Nations remember Russian troop withdrawal

  • 2004-09-02
  • By Aleksei Gunter
TALLINN - Although not marked as a red-letter day on the Estonian calendar, Aug. 31 is celebrated as the official end to the 55-year occupation period. For even though the country's independence was restored on Aug. 20, 1991, Russia's military presence continued for three years and did not end until August 1994.

To mark the 10-year anniversary, the government thanked diplomats who were accredited to Tallinn at that time and that offered the support of their governments, as well as everyone who helped restore independence.
The government also commended leaders of the Russian Federation who were willing to abolish the legacy of the Soviet occupation in Estonia and recall the last remaining occupation forces located in the Baltic country, thereby acknowledging international law.
In a collective address to compatriots and partner states on Aug. 31, the government called the troop withdrawal "an epilogue to more than half a century of armed occupation, which came about on the basis of an agreement between two now independent states - the Russian Federation and the Republic of Estonia."
The address, signed by Prime Minister Juhan Parts and all the members of his Cabinet, went on to say that "For Estonia this symbolized the ultimate liberation from foreign forces. [...] This also meant the rebirth of Estonia's sovereign foreign and defense policy in which we opted to aim for integration with Western economic and security structures, the European Union and NATO."
Latvian officials, led by Defense Minister Atis Slakteris, also commemorated the 10th anniversary of the withdrawal of Russian troops from their country.
Indeed, thanks to the efforts of government officials, foreign diplomats and several Russian leaders, thousands of Russian military troops started leaving the two Baltic countries in 1994.
Russia withdrew its troops from Lithuania in 1993.
In accordance with the agreement signed by former President Lennart Meri and Russian President Boris Yeltsin on July 26, 1994, the troop withdrawal was to be completed by Aug. 31, while the nuclear reactor in Paldiski was to be decommissioned by December 1995.
Crucially, the U.S. Senate linked major financial aid packages to Russia for the timely withdrawal of troops from the Baltic countries.
In 1993, Captain Aksel Heidemann, head of the personnel division of the self-Defense League, a voluntary Estonian defense organization, was in charge of western Estonia's Laane county defense department. As a representative of the self-Defense Forces, he was responsible for accepting the transfer of military property from the Russian army.
According to Heidemann, a majority of the major [Russian] troops that were based in Estonia were already gone by August 1994. Prior to their departure, Laane county had headquartered a number of anti-aircraft and radar facilities.
"In the Piirsalu village there had been a military storage facility. It was empty, but had three soldiers guarding it, puppies running around and one Russian officer," Heidemann recalled.
"We went to accept the facility from them on Dec. 30, 1993. Apparently they were the last Russian military [troops] to leave Laane county, and probably their command had forgotten them," he said.
After trekking through a heavy snowstorm just one day before New Year's Eve, Heidemann and other experts reached Piirsalu to sign the necessary paperwork. Much to their surprise, the document, composed in Russian, described the dilapidated storage facility as a material value worth several billions of rubles (tens of millions of dollars at the time).
Since it was obviously not worth that kind of money, Heidemann refused. The Russian officer, after a call to his superiors, then offered to amend the agreement, clarifying that the hand-over was "help to the Estonian defense forces."
"Naturally everything that had any value had already been stolen by the Russian military," said Heidemann. "Of course, they had to find means for existence as they hadn't received their salary for a long time."
The facility was eventually handed over with the conditions set by the Estonian side.
According to Heidemann, the locals were happy about the troops' withdrawal.
"The discipline of the Russian troops was low, especially in the last year. The drunk soldiers walking around were just dangerous," he said.