In a letter of complaint to member countries of the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed indignation at solidarity within the European Union (EU) and demanded Estonia's punishment, it appears from the letter published in the daily Eesti Paevaleht.
The minister expressed indignation because many Western countries supported Estonia and tolerated activity of the government at relocation of the monument.
"The Western countries give their tacit approval to the fact that by equaling the heroism of soldier-liberators and the crimes of Nazis and their henchmen, Estonian authorities were attempting to rewrite history and reinterpret the role of the anti-Hitler coalition in the victory over fascism in World War Two," the letter said.
"Soldier liberator" is the term being used for the Bronze Soldier monument by Russia's officialdom and media of late. The Baltic Times has not seen the term used historically in connection with the monument.
The minister slammed the Estonian authorities for the use of force in the relocation of a Red Army monument, the so-called Bronze Soldier, from Tonismagi in central Tallinn to the garrison cemetery and what he called attempts to rewrite history.
Lavrov warned in his letter that the consequences of events connected with the monument could reach father than the framework of bilateral Russian-Estonian relations."
He said the Tallinn events had been condemned "at all levels of the Russian society and this could influence our relations with the European Union and NATO in the most serious way.
Lavrov added that "the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the happiness and freedom of future generations must not become victims of political games."
