Estonia and the Bear (The Mouse That Roared)

Wall Street Journal ^ | 4 May 2007 | Staff

[shrinkermd]

Russians rioted in Tallinn and other Estonian cities earlier this week, and are now harassing the tiny country's diplomats in Moscow and calling for a trade blockade. Their stated grievance is the removal of a Soviet war memorial from central Tallinn. The real inspiration for this little cold war comes from the Kremlin.

The Estonian government transferred the bronze statue of a Red Army soldier and exhumed remains of Soviet troops to a military cemetery near the capital. Estonians are generous to keep them at all. The Soviets annexed their country in 1940 and only let go 51 years later. France doesn't have a memorial to the Nazi occupation.

Since its liberation, no former Soviet republic has managed to irritate the bear as much as this plucky Baltic mouse of 1.3 million people -- including 300,000 ethnic Russians -- famous for its ultra-modern economy. Moscow has for years accused Estonia and neighboring Latvia of violating ethnic Russians' rights because they insist, not unreasonably, that Russians learn a few words of their language to gain citizenship.

Many Baltic Russians are none too displeased that the Soviet collapse left them stranded in what fast became prosperous and free societies that have recently joined the European Union. The majority of Latvian and Estonian Russians have gotten their citizenship.

[shrinkermd]

Bump for Estonia.

[RusIvan]

The majority of Latvian and Estonian Russians have gotten their citizenship.==

Lie. “The small lie creates teh big distrust” into this article.

[alecqss]

Lie. “The small lie creates teh big distrust” into this article.

Right. It makes me not to believe that Estonians moved that monument from Tallinn's downtown...

[George W. Bush]

We need to support Estonia & Latvia diplomatically the same way we support Finland/Poland/Romania against Soviet revanchism.

These countries need to start stripping these troublemaking naturalized Russians of their citizenship and deporting them. They are an internal fifth column working for Putin's Kremlin.

I hope our presidential candidates will spend some time on the issue of security for New Europe and the future of NATO.

[RusIvan]

These countries need to start stripping these troublemaking naturalized Russians of their citizenship and deporting them. They are an internal fifth column working for Putin’s Kremlin.==

Good it will be the precedent for Russia does same. We in Russia has lot of folk to be deported under same pretense:).

[Lukasz]

Good it will be the precedent for Russia does same. We in Russia has lot of folk to be deported under same pretense:).

You already did it with Georgians. “The small lie creates the big distrust” into your words. :)

[RusIvan]

You already did it with Georgians. “The small lie creates the big distrust” into your words. :)==

Depoted Georgians were illegals. It is different.