TALLINN - Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the remains of fallen Soviet fighters buried under Tallinn's Bronze Soldier monument to be returned to Russian soil. "If it comes to the demolition of the monument and the reburial of our soldiers' sacred remains, we are ready to propose to the present Estonian leadership to rebury them in the territory of the Russian Federation," Putin told the Interfax news agency.
Putin's remarks came prematurely, as the Estonian government remains divided over whether to remove or retain the contentious monument.
While Parliament has passed laws allowing the relocation of the Soviet memorial, no decision to act on the laws has been made.
It is likely to remain a key issue in the upcoming general election - the Center Party has pledged to retain the Bronze Soldier, while the opposition parties and Reformists, the lead partner in the coalition, have vowed to remove it.
When asked about the Bronze Soldier on Feb. 1, Putin expressed disappointment at movements in Estonia.
"I find that this is an absolutely short-sighted policy, extremist-nationalist, which does not take into consideration the history connected with the fight against Nazism or today's reality," Putin said, continuing Moscow's oft-repeated claim that the Bronze Soldier is a monument against fascism rather than a symbol of Soviet occupation.
Although Putin stated that Russia would be happy to take back the remains of soldiers which are buried under the monument, he added that World War II veterans residing in Estonia should be consulted first.
One mooted possibility is to transfer the remains to the Mamaev burial mound in Volgograd, Russia, a concept which Putin appeared to support.
The Russian president pointed out that monuments to fallen German soldiers exist on Russian soil, and that other European nations continue to respect memorials to Soviet soldiers.
"In many states of Europe, the monuments to Soviet soldiers are not simply standing, they are even, I'm ashamed to say, looked after better than we do it in Russia," Putin said.
Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip did not respond to Putin's remarks.
To date, the Estonian government has been reluctant to respond to the huge furor the Bronze Soldier has caused in Russia. Protesters in Moscow last week waved placards featuring the face of Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves marked through with a red line, despite Ilves being the mere promulgator and not instigator of the removal laws.
In Estonia, an informal coalition of young Russian-speaking dissidents signed a statement threatening mass unrest if the statue is moved.
The group, called Nochnoi Dozor or Night Watch, said "state powers" would have to take full responsibility for the explosive situation which could be provoked.
"Supporters and opponents of the monument are tired of living in the conditions of the state's psychological terror against its own nation," the Night Watch statement read.
Members of the Night Watch group have registered to stand in the March 4 parliamentary elections under the banner of the Constitution Party.
