

Marina Kaljurand, Estonia’s ambassador to Russia, had to have her bodyguards use pepper spray to drive protesters away from her at a news conference. The protesters were from a pro-Kremlin youth group called Nashi.

Russians have been protesting the removal of the Bronze Soldier from a square near Tallinn’s Old Town. The monument was erected in 1947 and is viewed by most Estonians as a symbol of the Soviet rule of their country from 1940 to 1991. They would like it moved to a less prominent spot, but Russians see the removal as an insult to Soviet soldiers that defended the country against Nazi Germany in World War II.

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