The Bronze Night (Estonian: pronksiöö), also known as the April Unrest (aprillirahutused) and April Events (aprillisündmused), 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." 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. On June 12, 1940, the order for a total military blockade on Estonia was given to the Soviet Baltic Fleet. On June 16, 1940, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia.
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. 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 generals 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 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. (See Demographics of Estonia.)
According to the Government of Estonia, the European Court of Human Rights, the EU, and the US, 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, 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.
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. 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.
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.
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:
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.
Another effect of the law was that it placed all war graves under the jurisdiction of the Estonian Ministry of Defence. Tõnismägi being city land, municipal cooperation would have been necessary for exhumation and/or monument removal without such legislation. As non-citizen residents can vote in Estonian municipal elections and were largely in support of retaining the statue, the Tallinn City Council has a large Russian representation and any approval was unlikely in the foreseeable future. The law eliminated the need to negotiate with the municipal government for war grave related business—specifically, exhumation of the buried bodies and, if the corpses would be found, relocation of the monument which would then be considered a grave marker.
Proposed Law on Forbidden Structures
On February 15, 2007, Riigikogu approved the Law on Forbidden Structures by 46 votes to 44. This would have banned the public display of monuments that glorify the Soviet Union or Estonia's fifty years of Bolshevism. The monument itself was specifically mentioned, to be relocated within 30 days of the President signing this into law. However, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves vetoed the law, arguing that it did not comply with the constitution of Estonia (the only legal basis for a presidential veto under Estonian constitution). A veto override was never attempted and this bill did not become law.
Public perception
The idea of relocation was opposed by a plurality among inhabitants of Estonia. According to an opinion poll ordered by Eesti Päevaleht and performed by Turu-uuringute AS from April 5 through April 22, 2007, 37% of respondents supported relocation of the monument, while 49% were against relocation and 14% had not formed any opinion on the subject. Relocation of the monument had slightly stronger support from native Estonian speakers—49% in favour of relocation—while only 9% of native Russian speakers supported relocation.
According to a non-scientific poll by the daily newspaper Postimees on April 25, when preparations for relocation had already begun, 85.12% of online readers taking part in the poll voiced their support for the relocation, 12.98% opposed it and the remaining were uncertain.
According to the article in Eesti Päevaleht, in Russia special services encouraged media to discuss the Bronze Soldier often and in a particularly emotional way, as a way of influencing political opinion. Among other activities, this translated into opposing and denouncing of high-level Russian politicians who supported civilised relocation of the Bronze Soldier.
Events surrounding relocation
Estonian Police cordoned off the square and nearby streets in the early morning of April 26, 2007, in preparation for archaeological excavations in search of the remains and, if found, their relocation.
A tent structure was erected to shield the excavations from weather and from public view. Three members of the protest organization "Night Watch" (also sometimes translated as Night Vigil) who were monitoring the situation declined to leave the area and locked themselves in their car. The police had to break a side window of the car to extract them forcibly, causing slight shard wounds to one. Having been removed, Night Watch spread rumours that the monument removal procedure had started. After a few hours, around 1000 people, mostly Russian-speaking, had surrounded the police cordon and some from the group attempted to break through it. Several meetings in protest of the removal were held. Around dusk, the mob turned more and more violent, starting to throw stones and empty bottles at the police. By around 9:15 p.m., the mob activity turned to what the police considered the first night's riot.
In the early morning of April 27, 2007, the Estonian government held an emergency meeting and at 3:40 a.m. local time, decided, upon advice from the Estonian Security Council, to relocate the monument immediately (as "the ground for violent acts"). Three hours later, by 6:40 a.m., the monument had been moved to an undisclosed provisional location.
The government stated that the statue would be re-erected as soon as possible in a military cemetery maintained by the Estonian Defence Forces.
As of the afternoon of April 30 the statue—without the stone structure—had been re-erected. Reassembling the stone structure was delayed out of concerns over the æsthetic qualities of the site on reopening, as the stone structure's weight required a new foundation to be constructed out of concrete. This work began on May 23 and was estimated to be completed by the end of June. For the time of the construction work, the statue was temporarily moved to a nearby location on the cemetery.